Royal Flush Gang

Royal Flush Gang
The Royal Flush Gang as depicted on the cover of Justice League of America (vol. 2) #35 (September 2009). Art by Eddy Barrows.
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
First appearanceJustice League of America #43 (March 1966)
Created byGardner Fox (writer)
Mike Sekowsky (artist)
In-story information
Member(s)Ace
King
Queen
Jack
Ten
Wild Card or Wildcard (some versions)
Joker (some versions)

The Royal Flush Gang is a group of supervillains appearing in DC Comics. The group, which debuted in Justice League of America #43 (March 1966), use a playing card theme.[1] Their code names are based on the cards needed to form a royal flush in poker: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, and Ten. Joker occasionally affiliates himself with the gang, but is not a consistent member. The group returned to battle the Justice League of America many times, and also appeared in other comics, including Wonder Woman,[2] Formerly Known as the Justice League[3] and Superman. The group has been described as "some of the most original villains of their time".[4]

The gang has also appeared in many animated television adaptations, including The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians in 1985, Batman Beyond in 1999 and 2000,[5][6] Justice League in 2003 and 2005, and Batman: The Brave and the Bold in 2009 and 2010.

The Royal Flush Gang also made appearances in the live-action Arrowverse TV shows airing on the CW, renamed the Reston crime family. They debuted in the first season of Arrow in 2012,[7] and also appeared in the first and eighth season of The Flash in 2015 and 2021.[8] The comic book versions seen in the 2013 Forever Evil storyline were redesigned to follow the pattern set by their Arrow appearance.[9]

  1. ^ Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Korte, Steve; Manning, Matt; Wiacek, Win; Wilson, Sven (2016). The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe. DK Publishing. p. 255. ISBN 978-1-4654-5357-0.
  2. ^ Jimenez, Phil; Wells, John (2010). The Essential Wonder Woman Encyclopedia. Random House. p. 357. ISBN 978-0-345-50107-3. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  3. ^ Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Manning, Matthew K.; McAvennie, Michael; Wallace, Daniel (2010). DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle. Dorling Kindersley. p. 228. ISBN 978-0-7566-6742-9. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  4. ^ Horn, Maurice, ed. (1976). The World Encyclopedia of Comics, Volume 1. Chelsea House Publishers. p. 350. ISBN 0-87754-042-X. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  5. ^ Jankiewicz, Pat (February 1999). "Tomorrow's Knight". Starlog (259): 51. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  6. ^ Jankiewicz, Pat (January 2001). "Last Laughs". Starlog (282): 26. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  7. ^ Fitzpatrick, Kevin (September 13, 2012). "Arrow to Face DC Card Crooks "The Royal Flush Gang"". ScreenCrush. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  8. ^ Schedeen, Jesse (January 27, 2015). "Time To Pay The Piper". IGN. Archived from the original on January 28, 2015. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
  9. ^ Johnston, Rich (September 5, 2013). "DC's Royal Flush Gang To Resemble Version On Arrow TV Show". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved 1 March 2020.