Y2K2 is an audio-animatronic which served as the mascot and one of the co-hosts for the BattleBots Las Vegas 1999 Pay-Per-View event.
Y2K2 and Joanne Pransky during the Las Vegas event.
As well as introducing 'human colleagues' Larry Michael and Dan Danknick at the start of the event, Y2K2 was primarily used to perform opening countdowns for heavyweight and superheavyweight matches, including both of the end-of-event rumbles.[1]
The animatronic itself was based on a mechanical humanoid design with a purple and gold paint scheme, incorporating a fully-articulated torso, arms, hands, neck, ears, eyelids and mouth. Its name referenced the then-feared Y2K disaster, which caused mass hysteria surrounding major computer systems failing to interpret time beyond December 31, 1999. Y2K itself stood for the year 2000, therefore Y2K2 specifically meant 2002.
Y2K2 in storage.
Y2K2 was created and voiced by Victor "Vic" Lang, who passed away sometime after filming of the Las Vegas event was completed. Lang previously competed alongside Ken Atkinson with Killbborg in the 1996 US Robot Wars competition, and then in the 1997 event with heavyweight robot Z. The subsequent BattleBots: World Championship video release was dedicated in Victor Lang's memory.
Y2K2 on display at BattleBots: Destruct-A-Thon.
Following the conclusion of the Las Vegas 1999 event, Y2K2 was placed into secure storage, with BattleBots confirming its continued existence in an October 2020 Facebook post.[2] Y2K2 has been displayed in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the permanent BattleBots filming venue for Destruct-A-Thon live shows since 2023.