Donny Finkleberg is an on-the-outs comic book writer. Although he claims he can "sell any story," most of his titles have flopped, and he sees a grim financial future for himself. To stave this off, Finkleberg will do pretty much anything for a buck. His strong sense of financial self-preservation wars with what small sense of morality he has. Finkleberg sees himself as a good guy and wants to be a good guy, but $50,000 checks from the government don't bounce. Nor does he bounce, at least not well, according to Jetfire.
Portuguese name (Portugal comic):Donny Finkleberg / Mestre dos Robots
Events from the UK-only comic stories are in italics.
To his credit, not responsible whatsoever for Heroes Reborn.
Finkleberg was originally a writer for a "famous comic book publishing company" in New York. His Robot-Master comic book series had been canceled, and his idea for a Potato-Salad Man graphic novel titled This Man, This Mayonnaise did not fetch interest from his superiors, so Finkleberg was turned away.
It was at this low point point in his career that he was approached by the United States government. III needed a cover story to explain the presence of the Transformers on Earth to panicked American citizens. The idea that a human terrorist controlled the Transformers was decided to be less frightening than the truth, so Finkleberg was paid 50 thousand dollars to dress as Robot-Master and appear in public broadcasts.
Rejected from Stan Lee's Who Wants to Be a Superhero?
When Megatron had ceased movement at the bottom of a strip mine due to lack of fuel, I.I.I used this opportunity to claim ownership of the immobile Decepticon leader. Unfortunately, both the Autobots and Decepticons arrived, though the Autobots were forced away by human firepower. After Megatron was refueled by Soundwave, he declared his intention to crush Finkleberg for his effrontery. Finkleberg pleaded with Megatron, suggesting that he continue masquerading as their commander, for the purpose of convincing the public that the Autobots were also their enemies. Megatron agreed, since he saw the value in the plan, which was just about enough to overcome his distaste for humans, even though Finkleberg had repeatedly struck matches on Megatron to light his cigarettes. I, Robot-Master!
Soundwave has only spit once, and it was totally worth it.
The Decepticons set up camp at the bottom of the strip mine, where Finkleberg and a camera crew remained as their prisoner under careful watch of Ravage. Finkleberg overheard a conversation between Soundwave and Megatron, discussing the unlikelihood of a mere fleshling possessing knowledge of the next generation of Transformers. When he interrupted them to note that humans weren't as worthless as either of the Decepticons thought, Megatron reminded him that every time the former comic book writer spoke, he re-evaluated whether he should let Finkleberg live. Soon Shockwave caught wind of Megatron's return, and the two battled at the bottom of the mine. Finkleberg, in his Robot-Master persona, emceed the fight for Decepticon supremacy in front of the camera crew. As Finkleberg rooted for Shockwave, Soundwave wondered whether he should intervene for their own good. Finkleberg laughed, figuring Soundwave had a death wish, and promptly got himself spit on. Second Generation!
Finkleberg resided in the Decepticon base until he decided it was in his best interest to escape and help the Autobots. The Bridge to Nowhere! He determined that the best time to make his escape was during a sudden Autobot attack on the Decepticon strip mine base, though after the confusion subsided, Ravage noticed he was missing and pursued his scent. Command Performances! As Finkleberg fled across Wyoming, he decided that running around in his Robot-Master costume was not only ridiculous but terribly conspicuous, and so he buried his costume and took clothes from a vacant campsite. (In an odd show of conscience, he left some money in exchange.) Continuing on his way, he bemoaned his inability to locate either Autobots or tuna salad sandwiches, finding only an overturned, abandoned car.
After Donny made it to a small town, he overheard acouple talking about a "living car" in a local diner. Acting on this clue, he found the same car he had passed by earlier talking to a human. Realizing that it had actually been an Autobot all along, he confronted Skids and his companion, Charlene. Charlene played dumb, but Finkleberg wouldn't have any of it, demanding that Skids reveal himself as a Transformer and take him to the Autobots so that he could deliver important information. Before Skids could be outed, suddenly Ravage attacked, having found Finkleberg. As it fired on them, Finkleberg and Charlene jumped into Skids, who drove away. Charlene suggested they hide in an abandoned gold mining town so that they could remove their skirmish from civilization. Once they arrived, Skids asked them to jump out and hide so that he could fight Ravage, to which Finkleberg did not complain. Adding to their problems, some guy named Jake Dalrymple with a vendetta against Skids leapt out from behind a fence and smashed in Skids' window, knocking the Autobot unconscious...right as Ravage arrived. Thankfully for all concerned, Skids came to just in time to trick Ravage into falling into a deep mine shaft. Though Skids had hoped to stay away from the Autobot/Decepticon war indefinitely, he decided in the end that he couldn't shirk his duties, and he returned to the Autobots with Finkleberg on board. Showdown!
Look, we know Skids was shortpacked, but $50,000 for one is a little ridiculous.
While Finkleberg was a captive of the Decepticons, he had learned that seven Autobots had arrived on Earth over the space bridge. The traveling Autobots were nowhere to be found, but they had left a fuel trail. Holding for ransom Finkleberg's cashiers check from III, Optimus Prime ordered Finkleberg and Skids to follow the trail and find the missing Autobots.
So Finkleberg shut down Skids and sold him to Triple-I. Heavy Traffic!
RAAT (a military subdivision of III), in league with Circuit Breaker, had captured not only the seven missing Autobots, but also the Aerialbots, and now added Skids to their number. Meanwhile, the Battlechargers had also arrived on Earth and were defacing public property across the United States. With the Autobots' ranks depleted, Finkleberg realized it was his fault there was no one available to stop the Decepticons' graffiti. He convinced Circuit Breaker to control a robot built from the bodies of the captured Autobots to defeat the Battlechargers in exchange for the Autobots' freedom. Although they defeated the two Decepticons, they were not able to stop them in time from writing "HUMANS ARE WIMPS" on the Statue of Liberty.
In a last-minute change of conscience, Finkleberg donated the 50 thousand dollars he'd earned for his treachery towards the clean-up efforts. Decepticon Graffiti!
Donny eventually got a job packaging at Hasbro after the Statue of Liberty incident. What this exactly entails is unclear, as their toys are presumably packaged in China.Darn 'n' Blast #308
Notes
The likeness is frightening.Donny Finkleberg is based on Marvel Comics writer and editor Danny Fingeroth. What a dubious honor.
Due to Finkleberg's smoking habit, the company he keeps, and the young readership demographic, a surprising number of Decepticons have let him know that smoking is dumb and bad for him. Aw, they care!
Donny Finkleberg's life is a series of wardrobe malfunctions, from the questionable things he actually chooses to wear, to his so-does-not-fit-him supervillain costume, to the "RAAT" t-shirt he's given and wears with the tag flipped out.
His apartment has nothing but a couch, a television set, and a giant painting of a naked lady. He's single, girls!
He answers the door for the Avon lady. Every time.For the 2011 publication The Transformers Classics, Vol. 2, the new colorists opted to give Donny the most lucious lips you have ever seen.
