HenchDice

HenchDice
GENERAL
Cuphead
Character	Henchman
Character	King Dice
Canonical?	Fanon
Status of Relationship	Co-workers; one-sided resentment on King Dice's side
IN FANDOM
Type (?)	Slash

HenchDice is the slash ship between King Dice and Henchman from the Cuphead fandom.

Canon

In the game, both Henchman and King Dice are the Devil's surbordinates, though they don't interact with each other andappear in different boss fights.

According to the Devil, Henchman is a big fan of King Dice's show and never misses an episode. In "Roll the Dice" (S1E5), when The Devil wants to see King Dice, Henchman asks for his autograph, to which King Dice indignantly declines. Both of them seem to be somewhat alarmed about the Devil's anger, though King Dice didn't seem to realize the danger as seen in "Release the Demons!" (S2E8) where he has a baffled look on his face when Henchman pulls him aside during the Devil's tirade about Cuphead.

In "Down & Out" the Devil and Henchman come across King Dice again after they decide to go to the "new club" the latter heard about (mainly to avoid going through a ledger review with Stickler). There, they find Dice performing. While Henchman is happy to see him again, the Devil doesn't share his enthusiasm. During the break, the Devil tells Henchman to wait outside and confronts Dice, reminding him of the last time he was unable to capture Cuphead, revealing that, if he failed, he would destroy him. However, instead of being terrified, King Dice reassures him that it's all part of his plan to make up for it: with Cuphead believing to be his "manager", he's planning on getting him to sign a business contract, which gives ownership of his soul directly to the Devil. Hearing this, the demon decides to give his former Number One one last chance. King Dice presents the scroll to Cuphead as a contract that confirms the cup as his official manager, only to be turned down, with Cuphead claiming that "music's out and comedy's in", using Mugman's ventriloquism as an example.

This infuriates the Devil, who proceeds to leave with Henchman back to the Underworld. Just before they get in the elevator, they notice Dice walking out of the barn and the Devil stops him. Near the end of the episode, however, a more positive interaction is seen between the two. While the Devil is very disappointed in King Dice, he admits that Dice "has something that's been sorely lacking from the organization for too long" and how it needs "his glitz, pizzazz, and razzle-dazzle." Though baffled at first, King Dice agrees and the two demons welcome him into the elevator with the Henchman can be seen smiling at King Dice, likely happy to have him back in the organization.

In some ways, King Dice can be seen as a foil to Henchman as well: both are the nearest the Devil has to minions/ sidekicks (since he goes through his other mooks in rapid succession), however, while Henchman is a dopey and clumsy assistant who tries to mediate his boss and his subordinates, King Dice is a devious and charismatic sycophant who wants the perks that come from being the Devil's "Number One" without putting any actual work in, and will gladly manipulate and backstab the Devil's other lackeys to maintain his own credibility. Also, while King Dice is deluded into thinking he is on special terms with the Devil (who treats him as an annoyance at best), Henchman is closest to having a genuine, if unflaunted, friendship with the Devil.

Fanon

HenchDice likely came to be from the mention of Henchman being a big fan of King Dice. Portrayals of the pairing often depict Henchman's admiration of King Dice and his game show to be more-or-less romantic infatuation as opposed to just admiration of an idol. The shippers also have Dice holding no resentment towards Henchman for his proximity to the Devil, as opposed to the canonical hostility he has towards the Fat Demon (according to headwriter Deeki Deke).

Though still a new ship for the time being, it is still a quite well-known ship in its own right in fan art.

Fandom

FAN FICTION

King Dice/Henchman tag on AO3

King Dice & Henchman tag on AO3

TUMBLR

HenchDice tag on Tumblr

TWITTER

HenchDice hashtag on Twitter

Trivia

• Head writer Deeki Deke once said on Twitter that King Dice might actually hold a one-sided resentment towards Henchman for his proximity to the Devil and that, since Henchman took over and hosted Roll the Dice, it's highly unlikely for King Dice to give him an autograph.

Gallery

Screenshots