WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Superman: Man of Tomorrow #2, by Robert Venditti, Paul Pelletier, Drew Hennessy, Adriano Lucas and Clayton Cowles, on sale now.
Metropolis has never really been a gambling town. In the DC Universe, that kind of action is far better suited to somewhere like Gotham City. However, one classic DC villain wants to change that in Superman: Man of Tomorrow #2.
Originally published in DC's Wal-Mart exclusive Superman Giant series, Superman: Man of Tomorrow puts Superman in his truest form, as the kind, shining hero of DC's brightest city, surrounded by his traditional supporting cast: Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, and Perry White. With a classic set-up that still has Superman firmly disguised as a mild-mannered reporter for The Daily Planet, Superman must face the Gambler, who's running an operation based around betting on the outcomes of Superman's adventures.
While the Gambler has a deep history within the DC Universe, he's never really been a Superman villain before now. The original Gambler debuted in 1944's Green Lantern #12, by Henry Kutter and Martin Nodell, and he was initially an enemy of Alan Scott, DC's first Green Lantern. He was a costumed villain who mainly robbed banks while dressed as a stereotypical riverboat gambler. As the latest in a long line of gamblers, he was armed with a special derringer that fired blackout gas and ammonia and was adept in the art of disguise. While his heists were themed around riskiness, this version of the character was not involved with literal gambling.
The placing of bets would not become a part of Gambler's identity until the second Gambler, Steven Sharpe V, took up his grandfather's mantle and began a life of crime as a minor Titans villain in the '90s. Although an ostentatious version of the Gambler with a distinctive Southern drawl fought the Gambler in the DC Rebirth era, it's not clear which version of the character appears in this possibly out-of-continuity story.
In sharp contrast to his previous incarnations, this Gambler is relatively more down to Earth. He doesn't have a special pistol or a costume -- just an ugly suit -- and a betting ring that puts money on what sort of crime, disaster, or threat Superman will stop next. The truly nefarious bit, however, is that Gambler is using gambling debts as a means of leveraging people into committing crimes that Superman will respond to, ensuring that the house always wins.
While this is seemingly part of Gambler's efforts to get gambling legalized so he can open a legitimate casino, the villain reveals that he too is acting under the orders of a corrupt Metropolis City Councilor who's pushing to legalize gambling.
By the end of this brief, classical Superman adventure, the real villain is in custody, and the money he took from the people of Metropolis has been miraculously returned. And even while this story just affirmed that Metropolis isn't a place to gamble, Superman made it abundantly clear that he's not someone to bet against.