Friend in the Black Market: Difference between revisions
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Compare and Contrast [[Honest John's Dealership]] who also sells products at a premium... except theirs are of lesser quality. [[The Scrounger]] is likely to either be this trope or to have dealings with him.
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== Comic Books ==
* The Penguin could fit into this trope; while his main merchandise is information for [[Batman]], he also does a ''lot'' of shady business. Because Batman's a poor [[Incredibly Lame Pun|tipper]].
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* Sid Carter in ''Carry On Matron''.
* Sgt. Bilko in ''[[Sgt Bilko]]''
* Joseph in ''[[Au
== Literature ==
* Recurring character Bubba Rogowski of [[Dennis Lehane]]'s [[Kenzie and Gennaro Series]] is a former Marine who specializes in obtaining lots of illegal weapons and tech, and has put lives mines through his entire warehouse apartment to deter unwelcome guests. He's also something of a [[Psycho for Hire]] and a [[Man Child]] who can barely read, but he's been friends with Patrick since they were kids and will kill anyone who messes with him.
* Mundungus Fletcher in ''[[Harry Potter and
* Rhett Butler from ''[[Gone with the Wind]]'', who [[Screw the War, We're Partying|lives quite well despite the late unpleasantness]]. (He is a privateer, after all.)
* In Neuromancer and it's two sequels, there's "The Fynn", a blackmarket dealer that appears regularly to sell equipment and information to the protagonists. Due to the nature of the depicted cyberpunk society, it's debatable wether he can be considered a friend, though.
== Live
* Private Walker, the spiv in ''[[Dad's Army|Dads Army]]''.
* Both Radar and Klinger from ''[[M*A*S*H (television)]]'', who use their wits to get anything the hospital needs. (Klinger getting the job when Radar leaves)
** And when that didn't work, more than a couple times Father Mulcahy was the go-between between the camp and the ''actual'' black market.
{{quote|"You'd be surprised with what a priest can get away with."}}
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* Barney from ''[[How I Met Your Mother]]'' "has a guy" for just about everything, from a "Suit Guy" and a "Whip Guy" to a "guy in the DA's office" who "scored us front row seats to a lethal injection!"
{{quote|'''Barney:''' And, if I don't have a guy for something, then I have a Guy Guy to get me a guy. And, oddly enough, his name is Guy.}}
* In ''[[Seinfeld]]'' Kramer's unseen friend "Bob Sacamano" provides many obscure, black-market products - from counterfeit Russian "rat hats" to "The Wizard" Tip Calculator for the condo association (which may be hot!). He is said to have made a fortune for having invented the "paddle with ball" toy, being the first one to attach a rubber band. Before that, Kramer insists, people would hit the ball and it would just fly away.
* Uncle Eddie from ''[[Grounded for Life]]'' has a lot of connections with suspicious people, and is often able to obtain questionable items. Pointed out in one episode:
{{quote|'''Lily:''' You always say you "know a guy". How many guys do you know?
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* CPO Pertwee in ''[[The Navy Lark]]''
== Tabletop Games ==
* Fairly common in Cyberpunk and Space Opera genres.
* ''[[Dark Heresy]]'' has a system of Contacts, which includes this. They can help with things like information (serve as simple informants, perform inquiry via their own acquaintances, Lore skills, divinations from a psyker...), items (discount, improved Availability) or various favours. XP cost of an individual Contact who's both reliable and has very useful capabilities may be significantly greater than that of a Talent significantly improving relationship with a whole Imperial organization or other widespread group. Unreliable ones cost less, but this can earn the Acolytes additional troubles.
== Video Games ==
* This arises as a gameplay mechanic in an awful lot of video games (especially [[RPG
** [[Diablo|Except that little snotrag Wirt.]]
* The ''[[Spyro the Dragon]]'' series has Moneybags, who will perform various services for you for, "*
** You
* [[Ratchet and Clank|Ratchet]] can buy a lot of black market gear during the course of his adventures, from weapon mods to hypnosis gadgets to [[Infinity+1 Sword|giant overpowered weaponry.]]
* [[Soul Brotha|Drebin]] in ''[[Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots]]'' is named for ''[[The Naked Gun]]'' character due to what he sells; 'naked guns' - the arms he sells are not ID-Locked, and so can be used by anybody, which comes in very handy for Snake. Also plays the [[Big Damn Heroes|Big Damn Hero]] at times, and serves as [[Mr. Exposition]] in relation to the backstories of [[Quirky Miniboss Squad|the Beauty and the Beast Corps.]]
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== Web Animation ==
* While Bubs of ''[[Homestar Runner]]'' may mostly be an [[Honest John's Dealership]], he ''also'' sells stuff on the black
== Western Animation ==
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