Royal Flush Gang
1921 - 37-year-old Amos Fortune is threatened by Jimmy the Gent. He brings together his old gang, adding broadway actress Queenie Dillon, to take out his organization. They call themselves the Royal Flush Gang, and take over his territory.
49 years ago - Mona Wayland is born, the daughter of Carter Wayland, the current King of the Royal Flush Gang.
34 years ago - Mona Wayland's mother dies. She becomes the Royal Flush Gang's 10 of Spades. Membership: 15-year-old Mona Wayland
32 years ago - Joe Carny is invited into the Royal Flush Gang. He becomes the Jack faster than anyone in the Gang's history, and first meets Mona Wayland, the 10 of Spades. Membership: 21-year-old Joe Carny & 17-year-old Mona Wayland
28 years ago - Joe Carny marries Mona Wayland after the death of her father. They become the new King & Queen of the Royal Flush Gang. Membership: 25-year-old Joe Carny & 21-year old Mona Wayland
13 years ago - Mona Wayland begins training her daughter Melanie Wayland to become the new Royal Flush Gang's 10 of Spades. Membership: 40-year-old Joe Carny, 36-year-old Mona Wayland & 13-year-old Melanie Wayland
10 years ago - Derek Reston steals the Brute Robot from H.I.V.E. and joins the Royal Flush Gang, recruited by Mona Wayland with no input from Joe Carny. The Brute kills the former Ace, and takes his place. Derek's weapon designs advance their whole organization, immediately becoming the new Jack. He first meets Melanie Wayland, who doesn't like him. Membership: 43-year-old Joe Carny, 39-year-old Mona Wayland, 16-year-old Melanie Wayland, 22-year-old Derek Reston & Ace
7 years ago - Joe Carny & Derek Reston come to blows when the Royal Flush Gang's flashy new tactics lead to their fighting Green Arrow. Membership: 46-year-old Joe Carny, 42-year-old Mona Wayland, 19-year-old Melanie Wayland, 25-year-old Derek Reston & Ace
4 years ago - The Royal Flush Gang battle the Justice League. They escape by abandoning Derek Reston, severely undermining Joe Carny's authority & losing him all respect from Mona Wayland. Membership: 49-year-old Joe Carny, 45-year-old Mona Wayland, 22-year-old Melanie Wayland, 28-year-old Derek Reston & Ace
2 years ago - Derek Reston escapes prison, and stages a coup within the Royal Flush Gang, killing Joe Carny and becoming the new King. He is rejected by Melanie Wayland, but the Queen Mona Wayland takes him as a lover. They are betrayed by Mel, and taken down by Green Arrow. Membership: 47-year-old Mona Wayland, 30-year-old Derek Reston & Ace
Membership
Past Members
Current Members
Pro Wrestling has 'jobbers'... characters not really meant to challenge the main characters, just there to show up and give the audience a show so they get to watch their heroes succeed. The term gets used in other mediums as well, and comics certainly has their share; characters and teams that generally aren't the story'ss main antagonist, but are rather just there to give the heroes a showcase. The Royal Flush Gang are an almost perfect example.
Still, the Gang has been around for a LONG time, and has had tons of re-imaginings across the history of DC. What really drew us in, however, was the versions of the Gang that we've seen elsewhere.
Still, the Gang has been around for a LONG time, and has had tons of re-imaginings across the history of DC. What really drew us in, however, was the versions of the Gang that we've seen elsewhere.
The Royal Flush Gang's Comic HistoryThe Royal Flush Gang debuted in Justice League of America #66 in 1966. Their founder Amos Fortune had already been in a number of issues but had never quite developed a recognizable gimmick outside of being themed around luck and playing cards. The team of costumed baddies all dressed as the cards in a royal flush was a pretty basic idea, but it did create a recognizable look and a reliable foe to throw at a team of heroes.
with only a couple appearances under their belt, the Gang was then basically reset in 1982 in a multi-part Justice League story. This time each member is given a more complete backstory as they are brought together by the machinations of Green Lantern baddy Hector Hammond. This version of the Gang is where we establish several ideas that would recur across a lot of their appearances, like the idea that Ace is an android, or that the Ten of Spades is a woman. Notably, these appearances also change the suit of the gang from Clubs to Spades, so it's possible to use that as a distinction between the original and rebooted lineup. In modern, post-52 stories, the Gang has veered away from its flamboyant theatrics, and tends to just be a gang of baddies with guns and ski-masks with vague playing card imagery to distinguish them. In essence, they're really just an easy threat to use in the introduction, before you get to the actual story. |
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The Animated Royal Flush GangThe Royal Flush Gang has had two separate lineups presented in the DC Animated Series. They first appeared in the world of Future Gotham with a very slick redesign, all riding on flying cards, a visual that the comics have been picking up on ever since. This version of the team was a family business, with the King & Queen's daughter Melanie and series star Terry becoming star-crossed lovers, their relationship returning several times over the series and tie-in comics, as did the ongoing intrigue among her family of criminals.
Later, we saw a modern version of the Gang, this one made up of superpowered runaways assembled by the Joker. This is the team that featured a young psychic girl as Ace, who eventually appeared in the Justice League Unlimited episode "epilogue' which included her heartbreaking death; a story often cited to show Batman being compassionate as he sits with her. This is really more a story about this version of Ace than it is about the Gang as a whole. |
Our Royal Flush Gang StoryThere are other spins on the Royal Flush Gang that have come from other animated sources; including a wild west version in Batman: The Brave and the Bold, but it's really the specific intrigue and familial drama of the Batman Beyond Royal Flush Gang that, we feel, gave us the most to work within our own timeline. We're imagining that the gang actually has lots of members, all working as minions in their various heists, but that at its core, they're led by their main family.
We want to make sure that the Gang has a long history as a family business, and to make that happen we're putting Amos Fortune much earlier in the timeline, to suggest that the Gang has been ongoing for several generations. Once we get to our current timeline, we're starting with the current King and Queen, who met as the previous generations Jack and Ten... but then introduced the new Jack, who brings all sorts of advanced technology from their background with H.I.V.E., (including the new robot Ace and the hovering playing card vehicles). Finally, we're going to use the idea that the current Ten of Clubs actually turns over a new leaf, becoming an ally of our current Green Arrow, Connor Hawke. This is all a rough amalgam of the version of these characters in Batman Beyond, just rebuilt within our modern timeline to make our own spin on the Gang. |
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