King Dice (The Cuphead Show!)

“	Who will be the first lucky contestant to... Roll the Dice!?	„
 	~ King Dice beginning his game show. 	
“	I just captured someone you might be interested in. A certain... cup.	„
 	~ King Dice announcing to the Devil that he has Cuphead. 	
King Dice is one of the two secondary antagonists (alongside Henchman) of the 2022 Netflix animated series The Cuphead Show!.
He is the Devil's self-proclaimed number one, and the former beloved host of the game show Roll the Dice. Despite being beloved by the Inkwell Isles and promising that the participants of his game will receive prizes, he actually uses the game show to bring more souls to the Devil.
== History ==
=== Backstory ===
King Dice is popular across all of Inkwell as the host of the game show Roll the Dice, where the contestants have to go through three phases: "Guess/Name that Tune", where they have to guess the melody that the band is playing; "The Trivia Round", where they have to answer a question correctly; and "Roll the Dice", where they have to roll the two dices on the stage. You can't lose the final stage, as any number will be considered a victory and will lead the winner to their mystery prize, which isn't announced to the viewers and is, like the name says, a mystery. In reality, however, the "mystery prize room" has nothing but a single machine inside, which will forcefully take the winner's soul out and drag it down to Hell for the Devil to collect. The soulless body is then thrown out into the streets, where there is a sign sarcastically congratulating the now-soulless winner for playing.
=== "Roll the Dice" ===
King Dice's first contestant is a telephone, which "wins" the game and has his soul sucked out. When King Dice tries to choose his next victim, Cuphead and Mugman barge into the room, chasing a tire. King Dice chooses Cuphead as the next contestant. However, Cuphead steals the whole show, constantly taking the microphone and gaining the audience's love. When Cuphead is trying to tell a joke (but forgot the punchline), Dice sees a wanted poster and realizes his boss wants Cuphead's soul. He stops the show for a moment to promote his sponsors, and calls the Devil, announcing that he captured Cuphead. The Devil praises Dice but warns him that he hates disappointment.
During the first question, "Name that Tune", Cuphead wrongly answers the question, and when he tries to ask Mugman for help, his brother gets stage fright. As Cuphead is about to accept his loss, King Dice drags him back onto the stage and tells him that he deserves another chance. He asks Cuphead what his favourite tune is and then orders the band to play it, which Cuphead correctly guesses. He then asks him a question, and Cuphead answers correctly, but not without Dice's help. When he is told to roll the dice, Cuphead doesn't do it and instead tells the audience the punchline to the joke he said earlier in the episode.
Dice, at his limit, angrily tells Cuphead to get on with it and roll the dice, and Cuphead does so, accidentally breaking the two dices into pieces. Dice still tries to force Cuphead into the mystery prize room, but the audience knows that Cuphead lost and starts booing him. Cuphead, with enough dignity to not go inside the room, leaves the show alongside Mugman. Dice then tries to force Cuphead into the room, but he is crushed by the tire from before.
Afterwards, King Dice is visited by Henchman, who tells him the Devil wants to see him. Once Dice goes to Hell thanks to an elevator, he encounters the Devil. He tells Dice that Henchman is a big fan of Roll the Dice and has never missed a single episode and that today, he told the Devil that Dice had his first loss throughout the show's history. The Devil expresses his anger and disappointment at King Dice for failing to capture Cuphead's soul when he was right next to him. The Devil tells Dice that he is no longer the Devil's number one or the Roll the Dice host, both being replaced by Henchman.
=== "Release the Demons" ===
Despite being replaced as the host for Roll the Dice, King Dice still works for the Devil, so when he hears his boss, growing impatient with Cuphead, requires help to capture the cup's soul, he volunteers himself and is frightened by the burnt ashes of the 1st best demons who were accidentally killed. He also witnesses the deaths of the 2nd best demons when the Devil rages again, and is sent out along with the 3rd best (though very incompetent) demons to stalk and claim the cup's soul at the corn maze. However, King Dice formulates a plan to steal all the glory, initially convincing the two scorpion demons to kill the spider demon, then tricking them into popping each other, and, after seeing the small ball demon incinerate the turtle one, he uses it as a tool to get rid of the remaining demons before eventually causing it to explode, before finally positioning himself at the end of the maze with a net to catch Cuphead.
Unbeknownst to him however, the Devil is extremely impatient with his antics and unleashes the Four Horsemen to capture Cuphead. King Dice and Cuphead are two of the unlucky few to gaze upon them and is frozen solid by fear, but Mugman accidentally spooks their horses with his fake horse head, unfreezing Cuphead, and sending the horsemen flying into a water bath where, finally extinguished, they take the rest of the day off and enjoy their time at the fair.
For some reason, King Dice remains frozen in fear temporarily even after the Horsemen are gone, causing a maze-goer to mistake him for a prop and remark "lame".
=== "Down & Out" ===
After losing his show, and being hunted by the Devil for his failure, King Dice was living on the alleyway next to Roll the Dice. He had no money, no job, and he was stuck eating a shoe. Then, he saw Cuphead and Mugman, trying to do a puppet act. Still furious at them for losing his show and ruining his life, he attempted to kill them with a pipe. However, they were overjoyed to see him, due to them still looking up to King Dice. He told them how he lost his show, his money, and everything.
=== "The Devil & Ms. Chalice" ===
In the third season's finale, King Dice is seen during the dance battle between the Devil and Ms. Chalice, bringing his show's opening theme back to life, announcing the challenge, and bringing music. At the end of the episode, it is likely that King Dice is now working full-time at the Devil's new casino as, possibly, its manager.
== Quotes ==
Season 1
“	Oh! You're terrible!	„
 	~ King Dice. 	
“	Who will be our next lucky contestant? You! You're the next contestant on Roll the Dice! Welcome to the show! Now, let go of my leg and tell us a little bit about yourself.	„
 	~ King Dice. 	
“	Now, a quick word from our sponsor. We'll be right back.	„
 	~ King Dice. 	
“	Get me the boss.	„
 	~ King Dice. 	
“	King Dice? Your number one?	„
 	~ King Dice. 	
“	Couldn't have said it better myself.	„
 	~ King Dice. 	
“	Couldn’t have said it better myself.	„
 	~ King Dice. 	
“	No! We are not going to break! Roll the Dice!	„
 	~ King Dice. 	
“	How? 	„
 	~ King Dice.	
“	Shut up! Get in there!	„
 	~ King Dice. 	
“	No. You have to win! You’re going in that room one way or another! 	„
 	~ King Dice’s villainous breakdown, trying to force Cuphead into going into the Myster Prize room.	
“	Look, I can explain!	„
 	~ King Dice. 	
“	Give a second chance to your number one!	„
 	~ King Dice. 	
“	But if I'm not hosting, then who?	„
 	~ King Dice. 	
Season 2
“	Number One here, fashionably late, and fashionably fashionable, as per usu- (screams) What did you do?!	„
 	~ King Dice. 	
== Trivia ==
* So far as we've seen, King Dice didn't make any bets with the Devil.
* Wayne Brady is a game show host in real life, most notably in Don't Forget the Lyrics! and Let's Make a Deal.
* The song that Telephone has to guess in his "Name that Tune" segment is "Little Brown Jug", a song about having fun by drinking alcohol. This is likely a nod to King Dice serving the Devil, the embodiment of all vice (especially since the series seems to be set in the Prohibition era, when alcohol was outright illegal in the USA).
* King Dice's stage entrance in the episode "Roll the Dice" is a direct reference to dance moves of musician Cab Calloway (who was the primary inspiration for King Dice's design in the game) which were rotoscoped in several Betty Boop cartoons, most notably Minnie the Moocher and Betty Boop in Snow-White.
* According to Cuphead, King Dice is "way shorter in-person." This could be a slight nod to his in-game counterpart, where he is depicted as being quite giant during his boss fight.
* It is implied that King Dice dislikes being touched by others, shown when he flatly tells his telephone contestant not to touch him and seems uncomfortable when Cuphead hugs his leg. Even when The Devil grabs him by the lapels to beg him to come back to work for him, Dice accepts the offer and simultaneously pushes the Devil off.
* Despite serving him, King Dice can be seen as a foil to the Devil in the show:
** While the Devil is feared across all Inkwell and beyond, King Dice is a publicly beloved Game Show host. In addition, both end up having their respective reputations spoiled because of Cuphead, as the Devil seems to be taken much less seriously by people as of "Sweater Luck Next Time" while King Dice loses his fans after it becomes clear he's rigged the show for Cuphead.
** The Devil obtains the souls of those who lose at his games, such as the games at Carnevil, while King Dice obtains the souls of those who win at his Game Show "Roll the Dice".
** The Devil will often approach enemies with aggression and violence, while King Dice will remain civil untill pushed far enough and use smooth-talking instead.
** While the Devil (briefly) warmed up to Cuphead due to the latter's humor, King Dice progressively came to hate Cuphead more and more for his stupidity and show-stealing.
** They have opposite color schemes, as King Dice's is primarily made out of purples and white in contrast to the Devil, who is mostly black and yellow.
** King Dice is impeccably dressed head to toe and well-kept, while the Devil is naked with messy fur and long, yellow nails.
Category:Villain