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Icewave, sometimes stylised as ICEwave, is a heavyweight (formerly middleweight) robot built by Marc DeVidts' team, which competed in the 2004 NPC Charity Open, BattleBots at Java One and four seasons of the BattleBots reboot.
Its main feature was a 15hp fireman's saw internal combustion engine (hence "ICE") housed on top of the robot, which powered a 47lb steel bar measuring 54" in length. The blade's tip speed in earlier seasons was consistently stated to be around 300mph, though this was later reduced to comply with the 250mph tip speed limit implemented for the Discovery run.[1] According to DeVidts, a shorter bar was also prepared for ABC Season 1 as an interchangeable spinner, but went unused as the regular 54" bar proved to be highly effective. Icewave was a fan favorite for its destructive design and internal combustion engine, backing up this reputation with a dominant run to the ABC Season 1 quarter-finals. However, it would lose in an upset defeat to Ghost Raptor at that stage
In ABC Season 2, Icewave received a big upgrade with the addition of a one-time use self-righting mechanism on the left side of its engine cover. Though not seen in official images, this device was visible during battles. Icewave did decently, defeating SubZero in the first round despite its blade breaking down, but it lost to Nightmare in the second round due to radio interference issues.
For Discovery Season 3, Icewave gained a few cosmetic changes including a yellow top to the ICE housing, and the blades were being painted gray on the sides to make the bar appear skinnier rather than shorter. Although the primary weapon's speed was capped at 200mph for safety reasons, it still had enough power and weight to inflict severe damage. It did very well in its matches, splitting two robots in half and quickly became a favorite to win the Giant Nut, but Icewave lost in the Round of 16 to a well-driven ROTATOR, who destroyed the engine housing and in doing so, disabled the weapon.
Icewave did not compete in Discovery Season 4 as Marc wanted to spend more time with the family. However, Icewave competed in the re:MARS Amazon BattleBots Challenge, but lost in the opening round to Bite Force after its bar was severely damaged.
Icewave was revealed to be present for the filming of the 2020 season, but it was later confirmed to be exclusively competing in BattleBots: Bounty Hunters as a Bounty boss. For this, Icewave ditched the blue look for a black and yellow design. Aesthetics aside, Icewave also had a newly-shaped housing for its partially customized internal combustion engine. In BattleBots Bounty Hunters, it lost out to Skorpios, after being outdriven for the bulk of the match, and its weapon struggling to hit full power throughout.
Icewave finally returned for Discovery Season 6 after a two-season hiatus, maintaining its black and yellow paint scheme. Its yellow lettering across the front wedge was now black, and the engine housing had blue triangles painted on each edge, possibly paying homage to its original color scheme. Icewave was stunned into silence by Black Dragon early in the season, but redeemed itself by finding its first BattleBots victory since 2018 over Deadlift. This was backed up by a Main Event win over Team Whyachi's Fusion as Icewave advanced to the tournament bracket. However, a loss to 2020 season runner-up Whiplash meant Icewave fell at the Top 32 stage. Alongside a handful of other robots from the season, Icewave made an appearance as a static display at a live premiere of the tournament conclusion in San Jose, California.
The bot was designed by Marc DeVidts, who also built Edge and Vault for previous BattleBots competitions. Icewave is not a new design for DeVidts either, as he competed with a middleweight version of the design back in the mid-2000s. This version of Icewave also competed in a few BattleBots-sanctioned events including the 2004 and 2006 BattleBots IQ tournaments (the former as Goliath) and the 2004 NPC Charity Open.
Robot History[]
2004 NPC Charity Open[] |
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Icewave vs. Major Punishment ![]() Icewave as a Middleweight at the NPC Charity Open ![]() The aftermath of the fight against Major Punishment. Icewave's first ever match was against Major Punishment. When the match began, Icewave spun up its weapon and made a few small contacts with Major Punishment before its own blade tore off one of the rubber shock absorbers inside the engine. As a result, Icewave became unstable, tearing its engine apart and flinging it across the arena. Major Punishment won by KO and Icewave fell to the loser's bracket, where it faced Blue Flame. |
Icewave vs. Blue Flame Before the match began, Icewave had its spinning blade removed due to damage sustained in the first match and added a rear wedge and front plow. Blue Flame collided with Icewave's front plow and broke off a tooth of Blue Flames disk, causing the bot to wobble. Blue Flame hit Icewave with its unbalanced disk and landed on top of Icewave. After this hit, both robots had to be separated, but Blue Flame's weapon malfunctioned. From this point on, it was a pushing match. Blue Flame won on a judges' decision, and Icewave was eliminated from the tournament. |
BattleBots at Java One[] |
Icewave vs. Carbide ![]() Icewave shoves Carbide under the pulverizer. Icewave's first fight at this event was against Carbide. This fight started with Icewave spinning up, and landing some good hits on Carbide's plow. However Icewave's engine shut down and the fight was now a pushing match. Icewave then pushed Carbide under the pulverizers, the repeated pounding from the Pulverizers disabled Carbide's drivetrain, and it was counted out. |
Icewave vs. The Mortician This put Icewave in the semifinals against The Mortician. Icewave won this fight, and was now in the finals against SubZero. |
Icewave vs. SubZero This fight started with Icewave spinning up to speed before SubZero reversed its wedge into Icewave, and slammed it into the wall. This stopped Icewave's spinning bar, SubZero then turned around, and promptly flipped Icewave out of the arena, winning by knockout in a total of 12 seconds. |
ABC Season 1[] |
Icewave vs. Razorback ![]() Icewave tears the front wedge off of Razorback. ![]() Icewave strikes Razorback's right side |
Icewave vs. Chomp ![]() Icewave destroying Chomp. Next up for Icewave was Chomp. As the fight began, both robots initially avoided one other before Icewave made a tear in the front of Chomp's wedge. The next three attacks caused some damage to the left side of Chomp, loosening the armor on that side. Icewave's next attack torn front of the left chassis with a following attack hitting the rear of Chomp. The right side of Chomp was then hit and damaged by Icewave. The next three hits caused two of Chomp's wheels to fall out and Chomp was immobilized. A count began on Zoe Stephenson's bot and Icewave advanced to the quarter-finals. |
Icewave vs. Ghost Raptor ![]() Icewave gets flipped upside down In the final eight, Icewave met the experienced Chuck Pitzer and Ghost Raptor. Before the match began, Team Raptor added an arm atop Ghost Raptor to keep Icewave's dangerous blade at bay, which they named the "De-Icer". Once the match started, the arm proved successful in keeping Icewave away. Ghost Raptor pushed Icewave. Icewave's blade eventually made contact with Ghost Raptor's wedge, but due to the angle of the wedge, the impact caused Icewave to flip upside down. With no means of self-righting, Icewave was counted out of the fight and Ghost Raptor won by KO in what was perhaps the biggest upset of the season. |
Icewave vs. HyperShock ![]() Sparks fly as both bots come together. ![]() An alternative angle of the fight used to promote TESTED. |
ABC Season 2[] |
Icewave vs. SubZero ![]() Icewave strikes SubZero with its spinning blade. Icewave's first fight in of the second season was a rematch against SubZero. Icewave's blade spun up while and SubZero charged straight at Icewave, which almost flipped SubZero onto its back from the impact. After this, Icewave continued attacking SubZero with its spinning blade, damaging SubZero's front flipper to where it could no longer sit flat on the floor. At one point, Icewave tore a huge gash into the right side of SubZero. Unfortunately, Icewave's blade stopped spinning toward the end of the match due to an electrical failure that prevented the engine from sparking, so Icewave pushed SubZero around the BattleBox for the rest of the match. By this point, SubZero was doing very little against Icewave, as it was no longer able to place its flipper underneath its opponent. Before the time ran out, Icewave pushed SubZero under the pulverizer, which got in a few blows before time ran out. In the end, Icewave won on a unanimous 3-0 judges' decision and advanced to the Round of 32 where it faced the No.25 seed Nightmare. |
Icewave vs. Nightmare ![]() Icewave and Nightmare collide. This match started out rather well for Icewave, as it managed to tear off both of Nightmare's wheel guards and leave Nightmare bouncing around from a bent weapon shaft. However, Icewave quickly started to suffer from radio interference and stopped moving. Icewave was counted out, eliminating it from the tournament again, despite the fact that Icewave started moving again straight after being counted out. |
Discovery Season 3[] |
Icewave vs. Vanquish ![]() Icewave hits Vanquish's wedge. ![]() Icewave splits Vanquish in half. ![]() Vanquish's remains scattered across the floor. Icewave's first match in the 2018 season was against newcomer Jack Tweedy and Vanquish. For this fight, Icewave sported its shorter blade. The match started out well for Icewave as it was able to strike Vanquish a few times. Icewave continued its attacks, even getting on top of Vanquish's wedge, which prompted the robots to be separated, though this was cut from the televised fight. Icewave got its weapon up to full speed and started dealing bigger hits to Vanquish, one of which left its opponent without drive on one side. Eventually, Icewave dished out a brutal knockout shot which saw Vanquish be split in half. Vanquish was swiftly counted out, giving Icewave the win by KO after just 56 seconds. |
Icewave vs. Yeti ![]() Icewave and Yeti collide. ![]() Icewave gets tossed into the air by Yeti's drum. ![]() Icewave's last hit on Yeti's tires. Icewave's next match was against Yeti. At the start of the match, Yeti attempted to charge Icewave to keep it from spinning up its weapon. Despite this Icewave did manage to get its weapon up to speed, but Yeti kept it under pressure. Icewave then landed a blow that sent itself flying, but landing upright. However, this hit left its opponent incapacitated, and Yeti was counted out. After this hit, Icewave accidentally hit Yeti's tires, prompting a reaction from the opposition team.
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Icewave vs. Skorpios ![]() Icewave is shoved against the screws. |
Icewave vs. HUGE ![]() Icewave damages HUGE's right wheel. ![]() Icewave splits HUGE in half. Icewave's last chance to make the Top 16 was against HUGE. The match was off to a good start as the first hit from Icewave tore into one of HUGE's wheels, causing that wheel to lose some mobility. HUGE kept going so Icewave attacked it again, causing less damage than before. The third assault brutally tore HUGE down the middle, and each half fell as the bot had been incapacitated. HUGE was counted out, giving Icewave the win by KO and a place in the last sixteen. |
Icewave vs. ROTATOR ![]() Icewave's ICE engine is targeted by ROTATOR. ![]() ROTATOR continues to destroy Icewave's engine housing. ![]() Icewave sustains yet more damage from ROTATOR's spinner. Icewave had done enough to make to make the Top 16, where it faced ROTATOR. The match started poorly for Icewave as the first hit on ROTATOR caused its weapon motor to stall, enabling ROTATOR to tear into the engine housing with its disk. Icewave tried to push ROTATOR around, but ROTATOR's speed combined with Icewave's inability to defend the engine housing caused it to take more damage, eventually losing its entire gasoline engine. Time ran out and ROTATOR won on a unanimous 3-0 judges' decision. |
re:MARS all:STARS BattleBots Challenge (2019)[] |
Icewave vs. Bite Force ![]() Bite Force watches on as Icewave struggles to move. |
BattleBots: Bounty Hunters[] |
Icewave vs. Skorpios ![]() Icewave is pinned by Skorpios. |
Discovery Season 6[] |
Icewave vs. Black Dragon ![]() Icewave is box-rushed by Black Dragon in the opening seconds. |
Icewave vs. Deadlift ![]() Icewave's knockout shot on Deadlift. |
Icewave vs. Fusion ![]() Icewave delivers a major shot to the drum end of Fusion. ![]() Both robots are stuck momentarily. ![]() Fusion smokes as Icewave celebrates out of shot. ![]() Marc DeVidts shows off damage to Icewave's engine cylinder. |
Icewave vs. Whiplash ![]() Whiplash celebrates as Icewave is counted out. |
BattleBots: Champions[] |
Icewave vs. Free Shipping ![]() Icewave takes on Free Shipping. |
Results[]
ICEWAVE - RESULTS | ||
BattleBots 2004 NPC Charity Open | ||
2004 NPC Charity Open | ||
Winners Bracket | vs. Major Punishment | Lost |
Losers Bracket | vs. Blue Flame | Lost |
BattleBots IQ 2004 | ||
IQ 2004 | ||
Bracket | vs. 3x Unknown Opponents | Won x3 |
Bracket | vs. Alakran | Lost |
BattleBots IQ 2005 | ||
IQ 2005 Champion | ||
Bracket | vs. 4x Unknown Opponents | Won x3 |
Bracket | vs. Alakran | Won |
BattleBots IQ 2006 | ||
IQ 2006 | ||
Bracket | vs. Hurricane Katrina | Won |
Bracket | vs. Guazabara | Won |
Bracket | vs. Revenant | Lost |
BattleBots at Java One | ||
Java One Champion | ||
Quarter-Final | vs. Carbide | Won |
Semi-Final | vs. The Mortician | Won |
Final | vs. SubZero | Lost |
ABC Season 1 | ||
2015 Championship 2nd seed | ||
Round of 24 | vs. Razorback | Won (KO) |
Round of 16 | vs. Chomp (15) | Won (KO) |
Round of 8 | vs. Ghost Raptor (10) | Lost (KO) |
Exhibition Matches | ||
Exhibition Match | vs. HyperShock | Won (KO) |
ABC Season 2 | ||
2016 Championship 8th seed | ||
Round of 48 | vs. SubZero | Won (JD) |
Round of 32 | vs. Nightmare (25) | Lost (KO) |
Discovery Season 3 | ||
Fight Nights 3-1 | ||
Fight Night | vs. Vanquish | Won (KO) |
Fight Night Main Event | vs. Yeti | Won (KO) |
Fight Night Main Event | vs. Skorpios | Lost (Split JD) |
Fight Night | vs. HUGE | Won (KO) |
Top 16 6th seed | ||
Round of 16 | vs. ROTATOR (11) | Lost (JD) |
re:MARS all:STARS BattleBots Challenge (2019) | ||
re:MARS Match | vs. Bite Force | Lost (KO) |
Bounty Hunters | ||
Bounty Hunters - Icewave Episode Bounty Holder | ||
Bounty Match | vs. Skorpios | Lost (JD) |
Discovery Season 6 | ||
Fight Nights 2-1 | ||
Fight Night | vs. Black Dragon | Lost (KO) |
Fight Night | vs. Deadlift | Won (KO) |
Fight Night Main Event | vs. Fusion | Won (KO) |
Top 32 30th seed | ||
Round of 32 | vs. Whiplash (3) | Lost (KO) |
BattleBots: Champions | ||
Sin City Slugfest ROTATOR Episode | ||
Round of 8 | vs. Free Shipping | TBC |
Wins/Losses[]
- Live Event Wins: 11
- Live Event Losses: 5
- TV Show Wins: 9
- TV Show Losses: 8
- Total Wins: 20
- Total Losses: 13
Competition | Wins | Losses |
---|---|---|
2004 NPC Charity Open | None | Major Punishment |
BattleBots IQ 2004 | (3 wins) | Alakran |
BattleBots IQ 2005 | (4 wins)
Alakran |
None |
BattleBots IQ 2006 | Hurricane Katrina
Guazabara |
Revenant |
BattleBots at Java One | Easty Beast | SubZero |
ABC Season 1 | Razorback
HyperShock (Grudge Match) |
Ghost Raptor |
ABC Season 2 | SubZero | Nightmare |
Discovery Season 3 | Vanquish (Undercard Match)
Yeti (Main Event/Undercard Match) HUGE (Undercard Match) |
Skorpios (Main Event/Undercard Match) |
re:MARS all:STARS BattleBots Challenge (2019) | None | Bite Force |
BattleBots: Bounty Hunters | None | Skorpios |
Discovery Season 6 | Deadlift (Undercard Match)
Fusion (Main Event/Undercard Match) |
Black Dragon (Undercard Match) |
BattleBots: Champions | TBC | TBC |
Faruq Tauheed Introductions[]
"It's got an unquenchable thirst for destruction and only serves it one way, on the rocks! Here to pour on the pain, it's ICEWAVE!"
"Direct from Silicon Valley. Here to put the deep freeze on its opponents. ICEWAVE!"
"It may burn gas, but it's one cold son of a bot! Here to leave the opponent frozen in fear, it's ICEWAVE!"
"To the extreme, knock a bot like a vandal. Light up the box and wax a chump like a candle. Ice, ice baby. It's ICEWAVE!"
"This tsunami will make you run to your mommy. It's a wave of destruction, ICEWAVE!"
"The world's loudest bot. The only way this'll end is in sudden deaf. This is ICEWAVE!"
"Take your best slapshot at this bot and be met with its blades of glory. Its propeller is one hell of a yeller. Do you believe in decibels? Yes! It's ICEWAVE!"
"Faruq here with your five day gorecast. Grab a scarf because it's gonna be freezing forever. It's the Wizard of blizzards, ICEWAVE!"
"It's the only robot that needs an oil change every 20,000 kills. It's ICEWAVE!"
"To the extreme, it rocks your bot like a vandal. Lit up with rage, it'll give you all you can handle. Ice, ice wavey. It's ICEWAVE!"
"Facing off with this bot, that’s the path you’ve chosen? This bot’s so cold that it’s practically frozen. But there’s no Anna or Elsa or Olaf on this show. When he holds your life in his hands and decides to Let It Go… give it up for ICEWAVE!"
"From Burlingame, California, the wizard of blizzards, the boss of frost, it's ICEWAVE!"
"He'll be riding the waves and shredding the gnar and leaving your face like an icicle scar. You'll bedabbers his surfboard down a glacier tsunami. Why bring a board when he can use your frozen body? Cowabunga, gad! It's ICEWAVE!"
"Why are there so many rappers named ice when there's other words that might be nice? There's Cube, T, even Vanilla. I don't have the answer, but this bot's here to kill you. It's not a rapper. It doesn't drop bars. It's a legendary robot, a BattleBots star. You might think you can beat it, but you never will. So like EPMD said, you gots to chill. This is ICEWAVE!"
Trivia[]
- In ABC Season 1, Icewave is the only bot seeded in the Top 4 that didn't reach the Top 4 in Season 1.
- This also held true for Icewave in ABC Season 2 where it was seeded in Top 8 and did not reach Top 8.
- Icewave's blade tips are painted to conceal them against the color of the arena floor, giving the opponent a false sense of how long the blade is. For Season 2, the blade tips were given an orange stripe in the middle of the grey tips although the stripe was not present during their fight with Nightmare.
- The "wave" in Icewave's name is a tribute to Green Wave from which Marc took design inspiration while creating Icewave.
- Icewave's spinning bar, at 54" (4.5 feet) long, tip to tip, was once the largest weapon ever recorded in history of robot combat. By comparison, Ghost Raptor's bar was, according to Chuck Pitzer, 52 inches (4.3 feet) long and Nightmare's spinning disc was measured at 48" (4ft), tip to tip. It has since been surpassed by Mammoth.
- Icewave uses 100 octane fuel for its engine.
- Unlike other overhead horizontal bar spinners (namely Hazard and Brutality), Icewave's blade is mounted slightly closer to the front of the robot rather than being mounted at the center of the bot.
- Icewave's design is partially inspired by a robot built by Bite Force's Builder Paul Ventimilgia where the motor sat above the weapon.
- Icewave's ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) is the same one used in the middleweight version. It was simply transferred over and the extra weight was applied to the base and the weapon. It was also used because of the fact that the current batteries and electronics were not mainstream yet.
- Outside of BattleBots, Marc DeVidts was responsible for creating LED suits used in Black Eyed Peas performances.
- Team Icewave sold one of their engine covers on eBay for $750 in September 2021.
- Icewave is the only one of the three bots that fought exclusively in BattleBots: Bounty Hunters, the others being Bronco and Son of Whyachi.
References[]
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