- "I didn't spend 5 years risking my life and my freedom to just be okay."
- —Kyle Reston on the gang's motives[src]
The Royal Flush Gang is a legacy name used by several gangs operating in Starling City and Keystone City.
History
First Gang
According to John Diggle, the Royal Flush Gang began their crime spree on the East Coast before moving west, most likely so they wouldn't be easy to track and capture.
The Royal Flush Gang was actually a family of criminals whom Robert Queen had taken advantage of when he laid off their patriarch, Derek Reston, who was among the 1,500 former employees of Queen Industrial Inc. cheated out of their pensions and severance packages thanks to loopholes in their Union contracts. As a result, the Reston family lost their home shortly before the Queen's Gambit sank in 2007.
To support themselves and to ensure their family's financial security, the family resorted to a three-year crime spree, originally operating with the intention of just stealing enough money so that they could live comfortably for the rest of their lives. The Royal Flush Gang also tried to avoid hurting civilians during their robberies whenever necessary. Whether this was out of a moral code of not wanting to harm innocents or simple common sense for not wanting additional heat from law enforcement is unknown. This policy was ultimately broken in late 2012 when Kyle Reston shot a cop while robbing Starling Trust Bank, bringing the gang to Oliver Queen/The Hood's attention.
Oliver offered Derek a chance to turn his life around with a job offer at Queen Consolidated, which was ultimately refused. After Oliver stopped the Royal Flush Gang from robbing Redwood United Bank, Derek was killed in the crossfire while his family was incarcerated at Iron Heights Prison.[1]
Second Gang
Second Royal Flush Gang after being defeated by The Flash.
A second Royal Flush Gang with an uncertain connection to the first one had surfaced in Keystone City in early 2015, evading capture by police using keen strategy for motorcycle scapes. They managed to evade The Flash by splitting up as well, but using a strategy proposed by Harrison Wells, the speedster quickly cornered them by creating detours and stripped them of the keys for their transport, leaving them for police to arrest.[2]
Known members
Current members
Former members
- Derek Reston/King (leader; deceased)
- Teddy Reston/Jack (incarcerated)
- Mrs. Reston (incarcerated)
- Kyle Reston/Ace (incarcerated)
Appearances
Arrow
Season 1
- "Legacies"
Season 6
- "Next of Kin" (mentioned; as the Restons)
The Flash
Season 1
Comics
Arrow
Behind the scenes
- In DC comics, the Royal Flush Gang is a legacy name of a gang who opposed the Justice League on several occasions. Its members base their codenames after playing cards (usually Spades, but might use other card colours too). In its later incarnation, it became a franchise of sorts with several gangs of different members operating in several cities. The main members are; King, Queen, Jack and Ace, while at times there is also an additional one, under the alias of Ten.
- It was never really confirmed if there is any connection between the first and second iterations of the team. Moreover, the second iteration lacks a Jack. In the DC Comics, the first user of the "Jack" alias was the only surviving and active member of the original version of the gang.