Bender (US Combat)

**Bender** was a heavyweight robot built by Eric Stoliker which competed in every season of the televised Comedy Central *BattleBots* run as well as the 2009 Pro Championship.

Early Comedy Central incarnations of the robot featured two-wheel drive, a T-shaped chassis, and a large spinning disc which was continuously updated to become more damaging over time. For Season 3.0, the chassis was redesigned and a small lifting arm added to the rear, enabling Bender to adjust the attack angle of its own disc. Further updates were introduced for Seasons 4.0 and 5.0, including a larger sawblade-type disc covering the entire chassis. Upon its return for the 2009 Pro Championship, Bender was redesigned further with a smooth wedge-like profile at the front and a two-toothed overhead bar spinner, also exchanging its predominantly gray or black paint scheme in favor of a copper and brass-effect finish.

Despite its long BattleBots career, Bender enjoyed very limited success throughout the tournaments it competed in. Its debut in Comedy Central Season 1.0 brought about the robot's best finish in the Round of 16, though this was achieved via an automatic bye which also helped Bender's progress in Seasons 3.0, 5.0 and the 2009 Pro Championship. Bender only achieved one victory in Season 4.0 against Space Ape, against a total of seven losses in the main heavyweight division, and two more in each of the Rumbles it competed in throughout the Comedy Central era.

Bender's name was short for "Mix Master Bender, Son of Tatar", with the design of earlier incarnations also being said to resemble a record player.

Eric Stoliker also competed with Bender's predecessor Tatar at the Las Vegas 1999 Pay-Per-View, along with Nsyncerator in the lightweight division of Comedy Central Seasons 2.0 and 4.0.

## Robot History

### BattleBots Comedy Central Season 1.0

Bender's Comedy Central Season 1.0 began with an automatic bye from the Round of 32, enabling it to face Voltarc in the Round of 16. Voltarc immediately cruised towards Bender, which was still in its square, trying to get its disc up to speed. The initial contact between the two Heavyweights caused Bender to drive up Voltarc's wedge, but was not enough to tip Bender over. Voltarc then went in for another attack and pushed part of Bender into the spikestrip. It followed this up by pushing Bender around the arena for a bit and knocking off Bender's rear-mounted caster wheel, hindering movement and making Bender less capable of hitting a target. After this, Voltarc drove Bender into a wall, before using its lifting arm to mount Bender onto the spikestrip. Bender escaped, only to drive straight into Voltarc's wedge again, taking itself and Voltarc over the killsaws. Bender got its disc up to full speed, but was unable to attack Voltarc due to the loss of its caster. Voltarc continued pushing Bender about and the time ran out shortly after. Voltarc won the fight on a unanimous 9-0 judge's decision and Bender was eliminated from the main heavyweight division.

Bender also competed in the Heavyweight Royal Rumble, but was flipped by Punjar at the beginning. In the end, BioHazard was declared the winner and Bender lost overall.

### BattleBots Comedy Central Season 2.0

Bender's only match in Season 2.0 was against Mjollnir. Before the match began, Bender was spinning around in circles and wasn't responding to the Bender team's controller. Mjollnir took full advantage in this match as it kept hitting Bender against the side of the arena. One of these hits lifted Bender's wheels off the arena floor and it was counted out by the referee. Mjollnir won the fight by KO and Bender was eliminated from the tournament.

Bender also competed in the Heavyweight Consolation Rumble that season. Unfortunately, Bender was never able to move from its starting position, appearing to be immediately incapacitated. It eventually became a stationary hazard to Kill-O-Amp, who apparently got tangled up with it and ceased moving thereafter. As a result of its misfortune, Bender was eliminated upon the Rumble's conclusion, with Punjar and OverKill ultimately emerging as joint winners.

### BattleBots Comedy Central Season 3.0

Having initially benefited from a bye into the Round of 64, Bender's only match was against Omega-13. Bender went straight at Omega-13, resulting in one of Bender's teeth breaking off. This resulted in the rotating disc becoming unbalanced and throwing off the drive belt, causing the disc to stop. Omega-13 started ramming and pushing Bender around the arena. However, Omega-13 took some serious hits from the killsaws, resulting in damage to the titanium armor and one of its wheels. The match ended in a judges decision and Omega-13 was the winner on a 35-10 judges' decision. This meant that Bender was eliminated again.

### BattleBots Comedy Central Season 4.0

Bender's first match in Season 4.0 was against Space Ape. Bender's spinning blade tore a big chunk off of Space Ape and it stopped moving around the corner of the arena. Bender came over and gave Space Ape a few more hits as it was being counted out. Bender won the fight by KO and advanced to the TV rounds, where it faced Little Sister.

In the match, Little Sister rushed across the BattleBox and hit Bender before it started spinning its saw blade. Little Sister backed into Bender and pushed it. Little Sister took Bender near the pulverizer, but Bender ran away. Little Sister pushed Bender against the arena wall and flipped it onto its back. Little Sister went to the middle of the arena and did a victory spin. As Bender struggled, Little Sister came back and tried flip it back on its wheels, but Bender was against the arena wall and was counted out. Little Sister won the fight by KO and Bender was eliminated from the tournament.

### BattleBots Comedy Central Season 5.0

Bender was initially scheduled to fight Beta, but inherited victory by default, after Beta encountered technical issues with its magnet system prior to the match.

Bender's next match was against Warrior. Warrior won the fight by KO and Bender was eliminated from the tournament once again.

### BattleBots Pro Championship 2009

Following a seven-year hiatus, Bender returned for the 2009 Pro Championship with a redesigned body and spinner. Upon receiving a bye in the first round of the winners' bracket, it was drawn against Robotic Death Company and their full-body spinner Megabyte. Official BattleBots match records confirm that Bender lost the match by knockout after one minute and 41 seconds, sustaining severe damage to its front wedge shape in the process.

Bender, now relegated to the losers' bracket, would next face Stinger:The Killer Bee, an early version of Team PlumbCrazy's future ABC-era heavyweight. This proved to be an even quicker defeat for the American Performance Robotics machine, with Stinger: The Killer Bee winning by knockout after just eight seconds - the joint-quickest match of the entire Pro Championship. Bender was thus eliminated from the competition with a 0-2 match record.

## Results

* Wins: 2
* Losses: 9