Number 40 - Monsoon

 

Monsoon was one of the most unique Battlebots ever. Armed with a vertical spinner, it can rotate its chassis around its entire body, meaning that it can drive upside down just as it could right side up. It also has a nasty vertical spinner that has caused excessive damage. It debuted in season 3, airing in 2018, and was matched up against Red Devil, a tough opponent, in its first match. Monsoon delivered an onslaught of paralyzing hits that tore Red Devil's saw clean off and ended up victorious. It completely destroyed the heavily armored crusher robot Petunia in its next fight. In its third fight, Monsoon was matched up against a 1-1 full body spinner Son of Whyachi, which was one of the best Battlebots in the world at that point. It ended up losing but it delivered a crushing hit or two before it was through. It drew a 1-2 full body drum spinner Axe Backwards for its fourth fight, which it dispatched in 38 seconds. It made the final bracket of 16 as the 12th seed, matching up against fifth seed SawBlaze. In a dominant performance, Monsoon tore through SawBlaze to fight against fourth seeded drum spinner Minotaur in the quarterfinals. After taking some shots off the drum, Minotaur threw Monsoon against the wall, eliminating it from the tournament. After the tournament, it was presented with the Founders Award, given to the Battlebot that best embodies the spirit of Battlebots. In season 4, Monsoon came in one of the favorites to win it all, and its first fight was against hammer Battlebot Ragnarok, which was built by a former teammate, and took Monsoon out in one hit. Its next three matches were against terrifying spinners HyperShock, Valkyrie, and defending champion Bite Force, which all made this top 50 list, and unfortunately it lost in all three fights. After the tournament, Monsoon fought alongside Ragnarok in a tag team fight against full body spinner Chronos and Swiss army bot MadCatter. While Ragnarok was mostly ineffective, Monsoon tore MadCatter in half and destroyed Chronos for the win. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Monsoon sat out for season 5 (2020-2021), but is planning to return for season 6. Monsoon's all time record is 6-5 (.546) with three knockouts. Because its weapon is so devastating and because its unique design is so effective, Monsoon rightly claims a spot among my top 50 Battlebots of all time.