History Main / PlayingCardMotifs

* In ''Film/JohnWickChapter4'', the poker scene is laden with these kinds of motifs (and it's pretty likely the hands were chosen specifically). John, who's been living on borrowed time since the start of the series, gets a DeadMansHand. Caine, who faces an UncertainDoom at the film's end, gets [[FourIsDeath four nines and a four]]. Mr. Nobody, the only character in the game to definitively survive the film, gets a royal flush. And Killa gets [[FiveAcesCheater five of a kind in twos]]--a cheating hand, but also the weakest possible form of that hand, reflecting his nature as the weakest person present.

[[caption-width-right:350:[[VisualPun A card-carrying villain carrying a card carrying villains.]]]]

** ''Comicbook/XMen'' villain Mister Sinister began to utilize this motif in [[ComicBook/XMenTheKrakoanAge the Krakoan Age]]: [[spoiler:he made clones of himself, each marked with a playing card symbol on their forehead, to fight the threat of AI by studying mutants (diamond), posthumans (clubs), cosmic powers (spades), and magic (hearts). The original Sinister had a diamond on his head, which was his original symbol to mark his servitude to Apocalypse. The clone with the diamond continued using the Mister Sinister identity, while the other clones Dr. Stasis, Orbis Stellaris, and Mother Righteous respectively have a club, spade, and heart mark on their forehead.]]

* Queen by Stephen Jerzak causally uses the names of the suits in sentences (I.G “hearts like doves/she’s the queen of the clubs”) and mention playing solitaire, not to mention the whole queen thing
* A set of Light-Elemental Warrior cards in ''Tabletopgame/YuGiOh'' are based around the tradition King, Queen and Jack. Normal summoning a [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/King%27s_Knight King's Knight]] while having a [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Queen%27s_Knight Queen's Knight]] on the field special summons a [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Jack%27s_Knight Jack's Knight]]. There is also a Fusion Monster summoned by fusing the three, [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Arcana_Knight_Joker Arcana Knight Joker]].

Compare TarotMotifs and AliceAllusion. TheGambler will often have this as his scheme, as will the DeathDealer. Supertrope to DeadMansHand, which is a specific group of cards (two black eights and two black aces) that symbolizes death; AceOfSpades is another card/subtrope that symbolizes death specifically. Locations where playing cards are often used, such as TheCasino, may make use of this as well. See also TabletopGame/{{Poker}}.

* All of the characters in ''VideoGame/DragonQuestMonsters: Joker'' are named after card game terms, like Joker, Solitaire, Warden Trump, Madame Rummy, and Dr. Snap. The main monster of the game is also called the Incarnus, and it has four forms named after the card suits (Wulfspade, Hawkhart, Cluboon, and Diamagon) that can upgrade to "Ace" versions. (But note that while ''Joker'' has direct sequels, the card theme doesn't carry over and becomes TheArtifact.)

* In ''Film/{{Nobody}}'', Hutch Mansell has a 7 of Spades and a 2 of Diamonds (considered the worst hand to start with in Texas Hold'Em) tattooed on his wrist. Exactly what this means isn't explained, but the moment someone notices it said person immediately thanks him for his service and proceeds to hide behind a door with multiple locks.

* ''Series/KamenRiderStronger'': [[NobleDemon General Shadow]] carries with him a card deck that he can use for attacks or to tell fortunes. Each card in the deck also corresponds to a different member of his Delza Army, with Shadow's personal card being the King of Spades. Snake Woman, Shadow's [[TheDragon top henchman]] (and [[UnholyMatrimony possible lover]]) is represented by the Queen of Hearts.
* ''Series/KamenRiderBlade'' uses this for its overarching motif. There are 52 [[MonsterOfTheWeek Undead]], which are organized by the playing card suits based off their relative PowerLevels. The Riders defeat the Undead by sealing them into cards, which allows them to draw on their power: Aces are used to transform, the face cards give access to {{Super Mode}}s, and the others grant a variety of power-ups. The Riders themselves each represent one of the four suits, while being named for the corresponding [[TarotMotifs Tarot suit]]: Blade is Spades, Garren[[note]]a corruption of "galleon", an old form of coinage[[/note]] is Diamonds, Chalice is Hearts, and Leangle[[note]]from "liangle", a type of club[[/note]] represents Clubs. There's also a Joker Undead, which is fittingly enough the series' wild card.

* Gambling imagery sees frequent use in ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}'', being as TheMafia and the ''camorra'' play significant roles in the series. Playing card imagery is no exception: the opening credits sequence of the anime styles the kooky thief duo Isaac and Miria as the Joker, and indeed they have a tendency to shake up any situation they unwittingly wander into. TheDreaded killer-for-hire Claire Stanfield, meanwhile, is sometimes associated with the AceOfSpades in its capacity as the "death card."

* ''LightNovel/HighSchoolDXD'': The Brave Saints system of the 10 Seraphs, based on the Evil Piece System of the Devils. Each Seraph has access to 13 cards that are used to reincarnate humans into Angels, with each Seraph embodying a suit. Michael is Spades, Gabriel is Hearts, Uriel and Raziel are Diamonds, and Raphael, Sandalphon, and Metatron are Clubs. The most prominent of the Brave Saints are [[ChildhoodFriend Irina Shidou]], Michael's Ace, and [[BigEater Dulio Gesualdo]], Michael's Joker.

* ''LightNovel/NoGameNoLife'': The former King of Elchea's appearance is based on the King cards. Additionally, Tet, the God of Games, has the four suits as his motif, [[MotifMerger combined with other game-related motifs]].

** ''Comicbook/XMen'' villain Mister Sinister began to utilize this motif in [[ComicBook/XMenTheKrakoanAge the Krakoan Age]]: [[spoiler:he made clones of himself, each marked with a playing card symbol on their forehead, to fight the threat of AI by studying mutants (diamond), humans (clubs), aliens (spades), and magic (hearts). The original Sinister had a diamond on his head, which was his original symbol to mark his servitude to Apocalypse. The clone with the diamond continued using the Mister Sinister identity, while the other clones Dr. Stasis, Orbis Stellaris, and Mother Righteous respectively have a club, spade, and heart mark on their forehead.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverseTheMovie'': Spinel, the primary antagonist of the movie, has a Gemstone in the shape of a heart. According to WordOfGod, Spinels in general have their Gemstones cuts are shaped like playing card suits.

* ''Webcomic/TheShufflers'': Most prominently with Märchen, whose job as a fortune teller has him work closely with playing cards in order to predict the future.

** Blackjack from ''European Enemies''.

* Ride/CedarFairEntertainment: The mascot for Steel Vengeance is named Blackjack and has the four suits etched into his hat. This ties into the ride's wild west backstory.

** Setzer, from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' uses cards, dice, darts and slots in his attacks. His airship is named Blackjack. And he joins the party by losing a (rigged) coin toss. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nb2lnpKtl9k#t=2m13s This clip]] shows how badass a Setzer can be: He's a wispy silver-haired {{Bishonen}} that sails his airship at top speed, unfazed by the wind as he stands at the rudder, who ''destroys a heavily-armed gunship'' by tossing a few sharpened cards at it. Ante up indeed.

** Oswald, debuting in ''[[VideoGame/TheKingOfFightersXI KOF XI]]'', is a DeathDealer and thus his attacks from his fighting style of Karnoffel have playing card theme: Spade, Club, Diamond and Heart can be cancelled into each other up to three times, while Ace is an attack that can either deal minor or massive damage, similar to the value of the card. King and Queen are CounterAttack and projectile moves respectively. His Desperation Move Four Suits, via its C version, does 21 hits (Blackjack) while Joker has him unload his 52 (53 in ''[[VideoGame/TheKingOfFightersXIV XIV]]'') cards at his victim. Furthermore, his color scheme is the one of playing cards: Black suit, red shirt and glasses, white hair, and yellow tie for the details in the figure cards.

** ''Comicbook/XMen'' villain Mister Sinister began to utilize this motif in [[ComicBook/XMenTheKrakoanAge the Krakoan Age]]: [[he made clones of himself, each marked with a playing card symbol on their forehead, to fight his similarly marked rivals of mutants (diamond), humans (clubs), aliens (spades), and magic (hearts). The true Mr Sinister has a diamond on his head, which was his original symbol to mark his servitude to Apocalypse, while the other clones Dr Stasis, Orbis Stellaris and Mother Righteous respectively have a club, spade and heart mark on their forehead.]]

* Parodied in ''ComicBook/AlanFord'': three famous and important men who have to undertake an airplane journey together receive the two of spades and consider it an ominous message announcing death and ill-fated departure. By the end of the issue, Number One remembers that the two of spades is also the least valuable card you can get in Briscola (a card game) and thus a way to claim that someone's useless: the responsible is an otherwise forgettable ButtMonkey who's always been called "two of spades" because of his incapacity and wanted to get his revenge by using these cards to make other fall into endless paranoia.
* Franchise/TheDCU's Gambler is a [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]] villain and MasterOfDisguise who gets by mostly on luck. His grandfather was a riverboat gambler and bandit, and the primary inspiration for his villainous turn. He committed suicide after losing at a rigged casino. His grandchildren, the second Gambler and Hazard, follow much the same gimmick, though Hazard has luck ''powers''.
* As TheGambler, ComicBook/{{Gambit}} uses a playing card motif, with particular fondness for the Joker and the Ace of Spades. In Gambit-related storylines in which ComicBook/{{Rogue}} appears as his love interest, it's common to see her represented in his motif as the Queen of Hearts.
* ''ComicBook/HarleyQuinn'' is often decorated in diamonds.
* ''ComicBook/TheJoker'', ComicBook/{{Batman}}'s nemesis, corresponds well to his eponymous card by being chaotic and unpredictable. He also tends to use the Joker itself as a CallingCard.
* The Royal Flush Gang, pictured above, has always had a playing card motif, as they were originally formed by the BornLucky gambler Amos Fortune. The group's members have always consisted of the various cards one needs to form the titular hand -- Ace, King, Queen, Jack, and Ten. The gambling aspect quickly disappeared when they and Amos went their separate ways...except the ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' version, who first appeared in an episode that took place entirely in Las Vegas. They were also {{Shout Out}}s to the ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans''.
* ''Comicbook/XMen'': For most of his existence, the red diamond on villain Mister Sinister's forehead was just a mark of his servitude to Apocalypse, with no connection to the suit of playing cards. This changed in [[ComicBook/XMenTheKrakoanAge the Krakoan Age]], starting in ''ComicBook/XMen2021'', when the new villain Doctor Stasis' helmet was removed to reveal a face identical to Sinister's but with a club symbol instead. Sinister himself had no idea who Stasis was, and the revelation was enough to shake his confidence that he was the true Nathaniel Essex.[[note]]Though this Sinister is ''at least'' a clone of the original Sinister, so who knows how he considers hiself that.[[/note]] ''Comicbook/ImmortalXMen'' explained that [[spoiler:the dying original Essex foresaw the possibility of the singularity and saw four potential ways to fight it: mutants (diamond), humans (clubs), aliens (spades), and magic (hearts). He made a clone of himself for each avenue and marked them accordingly.]] The spades and hearts Sinisters would later be revealed as [[spoiler:Orbis Stellaris and Mother Righteous from ''Comicbook/XMenRed2022'' and ''Comicbook/LegionOfX'' respectively.]]