Minion

Minion was a superheavyweight robot built by Team Coolrobots that competed in every BattleBots competition in its weight class. The first model was built by Christian Carlberg with help from Jason Bardis of Infernolab. Its weapons were a saw blade (from Season 3.0 onwards it was swapped for a larger, more powerful toothed flywheel) and a rear wedge. The original Minion featured two saw blades and a rear bumper rather than a wedge. It had 6 wheel drive, which gave it tremendous pushing power. Its only weakness was its lack of invertability, but this was remedied in Season 3.0 when a srimech was added to the robot. Minion was very successful in BattleBots, winning the first two superheavyweight championships and also reaching the Season 3.0 final.

Robot History

Las Vegas 1999

In its first fight against S.L.A.M., Minion drove bumper-first at S.L.A.M. while it was still spinning up to speed but missed, allowing S.L.A.M. to reach full speed. Minion then turned around and began to push S.L.A.M. while damaging it with its twin saw blades. It pushed S.L.A.M. into the killsaws, which completely immobilized it. Minion went through to face World Peace.

The two robots maneuvered around each other at first, looking for an opportune moment to attack. Minion managed to get the first hit in, slamming into the rear of World Peace with its saw blades. World Peace escaped, but Minion pursued it and managed to get another hit in on the rear of World Peace. World peace drove straight into the arena wall, allowing Minion to attack again, this time getting underneath World Peace and momentarily carrying it around. Eventually, World Peace managed to fight back, getting underneath Minion and pushing it onto the killsaws. After taking a few more attacks, World Peace managed to grip Minion, stopping its saws. It let go after a while and Minion repeatedly reversed into World Peace with its bumper. World Peace drove itself onto the spikes at the end of the fight, immobilizing itself, but the fight still went to a judges decision, which Minion won 6-3. Minion moved on to the final against Ricon.

Both robots drove at each other head on, with Minion pushing its way past Ricon. Minion's saws were not working, but they still managed to get inside Ricon, allowing Minion to easily push it around twice. After the second push, the mobility of both Minion and Ricon seemed to be heavily impaired. Fortunately for Minion, Ricon was on the spikes and unable to get off. Minion was still able to push Ricon into hazards. The fight went to the judges, who ruled 7-2 in favor of Minion, meaning Minion had won its first championship.

Minion wasn't finished, however, as it participated the superheavyweight rumble at the end of the tournament. After a straight hit on S.L.A.M., Minion got hit by Ginsu and suddenly stopped moving.

Season 1.0

Returning in Season 1.0 as the reigning superheavyweight champion, Minion was faced with Gray Matter in its first fight. Minion waited for Gray Matter to approach it at first and tried to attack it with the saw, but failed. Gray Matter then managed to push Minion around, sending it into hazards where its saw was ripped clean off, leaving Minion without its saw for not just this fight, but the rest of the competition. Unfazed, Minion used its wedge to engage Gray Matter in a pushing match, where it overcame Gray Matter several times, sending it into the spike strip on numerous occasions. The match went to the judges who ruled 7-2 in favor of Minion, putting it through to a fight against Grendel.

The two slowly approached each other at first, with Minion veering off to the left, before skillfully driving around Grendel, avoiding its axe and getting underneath it with its wedge. Minion used its far superior speed to slam into Grendel. Grendel managed a glancing blow on Minion, allowing Minion to drag it around. After eventually escaping the axe, Minion continued to ram Grendel, avoiding axe blows all the time. The match once again went to the judges, with Minion winning the decision and going through to meet Rammstein.

Both robots once again got off to a slow start, but it was Minion who got the first attack in, charging at Rammstein with its wedge. Rammstein lost all its drive as all of its gear motors for the drive failed, which Minion took full advantage of, getting underneath Rammstein with the wedge against the wall and giving it no room to breathe with consistent slams. Rammstein tried to escape, but Minion stayed in hot pursuit, ramming Rammstein into the walls. One of these attacks immobilized Rammstein, so it was counted out and Minion was put through to the final against DooAll.

Minion wasted no time in getting underneath DooAll multiple times, with DooAll going straight over Minion and back onto its tracks. One of these attacks knocked DooAll's saw blade off, where it lay on the BattleBox floor for the rest of the match. DooAll never managed to oppose Minion at any point, being pushed around into the walls and hazards with great ease. After sending DooAll into the killsaws one final time, the match went to the judges, who gave Minion its second championship win on a dominant 9-0 decision.

Minion wasn't finished, however, as it participated the superheavyweight royal rumble at the end of the tournament. It did very well and won the rumble by popular decision.

Season 2.0

Minion went into its first fight of Season 2.0 as firm favorites against newcomers Atomic Wedgie. Both robots started by trying to get under each other with their wedges, but Minion made the mistake of charging into Atomic Wedgie's trifoils, which tore the lexan shield off of Minions wedge, meaning it could not get under Atomic Wedgie. Atomic Wedgie used this advantage to push Minion into the wall, where a combination of the impact of Minion's saw on the wall and Atomic Wedgie's push flipped Minion over, where it could not self-right and was counted out, resulting in a major upset as the two-time champion was eliminated very early on.

Minion wasn't finished, however, as it came back for the superheavyweight consolation rumble at the end of the tournament and won with Liquid Lunch. Minion later came back for the superheavyweight royal rumble and started out pushing Doom of Babylon against the spikestrip. Minion then started attacking Revision Z with its saw and suddenly stopped moving moments later. With Minion now being immobile, Toro got underneath the side of Minion and flipped it over. This meant that Minion lost the superheavyweight royal rumble and Toro won overall.

Season 3.0

Due to previously competing in Season 2.0, Minion was allowed to skip the preliminary rounds of Season 3.0, where it faced Tortoise. One particular hit sent once of Tortoise's teeth halfway into the lexan of the Battlebox. Despite getting a hard hit from Tortoise, which sent Minion's wedge flying across the BattleBox, Tortoise stopped moving and Minion starts hitting Tortoise with its spinning disc as it was being counted out. Minion won by KO and advanced to the round of 16, where it faced Ogre.

At the beginning of the match, both bots drove out and Minion hit Ogre with its disc. After Minion got another hit on Ogre with the disc, Ogre got the upper hand and pushed Minion around the BattleBox for a short time. Minion retaliated by hitting Ogre with the disc another time, this hit damaging the "Slam Cam" inside Ogre. Minion began to emit smoke due to the weapon belt's friction against the motor. Ogre tried to push Minion into the pulverizer, but failed to push the Season 1.0 champion. Minion's weapon was rammed by Ogre, but took another hit from the disc. The two robots pushed each other and tried to out-drive one another. After Minion lost its weapon belt to the piston, it was pushed by Ogre onto the ramrods, but Ogre also took a hit from them. Ogre then was pushed onto the hellraisers, but was able to free itself. Minion pushed Ogre towards the pulverizer, but Ogre gained traction and pushed back, and saved itself from the hazard. Minion then wedged Ogre, before Ogre wedged one of its spikes into Minion's wheel guards. Minion used the half of its drive train on the floor to try and maneuver away but couldn't. The two robots ended the fight stuck together with Minion impaled on the spikestrip. However, the judges decided on a 23-22 split decision for Minion. This win put Minion in the quarterfinals, where it faced Electric Lunch.

In the match, Both robots went straight at each other and Minion already starts smoking. Both robots were pushing each other and Minion drives Electric Lunch onto the piston. Electric Lunch was pushing the side of Minion, but Minion escapes and Electric Lunch gets caught on the killsaws. Minion then drives up onto Electric Lunch's wedge and Electric Lunch takes Minion towards the pulverizer. One hit from the pulverizer damaged Minion's wedge and Minion escapes. Minion gets its wedge underneath Electric Lunch and pushes it for a little bit. Both robots were pushing each other again and Minion gets its flywheel caught on the killsaws. Minion charges straight at Electric Lunch and gets its flywheel on Electric Lunch's wedge, with sparks flying in the process as the extrusions on Electic Lunch's wedge are worn away. Minion then gets its spinning flywheel on Electric Lunch's side and causes damage. Electric Lunch gets caught on the killsaws and starts pushing Minion again. Minion causes more damage to Electric Lunch's wedge and more sparks were flying. Electric Lunch pushes Minion onto the killsaws and Minion escapes. Minion kept hitting Electric Lunch's wedge with its spinning flywheel and Electric Lunch gets underneath Minion. Electric Lunch tries to push Minion onto the screws, but Minion was against the base of the screw and the time ran out. Minion won on a close 24-21 judge's decision and advanced to the semifinals, where it faced Toro.

Toro went straight at Minion, but as Minion quickly comes forward with its spinning disc going full speed, Toro quickly backs away. Toro is trying to go around Minion to get at it under its side, but Minion is pivoting in the center, aiming its spinning disc at Toro. Minion charges at Toro, but misses. Minion gets Toro near the spikestrip and both robots collide. Minion's spinning disc is the first to connect, knocking Toro into the air and sending Co2 shooting out of Toro's body. Toro activates its lifting arm after its propelled into the air. When Toro lands on the ground, Co2 starts to leak out of Toro. The leak stops and the two robots were driving around the BattleBox. Minion drives over a set of killsaws and Toro started pushing Minion from the front. Toro backs into Minion and started pushing its side against the wall a few times. While Minion struggles with the wall, Toro gets its front under Minion's wedge. Despite Toro's flipping arm not working, Toro pushed Minion around the arena hazards. Minion's spinning disc slams into the screws and later gets caught on the killsaws. Toro puts its rear against Minion and nearly pushes it under the pulverizer before Minion drives away. Minion gets its spinning disc behind Toro and Minion's spinning disc started to smoke. Toro drives over the killsaws and Toro is barely moving. Toro tries to drive toward Minion, but Minion got its spinning disc pointed at Toro. Toro tries to go around and Minion gets caught on the killsaws again. Toro slams into Minion's side, but doesn't appear to have the power to push Minion any more. The time ran out and Minion won on a 27-18 judge's decision. This win (as well as satisfaction of revenge from season two) put Minion in the superheavyweight finals, where it faced Vladiator.

In the beginning of the match, both robots were avoiding each other for the first 20 seconds. Shortly after this, Vladiator charges straight at Minion and avoids Minion's spinning flywheel. After going straight at Minion again, Vladiator crashes into the spikestrip and gets stuck. Vladiator struggles and Minion comes in to hit Vladiator with its spinnig flywheel, but no damage was caused and Vladiator was still stuck on the spikestrip. Minion moves back and does a victory spin as Vladiator was being counted out. However, Vladiator was able to escape from the spikestrip with only two seconds left on the count and it left a huge rubber mark on the floor of the BattleBox. Vladiator starts to take several runs at Minion and Minion couldn't get its spinning flywheel on Vladiator. Minion's flywheel slows down and Vladiator gets its lifting spike under Minion. Vladiator pushes Minion across the BattleBox and runs it onto the entrance ramp. Vladiator intends to hold Minion for the full 30 seconds and with a few seconds left, Vladiator is forced to release Minion. In the end, Vladiator won on a 26-19 judge's decision and Minion was declared the runner-up.

Despite being declared the runner-up, Minion couldn't participate the superheavyweight royal rumble at the end of the tournament for unknown reasons.

Season 4.0

For reaching the finals in Season 3.0, Minion was allowed to skip the preliminary rounds, where it faced No Apologies. At the start of the battle, Minion immediately damaged the wedge of No Apologies with its flywheel, causing sparks to fly. Minion went at the wedge of No Apologies again, as No Apologies fired its axe, missing Minion. No Apologies then finally struck Minion with its axe, so powerful that it punctured through the lexan armor of Minion. No Apologies then lifts the lifeless Minion onto the killsaws, slicing through its right rear tire completely. As No Apologies was driving Minion toward the pulverizer, Team Coolrobots immediately tapped out to prevent further harm to their robot and the arena hazards were shut off, leaving the pulverizer to drop to the floor (though the TV broadcast made it seem like the pulverizer landed a feeble blow). Minion's driver Brian Roe confirmed during the post-match interview that they tapped out because No Apologies hit the very spot where their radio receiver for the drive was located, which immobilized Minion completely and eliminated it from the tournament.

Minion wasn't finished, however, as it participated the superheavyweight consolation rumble at the end of the tournament. It's unknown how well it performed but it lost overall to Atomic Wedgie and Odin II.

Season 5.0

The first fight for Minion in Season 5.0 was Abaddon. Minion was the clear aggressor in the fight, getting under Abaddon with its wedge despite Abaddon fighting back well. Minion won the fight by a 26-19 judge's decision. This win put Minion in the round of 16, where it faced Codebreaker.

Minion and Codebreaker drove straight at each other after getting their weapons up to speed. Codebreaker came at Minion's flywheel and rammed Minion into the Spike Strip, stopping Minion's flywheel temporarily before it got it back up to speed and Minion attempted to attack Codebreaker with it. Codebreaker dodged so Minion swapped tactics and used its wedge to some effect. Minion managed to get underneath Codebreaker but did not push it anywhere. Minion then rammed Codebreaker before deciding to use its flywheel again, causing a great shower of sparks and damage to one of Codebreaker's front panels, tearing off the decal on that side. Codebreaker retaliated by getting underneath Minion again and charging it straight into the wall. Codebreaker then used its drum to grind up the side of Minion before having one of its own side panels bent by Minion's retaliation. Minion was rammed into by Codebreaker and had its rear left tire torn up, reducing grip significantly. Both robots charged into each other repetitively with most of the damage being done to Minion's tires and side panels via Codebreaker's spinning drum. This continued pushing ended up with Minion at a pulverizer and suffering 3 shots before getting ground up by the killsaws. One of the pulverizer hits struck Minion's flywheel motor and incapacitated it, leaving Minion to fight with its wedge. Codebreaker took advantage by chewing up Minion's side panel and tires again, tearing them up badly. As the match ended, Minion was left hobbling on its remaining tires. In the end, Codebreaker won the fight on a dominant 32-13 judge's decision, eliminating Minion from the tournament.

Minion couldn't compete in the superheavyweight royal rumble because the rest of the rumbles were canceled due to an accident with Nightmare during the heavyweight consolation rumble.

Wins/Losses

• Wins: 12
• Losses: 4

Competition	Wins	Losses
Las Vegas 1999	S.L.A.M. World Peace Ricon	None
Season 1.0	Gray Matter Grendel Rammstein DooAll	None
Season 2.0	Bye	Atomic Wedgie
Season 3.0	Tortoise Ogre Electric Lunch Toro	Vladiator
Season 4.0	None	No Apologies
Season 5.0	Abaddon	Codebreaker

Mark Beiro Introductions

"Programmed to irritate, debilitate, humiliate and obliterate. From Team Coolrobots at Noth Hollywood, California. Its 325 pound superheavyweight, MINION!"

"Don't be fooled by his good looks. He's a natural born killer. Its MINION!"

"Weighing in at 325 pounds is a triangular terror who leaves no margin for error. He's on a very violent mission and his name is MINION!"

"There's no denying the devastation he's supplying. It's the BattleBots superheavyweight champion MINION!"

"Cancel the ambulance. Call the coroner. Here is MINION!"

"One thing you should know for certain, you'll be left bettered, bruised and hurtin'. Here is MINION!"

"Its a fact and not a stupid opinion that the baddest robot is the murderous MINION!"

"The good news is, you've made it to the finals. The bad news is, you got about 3 minutes to live, according to the watch of MINION!"

"It's not just my opinion. The number 1 ranked superheavyweight is MINION!"

"He'll crush you flatter than a distracted soccer mom in her navigator. Here is MINION!"

Merchandise

Any appearances by Minion in merchandise are listed below:

• Minion/Pocketbot
• Minion/Deluxe Metal Mechanics
• Minion/RC Custom Series
• Minion/Battle Basher
• Minion/MiniBot
• Minion/BattleBots: Beyond the BattleBox

Trivia

• Minion's saw (from Season 1.0 and 2.0) was the same kind of saw blade as The Missing Link's, and its position was changeable. However, this option was never used.
  • Given that Jason Bardis helped build the original Minion, the saw might have been provided by Jason Bardis.
• Minion has fought from the red square in all but one match in season 5.0 against Codebreaker.
• Minion faced Diesector in a special demo bout for Hasbro sometime between Season 2.0 and Season 3.0
• Minion was also on display at the Hasbro Showroom's arena with at least eight other robots including Ziggo, Tazbot, BioHazard, Vlad the Impaler, Ginsu Diesector, Overkill and Toe Crusher