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scans_dailyLast time, I castigated a themed-villain team that Karl and Barbara Kesel created for Hawk and Dove, the Cyber-Brats were... not good.
However, given some fun toys to play with, the Kesel's can have great fun.... Case in point; The Royal Flush Gang
Just over 7 pages from each of two 22 page issues.
The Royal Flush Gang are another staple villain team of the DCU; They have a great look, a simple concept, a cool name and a versatile agenda. They've also appeared in multiple cartoon incarnations; Challenge of the Super Friends, Batman Beyond (Which retconned them into BTAS foes, though we never saw them there) and JLU all featured variations on the theme.
The original Gang were agents of Professor Amos Fortune, and using the suit of Clubs manipulated luck to their own advantage in fighting the JLA. They weren't particularly memorable and haven't been seen since.
In the 1980's a new team arose. They used the suit of Spades, and were put together by Hector Hammond (of all people) to help him take down the Justice League.
King - Was Joe Carny, "King of the Hoboes", an easy-going, charming rogue. He had cancer, and worked for Hammond because he was holding the cancer at bay. His charm was amplified to something near mind control.
Queen - Was Mona Taylor, Queen of the Broadway stage, apparently a gifted actress whose chronic alcoholic had, effectively, destroyed her career. She originally used a sceptre which allowed her to cast illusions around herself so she could pretend to be just about anyone.
Jack - An unnamed gigolo and thief whose looks were fading and who inadvertently killed his client when she caught him trying to steal her jewels. Ruthless, manipulative and rather vicious. He used an energised sword.
Ten - Wanda Wayland. A test pilot, considered to be on a par with Hal Jordan in terms of skill, but a woman in her field never caught the breaks and she was fired and blacklisted when she told an employer exactly what he could do with his repellent sexual advances. She had energy blasters in her gloves and spade-shaped grenades on her costume. Smart AND cunning.
Ace - Hammond didn't tell his team that their superstrong Ace was a robot under HIS control... it didn't end well.
I don't think they showed up again for some time.
These two issues of New Titans came just before the start of the whole "Titan Hunt" thing, which was where I more or less jumped ship from the title as it just wasn't fun. It screams "filler", but that doesn't mean it's not fun, perhaps particularly because it deal more with the Royal Flush Gang than the Titans.
The Gang has gone their own way for some time, so are a little surprised, but quite pleased, to see each other again when they all show up for a meeting at a secret HQ in an old riverboat gambling den. These are colleagues, trusted workmates (for the most part) and professionals (I like that in my villains, as I've said before)
Ten is chatting with Jack, who is on a downer because he's worried he's losing his looks. Ten has some feelings for Jack, but it's never been anything overly serious, they're friends more than anything. They hope that this meeting will lead to a good offer from their mysterious backer.
Queen hasn't changed much, in fact, if anything her drinking has gotten worse.
Uh-oh, look who it is!
to demonstrate his seriousness, he shoots King... the others are appalled, until...
A nifty power for a man who had previously been dying. (As an aside, this is also referenced in "Kingdom Come", and makes a nonsense of a particular scene in "Infinite Crisis", but there you go)
Anyway, moving on... The Joker also announces that he could use a Jack, and even has a laser device mounted in a cybernetic eye which would be ideal... but there's one thing needed to make it apt, after all, the Jack of Spades is a ONE-EYED Jack, and with a deft move of his sword-cane...
Okay now that's a very Joker move
Except of course, this isn't the Joker. The Gang don't know it, but their employer is actually The Gambler, the grandson of a Golden Age Green Lantern villain, continuing the family name, and how better to raise the stakes than by bluffing hem into thinking he's the ultimate villain. You have to admire his cojones, if not his brains if the Joker finds out.
Later we see what "Joker" meant by "Ten's Little Indians" (A great name that, if with some unfortunate historical precedence). He decides who goes on missions by deal random cards (Well, as random as a skille cardsharp can ever be). On this mission are Queen, Ace, Five. Six and Eight... Who are Five, Six and Eight I hear you ask, well think... Batman Beyond with villains, and a much more attractive mentor.
Ten runs her team of young street criminals (Two through Nine) remotely, through headbands which have cameras mounted on them..
The Titans crash the robbery (Yes, the Gang are ROBBING people... isn't that quaint? Remember when villains could do that rather than just rackup a bodycount?)
Each of the 'Indians' has a different kind of gimmicked arrow in their crossboes. Not very cardlike, but a neat gimmick IMHO.
Queen is, alas, proving to be something of a liability, especially now that "Joker" has fixed her up with a new weapon, wwrist mounted carbines that shoot razor sharp blades.
Just after she became Troia, Donna had a whole host of powers she's since lost; Force field projecting being one of them (The others included beams of light courtesy of Thia and Hyperion, and the ability to project 3D images of a willing subjects memories (from Menomsyne and Iapetus)
Troia comforts Five, or Chrissie, as best she can...
Alas, "Joker" overheard this, and overrules Ten.
Ten is absolutely furious, the lethal headsets were NOT her idea and she loathes them, but she can't really argue with the Joker after all. It's nice that she genuinely DOES seem to care for her "Indians" and does take responsibility for them as best she can.
Back at Titans Tower the team (those of them who are there, Cyborg, Troia and a visiting Speedy) discuss who these guys could be.
Ten is an "Army brat", and learned the values of discipline and teamwork from her father, she's just applying it to the cause of crime.
Later, a sneak thief makes off from a store with a valuable radio.... but seems strangely distracted, as if he WANTS to be seen, if not caught.
Yup, it's Danny Chase, the rather... contentious member of the Titans. A fourteen year old telekinetic and trained spy (his parents were both spies with one of the DCU's many covert agencies). The Titans had been made his guardians as his parents were away on missions a LOT, and he could do with training in the use of his powers. He also hero worshipped Nightwing (which was cute), and even knew how to compliment Changeling to get him on side at times.
Now a lot of fans don't like him, and I can see why. I actually do kind of like him, he's annoying, and an obnoxious brat but is rather effective in action, once you get past the aforementioned brattishness, and has the excuse of being 14. Now in one of the more dick-ish moves that Dick ever made, he fired Danny from the Titans just after Jason Todd was killed. Dick was not in a happy place at the time, but he (and the other Titans) essentially kicked a 14 year old kid out on the street with no guardianship and abrogated all responsibility for him. That's not cool Dick, NOT COOL...
A little while later...
Danny (now the new Five) basically gets so frustrated with the inefficiency of the others that he pushed Eight out of the way and cracks the safe himself (subtly using his TK, which the Gang don't know about, or who he is). He succeeds, but them the lights go up....
Oh, and Danny is also obnoxious, sexist and makes Damian Wayne look like a charm school graduate (in his defence, with spies for parents, and going on covert missions at an age when most kids weren't even in junior high, he's had a rather odd upbringing and has serious trust and abandonment issues)
Again, I really like Ten as a team leader, she's tough on them, but is training them, even if for all the wrong reasons, in all the right things to produce an efficient taskforce; teamwork, professionalism and respecting the chain of command.
We also see, briefly, that Jack is getting more and more unhinged by what "Joker" did to him, he has the cybernetic eye in place now, but is rambling on about it being evil and how it's destroying him.
The cards are; King, Jack, Ten, Eight and Five. Ten tries to argue against Five, since he's not ready in her estimation, but the boss simply tells her to play the cards that are dealt or....
So they crash a posh rooftop party, and we see Kings rather unique approach to crime.
Isn't King fun? He'd probably be a great guy to go out to the pub with, though I'd check your wallet regularly.
The Titans show up, and Troia has a bone to pick...
Danny uses his TK to make the Titans collide into each other, allowing the team to escape, he can't risk having the team be captured before he's brought in the Joker. Raven meanwhile senses a familiar presence, but can't quite place it.
Ten is not happy with Five's performance
But Ten is even less pleased when a smug Queen shows her an old newspaper clipping from her collection, which shows a certain new Indian having his photo taken as a member of the New Titans. Yup, Danny has been rumbled... this will no end well methinks...
Ten calls the Gang and the Little Indians together to announce that they have a traitor in their midst...
Oh dear, not only does he think that they don't know about his powers, he also doesn't know about the headset being both a camera AND lethal weapon to the wearer (none of the Indians know about the killswitch, the "Boss" insisted and Ten had to acquiesce).
Danny is told that he if he can avoid the team until noon, they'll consider that he's earned his freedom (It's the sort of thing that they might do, and the Joker would certain would SAY he would)
And by ensuring that they keep a frequency open so Danny can hear what they want him to hear, they also have another conversation on...
I enclose this panel because it's just not a Royal Flush Gang story without them using their flying cards! :)
The whole suit is sent on the chase (though Ten makes sure that Queen doesn't have her hipflask with her)
Yeah, I don't think I'd want to hear that sort of talk from someone who is piloting a flying card I was a passenger on.
Danny makes a break into a handy casino (Well, it IS Atlantic City), he also works out about the camera in the headset, so sticks a playing card (oh the irony) over the lens with he TK. He still wants to keep it on so he can hear what they're saying.
Sigh, King was doing so well, but Queen is, as is evident, more and more unreliable.
Danny actually does quite well, making the flying cards crash into each other, but doesn't notice Ace creeping up behind him.
Ah low tech, those were the days, mobile phones were still a rarity, and Danny doesn't have a Titans communicator any more.
Back at the Tower, we find, amongst other things, Roy and Joey posing like crazy for each other...
And time has now run out for Danny....
So guess who show up just in time?
Raven proves the usefulness of an active empath on the team
Alas it doesn't really work and Jack goes slightly demented, he starts fixating on Starfire, as if he wants to prove he still has what it takes to charm a lady...
Cyborg is trying to take down Two, who has sonic arrows, which aren't really up to much against someone who has a white sound blaster. But Two isn't alone either.
As I said, Danny can be a REAL charmer at times....
King reveals why he sticks with such a dysfunctional team...
This following remains one of my favourite comic book pages ever, it's just so... "King".
He actually takes the heroes advice and calls ARKHAM! That's AWESOME!
Danny and Speedy take down Ten whose reliance on grenades comes back to wallop her in the head (literally) when facing a telekinetic.
I feel I should make a wild card comment here. Yup, Queens back in action, and her aim is worse than ever.
Ten yells at her for endangering the Little Indians... Queen has had enough of being yelled at.
Now I do like this again, Ten may be a criminal, but she's probably the only person to show these kids anything other than contempt in a long time, she has their loyalty because she's EARNED it, and you attack her in their presence at your own peril.
The Joker... except they know it's not the Joker
And meanwhile, how is Jack faring with Starfire...
King has disappeared though, he does not like being made a fool of, the "Boss" base is well protected from intrusion, but it's amazing how fundamentally useless deathtraps are against someone who is immortal!
He almost makes it too, but Jack has his own ideas about that...
Again, isn't it an interesting worldview that King has now he's immortal?
Jack is now unhinged enough that he wants to stay too, he doesn't care it'll kill him, after all, without his looks (or his sanity) what has he to lose?
The Titans intervene just in time...
I believe the cousin they refer to is Hazard, an already introduced granddaughter of the Golden Age Gambler who used her probabliity altering dice to get revenge on a crooked casino owner who drove her grandfather to bankruptcy and suicide, and who was a member of Injustice Unlimited for a while.
See, wasn't that fun? A solid set of criminals with the much missed and now seldom seen "want to get RICH" motivation, a consistent theme (which manages not to be as annoying as the Cyber Brats because they speak English, and a lot of card idioms are naturally in the English language) and a lot of character development for the villains of the piece. Kudos to the Kesels!
However, given some fun toys to play with, the Kesel's can have great fun.... Case in point; The Royal Flush Gang
Just over 7 pages from each of two 22 page issues.
The Royal Flush Gang are another staple villain team of the DCU; They have a great look, a simple concept, a cool name and a versatile agenda. They've also appeared in multiple cartoon incarnations; Challenge of the Super Friends, Batman Beyond (Which retconned them into BTAS foes, though we never saw them there) and JLU all featured variations on the theme.
The original Gang were agents of Professor Amos Fortune, and using the suit of Clubs manipulated luck to their own advantage in fighting the JLA. They weren't particularly memorable and haven't been seen since.
In the 1980's a new team arose. They used the suit of Spades, and were put together by Hector Hammond (of all people) to help him take down the Justice League.
King - Was Joe Carny, "King of the Hoboes", an easy-going, charming rogue. He had cancer, and worked for Hammond because he was holding the cancer at bay. His charm was amplified to something near mind control.
Queen - Was Mona Taylor, Queen of the Broadway stage, apparently a gifted actress whose chronic alcoholic had, effectively, destroyed her career. She originally used a sceptre which allowed her to cast illusions around herself so she could pretend to be just about anyone.
Jack - An unnamed gigolo and thief whose looks were fading and who inadvertently killed his client when she caught him trying to steal her jewels. Ruthless, manipulative and rather vicious. He used an energised sword.
Ten - Wanda Wayland. A test pilot, considered to be on a par with Hal Jordan in terms of skill, but a woman in her field never caught the breaks and she was fired and blacklisted when she told an employer exactly what he could do with his repellent sexual advances. She had energy blasters in her gloves and spade-shaped grenades on her costume. Smart AND cunning.
Ace - Hammond didn't tell his team that their superstrong Ace was a robot under HIS control... it didn't end well.
I don't think they showed up again for some time.
These two issues of New Titans came just before the start of the whole "Titan Hunt" thing, which was where I more or less jumped ship from the title as it just wasn't fun. It screams "filler", but that doesn't mean it's not fun, perhaps particularly because it deal more with the Royal Flush Gang than the Titans.
The Gang has gone their own way for some time, so are a little surprised, but quite pleased, to see each other again when they all show up for a meeting at a secret HQ in an old riverboat gambling den. These are colleagues, trusted workmates (for the most part) and professionals (I like that in my villains, as I've said before)
Ten is chatting with Jack, who is on a downer because he's worried he's losing his looks. Ten has some feelings for Jack, but it's never been anything overly serious, they're friends more than anything. They hope that this meeting will lead to a good offer from their mysterious backer.
Queen hasn't changed much, in fact, if anything her drinking has gotten worse.
Uh-oh, look who it is!
to demonstrate his seriousness, he shoots King... the others are appalled, until...
A nifty power for a man who had previously been dying. (As an aside, this is also referenced in "Kingdom Come", and makes a nonsense of a particular scene in "Infinite Crisis", but there you go)
Anyway, moving on... The Joker also announces that he could use a Jack, and even has a laser device mounted in a cybernetic eye which would be ideal... but there's one thing needed to make it apt, after all, the Jack of Spades is a ONE-EYED Jack, and with a deft move of his sword-cane...
Okay now that's a very Joker move
Except of course, this isn't the Joker. The Gang don't know it, but their employer is actually The Gambler, the grandson of a Golden Age Green Lantern villain, continuing the family name, and how better to raise the stakes than by bluffing hem into thinking he's the ultimate villain. You have to admire his cojones, if not his brains if the Joker finds out.
Later we see what "Joker" meant by "Ten's Little Indians" (A great name that, if with some unfortunate historical precedence). He decides who goes on missions by deal random cards (Well, as random as a skille cardsharp can ever be). On this mission are Queen, Ace, Five. Six and Eight... Who are Five, Six and Eight I hear you ask, well think... Batman Beyond with villains, and a much more attractive mentor.
Ten runs her team of young street criminals (Two through Nine) remotely, through headbands which have cameras mounted on them..
The Titans crash the robbery (Yes, the Gang are ROBBING people... isn't that quaint? Remember when villains could do that rather than just rackup a bodycount?)
Each of the 'Indians' has a different kind of gimmicked arrow in their crossboes. Not very cardlike, but a neat gimmick IMHO.
Queen is, alas, proving to be something of a liability, especially now that "Joker" has fixed her up with a new weapon, wwrist mounted carbines that shoot razor sharp blades.
Just after she became Troia, Donna had a whole host of powers she's since lost; Force field projecting being one of them (The others included beams of light courtesy of Thia and Hyperion, and the ability to project 3D images of a willing subjects memories (from Menomsyne and Iapetus)
Troia comforts Five, or Chrissie, as best she can...
Alas, "Joker" overheard this, and overrules Ten.
Ten is absolutely furious, the lethal headsets were NOT her idea and she loathes them, but she can't really argue with the Joker after all. It's nice that she genuinely DOES seem to care for her "Indians" and does take responsibility for them as best she can.
Back at Titans Tower the team (those of them who are there, Cyborg, Troia and a visiting Speedy) discuss who these guys could be.
Ten is an "Army brat", and learned the values of discipline and teamwork from her father, she's just applying it to the cause of crime.
Later, a sneak thief makes off from a store with a valuable radio.... but seems strangely distracted, as if he WANTS to be seen, if not caught.
Yup, it's Danny Chase, the rather... contentious member of the Titans. A fourteen year old telekinetic and trained spy (his parents were both spies with one of the DCU's many covert agencies). The Titans had been made his guardians as his parents were away on missions a LOT, and he could do with training in the use of his powers. He also hero worshipped Nightwing (which was cute), and even knew how to compliment Changeling to get him on side at times.
Now a lot of fans don't like him, and I can see why. I actually do kind of like him, he's annoying, and an obnoxious brat but is rather effective in action, once you get past the aforementioned brattishness, and has the excuse of being 14. Now in one of the more dick-ish moves that Dick ever made, he fired Danny from the Titans just after Jason Todd was killed. Dick was not in a happy place at the time, but he (and the other Titans) essentially kicked a 14 year old kid out on the street with no guardianship and abrogated all responsibility for him. That's not cool Dick, NOT COOL...
A little while later...
Danny (now the new Five) basically gets so frustrated with the inefficiency of the others that he pushed Eight out of the way and cracks the safe himself (subtly using his TK, which the Gang don't know about, or who he is). He succeeds, but them the lights go up....
Oh, and Danny is also obnoxious, sexist and makes Damian Wayne look like a charm school graduate (in his defence, with spies for parents, and going on covert missions at an age when most kids weren't even in junior high, he's had a rather odd upbringing and has serious trust and abandonment issues)
Again, I really like Ten as a team leader, she's tough on them, but is training them, even if for all the wrong reasons, in all the right things to produce an efficient taskforce; teamwork, professionalism and respecting the chain of command.
We also see, briefly, that Jack is getting more and more unhinged by what "Joker" did to him, he has the cybernetic eye in place now, but is rambling on about it being evil and how it's destroying him.
The cards are; King, Jack, Ten, Eight and Five. Ten tries to argue against Five, since he's not ready in her estimation, but the boss simply tells her to play the cards that are dealt or....
So they crash a posh rooftop party, and we see Kings rather unique approach to crime.
Isn't King fun? He'd probably be a great guy to go out to the pub with, though I'd check your wallet regularly.
The Titans show up, and Troia has a bone to pick...
Danny uses his TK to make the Titans collide into each other, allowing the team to escape, he can't risk having the team be captured before he's brought in the Joker. Raven meanwhile senses a familiar presence, but can't quite place it.
Ten is not happy with Five's performance
But Ten is even less pleased when a smug Queen shows her an old newspaper clipping from her collection, which shows a certain new Indian having his photo taken as a member of the New Titans. Yup, Danny has been rumbled... this will no end well methinks...
Ten calls the Gang and the Little Indians together to announce that they have a traitor in their midst...
Oh dear, not only does he think that they don't know about his powers, he also doesn't know about the headset being both a camera AND lethal weapon to the wearer (none of the Indians know about the killswitch, the "Boss" insisted and Ten had to acquiesce).
Danny is told that he if he can avoid the team until noon, they'll consider that he's earned his freedom (It's the sort of thing that they might do, and the Joker would certain would SAY he would)
And by ensuring that they keep a frequency open so Danny can hear what they want him to hear, they also have another conversation on...
I enclose this panel because it's just not a Royal Flush Gang story without them using their flying cards! :)
The whole suit is sent on the chase (though Ten makes sure that Queen doesn't have her hipflask with her)
Yeah, I don't think I'd want to hear that sort of talk from someone who is piloting a flying card I was a passenger on.
Danny makes a break into a handy casino (Well, it IS Atlantic City), he also works out about the camera in the headset, so sticks a playing card (oh the irony) over the lens with he TK. He still wants to keep it on so he can hear what they're saying.
Sigh, King was doing so well, but Queen is, as is evident, more and more unreliable.
Danny actually does quite well, making the flying cards crash into each other, but doesn't notice Ace creeping up behind him.
Ah low tech, those were the days, mobile phones were still a rarity, and Danny doesn't have a Titans communicator any more.
Back at the Tower, we find, amongst other things, Roy and Joey posing like crazy for each other...
And time has now run out for Danny....
So guess who show up just in time?
Raven proves the usefulness of an active empath on the team
Alas it doesn't really work and Jack goes slightly demented, he starts fixating on Starfire, as if he wants to prove he still has what it takes to charm a lady...
Cyborg is trying to take down Two, who has sonic arrows, which aren't really up to much against someone who has a white sound blaster. But Two isn't alone either.
As I said, Danny can be a REAL charmer at times....
King reveals why he sticks with such a dysfunctional team...
This following remains one of my favourite comic book pages ever, it's just so... "King".
He actually takes the heroes advice and calls ARKHAM! That's AWESOME!
Danny and Speedy take down Ten whose reliance on grenades comes back to wallop her in the head (literally) when facing a telekinetic.
I feel I should make a wild card comment here. Yup, Queens back in action, and her aim is worse than ever.
Ten yells at her for endangering the Little Indians... Queen has had enough of being yelled at.
Now I do like this again, Ten may be a criminal, but she's probably the only person to show these kids anything other than contempt in a long time, she has their loyalty because she's EARNED it, and you attack her in their presence at your own peril.
The Joker... except they know it's not the Joker
And meanwhile, how is Jack faring with Starfire...
King has disappeared though, he does not like being made a fool of, the "Boss" base is well protected from intrusion, but it's amazing how fundamentally useless deathtraps are against someone who is immortal!
He almost makes it too, but Jack has his own ideas about that...
Again, isn't it an interesting worldview that King has now he's immortal?
Jack is now unhinged enough that he wants to stay too, he doesn't care it'll kill him, after all, without his looks (or his sanity) what has he to lose?
The Titans intervene just in time...
I believe the cousin they refer to is Hazard, an already introduced granddaughter of the Golden Age Gambler who used her probabliity altering dice to get revenge on a crooked casino owner who drove her grandfather to bankruptcy and suicide, and who was a member of Injustice Unlimited for a while.
See, wasn't that fun? A solid set of criminals with the much missed and now seldom seen "want to get RICH" motivation, a consistent theme (which manages not to be as annoying as the Cyber Brats because they speak English, and a lot of card idioms are naturally in the English language) and a lot of character development for the villains of the piece. Kudos to the Kesels!
Tags:
no subject
Date: 2011-04-13 10:49 pm (UTC)Well, he's not called The Gambler for nothing, you know...
no subject
Date: 2011-04-13 10:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-04-14 03:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-04-14 02:11 pm (UTC)He is a little jerk, but as noted, he IS 14 and, effectively, their ward, what's THEIR excuse?
no subject
Date: 2011-04-14 07:12 am (UTC)So is Dick's picture in Kory's room facing our perspective because a) she's turned the picture away from her because she's mad at him or b) is it to reassure us that they are still together or c) (the obvious choice) she's just pining for him (still... )
no subject
Date: 2011-04-14 02:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-04-14 06:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-04-14 06:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-04-14 07:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-04-14 07:08 pm (UTC)