Of all superheroes, Batman has one of the most interesting selections of enemies. His arch-enemy, The Joker, is named after a playing card. This gambling theme continues throughout the enemies he fights. In the article below, we pick out the most prominent ones.
The Penguin
One of Batman’s most notorious adversaries, both in comics, movies, and television, is the Penguin. Commonly known as Oswald Cobblepot, The Iceberg is his casino and nightclub that floats on Gotham Harbour. However, it is simply a front for his activities to undermine Batman and the rest of the DC universe. He is not the only Batman character to manage a casino either, with Nightwing enemy Blockbuster also doing the same.
In popular culture, he is one of the few supervillains to have their own real-world slot. Based on the 1960s television series, Batman and the Penguin Prize Slot was created by Playtech. It had six reels and 64 pay lines, with a high level of volatility much like the original TV show. It was quite a novel idea, as the bright imagery and psychedelia of the format were much more suited to online slots than the dark, brooding atmosphere we see today in Batman.
Amos Fortune
Amos Fortune is not so much a Batman villain but more one who persistently hounded the Justice League with fortune-based plots. His whole outlook is an obsession with cards and luck. His power is the ability to control probability and shift it in his favor.
His Royal Flush gang was named after the top tier in poker hand rankings. These are cards made up of a 10, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace, all of the same suit. It is the best possible hand in Texas Hold’em. It can be made of any suit, and only a few will arrive in the lifetime of professional players. Although his team changed over time, each was given the role of King, Queen, Jack, or Ten, with Amos himself as the Ace.
His gang butted heads with the Justice League on several occasions. After this, he went on to form other gambling-related groups, such as the Luck League and the more occult Tarot Gang. He even had a partnership with the villain known as Roulette for a short time.
Two-Face
Of course, there is one Batman villain who is constantly gambling. That is Harvey “Two-Face” Dent, who was formerly the District Attorney of Gotham City. Eventually, he became the foe known as Two-Face, who also underwent a personality change. After this, he would base all his decisions on the 50/50 toss of a coin, which could lead to some rash and volatile choices.
It is not just DC that has a gambling theme either. You will also find a number of characters in Marvel, from the Spiderman ally Jackpot to X-Men like Gambit, who use playing cards as weapons. The casino and its themes have the glitz and glamour that superheroes need, much like the scenes in James Bond movies. You can be sure there will be more in the near future.