Team Black and Blue are a team which debuted in BattleBots World Championship II. The team have competed with several robots over the years, but are well known for their robot DUCK!, which has since become a fan favorite among fans since 2016.
The team would make their BattleBots debut in 2016 with The Ringmaster, a ring spinner with a unique "vector skid drive system". The Ringmaster would collect one win in the main bracket against Ultimo Destructo before losing to reigning champion Bite Force, but collected a win in the "Daughters Rumble" at the end of the season against Bad Kitty and OverDrive. The Ringmaster would be retired after seasons end.
Team Black and Blue would return in 2018 for World Championship III with an upgraded version of Whoops! under the name DUCK!, which had been their main entry until the end of World Championship VI. In its debut season, it was armed with a 90-degree front lifting plow. Since then, DUCK! has had several modifications, For World Championship IV, DUCK! was modified to have a 360-degree lifter, and for World Championship V and VI, DUCK! was resigned from the ground up. Its lifting plow was replaced with a lifting beak with additional configs, and adding to its duck theme, the ability to "quack". DUCK! had a decent amount of success, winning several fights but never making it to bracket despite coming close in 2018 and 2019.
For World Championship IV, Team Black and Blue created an umbrella team for Hannah's robot Marvin called Team 42. Hannah was joined by her mother Kathy and Julia Chernushevich, who had competed in the past with Bucktooth Burl and Red Devil. Marvin did poorly as it only won one fight and lost three. Marvin has since been set aside but not officially retired.
Having withdrawn from the 2020 season, DUCK! was announced by Hal Rucker to be retiring in 2021, and made its final appearance in BattleBots: Champions I.[1] DUCK! lost its only battle to HyperShock, and did not compete again.
Outside BattleBots[]
Formed by Hal Rucker in 2003 under the name Crazy Susan's Dad, they first competed with superheavyweight Crazy Susan at Steel Conflict 4. However, it performed poorly and lost both of its fights. The following year, Hal would debut a new superheavyweight called Buster which was more successful. After ComBots Cup I, Hal appeared to have taken a break from robot combat.
Hal would return to robot combat competition in 2011 to compete in Combots Cup VI with his heavyweight robot Black Widow!. Armed with a 360-degree lifting arm, Black Widow! was the shortest known heavyweight in the world at 2½", just over half as tall as BioHazard. Despite this achievement, Black Widow! would do poorly, only winning one fight before losing its next two and being eliminated. Black Widow! was retired after the 2011 event.
In 2012, along with his daughter Hannah Rucker under the team name H and H, they debuted two lightweight robots called Black and Blue. Blue would go onto the place second at the 2014 STEM Tech Olympiad, losing to UnMakerBot.
In 2015, the team entered RoboGames as Crazy Susan's Family. Whoops! earned wins over Whiplash and Counter Revolution before losing to Team Toad and Polar Vortex in the winner's quarter-finals. A second loss to The Resurrection confirmed its exit from the tournament.
Returning in 2017, Whoops! took out HexaDecimator before defeating Mouse in Round 2. A shock win over Last Rites saw Whoops! advance to the winner's semi-finals, but losses to Original Sin and then to Touro Maximus in the loser's bracket meant Whoops! was eliminated. The team also entered multibot Black and Blue at the same event, but with less success.
In June 2024, Hal Rucker revealed progress on a new 30lb robot in the same lineage as his BattleBots machine called CHICKEN!. It is a four-wheel drive robot with an overhead bar spinner, with which Rucker plans to compete in the National Havoc Robot League.
Team Members[]
Hal Rucker[]
Hal Rucker has been the team captain and primary builder since their formation, and the driver of DUCK!. Prior to being in the robot combat scene, Hal was a product designer and an engineer. He has founded and been the CEO or President of several companies and is currently the President of Neuma Innovations LLC., which he also founded. Following the retirement of DUCK!, Hal Rucker took on a new role behind-the-scenes during World Championship VII, though the specifics of this are not yet confirmed.
Hannah Rucker[]
Hal's daughter, Hannah Rucker has been competing in robot combat competitions since 2012 and was captain and driver of Marvin. She also drove The Ringmaster and was weapons operator for DUCK! during World Championship III. She regained this role temporarily during DUCK!'s exhibition fight against End Game in 2019, and then full time for World Championship VI. For DUCK!'s only BattleBots: Champions fight, Hannah again took over the controls of DUCK!.
Kathy Rucker[]
Hal's wife and Hannah's mom. Kathy's role on the team has been said to be "moral support".
Douglas Palmer[]
Douglas Palmer served as the teams builder, fabricator and "lifter" during World Championship II. He departed the team after the season for unknown reasons.
Gabriel Stroud[]
Joining the team in 2019, Gabriel Stroud was the weapons operator for DUCK!. Stroud left the team after World Championship IV to join forces with John Reid and Beta during the 2020 season and BattleBots: Bounty Hunters. He later applied for World Championship VI and VII with Sabretooth, but was not selected both times.
Eric Gever[]
Eric Gever joined the team in World Championship IV along with Gabriel Stroud. His role on the team is unknown but it can be presumed he helped the team with repairs.
Julia Chernushevich[]
As Red Devil sat out of World Championship IV, Julia Chernushevich joined the team and helped Hannah and Team 42. She served as the weapons operator for Marvin. During the season, she was also the translator for Team Rainbow that season. Julia was due to compete with her robot Ferocity in the 2020 and 2021 seasons, but had to drop out both times. In 2022, she joined Team HyperShock.
Dave Lyons[]
Dave Lyons joined the team for World Championship VI. His role on the team is unknown.
Piper Lyons[]
Along with her father, Piper Lyons joined the team in 2021. Her role is also unknown.
Robots[]
| Name | Weight Class | Season |
|---|---|---|
| DUCK! | Heavyweight | World Championship III World Championship IV World Championship V (Withdrew) World Championship VI BattleBots: Champions I |
| Marvin | Heavyweight | World Championship IV |
| The Ringmaster | Heavyweight | World Championship II |
Win/Loss Record[]
- Wins: 8
- Losses: 14
Trivia[]
- Hannah Rucker is the youngest competitor to win a medal at the international RoboGames event (2014 STEM Tech Olympiad).