Ankle Biter (Middleweight)

**Ankle Biter** (sometimes spelled **Anklebiter**) was a middleweight robot that competed in all 5 televised seasons of *BattleBots*, as well as the original Long Beach event. For the first five competitions it was a wedge shape robot with a large back end used for pushing, and a small saw blade in the center of the wedge. It had two saws in the wedge in Season 3.0 and 4.0. For Season 5.0 however, the wedge and saw were removed and replaced with the first of two large spinning blades (a spinning bar and then a flywheel) with the 2nd one replacing the first after being damaged by Moebius. Ankle Biter had a habit of becoming high-centered on its rear, which it did nearly every competition. To remedy this for Season 5.0, builder John McKenzie added a small pneumatic ram in the back to help right the robot if it got high-centered. Ankle Biter won several fights and made the Season 5.0 quarterfinals. Ankle Biter was originally a heavyweight that entered the 1997 US Robot Wars but it lost its only fight against La Machine.

After BattleBots ended, it competed under the name *Chronus* at *Steel Conflict*. As Chronus, it featured a rear wedge and disc at the front.

John McKenzie also built Odin for the superheavyweight tournaments.

## Robot history

### Battlebots

#### Long Beach 1999

Ankle Biter's first ever match in *BattleBots* was against Turtle Road Kill. Ankle Biter won the fight by KO and advanced to the next round, where it faced Son of Smashy.

The fight started with the two robots driving around before Son of Smashy got in a couple of axe blows. Ankle Biter retaliated by slamming Son of Smashy into the spikestrip but Ankle Biter was under Son of Smashy and got stuck. Son of Smashy fired the axe a few times and escaped from Ankle Biter's top. Ankle Biter escaped and drove at Son of Smashy, which started axing Ankle Biter. Both bots went near the killsaws before running around. Ankle Biter ran into the spikestrip again as Son of Smashy stayed in the middle of the BattleBox. The two bots avoided each other again before Son of Smashy attacked Ankle Biter, which ran towards the spikes. Son of Smashy hit Ankle Biter again but Ankle Biter reversed away and hit the spikestrip. Ankle biter drove at Son of Smashy again, getting axed as it pushed the Canadian robot back before going into the spikestrip again. Ankle Biter lost drive in its left wheel at that point and Son of Smashy axed it before driving away. After a while, the drive in the left wheel came back and Ankle Biter drove at Son of Smashy. As Ankle Biter moved closer, Son of Smashy hit Ankle Biter with the axe a few times. At one point, the left wheel of Ankle Biter stopped again, leaving Ankle Biter going in circles again. After Ankle Biter had spun itself near the spikes, it turned to face Son of Smashy, which axed the wedge of Ankle Biter. This continued with Son of Smashy hitting the right wheel of Ankle Biter. After the saw was hit by the axe, Ankle Biter started smoking and Son of Smashy won by KO at 3:33. This loss put Ankle Bite to the loser's bracket, where it faced SlapPest.

Ankle Biter won by crowd vote and advanced to the next round, where it faced Turtle Road Kill again. Turtle Road Kill won by crowd vote and Ankle Biter was eliminated from the tournament.

Ankle Biter later had a grudge match against Scorpion "Beta 3" and won the match by KO.

Ankle Biter wasn't finished, however, as it participated the megabot rumble at the end of the tournament. In the beginning, Ankle Biter started pushing Scorpion "Beta 3" and Scorpion "Beta 3" started hitting Ankle Biter with its tail. Scorpion "Beta 3" got one of its legs caught on Ankle Biter's wedge and both robots tried to escape. Unfortunately, both robots stopped moving near the killsaws and Deadblow was declared the winner after the megabot rumble ended.

#### Season 1.0

After receiving a bye in the round of 16, Ankle Biter fought Pressure Drop in the middleweight quarterfinals. The fight started with Ankle Biter immediately getting underneath Pressure Drop as it moved out of its square slowly and shove it across the BattleBox. Ankle Biter slammed into Pressure Drop's rear and eventually got underneath Pressure Drop again. After maneuvering too close to the spikestrip, Ankle Biter accidentally drove itself under the spikestrip and couldn't escape. Ankle Biter was being counted out and Pressure Drop won the fight by KO at 2:20. This meant that Ankle Biter lost to another Derek Young robot and was eliminated from the tournament again.

Ankle Biter wasn't finished, however, as it participated the middleweight royal rumble at the end of the tournament. In the beginning, Ankle Biter went straight at Subject to Change Without Reason, but it missed and crashed into the spikestrip. Ankle Biter escaped and S.T.C.W.R. pushed Ankle Biter into the spikestrip again. After this, Ankle Biter charged straight at Alien Gladiator and tossed it into the air. Ankle Biter then started pushing Pegleg around in circles near the spikestrip. Ankle Biter was moving around the BattleBox and bumped into the rear of Bad Attitude. Ankle Biter got underneath the front of Deadblow and pushed it against the spikestrip. Ankle Biter backed away and bumped into the right side of S.T.C.W.R. Ankle Biter got underneath S.T.C.W.R. and pushed it against the spikestrip. Ankle Biter bumped into an immobile Turtle Road Kill and got its wedge underneath S.T.C.W.R. again. Ankle Biter got underneath Deadblow again and pushed it around the BattleBox. After Ankle Biter lost its front wedge panel, Blade Runner got its spiked arm into the rear of Ankle Biter and took it to the spikestrip, where they were both separated. Ankle Biter went straight at the immobile Turtle Road Kill and flipped itself onto its rear end. After this, the time ran out and Hazard was declared the winner of the middleweight rumble.

#### Season 2.0

In Season 2.0, Ankle Biter fought El Diablo. The fight started with Ankle Biter getting under El Diablo before the two robots circled each other. El Diablo eventually hit Ankle Biter on its side and managed to get under Ankle Biter. Ankle Biter was caught by the killsaws before charging at El Diablo. It got itself stuck to the spikestrip after having a wheel hit by El Diablo's drum before El Diablo freed it. El Diablo hit the rear end again and Ankle Biter got under El Diablo before getting caught by the killsaws, nearly getting sent onto its rear. After avoiding each other for a while, Ankle Biter got under El Diablo and shoved it against the spikestrip. Ankle Biter reversed away and drove over the killsaws, causing it to flip in the air before landing the right way up. Ankle Biter then got under El Diablo on the side and shoved it across the BattleBox. El Diablo fell off, but Ankle Biter managed to get El Diablo hit by the killsaws. Ankle Biter then charged at El Diablo again, going straight under El Diablo and making it fly for a few seconds. El Diablo's drum was not working at this point so it started aiming the lifter at Ankle Biter. Ankle Biter continued driving at El Diablo before it was pushed into killsaws by El Diablo and stopped moving, possibly due to its on/off key falling out. El Diablo shoved Ankle Biter onto the killsaws a few more times whilst Ankle Biter was being counted out. El Diablo won the fight by KO at 2:24 and Ankle Biter was eliminated from the tournament once again.

Ankle Biter wasn't finished, however, as it participated the middleweight royal rumble at the end of the tournament. In the beginning, Ankle Biter was moving around the BattleBox and pushes Kegger against the corner of the BattleBox. Ankle Biter then got underneath S.T.C.W.R. and pushed it against the spikestrip. Ankle Biter went straight at Scrap Daddy MW110 and pushed it to the center of the BattleBox. Ankle Biter bumped into Deadblow and landed on Space Operation Force's lifting arm. Ankle Biter was left stuck on Space Operation Force for the rest of the rumble and Deadblow was declared the winner of the middleweight royal rumble.

#### Season 3.0

In Ankle Biter's only fight of Season 3.0, it fought F5. The first attack was from F5 and it caused Ankle Biter to spin on the spot and lose its saws. Ankle Biter retaliated by getting under F5 and slammed it into the spikestrip. The two avoided each other for a while before Ankle Biter charged at F5, getting underneath for a couple of seconds before pushing F5 a short distance across the BattleBox. The two avoided each other again before Ankle Biter attacked again, getting repelled by the spinning shell of F5. Ankle Biter attacked again, but as it was lining up for another attack, it was caught by the killsaws and sent flying, where it bounced and landed on its rear end. Ankle Biter was counted out and F5 won the fight by KO at 2:08. This meant that Ankle Biter was eliminated from the tournament again.

Ankle Biter wasn't finished, however, as it participated the middleweight consolation rumble at the end of the tournament. It's unknown how well it performed, but it lost overall to Alabama Slammer and Instigator.

#### Season 4.0

Ankle Biter, unfortunately, was no longer seeded for this tournament and therefore had to go through the qualifiers again. After receiving a bye in the second preliminary round, Ankle Biter fought Heavy Metal Noise in its only match in Season 4.0. The initial hit between the two robots was devastating, with Ankle Biter getting knocked back amid a shower of white sparks whilst spinning around like a top. Ankle Biter's saws were destroyed by Heavy Metal Noise's next attack, which scratched and sparked against its own armor. Ankle Biter's back end was torn open with the next hit, flipping it over. However, following another hit, which caused more noise and sparks, broke one of Heavy Metal Noise's posts, so that now when it tried to turn right, its discs ground against the floor. Heavy Metal Noise was undeterred, though. It went straight back over to Ankle Biter and hit it again, flipping it back over. This final hit of the fight smacked Ankle Biter up onto the top of the spikestrip, where it could not move. Ankle Biter lost the fight by KO and lost its first fight for the fourth time in a row.

#### Season 5.0

Ankle Biter's first match in Season 5.0 was against Adult Supervision is Required. Ankle Biter won the fight by KO and advanced to the next preliminary round, where it faced Pokey.

Ankle Biter won the fight on a 30-15 judge's decision and advanced to the final preliminary round, where it faced Timmy.

Ankle Biter won the fight by KO and advanced to the TV rounds again, where it faced Moebius.

Moebius started strong, spinning up and damaging Ankle Biter's rear bumper and bending not only Ankle Biter's weapon shaft but Ankle Biter's front spinning bar as well, causing the magmotor attached to the spinning bar to self-destruct internally. Fortunately for Ankle Biter, one of Moebius' hits sent it over the killsaws and the resulting damage broke Moebius' drive train. Ankle Biter won the fight by KO though the weapon had to be changed from a spinning bar to a disc as Moebius had wrecked the bar.

Ankle Biter fought El Diablo in a rematch next in the round of 32. This fight started with the discs colliding before the two bots avoided each other. Ankle Biter hit the side of El Diablo a couple of times before managing to destroy the right track. Ankle Biter attacked again, getting bounced onto the top of El Diablo before dropping off the rear and hitting the left track, destroying it as well. Ankle Biter spun around before shoving El Diablo onto the killsaws in revenge for Season 2.0. El Diablo was being counted out and Ankle Biter won the fight by KO at 1:01. This win put Ankle Biter to the round of 16, where it faced season 2.0 semifinalist The Master.

In this fight, the two bots hit each other a few times before Ankle Biter managed to send The Master's saw flying off. Ankle Biter dominated from that point, hitting The Master and tearing off one of The Master's treads from the wheel. Ankle Biter then pushed The Master and slammed it into the spikestrip where The Master was stuck and couldn't escape. Ankle Biter won the fight by KO at 2:27 and advanced to the quarterfinals, where it faced Turtle in a 3rd rematch from Long Beach '99.

Ankle Biter started well, chewing up Turtle during the first half of the match, but it was Turtle that had the last laugh. During the 2nd minute of the fight, both robots had moved dangerously close to the killsaws, and with one skilled push, Ankle Biter was rammed onto them and sent flying into the air and ended up landing upside down. Lacking a self righter, the only thing Ankle Biter could do was chew up the BattleBox floor and come to a halt at the edge. Ankle Biter was counted out and Turtle won by KO at 2:38. This meant Ankle Biter was eliminated from the tournament. Despite losing, Ankle Biter had bent Turtle's shell so badly it could not move properly, something that led to its defeat against S.O.B..

Ankle Biter couldn't compete in the middleweight royal rumble because the rest of the rumbles were canceled due to an accident with Nightmare during the heavyweight consolation rumble.