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Doubledealer is unique among Transformers as he holds a place in both the Autobot and Decepticon armies. The truth, however, is that this ruthless mechanoid is a mercenary loyal only to whoever is paying him, and then only if no better offer catches his eye. His skills and power make him a valuable asset to both sides, but neither really trust him as far as they could throw a Guardian Robot.
Doubledealer is also almost unique among Powermasters in possessing two binary-bonded partners, Knok and Skar, a trait shared only with the European release of Overlord.
Fiction[]
Marvel Comics continuity[]
Little does Roadhandler know that you can get faction symbols at Reprolabels.
A Decepticon named "Dealer" escaped with both Chainclaw and the secret Autobot plans he was carrying, despite the Micromaster Race Car Patrol's efforts. A mysterious Autobot named "Double" immediately offered his services, explaining that it was his fault that Dealer got away with Chainclaw. After Roadhandler scanned his Autobrand for authenticity and Optimus Prime granted him Energon cubes for the mission, Double left to redeem himself. Meanwhile, Dealer presented the Autobot plans to Scorponok and left.
Double arrived back to the Autobots with Chainclaw, but he appeared severely damaged. He told of how Dealer had taken both his energon and the plans, and pleaded for his forgiveness. Optimus Prime, the Race Car Patrol, and Chainclaw left, leaving Double alone. Surprise! The mystery figure is both Autobot and Decepticon, both Double and Dealer! Having conned each side from both the Energon cubes and the Autobot plans, he takes to the air in triumph. (Double) Deal of the Century!
Dreamwave comics continuity[]
Doubledealer carefully chose his partners to best represent him to each faction. Neither Knok nor Skar knows of the other's existence, nor of their master's double life. His two partners are loyal to the Autobots and Decepticons respectively.
IDW comics continuity[]
My gun keeps firing and I can't stop it!
A part of Hot Rod's first command, the Autobot called Dealer was left to face a Decepticon ambush alone while Hot Rod, having already lost the rest of his team, escaped with the mission's objective, the Magnificence. Stricken with guilt, Hot Rod infiltrated the Decepticon Penal Colony Styx and evacuated Dealer. Though Hot Rod was at first uneasy around Dealer, considering their history, Dealer explained that he understood Hot Rod's need to complete the mission and leave without him and that he wished to become friends.
Unbeknownst to the young Autobot, however, Dealer was the true reason for the loss of Hot Rod's team. Dealer was an undercover agent working for the Decepticon mercenary Banzai-Tron and in that capacity had sabotaged Hot Rod's equipment and staged the ambush. With the Magnificence stored in a location known only by Hot Rod, he befriended the Autobot with designs to learn its hiding place. Banzai-Tron, learning of his hire's double cross, renamed him Doubledealer. Spotlight: Hot Rod
"Doubledealer" attempted to persuade Hot Rod into bribing or coercing others into getting the two-faced double agent reassigned to Earth, but Hot Rod responded noncommittally. Devastation issue 2 The traitor maintained contact with Banzai-Tron, selling him bits of information such as the existence of Transformer gestalt warriors discovered by the Autobots, which the Decepticon used to track them to the penitentiary on Garrus-9, staging a full-scale assault to acquire this revolutionary technology. Spotlight: Arcee
Oh, yeah...he could still be okay.
When the Autobots were faced with the growing threat of Nemesis Prime and his expansion project, Dealer saw opportunity in the chaos. Using their lack of knowledge about the current situation as an excuse, Dealer contacted Optimus Prime and suggested that the Magnificence could be the solution to their problems. Spotlight: Hardhead Agreeing with Dealer's suggestion, Prime sent him to Earth to make contact with Hot Rod and retrieve the Magnificence from its secret location. The two "old friends" returned to Ki-Aleta, as apparently Hot Rod had never removed the device from the very planet on which they acquired it. Seeing the Omega Bunker and the site of his greatest failure, however, made Hot Rod start ruminating about how everything went so wrong so fast on that fateful mission. Dealer did his best to console Hot Rod while still pushing him towards revealing the Magnificence's location. They eventually made it to the rocky mountain peak where the device was hidden, beneath a constant storm of ionic energy to mask its presence. As Hot Rod pulled the Magnificence from its hiding place at the summit, Doubledealer was prepared to shoot his former commander in the back and claim his prize. Unfortunately for Dealer, Hot Rod had finally pieced together enough of the evidence to suspect Dealer of foul play. Once the Magnificence confirmed his suspicions, he spun and shot down the treacherous Autobot first. Doubledealer's chest exploded under fire, and he fell the entire height of the mountain, only to smash into pieces at the base. Spotlight: Doubledealer
Toys[]
- Doubledealer's "default" mode is an ICBM missile launcher truck with no visible faction sigils. By plugging Knok into the engine socket, his Autobot humanoid robot mode is unlocked. In this form, the ICBM splits up to form a handgun and shoulder-mounted (non-firing) launcher. By plugging Skar into the socket, his Decepticon "bird" mode (his supposed real form) is unlocked, and the missile splits into a pair of guns (one on his back and the other on his undercarriage). His separate chestplate can plug into the back of his rocket to store whichever Powermaster engine he isn't using at the time.
- This mold was used to make Doubleclouder.
Notes[]
- Doubledealer's packaging uses the Decepticon color scheme and logo, even though he's fictionally a "whichever".
- Though his toy bio and all other material describe his Decepticon bird mode as a "falcon", the head of the toy actually looks like a vulture, which would seem more fitting given his mercenary nature.
- In the Masterforce anime, Doubleclouder is colored as if he was Doubledealer, rather than using the Doubleclouder toy's coloration. ('course it doesn't exactly count as Doubledealer's official appearance.) This isn't the only instance of the cartoon using Hasbro colorations over Takara's; the Decepticon Sparkdash use Hasbro colors as well, rather than their Takara-released toy colors.