1989: The 21st Annual MileHiCon, a sci-fi and fantasy gathering in Denver, hosts a truly epochal moment in the history of geekdom: the birth of robot battles.

See Also:

Photo Gallery
Let Your Children Play With Robots

Photo Gallery
Inside the Navy’s Armed-Robot Labs

Photo Gallery
Best Robot Love Stories, From Wall-E to Weird Science

Photo Gallery
Robot Bartenders Sling Cocktails for Carbon-Based Drinkers

The year before, MileHiCon had hosted the Critter Crawl, a sort of beauty pageant for windup toys and remote-control gizmos, But no official winner was declared, and there were no prizes.

“This y...