Red Scorpion, formerly known as Scorpion "Beta 3", was a middleweight robot built by Team Scorpion which competed in the Long Beach 1999 competition and Season 2.0 of Comedy Central BattleBots.
A six-legged walkerbot, the robot was built by Ray Washburn and his family. Red Scorpion's six legs were powered by compressed CO2 and its weapon was a pneumatic stinging arm which functioned similarly to a hammer. The "Beta 3" in its name for the 1999 event referred to it being the third iteration of the team's design, while Red Scorpion's name derived from the name captain Ray Washburn was given during his time serving in the Vietnam War. In spite of its lack of success, Red Scorpion's striking appearance was enough to see it feature in merchandise, seeing a release in both the MiniBots and Bump 'N' Bash Bots toy lines.
Outside BattleBots[]
Prior to the inception of BattleBots, the team competed with similarly named robots in the early US Robot Wars events held in San Francisco. Their first robot was a two-wheel drive, heavyweight robot powered by a petrol engine from a lawnmower. It featured front-mounted pincers and a stinging tail. Red Scorpion - which was sometimes referred to simply as Scorpion - first faced Punjar in the 1996 competition, but lost by knockout and was immediately eliminated. It would then fight a grudge match against Mark Setrakian and The Master and ultimately won by knockout.
Returning for the 1997 event, Red Scorpion was rebuilt and featured a larger and more aggressive thwacking tail. It picked up a win by judges' decision against Snake, but lost in the subsequent round to Rhino and was eliminated. Red Scorpion returned for a 14-robot rumble which was won by La Machine.
The Washburn family also competed in the 2003 television series Full Metal Challenge with a vehicle called The Agrivator. They advanced to their episode's final showdown, but lost in the Sumo event.
Robot History[]
Long Beach 1999[] |
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Scorpion "Beta 3" vs. Deadblow After receiving a bye in the first round, Scorpion "Beta 3" went up against Deadblow, built by Grant Imahara. Deadblow won on a judges' decision and Scorpion "Beta 3" fell into the loser's bracket. |
Scorpion "Beta 3" vs. Turtle Road Kill Here, Scorpion "Beta 3" took on Turtle Road Kill. Scorpion "Beta 3" lost by knockout again and was officially eliminated from the tournament. |
Scorpion "Beta 3" vs. Ankle Biter (Exhibition) Scorpion "Beta 3" returned for a grudge match against Ankle Biter. It lost this fight by knockout. |
Megabot Rumble Scorpion "Beta 3" later participated in the Megabot Rumble at the end of the tournament alongside Deadblow, Spaz, Stuffie, Carnivore, Son of Smashy, SlapPest, Ankle Biter and Knee-Breaker. This was ultimately won by Deadblow. |
Season 2.0[] |
Red Scorpion vs. SABotage The rebuilt Red Scorpion first fought SABotage in Season 2.0. SABotage immediately attacks Red Scorpion, who is attempting to make its way across the arena. Red Scorpion shows fast walking speed, but is not quite fast enough to turn towards SABotage. SABotage repeatedly gets underneath the side of Red Scorpion and tries to flip it over, but was unsuccessful due to the size and weight of Red Scorpion. SABotage then starts to drag Red Scorpion closer to the arena hazards, nearly flipping Scorpion over in the process. SABotage finally holds Red Scorpion off the ground for several seconds before taking the robot over the killsaws. The time ran out and SABotage won on a 42-3 judges' decision. |
Middleweight Consolation Rumble   Fusion takes on Red Scorpion during the rumble. |
Competitive Wins/Losses[]
- Wins: 0
- Losses: 4
Exhibition Wins/Losses[]
- Wins: 0
- Losses: 2
Total Wins/Losses[]
- Wins: 0
- Losses: 6
| Competition | ||
|---|---|---|
| Long Beach 1999 | None | Deadblow Turtle Road Kill Ankle Biter (Exhibition) Deadblow (Rumble) |
| Season 2.0 | None | SABotage Instigator, Space Operations Force II (Rumble) |