The images of superheroes and their opponents — villains — have entered our lives so tightly that we perceive these people as “ours”. This expands our consciousness, and only the human brain is capable of this — to combine factual and fictional realities.
One of the manifestations of such a combination is our ability to shift events from their lives onto our own. We like to imagine ourselves in the place of those with superpowers: lifting things that cannot be lifted, flying, or climbing ceilings. But after all, superheroes and villains often do everything that ordinary persons do. They love to read, play games, party or gamble. Such habitual occupations dispose of us to these characters. Let’s take a look at how superheroes and their antagonists do one of the many human things — gambling.
Iron Man
It is not so easy to combine several roles simultaneously: womanizer, billionaire, genius, and hero. But it’s all about Tony Stark, who is also known as Iron Man, a Marvel superhero with no superpowers. It is quite normal that he sometimes went to the casino to take a break in this situation. We first meet him at the dice table in the 2008 film, the first film in the trilogy. Instead of attending his award ceremony, Tony decided to spend some time over card games.
This approach to life situations is one of the attractive qualities of the Stark personality. His desire to have fun and enjoy existence inspires despite the difficult fate.
The Penguin
The Penguin is a supervillain from DC Comics, the enemy of Batman. The latter, by the way, is also one of those characters who love gambling. But let’s return to our baddie, who is also known as Oswald Cobblepot, an outlaw boss that runs his shady dealings from The Iceberg Casino. He is a short, chubby guy known for his love of birds, who is a well-known gangster and thief in the underworld. And, of course, he is the one to love casino games.
The above-mentioned place is a harbor for criminal masterminds and jailbirds to lose themselves in wagering, hitting the bottle and illegal schemes.
Gambit
This is one of the comic book heroes from the Marvel Comics universe. He first appeared in the 1990 Uncanny X-Men Annual #14. At first, he was conceived as one of the negative characters who like pursuing their own goals on their own. But the creators changed their minds, so Gambit is another hero who loves gambling.
Why was he conceived as a negative character, you ask? Well, most of the inhabitants are sure that gambling is an unequivocal evil that should be fought. But Gambit turns such thoughts to smithereens. After all, what should have led him astray, his gambling and tricks, strengthens his personality. He uses cards as a weapon and can often be caught playing poker at casinos. If Gambit, the professional gambler, lived in the modern conditions of a pandemic, he would undoubtedly go online to visit Captain Cooks Casino regularly. The latter is a reliable online casino with over 550 games to find. They were created by esteemed developers. And the fact that this server has been functioning for more than twenty years is proof of its assurance and safety. Gambit would approve of it.
The Joker
Every incredible DC comics hero needs an identically incredible supervillain. The best vile characters bring something different, unique, and exciting to the narrative. And that is precisely why some consider the Joker from DC comics to be the greatest villain in comic book history.
If the Penguin was Batman’s enemy, then the Joker is his sworn enemy. This leader of comic book villains may not be quite a gambler per se, but his name matches that of a famous playing card. He wears a purple suit and fights with stylized items such as clown and illusionist props such as razor-tipped playing cards. Partly because of such a strong association with gambling, movie references about Batman and this villain arise when one is touching the topic of casino movies and series. The way he thinks and how he acts could be compared to any casino game. After all, he is a pretty unpredictable one.
Two-Face
Two-Face is another DC comics enemy of, yikes, Bruce Wayne! His alter ego is Harvey Dent — a famous District Attorney of Gotham city. And yes, Two-Face also has a sentiment for betting. Taking a chance seems to be his favorite pastime, as he always flips a coin while making up his mind. This decision-making method represents Harvey’s split personality — being both ex-official and villain.
In the comic book, we see that Two-Face can play all nice and innocent to lure you in with a big bet. But then he brings out his brutal side and tears you apart, destroying this nice fake image of himself. See, he has two faces. Talk about poker face.
Conclusion
Gambling is often seen as something evil and prohibited. No wonder comic movies use casinos to portray villains who like to start drama in a seedy underworld. However, if done carefully and in moderation, it makes for a thrilling and amusing hobby for millions of human beings worldwide. And not just people, as we now know. It is a little surprise there are quite a few superheroes who love to gamble as entertainment.
And for heroes and supervillains, these games are just as much fun as any ordinary person. It is nice to see these guys from fictional reality sit down and enjoy themselves at the tables. It shows that they are real people, just like us.