(Double) Deal of the Century!
From Transformers Wiki
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| "(Double) Deal of the Century!" | |||||||||||||
| Publisher | Marvel Comics | ||||||||||||
| First published | 22th July1989 | ||||||||||||
| Cover date | 29th July1989 | ||||||||||||
| Writer | Simon Furman | ||||||||||||
| Art | Andy Wildman | ||||||||||||
| Letterer | Stuart Bartlett | ||||||||||||
| Cover | Jeff Anderson | ||||||||||||
| Continuity | Marvel Comics continuity(Marvel UK) | ||||||||||||
| Chronology | 1989 | ||||||||||||
Never make a deal with a guy named Doubledealer.
Contents |
Synopsis
Chainclawis in the process of bringingOptimus Primebattle plans from the Autobot resistance onCybertronto be evaluated, when he is attacked by aDecepticonfalcon namedDealer,who carries him off right before the optics of Prime and theRace Car Patrolwho were coming to meet him. Dealer radios Prime with an offer: meet him and his price to retrieve the plans, or he'll sell them to the Decepticons. Optimus agrees and, while considering who to send as a courier, is met by the Autobot namedDouble.Double claims to have been Chainclaw's back-up, and wants to take the meeting to make amends for his failure. After aMicromasterscans his Autobrand as authentic, Optimus Prime agrees to send Double to the exchange.
Dealer meets withScorponokalready at an abandoned barn, and sells him the Autobot resistance's plans. A short distance away, Optimus Prime and theMicromastersare waiting for Double to return from the exchange, only to have him stagger into view carrying Chainclaw. He claims the Decepticon double-crossed him and took the plans, pointing to the barn and saying the enemy is still inside. As Optimus and the Race Car Patrol charge into the building to avenge their comrades on the unsuspecting Scorponok, Doubledealer chuckles to himself about a good day's work and takes to the skies, as the sounds of battle echo behind him.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Both |
|---|---|---|
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Quotes
"You're right, Autobot. Close...but no steam valve!"
- —Doubledealertaunts Chainclaw.
"Well, we have the energon...and it seems we have no option but to pay. Right then,Race Car Patrol...which of you wants to becourier?"
- —Optimus Prime,not exactly overwhelmed with volunteers.
"I have to say,Doubledealer,old boy...that was one of the best so far. It's amazing what you can accomplish...when you'rebothAutobotandDecepticon! You can even pull off thedouble deal of the century!"
- —Doubledealergloats in title drops.
Notes
Artwork and technical errors
- Chainclaw's shell really looks more like a giant rat than an imposing grizzly bear.
- Roadhandler's name is spelled as "Road Handler".
- Weirdwolf is misspelled as "Wierdwolf" on page 13.
Continuity errors
Continuity notes
- Doubledealer and Chainclaw make their first appearances. Technically, so do the Race Car Patrol, although the later stories "A Small War!"and"King Con!"in UK #232–235 take place prior to this one.
- Doubledealer is depicted here as a standardTriple Changer,with no mention of anyPowermastergimmick or partners.
- Chainclaw gets completely battered in this story, and would continue to do so insubsequentappearances.
Real-life references
Other trivia
- The title page of this comic renders the name as "[DOUBLE]DEAL OF THE CENTURY!" Anintroductory paragraphcalls it "(Double) Deal Of The Century". TFWiki.net formatting is unfriendly to square brackets in the title of articles, so we stick with the second version, but with more conventional capitalization and the exclamation point.
- Doubledealer would again be known as "Dealer" in the2005 IDW continuity.
Back-up material
- ReprintTransformersstory:"Headhunt"
- Back-up strips:Action Force- "Cross Purposes" andCombat Colin
Foreign Localization
Swedish
- Title:"Århundradets dubbelspel"(" Double-Deal of the Century ")
Covers (1)
- UK issue #228 cover:Doubledealer, Optimus Prime, and Scorponok, by Jeff Anderson.
UK issue #228
Reprints
- Transformers Extra Comic-Sonderheft#1cover:Optimus Prime, somehumanchildren, a mis-colouredSkullgrin,a mis-colouredLaserbeakorBuzzsawand some dude wearingMegatron's helmet, by???
- Transformers: Earthforcecover:Grimlockthumps a table, byStephen Baskerville.
- Transformers: The Definitive G1 Collection,Volume 17: Matrix Quest:Nightbeat and Prime's corpse byMakoto OnoandGeoff Senior.
Transformers Extra Comic-Sonderheft#1(Condor Verlag, 1989)
Earthforce(Titan Books, 2005)
Definitive G1 Collection vol. 17: Matrix Quest(Hachette Partworks, Ltd., 2018)
