Towering Inferno

Towering Inferno
Participation Information
Comedy Central Seasons	Season 3.0 Season 4.0 Season 5.0
Other Names	Armed Forces (Working name)
Team Information
Team	Infernolab
Team Members	Jason Bardis Byron Bardis Lauren Herold Mike Wrobleski David Van Lue Scott Wardlaw Jeffrey Sipress Nick Garcia Brandon Hyman Sara Lanigan Roneet "Bamby" Levy Tom Maccianti Adam Prentiss Phil Putman
From	Goleta, CA
Other Entries	Hot Air The Missing Link Slugger Dr. Inferno Jr. The Disk O' Inferno
Robot Statistics
Weight	220lbs
Weapons	S7 Titanium hammers (3.0 - 5.0) Inflatable joke hammers (4.0 rumble)
Statistics correct as of its most recent appearance on the show, or if not applicable, qualification attempt.

"The audience and judges love noise, speed, originality, and carnage potential. Towering Inferno is an attempt to combine all of those qualities in a package unlike any other previously seen in a competition."

— Jason Bardis on Towering Inferno's design

Towering Inferno was a heavyweight robot designed and built by Jason Bardis of the The Infernolab which fought in three seasons of Comedy Central BattleBots.

It was a two-wheel drive design with its electronics housed with two large, convex wheels. Protruding from the drive shafts were two large shafts with hammers attached to the ends. The robot's name derived from its size as it measured a total of 29" in height - much taller than most of the other heavyweights.

Towering Inferno was designed specifically to counter robots which had found success in past seasons, with its large wheels allowing it to escape pins and run all ways up. Towering Inferno

In 2016, Jason Bardis decided to retire Towering Inferno after a decade of storage. He spoke on Towering Inferno's competitive retirement, confirming its electronics had been stripped and the rest of the robot had been donated to the National Tooling & Machining Association (NTMA).

"I gutted Towering Inferno after BattleBots season 5.0 in 2002 & sold off all of his insides: motors, speed controllers, batteries, radio, wires, etc. I kept his outer body intact, because all of those parts were specialty parts that I designed & had machined, so they weren't really of value to anybody else. After having him take up space in my garage for over a decade, I donated him to NTMA, where I hope he can inspire students to learn more about fabrication & robotics."

— Jason Bardis on Towering Inferno's whereabouts after Season 5.0

In April 2022, Bardis revealed Towering Inferno had been scrapped by the NTMA some time ago.

"I contacted NTMA to see if they wanted to give back Towering Inferno, if it were in their way, because I could take it to schools etc. to show kids. Unfortunately, they seem to have thrown it away years ago. Darn."

— Jason's words for Towering Inferno's retirement

A prototype sketch of Towering Inferno, with saws instead of hammers.

A prototype LEGO model of the Towering Inferno.

3D render of Towering Inferno.

Another view of Towering Inferno.

Close up of Towering Inferno's wheels.

Jason Bardis drives Towering Inferno at his home.

Jason prepares Towering Inferno for it's first fight.

Towering Inferno in the parking lot during Season 5.0.

Jason Bardis working on Towering Inferno during Season 5.0.

Towering Inferno in The Pits during Season 5.0.

Outside BattleBots

Towering Inferno was originally going to compete in Robotica, but the team decided otherwise and entered Mini Inferno instead.

Towering Inferno fought at RoboGames in 2005, where it picked up a win against CycloneBot before losing to Sewer Snake. A second loss to UK Robot Wars champion Typhoon 2 confirmed its elimination.

Alongside The Disk O' Inferno, Towering Inferno made an appearance in an August 2016 episode of Good Mythical Morning.

Jason Bardis and Towering Inferno on the cover of Design News magazine.

Towering Inferno at the UCSB Chancellor's fundraiser reception 2001.

Towering Inferno during a 2002 photoshoot.

Towering Inferno donated to NTMA machining school to inspire students.

Towering Inferno and its team at RoboGames 2005.

Towering Inferno at NTMA during a 2017 Good Mythical Morning video.

Towering Inferno at a Solidworks event in 2017.

Robot History

Season 3.0
Towering Inferno vs. Nerd Killer Towering Inferno gets its axe on top of Nerd Killer. Towering Inferno's first match was against Nerd Killer. Both robots went straight at each other and Towering Inferno started hitting the top of Nerd Killer with its hammers. Towering Inferno was then pushed against the corner of the arena by Nerd Killer and Nerd Killer tried to lift Towering Inferno. Nerd Killer pushed Towering Inferno against the arena wall again and Towering Inferno got its right axe on the top of Nerd Killer. However, the axe was stuck on Nerd Killer and was dragged around the arena by Nerd Killer. About 30 seconds left into the match, Towering Inferno finally got its axe free and both robots were having control issues before the time ran out. Towering Inferno won on a close 23-22 judges' decision.
Towering Inferno vs. Bad Dog Next up for Towering Inferno was a televised fight against Bad Dog. Bad Dog gets stuck on the entrance ramp while fighting Towering Inferno. Both robots went straight at each other and Towering Inferno started hitting the top of Bad Dog with its hammers. Bad Dog tried to push Towering Inferno to the killsaws and the pulverizer, but Towering Inferno barely missed both arena traps. Bad Dog then accidentally got itself stuck on the entrance ramp and Towering Inferno hits Bad Dog once before it was counted out. Towering Inferno won by knockout and continued on.
Towering Inferno vs. frenZy FrenZy and Towering Inferno exchange blows. Advancing to the Round of 32, Towering Inferno took on Team Minus Zero and frenZy. Both robots went straight at each other and frenZy started hitting Towering Inferno with its hammer, as Towering Inferno was hitting frenZy with its hammers. frenZy later pushed Towering Inferno against the spikestrip and Towering Inferno stopped moving as its frame had become out of alignment & the chains derailed, a result of some of its structural body panels breaking because they were intended to be polycarbonate but were actually fabricated out of Plexiglass. Towering Inferno was counted out and frenZy won by KO. This meant that Towering Inferno was eliminated from the tournament.
Heavyweight Consolation Rumble Towering Inferno also participated the heavyweight consolation rumble at the end of the tournament. It first struck SlamJob with its right-hammer and Little Sister with its left one. Then attacks Junkyard Offspring. It also took a hit from Mauler, then gets attacked by SlamJob and Kritical Mass II. Towering Inferno then struck FrostBite with its hammer then Kill-O-Amp attacks, ramming it into the entrance ramp. Next it gets pushed around by FrostBite and almost hits Greenspan. It momentarily gets stuck in the screws, then pounds a dead Junkyard Offspring. It then gets attacked by Kill-O-Amp again then it began hitting FrostBite until Kill-O-Amp attacks. It then got ganged on by Greenspan and FrostBite briefly. Finally FrostBite pushes Towering Inferno into the wall. It was one of few robots still moving in the end, but it lost overall to Little Sister and Kill-O-Amp.
Season 4.0
Towering Inferno vs. MechaVore Towering Inferno takes a major hit from MechaVore. Towering Inferno hits MechaVore. Due to previously competing in Season 3.0, Towering Inferno was allowed to skip the preliminary rounds of Season 4.0, where it faced MechaVore. The first hit from MechaVore caused a shower of sparks and tore the head of one of Towering Inferno's hammers clean off. It attacked again, throwing Towering Inferno across the BattleBox and taking a huge part of one of its wheels out. With Towering Inferno all but immobile, MechaVore went after the decapitated part of the wheel, sending it flying. It then rendered Towering Inferno's other hammer useless, stopping its blade in the process, but the battle was already won and Towering Inferno was counted out as the battery on one side wasn't secured well and the wheel sections on the other side didn't have enough screws to properly hold it together. MechaVore won by KO and Towering Inferno was eliminated from the tournament again.
Heavyweight Consolation Rumble Towering Inferno again participated the Heavyweight Consolation Rumble at the end of the tournament. It was first attacked by Little Sister and then by frenZy before being struck by GoldDigger. Next it was being pushed by I-Beam before Little Sister returned to attack Towering Inferno again. It played little further part in the rumble but was rammed by Phrizbee. Though Towering Inferno was still mobile when the timer sounded, it lost to GoldDigger and Little Sister.
Season 5.0
Towering Inferno vs. Ripkin Towering Inferno striking Ripkin with its hammers. Towering Inferno was no longer seeded for this tournament and therefore had to go through the preliminary rounds again. Its first match in Season 5.0 came against Ripkin. Towering Inferno took multiple hits from Ripkin throughout the fight, but both robots survived the duration of the battle. Time ran out and Ripkin won on a 27-18 judges' decision and Towering Inferno was again eliminated.

Competitive Wins/Losses

• Wins: 2
• Losses: 3

Exhibition Wins/Losses

• Wins: 0
• Losses: 2

Total Wins/Losses

• Wins: 2
• Losses: 5

Competition	Wins	Losses
Season 3.0	Nerd Killer Bad Dog	frenZy Kill-O-Amp, Little Sister (Rumble)
Season 4.0	None	MechaVore GoldDigger, Little Sister (Rumble)
Season 5.0	None	Ripkin

Mark Beiro Introductions

"This is the robot your mama warned you about. Who's your daddy? It's TOWERING INFERNO!"

"When he's done administrating to your beating, you'll wish you were a red headed stepchild. Hide in the corner from TOWERING INFERNO!"

"A bot so mean he only bitch slaps people he likes. TOWERING INFERNO!"

"You want scary? How about O.J. Simpson and Fred Astaire in the same movie. Here is TOWERING INFERNO!"

Trivia

• Towering Inferno was previously called Armed Forces during the prototype phase. It received a name change just before the construction of the bot began.
• On April 2001, Towering Inferno was featured on Movies For Guys Who Like Movies, where it slew fruit, plushies, and piñatas. The video can be seen on Infernolab's YouTube channel.
• Towering Inferno's stepchild intro was also used for Ronin.