SubZero is a heavyweight (formerly middleweight) robot built by Jerry Clarkin of Team Hammertime which competed in every season of the modern era of BattleBots since its debut in ABC Season 2. As of Discovery Season 5, it has been under the ownership of Team XD.
Originally a middleweight robot, SubZero competed in a multitude of events after the Comedy Central era came to an end, including the 2004 NPC Charity Open, the 2007 Sun Microsystems Java One event and the BattleBots 2009 Pro Championship. It was armed with a CO2-powered flipping arm and performed well in competition, winning two matches in the Pro Championship and NPC Charity open, as well as going undefeated in the event at Java One.
SubZero debuted in the 2004 NPC Charity event with a rounded design and exposed wheels, only becoming box-shaped and more akin to its modern era BattleBots appearances in 2007. As a heavyweight, it sported a body featuring rounded sides and a flipper resembling that of Inertia Labs' superheavyweight Toro. SubZero was built by Team XD, who also built Hammertime and Bounty Hunter. It was sold in 2010 as another version of Bounty Hunter, and later went by the name Spartan.
SubZero's name derives from the name given to any temperature below 0°C, and directly relates to the CO2's -104°F temperature as it escaped the tank for its flipper. However, due to CO2 not being allowed for the modern BattleBots competitions, SubZero opted for nitrogen instead.
For the 2016 season, SubZero was revised as a 250lb heavyweight bot, complete with a full titanium shell, a large flipper blade, and little self righting arms on its sides to push itself back over, similar to those of Robot Wars competitor Behemoth. SubZero also had a drone called Spitfire , though it would not debut until the following season. SubZero crashed out early on after losing to Icewave in a rematch.
Returning for Discovery Season 3, SubZero was redesigned with a smaller flipper and a slightly different body. It maintained its rough shape with a few extra holes for the safety functions. This version didn't fare much better, earning more losses than wins, earning its only win against Captain Shrederator.
For Discovery Season 4, SubZero was rebuilt from the ground up as a new bot. It was still four-wheel driven with a flipper, but it reverted back to its old white color, had bigger and more exposed tires, and a much bigger flipper. Spitfire was absent from this version as it was instead with Fuzzy Mauldin's newest entry, Texas Twister. Just like the last season, SubZero chalked up more losses than wins, picking one up from a barely functional P1.
Although it was expressed on the show SubZero may be retiring after 2019 following builder Jerry Clarkin's retirement from the sport, this was not the case. Driver Logan Davis captained the team for Discovery Season 5, with SubZero now under Team XD. This iteration had new wheels, a new flipper mechanism and front wedges, as well as stronger wheel protection. The team also upgraded its baseplate to lexan and gave SubZero an icy blue look to reflect its name. Furthermore, Spitfire rejoined with a modified flamethrower to correspond with the new rules. This version of SubZero by far performed the best out of the reboot seasons, getting two wins and making the Top 32, but lost to Valkyrie in the first round. It performed even better in Bounty Hunters, defeating Pain Train, avenging its main season loss to Valkyrie and scoring a KO over Malice, but lost the Bounty match against Witch Doctor.
SubZero returned again for Discovery Season 6, with the sole visual difference being white wheels as opposed to blue. Notably, former weapons operator of Spitfire, Reginald Wilson, became chief mechanic for Donald Hutson's Lock-Jaw. SubZero could not live up to its Bounty success, however, as it lost all three of its fights to Shatter!, Bloodsport and HiJinx during Fight Night. As such, SubZero fell short of the Top 32.
- "If we had more notice, we'd be able to find more sponsors, commit to building a new, expensive, time-consuming robot, and bring something really excellent to the event. Without that acceptance letter, and without those filming dates, it's very hard to put your entire life on hold indefinitely to put together a serious program, because you don't even know if you'll be able to bring the bot out, and you can't make the kinds of promises that sponsors need to justify funding that program."
- — Team XD confirm their intention to postpone efforts to plan for the 2022 season.[1]
In a February 2022 Reddit AMA, the team outlined their struggles to commit to sponsors until receiving more information from BattleBots themselves, confirming their desire to enter future seasons but not necessarily Discovery Season 7.
Robot History[]
2004 NPC Charity Open[] |
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SubZero vs. Red Square After receiving a bye in the first round, SubZero went up against Red Square in the Round of 16. In the match, SubZero ran to the corner of the arena and Red Square was having driving issues as it lowered its flipping arm. After SubZero was driving over Red Square multiple times, SubZero tried to get underneath the rear of Red Square for a flip, but it misses. After this, Red Square got underneath SubZero and tried to flip it, but it misses as well. After more collisions between both robots, Red Square was running out of power and SubZero was still moving very quickly around the arena. The time ran out shortly after and SubZero won on a judges' decision. This win put SubZero to the winner's quarterfinals, where it faced Falconizer. |
SubZero vs. Falconizer In this fight, Falconizer kept its rear pointing at SubZero so it could not be flipped. SubZero managed to flip the front of Falconizer once before Falconizer went back to pointing its rear at SubZero. SubZero won on a judges' decision and advanced to the winners semi-finals, where it faced Devil's Plunger. |
SubZero vs. Devil's Plunger Devil's Plunger dominated in this fight, preventing SubZero from flipping and pushed it against the arena wall multiple times. Near the end of the fight, Devil's Plunger lost the front left tire, but that did not hamper Devil's Plunger as it continued to push SubZero around the arena. Devil's Plunger won on a judges' decision and SubZero was now in the loser's bracket, where it faced Red Square again. SubZero won on a judges' decision again and advanced to the losers semi-finals, where it faced Falconizer again. |
SubZero vs. Falconizer Falconizer won by KO and SubZero was eliminated from the tournament. |
BattleBots Rochester R3[] |
SubZero vs. Whirlee SubZero's first match in this competition was against Whirlee. It won this match, and advanced to the next round where it faced MoZar. |
SubZero vs. MoZar ![]() SubZero almost flips MoZar. |
SubZero vs. Falcon ![]() SubZero getting chewed up by Falcon after being immobilized. |
SubZero vs. Mozar Due to the double elimination format, SubZero was still in the competition, and the loss put it in the quarter-finals where it faced MoZar yet again. SubZero won the match and advanced in the bracket. |
SubZero vs. Stop-Bot ![]() SubZero flips Stop-Bot over When the match began, Stop-Bot came out and tried to spin up, but it was only able to make a few rotations. Stop-Bot tried to get away, but its drive repeatedly cut in and out, preventing it from escaping. SubZero eventually went in and tried to flip it, but missed. Stop-Bot made a jolt in an attempt to escape, but its drive cut out yet again, and SubZero carried it over to the middle of the arena. At that point, Stop-Bot ceased to function completely, and a flip from SubZero ruined any chance for it to get back into the match. Stop-Bot was counted out, giving SubZero the win by KO. |
SubZero vs. Falcon SubZero was now in the semi-finals and had a second rematch, this time against Falcon. SubZero was unable to avenge its earlier loss and was eliminated from the competition. |
BattleBots at Java One[] |
SubZero vs. Mosquito ![]() SubZero flips Mosquito. ![]() SubZero nearly flips Mosquito out the arena. SubZero's first fight was against Mosquito. In the match, SubZero drove straight out at Mosquito from the off and nearly flipped it out the arena. Mosquito drove away and SubZero repeated this attack. Mosquito then got under SubZero and attempted to drive it into the wall, however SubZero got away, and Mosquito drove under the pulverizer. SubZero then flipped Mosquito again, and at this point the tap out button malfunctioned, making it look like Mosquito had surrendered, this caused some minor confusion. However, Mosquito had not tapped out so the fight continued. Mosquito then got under SubZero, and took it to the wall before a time out was called. Once the fight resumed SubZero got under Mosquito again, and attempted to get it out the arena once again. Yet again Mosquito survived this attack, and got under SubZero. However SubZero escaped, and flipped Mosquito two more times before Mosquito nearly drove SubZero into the wall again. SubZero then drove away, and nearly got hit by the pulverizer before flipping Mosquito again. However, SubZero then got wedged under the arena wall, and the fight was paused to free it. Once the fight resumed, SubZero got under Mosquito again and attempted another flip. It missed, allowing Mosquito to get away. However, Mosquito then got stuck under the arena wall, and this allowed SubZero to come in and flip it. This freed Mosquito and SubZero gave chase, but once it got under Mosquito it missed the flip again. SubZero then delivered the final flip of the fight before getting under Mosquito and taking it to the wall. In the resulting judges' decision, SubZero was declared the winner. |
SubZero vs. Slasher ![]() SubZero tosses Slasher into the air. ![]() Slasher tears into SubZero as it is inverted. This put SubZero into the semi-finals against Slasher. This fight started with SubZero reversing into Slasher's spinning blade to try and slow it down. However, this proved unsuccessful as Slasher was able to deliver a nasty hit that tore a gash in the right rear side of SubZero. Slasher drove into SubZero again, ripping even more of its wedge away, but SubZero drove Slasher into the wall stopping its spinner. Slasher however quickly got back up to full speed, and delivered a devastating blow that ripped a large chunk of armor off of SubZero, it followed this up by using its spinning bar to grind on the damaged area. Subzero then attempted to flip Slasher, however it only managed to flip itself. This allowed Slasher to come in, and deliver a large hit with its spinner as SubZero was self-righting. This sent SubZero crashing into the wall where it righted itself. After Slasher ripped into it some more, SubZero slammed Slasher into the wall again where Slasher lost a large portion of mobility. However Slasher's blade was still spinning, and SubZero rammed into it. This ripped the top panel partly away from the robot, but SubZero was not affected and slammed its barely mobile opponent into the walls again. SubZero then positioned itself for a flip, and nearly tossed Slasher out the arena. Slasher landed upside-down and SubZero flipped it again, righting it this time. SubZero then flipped Slasher two more times before the buzzer sounded. SubZero won the judges' decision and moved on. |
SubZero vs. Icewave ![]() SubZero flips Icewave out the arena. |
2009 Pro Championship[] |
SubZero vs. Stinger: The Killer Bee ![]() SubZero's 2009 appearance. SubZero returned for the 2009 Pro Championship and its first match was against Stinger: The Killer Bee. SubZero won the match and advanced to the Round of 16, where it faced Safety Factor. |
SubZero vs. Safety Factor SubZero won the match and advanced to the quarter-finals, where it faced VD6.0. |
SubZero vs. VD6.0 VD6.0 won the match and SubZero was now in the losers bracket, where it faced Root Canal. |
SubZero vs. Root Canal Donald Hutson's Root Canal won the match and SubZero was eliminated from the tournament. |
ABC Season 2[] |
SubZero vs. Icewave ![]() SubZero is hit by Icewave. ![]() SubZero is hit on the front by Icewave's bar. |
Discovery Season 3[] |
SubZero vs. HUGE ![]() SubZero's attachments for fighting HUGE. ![]() SubZero is attacked by the dangerous bar spinner of HUGE. |
SubZero vs. Captain Shrederator ![]() SubZero's back plate is ripped clean off. |
SubZero vs. Red Devil ![]() SubZero flips Red Devil. ![]() SubZero is sawed by Red Devil. ![]() The remains of Spitfire. Next up for SubZero was Red Devil, which had survived but lost against Monsoon. SubZero included its drone Spitfire as a bonus. The match was off to a good start for SubZero as they launched Red Devil completely over. They repeated this process a few more times before their flipper seemed to fail. Making matters worse, its drone Spitfire had quickly upended itself and couldn't fly. This left SubZero open to its opponent's attack as it was grabbed and dragged around the arena while sparks were emitting from its armor. Luckily, this didn't really affect SubZero so it continued to advance despite not really having a functioning weapon. Unfortunately, it wasn't really able to mount an attack and thus took another attack from its opponent, which also caused Spitfire to get sucked into the screws and torn apart. It took one final attack from its opponent as time ran out and the judges awarded a unanimous 3-0 decision to Red Devil. |
SubZero vs. Minotaur ![]() Minotaur attacks SubZero. |
Discovery Season 4[] |
SubZero vs. Cobalt Cobalt leaves SubZero for dead after a brutal display of aggression. |
SubZero vs. P1 ![]() SubZero flips P1 over, forcing it to self-right. ![]() SubZero and P1 tussle in the blue square. |
SubZero vs. The Four Horsemen ![]() SubZero tosses War out of the arena. ![]() SubZero tosses Buttercup into the air. ![]() SubZero's backside gets hit by Famine. ![]() SubZero begins smoking. SubZero had an untelevised fight where it fought the British multibot, The Four Horsemen. SubZero started off well, throwing War out of the arena almost immediately. SubZero then took a hit from Famine that didn't seem to cause any real damage. SubZero tried to corner another member of The Four Horsemen, but was unable to get any more flips in before it started to emit lots of smoke in the area Famine hit due to having its battery damaged. SubZero tried to fight on, but it had little mobility and was quickly immobilized as its opponent's three remaining members surrounded it. SubZero was counted out as it was pushed against the arena barrier, giving The Four Horsemen the win by KO. |
SubZero vs. Petunia ![]() SubZero and Petunia do battle. |
SubZero vs. Gemini ![]() SubZero tosses Fred. |
Discovery Season 5[] |
SubZero vs. JackPot ![]() Sparks fly as SubZero and JackPot go weapon to weapon. |
SubZero vs. GRABOT ![]() SubZero flings GRABOT into the air just seconds into the fight. |
SubZero vs. Sporkinok ![]() SubZero and Spitfire approach Sporkinok. |
SubZero vs. Valkyrie ![]() SubZero nearly sends Valkyrie out of the arena. |
BattleBots: Bounty Hunters[] |
SubZero vs. Pain Train ![]() SubZero flips Pain Train early on. |
SubZero vs. Valkyrie ![]() A wounded SubZero watches on as Valkyrie struggles for movement. |
SubZero vs. Malice ![]() SubZero catches a lucky break as Malice becomes stuck on its rear. |
SubZero vs. Witch Doctor ![]() Witch Doctor brutally immobilizes SubZero to protect its Bounty. |
Discovery Season 6[] |
SubZero vs. Shatter! ![]() SubZero and Shatter! face off in the BattleBox. ![]() SubZero finds itself caught between a rock and a hard place. ![]() Shatter! lands a brutal shot to SubZero's battery.
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SubZero vs. Bloodsport ![]() SubZero lands a flip on Bloodsport. ![]() Bloodsport leaves SubZero for dead. |
SubZero vs. HiJinx ![]() SubZero attempts to flip HiJinx early on. |
Results[]
SUBZERO - RESULTS | ||
BattleBots 2004 NPC Charity Open | ||
2004 NPC Charity Open Fourth Place | ||
Winners Bracket | vs. Red Square | Won |
Winners Quarter-Finals | vs. Falconizer | Won |
Winners Semi-Finals | vs. Devil's Plunger | Lost |
Losers Bracket | vs. Red Square | Won |
Losers Semi-Finals | vs. Falconizer | Lost |
BattleBots Rochester R3 | ||
Rochester R3 ThirdPlace | ||
Winners Bracket | vs. Whirlee | Won |
Winners Quarter-Finals | vs. MoZar | Won |
Winners Semi-Finals | vs. Falcon | Lost |
Losers Bracket | vs. MoZar | Won |
Losers Bracket | vs. Stop-Bot | Won |
Losers Final | vs. Falcon | Lost |
NOTE: SubZero is also known to have forfeited a match against Green Wave during the competition. | ||
BattleBots at Java One | ||
Java One Champion | ||
Quarter-Final | vs. Mosquito | Won |
Semi-Final | vs. Slasher | Won |
Final | vs. Icewave | Won |
BattleBots 2009 Pro Championship | ||
2009 Pro Championship Top 8 | ||
Winners Bracket | vs. Stinger: The Killer Bee | Won |
Winners Bracket | vs. Safety Factor | Won |
Winners Bracket | vs. VD6.0 | Lost |
Losers Bracket | vs. Root Canal | Lost |
ABC Season 2 | ||
2016 Championship | ||
Round of 48 | vs. Icewave | Lost (JD) |
Discovery Season 3 | ||
Fight Nights 1-3 | ||
Fight Night | vs. HUGE | Lost (JD) |
Fight Night | vs. Captain Shrederator | Won (KO) |
Fight Night | vs. Red Devil | Lost (JD) |
Fight Night Main Event | vs. Minotaur | Lost (KO) |
Discovery Season 4 | ||
Fight Nights 1-2 | ||
Fight Night | vs. Cobalt | Lost (KO) |
Fight Night | vs. P1 | Won (KO) |
Fight Night | vs. The Four Horsemen | Lost (KO) |
Exhibition Matches | ||
Exhibition Match | vs. Petunia | Lost (KO) |
Exhibition Match | vs. Gemini | Lost (KO) |
Discovery Season 5 | ||
Fight Nights 2-1 | ||
Fight Night | vs. JackPot | Lost (KO) |
Fight Night | vs. GRABOT | Won (KO) |
Fight Night | vs. Sporkinok | Won (KO) |
Top 32 24th seed | ||
Round of 32 | vs. Valkyrie (9) | Lost (KO) |
Bounty Hunters 2020 | ||
Bounty Hunters 2020 - Witch Doctor Episode | ||
Round 1 | vs. Pain Train | Won (KO) |
Round 2 | vs. Valkyrie | Won (KO) |
Round 3 | vs. Malice | Won (KO) |
Bounty Match | vs. Witch Doctor | Lost (KO) |
Discovery Season 6 | ||
Fight Nights 0-3 | ||
Fight Night | vs. Shatter! | Lost (JD) |
Fight Night | vs. Bloodsport | Lost (KO) |
Fight Night | vs. HiJinx | Lost (KO) |
Wins/Losses[]
- Live Event Wins: 12
- Live Event Losses: 6
- TV Show Wins: 7
- TV Show Losses: 14
- Total Wins: 19
- Total Losses: 20
NOTE: Wins by forfeit are not included
Competition | Wins | Losses |
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2004 NPC Charity Open |
Bye Red Square |
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BattleBots Rochester R3 | Whirlee
MoZar |
Green Wave (Forfeit)
Falcon |
BattleBots at Java One | Mosquito | None |
BattleBots Pro Championship 2009 | ||
ABC Season 2 | None | Icewave |
Discovery Season 3 |
Captain Shrederator (Undercard Match) |
HUGE (Undercard Match) Red Devil (Undercard Match) Minotaur (Main Event/Undercard Match) |
Discovery Season 4 | P1 (Undercard Match) | Cobalt (Undercard Match)
The Four Horsemen (Untelevised Undercard Match) Petunia (Exhibition Match) Gemini (Exhibition Match) |
Discovery Season 5 | GRABOT (Undercard Match)
Sporkinok (Undercard Match) |
JackPot (Undercard Match) |
BattleBots: Bounty Hunters | Pain Train
Valkyrie |
Witch Doctor |
Discovery Season 6 | None | Shatter! (Untelevised Undercard Match)
Bloodsport (Undercard Match) HiJinx (Undercard Match) |
Faruq Tauheed Introductions[]
"Brrr! Temperature's fallin' when this bot's brawlin'. Chillin' like a villain and here to do some killin', It's SUBZERO!"
"Hailing from deep in the heart of Pennsylvania, they should call it Puxatawney KILL 'cause it's about to be Poundhog Day. It's SUBZERO!"
"Ring, ring. (Hello?) Is your refrigerator running? (Uhhhh yeah.) Then you'd better go catch it. Click. It's SUBZERO!"
"If this bot ran a sub-shop, it would only give out cold-cuts with a side of flips. It's the stone cold gyro, SUBZERO!"
"This bot is like Tupperware because he's about to turn you into leftovers. "Who left the fridge open?" It's SUBZERO!"
"This bot can be found in the freezer section, which is perfect. Since once you lose, all you'll want to do is eat ice cream in your pajamas and watch The Notebook. What? I know what it feels like to have heartbreak. Faruq is sensitive. It's SUBZERO!"
"It came, it thawed, it launchered. Back from the deep freeze, its frostbite is strong like Hercules. It's not nice and it will flip you on your ice. Oh hail no! It's SUBZERO!"
"Hey BattleBots! (Yeah?) What's cooler than being cool? (Ice cold.) Then that makes this bot the coolest of them all. It's no Outcast, but I like the waaaay it moves. It's SUBZERO!"
"It's colder than Elsa in Antarctica eating a snow cone. Before this fight is done, you'll be singing let me go-oo-oo, let me go-oo-oo-oo. You'll be frozen in fearo when you face SUBZERO!"
"This bot is so cold. (How cold is it?) It's so cold, they asked me to come in here early because... Faruq, Faruq, Faruq is on fire, and so is SUBZERO!"
"From Irving, Texas, it's the serial chiller, SUBZERO!"
"From Irving, Texas, the fridge of sacrilege, SUBZERO!"
"From Dallas, Texas, think beating him will be freezy? Think again. There's snow way you're gonna make it out in one piece. It's SUBZERO!"
"From Dallas, Texas, the long launching great from the Lone Star State. It's SUBZERO!"
"From Irving, Texas, is it getting cold in here? Like it's not just me, right? Give it up for SUBZERO!"
"From Irving, Texas, right before he beat you in combat, you'll hear a voice saying, 'Finish him.' It's SUBZERO!"
"From Irving, Texas, the launching great from the Lone Star State, It's SUBZERO!"
"From the Lone Star State, where everything is bigger. This bot comes out quick, looking to pull the trigger. Lasso you, bring you down just like a cattle. Break your bot, make it shake and rattle. Looking to go back to Irving, Texas a hero, it's the big bad bot they call SUBZERO!"
Trivia[]
- In Discovery Season 5, with the exceptions of Valkyrie and Witch Doctor, every robot SubZero faced had made their debut in that season.
References[]
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