Warhead

Warhead
Participation Information
Comedy Central Seasons	Season 5.0
Reboot Seasons	World Championship I World Championship II World Championship III
Team Information
Team	Team Warhead
Team Members	Ian Lewis (Captain) Simon Scott Vinnie Blood (Season 5.0) Gillian Lewis (WC I) James Vandervelden (WC II-WC III) James Cooper (WC I)
From	Bournemouth, UK
Other Entries	Razer
Associated Robots	Quantum, Beta (James Cooper) KillerHurtz (Ian Lewis, Gillian Lewis)
Robot Statistics
Power	LiPo batteries
Weapons	Domed spinning disc Lifting wings and tail Flamethrowers Grabbing jaws (WC II-WC III)
Statistics correct as of its most recent appearance on the show, or if not applicable, qualification attempt.

"Our robot Warhead... it's a creature! It tricks people into thinking 'Is it alive?' It's a machine with a personality, but it can deliver a hit!"

— Ian Lewis during World Championship I

Warhead was a heavyweight robot built by Team Warhead which competed in Season 5.0 of Comedy Central BattleBots and three World Championships on ABC and Discovery.

The robot was built by the same team who entered Razer and an earlier iteration of Warhead into BattleBots. Inspired by builds from Mark Setrakian, Warhead itself only competed in Season 5.0, despite original attempts to get it ready for both Seasons 3.0 and 4.0. Like Razer, it was a visually stunning machine. Its main weapon was a large dome-shaped disk, which was capable of mass destruction. The 52lb aluminum weapon was placed on a pivot, meaning it could adjust its position if it needed to. It also had a pair of articulating wings for stabilization and self-righting, as well as a rear tail. Warhead reached the quarter-finals after impressive wins over seasoned veterans Nightmare and The Matador, but lost to the bane of spinners OverKill.

Team Razer returned to BattleBots for the 2015 season on ABC with an upgraded Warhead, ditching the internal combustion engine for an electric motor and replacing the frame and much of its internals. However, Warhead did not do as well as in its previous appearances, losing to eventual champion Bite Force and then against Stinger after receiving a wildcard. Following its second loss, it was eliminated from the competition.

Warhead underwent a rebuild ahead of World Championship II, with its signature spinning toothed dome now interchangeable with a large, tyrannosaurus head with jaws, a flamethrower and sharp rows of teeth that could pierce through armor. It also has two small flamethrowers which spewed fire from its wings. Warhead performed better, reaching the Round of 16 before being beaten by Minotaur after losing its spinning dome.

Warhead during World Championship III hero shots.

Returning for the 2018 season BattleBots reboot on Discovery, Warhead appeared near-identical to its previous appearance with the extent of its upgrades unknown. While Warhead impressed during the Fight Night rounds, the team opted to not advance further as its spinning dome from its last fight against Warrior Dragon broke off beyond repair.

Warhead did not return after the third reboot season, with Ian Lewis confirming in 2020 that the team had other priorities in recent years, and would later retire from competing.

Ian Lewis and Warhead fitted with its dinosaur head in 2016.

A close-up of Warhead's domed disc.

A look at the mechanism behind Warhead's articulating weapon.

Warhead in The Pits during World Championship I.

Warhead on set during the 2015 season.

Warhead on the turntable during World Championship I.

Warhead in its crate during filming for World Championship I.

Warhead next to Razer.

Warhead's internals during Season 5.0.

Warhead in The Pits during Season 5.0.

Robot History

Season 5.0
Warhead vs. JC Slammer Warhead is rammed into the spikestrip by JC Slammer. Warhead's BattleBots debut was against JC Slammer. After tossing itself about with its spinning dome, it landed a huge blow on the side of JC Slammer, causing sparks to fly. It eventually hit JC Slammer again, tearing off the front of its wedge, but the impact caused Warhead to land on its side. It used its wings to self right and continued to attack JC Slammer. However, after another huge impact, Warhead went flying across the BattleBox on its side, landing on its wheels. This impact seemed to stop the spinning dome, allowing JC Slammer to ram Warhead into the spikestrip with what remained of its wedge. Fortunately for Warhead, JC Slammer appeared to have lost power after that slam, so Warhead was able to easily out-push the wedge bot, which was hardly moving when the match made the distance. Warhead went through on a 29-16 judges' decision. This win put Warhead to the final preliminary round.
Warhead vs. Super Collider Next up for Warhead was Super Collider in the final preliminary round. When the match began, Warhead charged straight towards Super Collider as the latter turned to the right to avoid its advance. In the process however, Super Collider steered directly backwards toward the spikestrip by mistake, allowing Warhead to push the bar spinner from behind and force it on top of the spikestrip. As its opponent tried to slide off with only one wheel touching the ground, Warhead attacked the remaining wheel with its spinning dome, disabling it and leaving Super Collider down for the count. Warhead won by knockout and advanced to the TV rounds.
Warhead vs. Darkstar-2J Warhead tears off Darkstar-2J's side armor. Warhead hits and tosses Darkstar-2J into the air. The immobile, heavily damaged remains of Darkstar-2J. Warhead delivers the final blow to Darkstar-2J. In the first televised round, Warhead met Darkstar-2J. Both robots charged at each other at the start of the fight, not causing any visible damage, but Warhead's second attack tore Darkstar-2J's side armor clean off, tossing Warhead over. Warhead self righted, sending the polycarbonate cover of the killsaws next to it flying, before continuing to destroy the armor of Darkstar-2J, throwing it across the BattleBox. After one final attack, Darkstar-2J was immobilized and Warhead performed a victory spin. Darkstar-2J was counted out and Warhead won by knockout inside a minute.
Warhead vs. Nightmare The knockout blow on Nightmare. Warhead's next fight in the Round of 32 was against veteran builder Jim Smentowski and Nightmare. At the green light, both bots inched out of their squares towards the center of the BattleBox. Warhead carefully avoided Nightmare's deadly disk while allowing its own dome to reach its full speed. After some maneuvering, gyroscopic forces caused Warhead to spin uncontrollably. Nightmare, seeing the chance to strike inched towards Warhead, but driver Jim Smentowski had accidentally left the slow drive switch on. By the time Nightmare reached Warhead, it had regained control of itself and oriented its dome towards Nightmare's blade. The result was a powerful collision, with one of Nightmare's teeth driving deep onto Warheads dome. In ordinary circumstances, this would be the result Jim would want. However, the force of Warhead's spinning dome sheared Nightmare's tooth right off of the disk, causing it to fly across the BattleBox and bounce off one of the Lexan walls. A portion of Nightmares disk was also warped, which cleaved through the drive belt as the weapon continued to spin. Nightmare's disk slowly came to a stop as Warhead once again spun out of control due to gyroscopic forces, crashing into the spike strip. Ian Lewis regained control of Warhead after which he quickly drove around the side of the now weaponless Nightmare and impacted Nightmares left-wheel with the full force of the spinning dome, resulting in the wheel and motor being ripped off and flung across the BattleBox. At this point, Nightmare was immobile, resulting in a KO after 38 seconds. Warhead performed its famous victory spin once again and moved onto the Round of 16.
Warhead vs. The Matador Warhead watches the immobile The Matador. Warhead then moved on to meet Inertia Labs and The Matador in the Round of 16. After driving past The Matador multiple times, Warhead managed to make contact with its spinning dome in the area around Matador's wheel guard. The hit did negligible damage to The Matador, but the collision caused an internal component of Warhead to fly out from underneath its dome, causing the internal combustion engine to stop running and the dome to slowly spin down on freewheel. The Matador then charged at Warhead and attempted to flip it, but driver Reason Bradley couldn't see that far across the BattleBox and mistimed a flip that threw itself over. Consequently, The Matador was unable to self-right, likely due to the shock load the flipper's rams took. Warhead pushed it into the pulverizer and the screws where it was counted out, as Warhead performed its victory spin once more. Warhead won by KO after 1:13 and advanced to the heavyweight quarter-finals.
Warhead vs. OverKill Warhead gets pushed towards the killsaws by OverKill. In the final eight, Warhead faced Christian Carlberg and OverKill. It failed to land a hit on OverKill to begin with, while Christian Carlberg's robot was able to hit Warhead's spinning dome with its blade and push Warhead around using its wedge. This continued for the rest of the match, with OverKill pushing Warhead into the spike strip and onto the killsaws. Eventually, Warhead's spinning dome stopped working. The fight went to the judges, who ruled 34-11 in favor of OverKill, eliminating Warhead from the tournament.
World Championship I
Warhead vs. Bite Force Warhead returned for the 2015 BattleBots reboot. Before the fight, the team's VT segment alluded to and contained footage of its past triumphs from Comedy Central era. As such, Warhead was considered the favorite against Bite Force, a new tracked heavyweight from experienced builder Paul Ventimiglia. Bite Force almost flips Warhead. The fight began with Bite Force charging across the box, quickly getting to the side of Warhead and pushing it around the arena. After a few glancing blows from Warhead's dome spinner, Bite Force shoved the British machine into the rails, pinning it for several seconds before forcing it up onto the screws. Warhead escaped, working to get its disk up to speed, but Bite Force met it head on with a ram attack that popped Warhead up into the air. It continued to shove the older robot around, throwing it into the screw mount in a big collision. This seemed to permanently slow the spinning dome of Warhead, who was unable to get its weapon working afterwards. "This is art against practicality and right now, practicality is winning." — Kenny Florian's assessment of the opening minute of the fight Bite Force drives Warhead under the pulverizer. Bite Force paraded its crippled opponent around the arena, using its superior drive train to bully the veteran robot across the box. In a clear demonstration of just how well it was dominating the fight, Bite Force pushed Warhead under the pulverizer, delivering several shots with the hazard before forcing it all the way across the box to another pulverizer to continue pounding away at the British robot. Bite Force lifts Warhead. Seeing that his opponent's weapon had been well and truly disabled, and was not simply turned off to avoid injury, Paul Ventimiglia turned his robot around, now leading with the lifting forks to try to tip Warhead over. Despite one of its treads seemingly locking up, Bite Force was able to hook its arms underneath Warhead's dome, dragging the former quarter-finalist around by its chin and trying to overturn it. Though Warhead remained upright and was able to make it to the bell, it could not muster any resistance, and the judges unanimously voted for Bite Force. Despite this defeat, Warhead was given a wildcard and advanced to the Round of 16 as the No.12 seed.
Warhead vs. Stinger: The Killer Bee In the Round of 16, Warhead faced the No.5 seed, Stinger: The Killer Bee. Stinger flips Warhead against the screws. Stinger allowed Warhead to approach it in the opening seconds, lifting on impact and unbalancing the British robot. Warhead was now upside-down. Matt Maxham drove the inverted Warhead into the spiked wall, pushing it into a position where it could self-right. Warhead was quickly flipped over again, this time against the screws, which tore away an armor panel. Stinger drives Warhead into the corner. Warhead continued to spin its dome-shaped weapon, but Stinger showed no fear in ramming its opponent as Warhead struggled to remain competitive. One of the referees initiated a count, but Warhead suddenly freed itself using its articulating disk and used it to maneuver in the corner of the arena. Stinger tried to attack, but flipped itself over and suffered damage to its right-rear tire. Warhead deflects off the wall and back onto its wheels. Again, Stinger charged at Warhead, who could only use its wings and tail to try and recover. This forced Warhead disc-first into the wall and flung it back onto its wheels, much to the delight of Warhead captain and driver Ian Lewis. With little over a minute remaining, Warhead fled Stinger with its wings raised and began to chip away at Stinger's flipping panel. However, Warhead became destabilized again and allowed Stinger to shove it into the arena wall again. "Stinger showing no mercy whatsoever here!" — Kenny Florian Warhead was then hit by the pulverizer as Chris Rose praised Matt Maxham's driving ability. Ian Lewis drove it away from danger, but Warhead was struck by the now-active killsaws in the final seconds as there appeared to be no life left in its primary weapon. Stinger won on a unanimous 3-0 judges' decision and advanced to the quarter-finals. unanimous 3-0 judges' decision and Warhead was eliminated from the tournament. Warhead's team (right) with their Best Design Award. However, due to its unique appearance, Warhead won the Best Design Award at the end of the season.
World Championship II
Warhead vs. The Obwalden Overlord Warhead's first match in the 2016 season was against Rob Knight and The Obwalden Overlord. For this battle, the team opted for their brand new dinosaur head. The Obwalden Overlord fighting Warhead. Warhead immediately approached The Obwalden Overlord and clamped down on its rounded shield, looking to melt the defensive attachment before spewing flame over the front of the humanoid robot. The Obwalden Overlord looked powerless to fight back Warhead grabbed hold of its left arm, but its right arm dragged limply on the BattleBox floor. As both robots became free, Warhead continued to attack The Obwalden Overlord - this time near the screws. "Torso working..." — Rob Knight as The Obwalden Overlord turns to face Warhead The Obwalden Overlord is ignited by Warhead. Rob Knight's robot raised its shield again, but Warhead bit into its shoulder, leading to its left arm now also dragging across the floor. Warhead continued to smoulder the torso of The Obwalden Overlord, which was now smoking heavily and moving much more slowly. "Well, evolution comes at a cost, Kenny. We're getting a glimpse into the future and- OH, ho-ho! Did anybody order OB Overlord well done?" — Chris Rose Warhead plays with The Obwalden Overlord. Warhead retreated and charged once more, ramming into the front of The Obwalden Overlord. Although its drive was still functional, a fire had begun towards the back end of Rob Knight's robot. One more shove proved enough to topple The Obwalden Overlord as it now lay on its back and struggled to right itself. It was then counted out and Warhead won by knockout, advancing to the Round of 32 as the No.23 seed.
Warhead vs. Complete Control Warhead found itself against the No.10 seed, Derek Young and Complete Control. Warhead approaches a wounded Complete Control. As the fight commenced, both robots jockeyed for position and Warhead got its head up to speed. Warhead turned and struck the side of Complete Control, causing both robots to deflect in opposite directions. While Warhead recovered quickly, Complete Control was struggling to move as it had lost its left-side wedgelet and had a gash in its side armor. Complete Control takes on Warhead. Warhead began shepherding Complete Control's minibots as the main robot was spinning in circles. Team Warhead's robot showed no life in its weapon as it hovered around its opponent, but as it raised its wings, the domed spinner got back up to significant speed. In an attempt to deter Warhead, Derek Young's robot fired its flamethrower, but this proved ineffective as Warhead sliced through its shell. Complete Control ground to a halt, but after one more impact, Warhead became unbalanced and Ian Lewis instructed his team to remain "steady". Warhead struck the flank of Complete Control again, causing the British robot to flip itself over and slide towards the screws. Despite being inverted, Derek Young's robot came out of this collision worse as it was now ablaze. "Get it back over, Si... get it back over, man!" — Ian Lewis reacts to Warhead being flipped over Warhead's spectacular final attack. With the threat of a simultaneous immobilization looming over Team Warhead, the team repositioned their angled dome spinner. This saw Warhead stand up tall and begin driving its way towards Complete Control using just its weapon, ending its attack by slamming into its immobile opponent once more. Following this dramatic final moment, referee John Remar initiated a count against the flaming Complete Control and Warhead took the win by way of knockout.
Warhead vs. Minotaur This put Warhead through to the Round of 16 as the No.23 seed, where it faced seventh seed Minotaur. As in their previous match, the team opted to go with their dome spinner. Warhead immediately circled as Minotaur hung back - its flamethrower threatening to scorch the Brazilian bot. Unfazed, Minotaur charged at the front of Warhead, colliding weapon-to-weapon in an attack which saw both robots be flung across the arena. The pair recovered, with Minotaur fastest to attack again and grind against its opponent's underbelly. Warhead loses its weapon. Soon after, Minotaur dealt a devastating uppercut to Warhead which cost the British bot its primary weapon; its dome launching high into the air and ricocheting across the BattleBox. "OHH! WOAH! WARHEAD HAS BEEN DECAPITATED!" — Chris Rose as Warhead's disk flies away Minotaur chases down Warhead. As the disk rested in the middle of the arena, Minotaur's assault on Warhead continued. The Team RioBotz machine honed in on the sides now exposed and accessible as a result of Warhead's weapon being removed. Warhead was driven into the screws and lost one of its side armor panels - its right wheel now visible. A beaten Warhead is counted out. The wounded Warhead raised its wings, igniting its flamethrower again, but Minotaur driver Daniel Freitas honed in, driving Warhead back into the corner as it suffered a blow from the pulverizer. Rocking back and forth as it escaped, a burst of flame came from Warhead's wing, but too high to attack its opponent. The drum of Minotaur forcefully removed Warhead's other side panel, toppling it over and leaving it in the corner. A count began against Warhead, as its tournament run came to an end.
World Championship III
Warhead vs. Sharkoprion Warhead's dinosaur head. Warhead clamps down on Sharkoprion. Warhead's first opponent in the 2018 competition was Sharkoprion. For this match, the team opted for Warhead's brand new clamping dinosaur head. Warhead began the match chasing Sharkoprion, which was circling around to look for an opportunity to attack. Eventually, Warhead grabbed a hold of Sharkoprion and started to burn it but didn't do much damage. Warhead than took two hits from its opponent before grabbing a hold of the right wheel of Sharkoprion. This allowed Warhead to drag Sharkoprion around the arena before letting go. Its opponent wasn't able to get another attack in before Warhead grabbed it by the tire, dislodging the tire completely and dragging Sharkoprion onto the killsaws. As time was winding down, Warhead got yet another bite and held it there for the remainder of the match. Time ran out and the judges awarded a unanimous 3-0 decision to Warhead.
Warhead vs. Chomp Warhead gets Chomp in its jaws. Chomp lands a shot on Warhead. Warhead next found itself up against Chomp. Warhead kept its T-Rex head for this fight too and added strips of tire to protect the exposed electronics for the head. This proved to be a good choice as when the match got underway, they immediately had a bite on Chomp, throwing flames along the way. Warhead then took a few hits from Chomp, none seeming to cause any real damage. Warhead got another bite on Chomp and paraded it around the arena before letting go. This time, Chomp ended up on its side so Warhead grabbed Chomp's axe to prevent Chomp from self-righting. When Warhead let go, Chomp was quick to self-right. Warhead continued to pursue Chomp and eventually grabbed the axe again before letting go. Warhead grabbed Chomp once more and held it against the arena barrier in the last ten seconds of the match. The judges awarded a unanimous 3-0 decision to Warhead.
Warhead vs. Warrior Dragon Warhead and Warrior Dragon come to blows. Warhead's next match was against Warrior Dragon and brought back its traditional spinning dome, having increased the power of the weapon ahead of this fight. The match began rather evenly with both robots maneuvering around. Warhead got a hit on Warrior Dragon and spewed fire in its direction, but struggled to affect its opponent. Warhead then suffered a bit of gyroscopic forces, leaving it tipping up on one side. Warhead then struck the casing for the screws and lost part of its spinning dome on impact. Despite the imbalance issues, Warhead continued to spin up its weapon with minimal damage caused but Warrior Dragon had no functioning weaponry and was mostly trying to stay alive. This lasted the remainder of the fight and the judges awarded a split decision to Warhead, putting it to 3-0 for the season.
Warhead vs. Blacksmith Blacksmith attacks Warhead with its flaming hammer. Warhead's next opponent was in the USA vs. The World special tournament against Blacksmith. When the match began, neither robot really went on the attack for a few seconds. Warhead then grabbed a hold of Blacksmith and shot flames at its opponent before releasing. Warhead then took a few hits from Blacksmith's hammer before using its jaws to grab Blacksmith's hammer. Warhead released Blacksmith and took even more hits from Blacksmith's hammer but none of these caused major damage. Warhead took a few more blows from Blacksmith and the two robots spent a few seconds stuck together. As the match drew to a close, Warhead grabbed a hold of Blacksmith once more and pushed it against the arena barrier. The judges awarded a split 2-1 decision and 1 point to Warhead and its team.
Warhead vs. Whiplash Warhead sets Whiplash ablaze. Warhead is flipped over by Whiplash. Up next for Warhead was Whiplash. Due to its dome being shattered in its previous battle against Warrior Dragon, the team were forced to use its T-Rex head for this bout. In preparation, Warhead was fitted with some additional rubber-tire strips inside the “palate” of its mouth to protect its flamethrower from Whiplash's vertical spinner. As soon as the match began, Whiplash instantly drove out of it's square, while Warhead chased its opponent. Soon enough, Warhead's mouth got a hold of Whiplash, engulfing it in a fiery inferno momentarily. It was then Whiplash's turn to deal some punishment as it got a lift in and pushed Warhead across the BattleBox. Warhead attempted to hunt Whiplash down, but the driving skill of Matt Vasquez proved to be the British bot's Achilles' heel. Warhead once again found itself controlled by Whiplash, and was violently shoved into the screws, dangerously near to being flipped over. Warhead was still spewing flames at his opponent while Whiplash found success bullying Warhead across the BattleBox. Warhead was then tipped over in the middle of the arena and struggled to self-right. In spite of their best efforts, Warhead was counted out, giving Whiplash the win by knockout and marking Warhead's first loss with its dinosaur head. Despite seemingly doing enough to qualify for the Top 16, the team opted not to enter due to an unwillingness to use the dinosaur head, with its dome spinner damaged beyond repair. This also proved to be Warhead's final appearance in BattleBots.

Results

Wins/Losses

• Wins: 11
• Losses: 5

Competition	Wins	Losses
Season 5.0	JC Slammer Super Collider Darkstar-2J Nightmare The Matador	OverKill
World Championship I	None	Bite Force Stinger
World Championship II	The Obwalden Overlord Complete Control	Minotaur
World Championship III	Sharkoprion (Undercard Match) Chomp (Undercard Match) Warrior Dragon (Undercard Match) Blacksmith (USA vs. The World)	Whiplash (Undercard Match)

Merchandise

Any appearances by Warhead in merchandise are listed below:

• Warhead/VEX Robotics

Mark Beiro Introductions

"Swallow your pride now and leave or stay and he'll make you swallow your teeth. Here is WARHEAD!"

"His birth place, England. His sign, Scorpio. His turn-offs, you! Introducing WARHEAD!"

"He's mad as hell and he's not gonna take it anymore. So he's gonna take it out on you! Introducing WARHEAD!"

Faruq Tauheed Introductions

"Get ready to duck and cover. It's gonna be absolutely ballistic! It's WARHEAD!"

"It creates more rubble than a tomahawk missile. Let's hear it for WARHEAD!"

"A British legend, here to Union Jack you up. It's WARHEAD!"

"Enter stage left, all the way from England, if it were a Shakespeare play, it'd be Mac-Death. It's WARHEAD!"

"This team wears camo pants, and this bot likes to dance. Spinning on its head until you are dead, it's WARHEAD!"

"In the jungle, the mighty jungle, this dino creeps to fight. Here to raise havoc, straight from the Jurassic, it's WARHEAD!"

"This bot just flew in from England and boy, are its arms tired. It's WARHEAD!"

"With flames that shoot and an attitude to boot, it'll leave you dead. It's WARHEAD!"

"Peace isn't an option for this headcase, especially when flames emerge from its dino face. Give it up for WARHEAD!"

"Straight from Bucking-slam Palace, After this battle, all the king's horses and all the king's men won't be able to put your bot back together again. It's about to hit you with some mean English. It's WARHEAD!"

See Also

• Razer (Robot Wars)
• Razer (BattleBots)

Trivia

• Warhead is one of six robots to compete in both the original BattleBots series on Comedy Central, and the ABC reboot. The others are Nightmare, Complete Control, Moebius, Son of Whyachi and Warrior Clan (as Warrior).
• Warhead's most successful season in the reboot happens to be the season where its trademark weapon was only used once, and its t-rex head was used prominently.
• A test video of Warhead was uploaded on YouTube by Battle bots Inc!, where Ian Lewis and Simon Scott recorded in a remote field and Warhead was tested against a metal cabinet.
• Team member Ian Lewis also appeared as a guest judge for the first season of Chinese robot combat show King of Bots.
• A featherweight version of Warhead called Predator was created by Team Robo Challenge to go alongside their featherweight Razer named Venom. Predator competes sporadically on the UK scene.
• Warhead's spinning dome weapon is now team member Simon Scott's possession, according to Ian Lewis. However, it is still in its broken state.