Botopsy Report: This BattleBots article is in need of rewriting to bring it up to a higher standard. You can help the BattleBots Wiki by rewriting/expanding it. Please note that all battle write-ups should be in the past tense.
Mjollnir was a heavyweight robot built by Don Lariviere of Team Revelation which competed in the first three seasons of Comedy CentralBattleBots. It was also due to compete at the Las Vegas 1999 pay-per-view event, but was forced to withdraw before its first match.
The robot was a two-wheel drive thwackbot with large go-kart tires, a compact middle chassis and a long spiked hammer with two additional spikes on other side. Mjollnir could thus strike opponents from above by relying on torque reaction to swing the hammer over itself. Alternatively, the spikes enabled it to inflict damage to approaching opponents using sit-and-spin tactics. However, the arm for the hammer and spikes proved highly susceptible to breaking off on occasions, while the exposed tires could easily be punctured or ripped off. An additional hazard was posed by the Spikestrips, which Mjollnir occasionally got snagged on with its own weapon.
In its three competitive BattleBots seasons, Mjollnir would take part in six battles (including two Rumbles) and achieve only one victory, not including forfeits by opponents. Its best finish occurred in Season 2.0, where it reached the Round of 16 before losing a highly energetic battle against Vlad the Impaler.
Captain Don Lariviere also joined Team Stealth for their entry into Season 1 of Robot Wars: Extreme Warriors, winning the US Championship outright with Panzer Mk 2. Mjollnir itself also attended filming for the unaired American Robot Wars 2000 pilot produced for MTV, captained by Todd Mendenhall in place of the unavailable Lariviere. Due to a last-minute dropout, Mjollnir ended up not competing after the pilot line-up was reduced to just four robots.[1]
Mjollnir was scheduled to fight Ronin in the first round, but it forfeited due to unknown issues.
Season 1.0[]
Mjollnir vs. BioHazard
Mjollnir loses its tires due to the killsaws.
Mjollnir's first and only match of the season was against the lifting arm of BioHazard. Not much happened in the battle as BioHazard had a hard time lifting Mjollnir's awkward frame with its arm. BioHazard and Mjollnir were hit hard by the killsaws, which caused sparks to fly from BioHazard and Mjollnir's tires to come off. The match ended and BioHazard won on a unanimous 9-0 judges' decision. This meant that Mjollnir was eliminated from the tournament.
Heavyweight Rumble
Mjollnir returned for the end-of-season Heavyweight Royal Rumble. It went straight at frenZy, the impact causing the latter to be flipped over. Mjollnir kept being aggressive until it broke down in the corner of the arena next to Blendo. Mjollnir was left there for the rest of the rumble.
Season 2.0[]
Mjollnir vs. Bender
Mjollnir waits as Bender sits immobile
Mjollnir's first match was against Bender. Before the match began, Bender was spinning around in circles and wasn't responding to the Bender team's controller. Mjollnir took full advantage in this match as it kept hitting Bender against the side of the arena. One of these hits lifts Bender off its driving wheels and was being counted out by the referee. Mjollnir won its first match and advanced to the Round of 16, where it faced Vlad the Impaler.
Mjollnir vs. Vlad the Impaler
Vlad pushes Mjollnir to the pulverizer.
The fight began with Mjollnir chasing down Vlad, and attempted to strike down with its weaponry but veered off course and ended up nowhere near Vlad the Impaler. Mjollnir then swung its weaponry and managed to hit Vlad on the side, but got caught up in Vlad the Impaler's forks. This allowed Vlad to push Mjollnir into the pulverizer. It struck many times, as Mjollnir had got its weapon stuck in the pulverizer holder. Eventually, Mjollnir got free, but with a wonky left wheel. Mjollnir managed to retaliate by striking Vlad the Impaler squarely on the top, and pushed Vlad over the killsaws. Vlad the Impaler, however, got its forks underneath Mjollnir's wheel and drove it across the arena, before Mjollnir managed to get free and drive over the top of Vlad. This maneuver caused major damage to the electronics of Vlad the Impaler though, and forced its lifting forks and sri-mech into a permanently upright position. Vlad decided to start attacking Mjollnir with its rear plate, to try and push it across the arena, but Mjollnir slid out of the way. Vlad the Impaler then crashed into Mjollnir with its uprooted forks and nearly took off doing so. Vlad then drove over the killsaws once more. It nearly captured Mjollnir in its forks despite the damage caused, but was unable to capitalize on it. Mjollnir, however, swung its weapon straight into a killsaw and caused a bright shower of sparks. Luckily for Gage Cauchois, he managed to set Vlad the Impaler's lifting forks back down for the last minute of the fight, but was unable to fix Vlad's sri-mech. The fight did not have much action after that, with Mjollnir hitting Vlad on the top a few times and Vlad the Impaler nearly catching Mjollnir in its lifting forks a few times. However, with 20 seconds left in the fight, Mjollnir slammed its weapon so hard into the BattleBox's floor it snapped off, and left Mjollnir without a weapon. The time ran out shortly after and Vlad the Impaler won on a 34-11 judges' decision. This meant that Mjollnir was eliminated from the tournament.
Heavyweight Consolation Rumble
Similarly to the previous season, Mjollnir took part in the end-of-season Heavyweight Consolation Rumble. Its axe snapped off again earlier in the rumble and kept slamming into Mauler 51-50 and OverKill. It pushed Scrap Daddy HW 210 around at one point and was one of few robots that were still moving in the end of the rumble, but lost out to Punjar and OverKill.
Season 3.0[]
Mjollnir vs. Surgeon General
Surgeon General rips off one of Mjollnir's wheels.
Because it previously entered Season 2.0, Mjollnir was allowed to skip the preliminary rounds of Season 3.0, where it eventually fought Team Loki's Surgeon General. In the match, Surgeon General spun up its disk and hits Mjollnir, removing its left wheel in the process. Surgeon General did more damage to Mjollnir until it was counted out. This was Mjollnir's last appearance in BattleBots and it never returned for another tournament.
Wins/Losses[]
Wins: 1
Losses: 3
The forfeited loss against Ronin is omitted from the talley
"Weighing in at 180 pounds of merciless metal and sadistic steel. If you think fighting him was tough, try saying his name. Introducing MJOLLNIR!" (Mjollnir vs. BioHazard)
"The BattleBot that will make you pay in one lump sum of twisted metal. Here is MJOLLNIR!" (Mjollnir vs. Vlad the Impaler)
Trivia[]
Its name is actually misspelled. "Mjollnir" is actually spelt "Mjolnir", with only one L.
Mjollnir is possibly named after the hammer of the Norse god of thunder, Thor.
Mjollnir's Season 1.0 stats according to the TV show.
Mjollnir's Season 2.0 stats according to the TV show.
Mjollnir in the Pits for the American Robot Wars 2000 pilot.
1/3
References[]
↑Brad Stone (2003), Gearheads: The Turbulent Rise of Robotic Sports, pp.176-177
.jpg){kind=link}