Randall Flagg
Encyclopedia
Randall Flagg is a fictional character created by Stephen King
. Flagg has appeared in seven novels by King, sometimes as the main antagonist
and others in a brief cameo. He often appears under different names; most are abbreviated by the initials R.F. There are exceptions to this rule; in The Dark Tower
series, the name most often associated with Flagg is Walter o'Dim. Flagg is described as "an accomplished sorcerer and a devoted servant of the Outer Dark" with general supernatural
abilities involving necromancy
, prophecy
, and unnatural influence over predatory animal and human behavior. His goals typically center on bringing down civilizations, usually through spreading destruction and sowing conflict.
The character first appeared in the novel The Stand
as a demon
ic figure who wreaks havoc after a plague kills most of the population. He makes his second appearance in The Eyes of the Dragon
as an evil wizard attempting to plunge the fictional medieval city of Delain into chaos. Flagg made several more appearances in King's epic series The Dark Tower
as one of the main antagonists, in which he attempts to thwart protagonist Roland Deschain
from reaching the Tower, the linchpin of all existence, so he can claim it for himself and become a god. The Dark Tower expanded upon Flagg's backstory and motivations, as well as connecting his previous appearances together.
Aside from King's novels, Flagg was featured in a television miniseries adaptation of The Stand
, in which he was portrayed by Jamey Sheridan
, as well as making appearances in Marvel Comics
' adaptations of The Dark Tower and The Stand.
Stephen King initially attributed Donald DeFreeze
, the lead kidnapper in the Patty Hearst
case, as his inspiration for Randall Flagg. He later attributed Flagg's creation to an image of a man in cowboy boots, denim jeans and jacket always walking the roads that "came out of nowhere" when he was still in college. As King's self-described best villain, the nature of Flagg's character and evil has been the subject of much discussion by literary critics.
novel The Stand
. In it, he is trying to build a civilization in his name in the United States after a plague has killed off most of the population. Flagg’s backstory is vague, unknown even to him — Flagg states that at some point he just “became” — although he has memories of being a Marine
, a Klansman
, and a Viet Cong member, as well as having a hand in the kidnapping of Patty Hearst
. Stationed in Las Vegas
, Flagg attracts people who are drawn to destruction, power and fascism
. Flagg uses crucifixion
, torture
, and other torments as punishment for those who are disloyal. His followers reorganize the society, and rebuild the city. Flagg plans to attack and destroy the other emerging civilization—Mother Abagail's "Free Zone" in Boulder, Colorado
—to become the dominant society in the former United States
.
After two of Flagg's followers fail to kill the leaders of the "Free Zone," the Boulder-based community sends a group of men to Las Vegas to stop Flagg. After being taken prisoner, the men are brought before the city for a public execution. Before Flagg can kill them, one of his most loyal and devoted followers, the Trashcan Man, arrives with a nuclear warhead. "The Hand of God" appears and reaches down, just as the Trashcan Man stops, and detonates the bomb, destroying Flagg's followers and the two remaining prisoners. The novel was re-released in 1990, expanded to include the text that was cut during its original publication. Here, the novel explains that Flagg reappeared somewhere on a beach and gained a new group of individuals to control.
Flagg later appeared in The Eyes of the Dragon
(1986), as an evil wizard causing havoc in the medieval country of Delain. His appearance is hidden under a dark cloak, and most of his magic comes from performing spells, and using potions and poisons. In this novel, Flagg schemes to throw the kingdom of Delain into chaos by poisoning the King and framing Prince Peter, the rightful heir to the throne, for the crime. When Thomas, Peter's younger brother, becomes King, Flagg manipulates him into doing his bidding, as Flagg was the only person Thomas considered a friend during his childhood. Flagg essentially becomes ruler of Delain, and he plunges the kingdom into a Dark Age. Eventually, Thomas confronts Flagg over the murder of his father, something he witnessed as a child but was too frightened to prevent or admit to himself that he knew. Flagg is wounded by Thomas via an arrow to the eye, and vanishes from the kingdom. Peter is given the rightful throne, and Thomas leaves Delain with his butler Dennis to find Flagg. The book states that Thomas and Dennis find Flagg on their journey at some point in the future, but the exact nature of their encounter is never revealed and Flagg apparently survived to create chaos in later books.
In King's book Hearts in Atlantis
(1999), a character by the name of Raymond Fiegler is identified toward the end as the leader of an activist group, when he convinces a young girl to abandon her attempts to retrieve an unexploded bomb. King never explicitly identifies Fiegler as Flagg, but Christopher Golden
and Hank Wagner, coauthors of The Complete Stephen King Universe, suggest that there is little doubt Fiegler is Flagg. They present evidence of Fiegler's actions and persona, such as his ability to make himself appear "dim", his control of Carol Gerber and her activist friends, as well as the fact that Flagg often uses many aliases, usually with the initials "R.F.".
Randall Flagg would make the next six appearances as part of King's Dark Tower series
, which follows gunslinger Roland Deschain
as he travels the world(s) in search of the Dark Tower. Flagg's presence is felt at the very start of the series, with the opening sentence of the first book being "The man in black fled across the desert and the gunslinger followed." In this seven-novel series, Flagg takes on the guise of several individuals. He first appears as Walter o'Dim, being chased across the desert by Roland. Here, he identifies his true self to be the demon
Legion
, and states that Roland must defeat him if he is to enter the tower. In flashback sequences, Flagg assumes the identity of Marten Broadcloak, a wizard that conspired with the Crimson King
to cause the fall of the Dark Tower. As Marten, Flagg has an affair with Roland's mother, Gabrielle, in an attempt to provoke Roland into taking the gunslinger test early. His hope is for Roland to fail, so that he will be exiled, but Roland passes the test. Eventually, Roland catches Walter and they have a long discussion concerning Roland's destiny and the Tower, which causes Roland to slip into deep delirium. He wakes later to find a pile of bones in Flagg's place. In the original printing, Walter and Marten are separate characters, with Walter clearly dying at the end of the novel. When Stephen King published an expanded edition of the novel, Walter and Marten are portrayed as being one and the same, and Walter fakes his own death.
Randall Flagg makes his next appearance in the series' third novel, The Waste Lands. Flagg appears in the city of Lud
, where he saves the Tick-Tock Man Andrew Quick
, an enemy of Roland's ka-tet
, who was left for dead in an earlier confrontation. Quick becomes Flagg's devoted servant afterwards. In this guise, Flagg assumes the name of Richard Fannin. Flagg returns in the fourth book, Wizard and Glass, where he is officially revealed to be Marten Broadcloak. Here, he identifies himself as Flagg as well, and warns Roland and his ka-tet to abandon their quest for the Dark Tower. It is learned through flashbacks that Flagg, as Walter o'Dim, was the emissary for John Farson
, one of the main individuals responsible for the destruction of Gilead, Roland's home.
In the "Argument" (a recap of the series so far that precedes the story) of Wolves of the Calla, the fifth novel in the series, it is noted that Flagg is known as Broadcloak, Fannin, and also John Farson, depending on what world he is residing in. In Wolves of the Calla, Flagg would make a brief appearance as Walter o'Dim when Father Callahan
first arrives into Roland's world. Here, Flagg gives Father Callahan Black Thirteen
, a dangerous crystal ball, in hopes that it will kill Roland on his journey to the tower. In this encounter, Flagg is described as having "the face of a human weasel" with "the same welling red circle" on his forehead as the Can-toi
. The character's appearance in The Song of Susannah is set in a flashback, where it is revealed that Flagg made a bargain with the succubus
Mia, which resulted in her giving birth to a son, Mordred Deschain
, who was the child of both Roland and the Crimson King
.
In the last novel, Flagg indicates that he is not John Farson, but merely served under him until Farson's downfall. Flagg reveals his plans to climb the Dark Tower and see the room at the top and become the God of all. Flagg's ultimate goal, however, is to kill Roland Deschain once and for all for all the trouble he's caused him, but "most of all for the death of his mother, whom I once loved." The character believes that the only way to achieve these goals is through Mordred, whom he sees as an opportunity to further his plans. Flagg attempts to befriend Mordred, pledging allegiance to him, but Mordred telepathically
senses the wizard's true motives and kills him.
The Dark Tower reveals more of Flagg’s backstory, stating that he was born at least 1500 years earlier in Delain to Sam the Miller of Eastar’d Barony, and named Walter Padick. At the age of 13, Walter set out for a life on the road, but was rape
d by a fellow wanderer on his journey. (Bev Vincent hypothesized in The Road to the Dark Tower that Flagg's later actions towards Delain in The Eyes of the Dragon
may have been revenge for his treatment as a child.) Resisting the temptation to crawl back home, Padick instead moved on towards his destiny learning various forms of magic and achieving a sort of quasi-immortality
. After centuries of causing havoc, Flagg attracted the attention of the Crimson King, who took him as his emissary.
Stephen King had a hand in deciding who would portray Flagg for the television adaptation of The Stand
. King felt Flagg was the best villain he had ever created, and he wanted the actor portraying him to be right for the part. The original ideas tossed around by director Mick Garris
and the studios were to give the role to an established star such as Christopher Walken
, James Woods
, Willem Dafoe
, or Jeff Goldblum
. Miguel Ferrer
, who played Flagg's henchman in the film, was interested in playing the villain.
King's idea for the role was someone who "would make the ladies' hearts go pitty pat, that looked like the type of guy you would see on the cover of one of those sweet, savage love paperback romances". He eventually persuaded the decision makers to cast a lesser-known actor as Flagg, which ultimately ended up being Jamey Sheridan
.
Sheridan's performance was generally well-received. Erik Childress of Apollo Movie Guide wrote that Sheridan stood out among the rest of the cast, whom he also praised. Entertainment Weekly
’s Ken Tucker
wrote that the best acting came from Sheridan, who he said gave the character a “grim intensity”. Tucker commented on Sheridan’s physical appearance, stating that he has “leading-man looks” with the hair of a “dissolute heavy metal
star”, which makes him “unsettling” even when he is not wearing makeup that makes him look like a devil
. Douglas E. Winter, of Fangoria
magazine, believed that Sheridan might have been a bit young and “zany” for the part, but he gave a credible performance as Flagg; Winter stated that Sheridan attacked the role “with the swagger of Elvis, the sway of David Koresh
and as much craziness as your heart desires (and network TV allows)".
released a series of comics
that served as a prequel to the Dark Tower novels. Randall Flagg, appearing as both Marten Broadcloak and Walter o'Dim, plays a significant role in the series.
In April 2009, Marvel released a single-issue comic, written by Robin Furth
and illustrated by Richard Isanove, titled The Dark Tower: Sorcerer
that focused on the character of Marten Broadcloak/Walter o'Dim. Sorcerer gives a different origin from the one that King initially wrote, stating that Walter was in fact the bastard son of Maerlyn who was left at the home of a mill owner "to learn the ways of men"; at the age of thirteen, Walter burns down his adoptive father's mill before running away to find his true father. No mention of Walter's rape is given. Furth wrote in the afterward that the revelation that Maerlyn was Walter's father came from King himself. The comic also revealed that Marten had poisoned Roland's younger brother as an infant. Furth introduced the idea that Walter (as Marten) had engaged in an incest
uous relationship with his 'sister', the female personification of the Pink Grapefruit (being that both are born from Maerlyn). Thus, it is Marten's romantic feelings for Roland's mother that spurs the jealousy of the Grapefruit, who in turn influences Roland to unwittingly kill his mother. (In Wizard and Glass, the witch Rhea of the Cöos
was behind Roland's matricide as revenge for him killing her pet snake.) Enraged, Marten imprisons his 'sister' in the Grapefruit and vows revenge on Roland for his involvement for his love's death.
On writing the character of Marten, Furth opined that "[he] is one of the scariest characters that Stephen King has ever created. He moves from book to book, bringing chaos and anarchy with him...He is quite a demonic figure, and as such he is one of the great anti-heroes of contemporary popular fiction" and that "[j]ourneying into Walter's mind is a pretty wild experience and at times a little frightening. You have to travel to very dark places."
Marvel later released an comic book adaptation of The Stand
that began in September, 2008. It is set to run for thirty issues. Writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
described Flagg as "The man of nightmares. Or, put another way, our nightmares given human (more or less) form. The dark side of the American Dream
...King's 'Walkin' Dude' may not be the Devil, himself, as Mother Abagail says, but he comes pretty damn close..." Initially, artist Mike Perkins
said that he felt that "Flagg needed to be designed less as a man—more as a force of nature. His hair will obscure his features, his face will be almost always in heavy shadow. This is the creature lurking under your bed, in your wardrobe, in your nightmares. Slightly familiar but wholly terrifying." Later on, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa commented on original idea to never show Flagg's face: "...the further into the book and the adaptation you go, the less feasible that becomes. Stephen spends so much time describing [Flagg]'s features and smiles, you need to show those things."
Stephen King initially attributed Donald DeFreeze
, the lead kidnapper in the Patty Hearst
case, as his inspiration for Randall Flagg. According to King, he was remembering the Patty Hearst case when he began to write a description of DeFreeze. King started by writing, "Donald DeFreeze is a dark man.” He remembered through the photographs taken of the bank robbery that Patty Hearst took part in that DeFreeze was only partially visible, hidden under a large hat. What he looked like was based on guesses made by people who only saw a portion of him. This inspired King, who then wrote, "A dark man with no face." After reading the motto, "Once in every generation the plague will fall among them," King set to work writing The Stand, and developing the character of Randall Flagg.
In 2004, King stated that Flagg's real inspiration just came to him "out of nowhere", while he was attending college. According to King, he just had this image of a man in cowboy boots, denim jeans and jacket, who was always walking the roads. This character inspired King to write "The Dark Man", a poem about a man who rides the rails and admits to murder
and rape
. To the author, what made Flagg interesting was the fact that he was a villain who was "always on the outside looking in". King has stated that he believes that Flagg has been present since he first began his writing career.
. When Stephen King was first creating his vision of Flagg, he based him around what he believed evil to represent. To King, Flagg is “somebody who’s very charismatic, laughs a lot, [is] tremendously attractive to men and women both, and [is] somebody who just appeals to the worst in all of us.” This idea is carried into The Stand, Flagg’s first appearance in literature. Here, Flagg is characterized as the personification of evil set against Mother Abagail, the personification of good. The character of Tom Cullen describes Flagg as having the ability to kill animals and give men cancer
simply by looking at them. Cullen goes on to refer to him as the demon Legion
. According to Stephen King, he was not trying to say that Flagg was the Devil. He wanted Flagg to represent a "gigantic evil", though the character was supposed to taper off by the end of The Stand. King stated, "I think the Devil is probably a pretty funny guy. Flagg is like the archetype
of everything that I know about real evil, going back all the way to Charles Starkweather
in the '50s — he is somebody who is empty and who has to be filled with other people's hates, fears, resentments, laughs. Flagg, Koresh
, Jim Jones
, Hitler
— they're all basically the same guy." Though Flagg was never intended to represent Satan
, that did not detract from what King sees as his ultimate goal. King notes that it does not matter who sees him, or how they see him — Flagg can appear differently to each individual — but that his message is always the same: "I know all the things that you want and I can give them to you and all you have to do is give me your soul
."
Apart from King’s interpretation, literary critics have noted Flagg’s penchant for evil. Tony Magistrale
sees Flagg as a Shakespearian
villain, comparing him to such Shakespeare villains as Iago
, Edmund
, and Richard III
, even going so far as to say that Flagg is an antihero. Magistrale states that Flagg’s evil is based on his ability to cause conflict where it has never been before, and destroy things simply because they are united; though he seeks power, that power is just a resource for him to achieve a higher degree of destruction. Heidi Stringell finds that Flagg truly is “an embodiment of pure evil” and that King sees good and evil as “real forces”, and that Flagg’s representation of pure evil is validated by the fact that “he is a killer, a maker of mischief, a liar, and a tempter”. To Stringell, Flagg’s disappearance at the end of The Stand shows that “evil ultimately leads nowhere”. The author goes into further detail when she calls Flagg a “generic hybrid” of the character archetypes “the Dark Man and the Trickster”. To her, it is the combination of these two characteristics, both found in different cultural realms, that force people to face their own “flawed humanity” with the “amorality
” Flagg represents.
Douglas Winter believes that Flagg actually epitomizes the Gothic
villain — an “atavistic
embodiment of evil” — as his appearance is indistinct, malleable and a “collection of masks”. Flagg symbolizes “the inexplicable fear of the return of bygone powers — both technological and, as his last name intimates, sociopolitical”. Like other Gothic villains, Flagg’s plans seem to fail at every turn, while seeming to need to convince others of his importance. Winter states that Flagg is a Miltonic
superman who receives his strength from some dark, mysterious source. He compares Flagg to J. R. R. Tolkien
’s Sauron
, from The Lord of the Rings
, in that both collapse when directly confronted. Alissa Stickler describes Flagg as a “contemporary medievalist interpretation on the themes of evil, magic and the (d)evil figure”. Stickler likened Flagg’s presence to that of Merlin
whispering in the ear of Arthur
; she notes that Flagg is politically powerful in both The Stand and The Eyes of the Dragon, but that he uses his power differently in each novel and challenges the depictions of evil and witchcraft
that was common in medieval times. First, she explains that there does not appear to be a higher power to which Flagg “must appeal to his abilities”, as there typically is with the traditional evil. Flagg appears more as a “humanesque evil”, which ultimately works against him as much as it does for him. Flagg’s supernatural knowledge is far from infallible, and that customary depiction of black and white is replaced with an “acceptance of a shadowy gray area”. She states that even though Flagg appears “terrifying and supernatural”, thanks to King’s narration, there are no absolutes. Stickler concluded that Flagg represents the medieval monster of both past and future, which challenges and at the same time supports the perception of the literary Middle Ages.
Flagg’s representation of evil has its detractors. In his essay "The Glass-Eyed Dragon", author L. Sprague de Camp
criticized Flagg's appearance in Eyes of the Dragon, saying that Flagg was one of the least believable characters in the book and that he was too evil to be credible. According to de Camp, absolute evil is hard to believe in and, where men like Adolf Hitler
and Joseph Stalin
believed that they were actually bettering the world by their actions, Flagg only enjoys causing destruction and chaos. The author goes on to say that Flagg fails to see that there are no advantages in his actions.
Representing evil is not the only characteristic seen by critics. Joseph Reino commented that Randall Flagg presence in The Stand was "Stephen King's version of a pestilential Big Brother". Tony Magistrale revisited the character in a second book, this time comparing him to Norman Mailer
. Here, Magistrale states that in The Stand Flagg gives the reader an “illustration of King’s jaundiced perspective of modern America”, as he presents the natural consequence of worshipping technology and sacrificing “moral integrity to the quest for synthetic productivity”.
Flagg’s physical characterization changes with each novel. In The Eyes of the Dragon, Flagg is described as a "thin and stern faced man of about 50 [years of age]". He is further described as a hooded figure, who stood in the dark and controlled the kings and queens of Delain; he is also described as a "sickness" that always seems to reappear whenever there is something worth destroying.
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
. Flagg has appeared in seven novels by King, sometimes as the main antagonist
Antagonist
An antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...
and others in a brief cameo. He often appears under different names; most are abbreviated by the initials R.F. There are exceptions to this rule; in The Dark Tower
The Dark Tower (series)
The Dark Tower is a series of books written by American author Stephen King, which incorporates themes from multiple genres, including fantasy, science fantasy, horror and western. It describes a "Gunslinger" and his quest toward a tower, the nature of which is both physical and metaphorical. King...
series, the name most often associated with Flagg is Walter o'Dim. Flagg is described as "an accomplished sorcerer and a devoted servant of the Outer Dark" with general supernatural
Supernatural
The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...
abilities involving necromancy
Necromancy
Necromancy is a claimed form of magic that involves communication with the deceased, either by summoning their spirit in the form of an apparition or raising them bodily, for the purpose of divination, imparting the ability to foretell future events or discover hidden knowledge...
, prophecy
Prophet
In religion, a prophet, from the Greek word προφήτης profitis meaning "foreteller", is an individual who is claimed to have been contacted by the supernatural or the divine, and serves as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other people...
, and unnatural influence over predatory animal and human behavior. His goals typically center on bringing down civilizations, usually through spreading destruction and sowing conflict.
The character first appeared in the novel The Stand
The Stand
The Stand is a post-apocalyptic horror/fantasy novel by American author Stephen King. It demonstrates the scenario in his earlier short story, Night Surf...
as a demon
Demon
call - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...
ic figure who wreaks havoc after a plague kills most of the population. He makes his second appearance in The Eyes of the Dragon
The Eyes of the Dragon
The Eyes of the Dragon is a novel by Stephen King published in 1987. Previously, it was published as a limited edition hardcover by Philtrum Press in 1984. The mass-market version had been slightly revised for publication. At the time it was a surprising deviation from the norm for King, who is...
as an evil wizard attempting to plunge the fictional medieval city of Delain into chaos. Flagg made several more appearances in King's epic series The Dark Tower
The Dark Tower (series)
The Dark Tower is a series of books written by American author Stephen King, which incorporates themes from multiple genres, including fantasy, science fantasy, horror and western. It describes a "Gunslinger" and his quest toward a tower, the nature of which is both physical and metaphorical. King...
as one of the main antagonists, in which he attempts to thwart protagonist Roland Deschain
Roland Deschain
Roland Deschain of Gilead is a fictional character, the protagonist and antihero of Stephen King's The Dark Tower series. He is the son of Steven and Gabrielle Deschain and is descended from a long line of "gunslingers", peacekeepers and diplomats of Roland's society...
from reaching the Tower, the linchpin of all existence, so he can claim it for himself and become a god. The Dark Tower expanded upon Flagg's backstory and motivations, as well as connecting his previous appearances together.
Aside from King's novels, Flagg was featured in a television miniseries adaptation of The Stand
The Stand (TV miniseries)
# Project Blue [1:33]# The Dream Begins [2:08]# On the Road to Kansas [3:57]# The Trashmen in Vegas [1:58]# Headin' West [1:56]# Larry & Nadine [2:38]# Mother Abigail [3:10]# 'Sorry Mister, I Don't Understand' [2:54]# Mid Country [3:22]...
, in which he was portrayed by Jamey Sheridan
Jamey Sheridan
James Patrick "Jamey" Sheridan is an American actor. He was born in Pasadena, California.He has had a prolific acting career in theater, television, and feature film productions. Born to a family of actors, he made it to Broadway and earned a Tony nomination in 1987 for his performance in the...
, as well as making appearances in Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
' adaptations of The Dark Tower and The Stand.
Stephen King initially attributed Donald DeFreeze
Donald DeFreeze
Donald David DeFreeze , also known as Cinque Mtume, was the leader of the American guerilla group Symbionese Liberation Army, a group operating in the mid-1970s, under the nom de guerre "Field Marshal Cinque."...
, the lead kidnapper in the Patty Hearst
Patty Hearst
Patricia Campbell Hearst , now known as Patricia Campbell Hearst Shaw, is an American newspaper heiress, socialite, actress, kidnap victim, and convicted bank robber....
case, as his inspiration for Randall Flagg. He later attributed Flagg's creation to an image of a man in cowboy boots, denim jeans and jacket always walking the roads that "came out of nowhere" when he was still in college. As King's self-described best villain, the nature of Flagg's character and evil has been the subject of much discussion by literary critics.
In novels
Randall Flagg made his first official appearance in the 1978 apocalypticApocalypse
An Apocalypse is a disclosure of something hidden from the majority of mankind in an era dominated by falsehood and misconception, i.e. the veil to be lifted. The Apocalypse of John is the Book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament...
novel The Stand
The Stand
The Stand is a post-apocalyptic horror/fantasy novel by American author Stephen King. It demonstrates the scenario in his earlier short story, Night Surf...
. In it, he is trying to build a civilization in his name in the United States after a plague has killed off most of the population. Flagg’s backstory is vague, unknown even to him — Flagg states that at some point he just “became” — although he has memories of being a Marine
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
, a Klansman
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
, and a Viet Cong member, as well as having a hand in the kidnapping of Patty Hearst
Patty Hearst
Patricia Campbell Hearst , now known as Patricia Campbell Hearst Shaw, is an American newspaper heiress, socialite, actress, kidnap victim, and convicted bank robber....
. Stationed in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, Flagg attracts people who are drawn to destruction, power and fascism
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
. Flagg uses crucifixion
Crucifixion
Crucifixion is an ancient method of painful execution in which the condemned person is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead...
, torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
, and other torments as punishment for those who are disloyal. His followers reorganize the society, and rebuild the city. Flagg plans to attack and destroy the other emerging civilization—Mother Abagail's "Free Zone" in Boulder, Colorado
Boulder, Colorado
Boulder is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County and the 11th most populous city in the U.S. state of Colorado. Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of...
—to become the dominant society in the former United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
After two of Flagg's followers fail to kill the leaders of the "Free Zone," the Boulder-based community sends a group of men to Las Vegas to stop Flagg. After being taken prisoner, the men are brought before the city for a public execution. Before Flagg can kill them, one of his most loyal and devoted followers, the Trashcan Man, arrives with a nuclear warhead. "The Hand of God" appears and reaches down, just as the Trashcan Man stops, and detonates the bomb, destroying Flagg's followers and the two remaining prisoners. The novel was re-released in 1990, expanded to include the text that was cut during its original publication. Here, the novel explains that Flagg reappeared somewhere on a beach and gained a new group of individuals to control.
Flagg later appeared in The Eyes of the Dragon
The Eyes of the Dragon
The Eyes of the Dragon is a novel by Stephen King published in 1987. Previously, it was published as a limited edition hardcover by Philtrum Press in 1984. The mass-market version had been slightly revised for publication. At the time it was a surprising deviation from the norm for King, who is...
(1986), as an evil wizard causing havoc in the medieval country of Delain. His appearance is hidden under a dark cloak, and most of his magic comes from performing spells, and using potions and poisons. In this novel, Flagg schemes to throw the kingdom of Delain into chaos by poisoning the King and framing Prince Peter, the rightful heir to the throne, for the crime. When Thomas, Peter's younger brother, becomes King, Flagg manipulates him into doing his bidding, as Flagg was the only person Thomas considered a friend during his childhood. Flagg essentially becomes ruler of Delain, and he plunges the kingdom into a Dark Age. Eventually, Thomas confronts Flagg over the murder of his father, something he witnessed as a child but was too frightened to prevent or admit to himself that he knew. Flagg is wounded by Thomas via an arrow to the eye, and vanishes from the kingdom. Peter is given the rightful throne, and Thomas leaves Delain with his butler Dennis to find Flagg. The book states that Thomas and Dennis find Flagg on their journey at some point in the future, but the exact nature of their encounter is never revealed and Flagg apparently survived to create chaos in later books.
In King's book Hearts in Atlantis
Hearts in Atlantis
Hearts in Atlantis is a collection of two novellas and three short stories by Stephen King, all connected to one another by recurring characters and taking place in roughly chronological order....
(1999), a character by the name of Raymond Fiegler is identified toward the end as the leader of an activist group, when he convinces a young girl to abandon her attempts to retrieve an unexploded bomb. King never explicitly identifies Fiegler as Flagg, but Christopher Golden
Christopher Golden
Christopher Golden is an American author of horror, fantasy, and suspense novels for adults, teens, and young readers.Golden was born and raised in Massachusetts, where he still lives with his family. He is a graduate of Tufts University...
and Hank Wagner, coauthors of The Complete Stephen King Universe, suggest that there is little doubt Fiegler is Flagg. They present evidence of Fiegler's actions and persona, such as his ability to make himself appear "dim", his control of Carol Gerber and her activist friends, as well as the fact that Flagg often uses many aliases, usually with the initials "R.F.".
The Dark Tower (series)
The Dark Tower is a series of books written by American author Stephen King, which incorporates themes from multiple genres, including fantasy, science fantasy, horror and western. It describes a "Gunslinger" and his quest toward a tower, the nature of which is both physical and metaphorical. King...
, which follows gunslinger Roland Deschain
Roland Deschain
Roland Deschain of Gilead is a fictional character, the protagonist and antihero of Stephen King's The Dark Tower series. He is the son of Steven and Gabrielle Deschain and is descended from a long line of "gunslingers", peacekeepers and diplomats of Roland's society...
as he travels the world(s) in search of the Dark Tower. Flagg's presence is felt at the very start of the series, with the opening sentence of the first book being "The man in black fled across the desert and the gunslinger followed." In this seven-novel series, Flagg takes on the guise of several individuals. He first appears as Walter o'Dim, being chased across the desert by Roland. Here, he identifies his true self to be the demon
Demon
call - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...
Legion
Legion (demon)
Legion is a group of demons referred to in the Christian Bible. The New Testament outlines an encounter where Jesus healed a man from Gadarenes possessed by demons while traveling, known as Exorcising the Gerasenes demonic.- In the Bible :...
, and states that Roland must defeat him if he is to enter the tower. In flashback sequences, Flagg assumes the identity of Marten Broadcloak, a wizard that conspired with the Crimson King
Crimson King
The Crimson King, also commonly known as Los', is a fictional character created by Stephen King. He is the antagonist in the novel Insomnia the main villain due to a plot twist in Black House and one of the main villains in the latter half of Stephen King's Dark Tower series.-Fictional...
to cause the fall of the Dark Tower. As Marten, Flagg has an affair with Roland's mother, Gabrielle, in an attempt to provoke Roland into taking the gunslinger test early. His hope is for Roland to fail, so that he will be exiled, but Roland passes the test. Eventually, Roland catches Walter and they have a long discussion concerning Roland's destiny and the Tower, which causes Roland to slip into deep delirium. He wakes later to find a pile of bones in Flagg's place. In the original printing, Walter and Marten are separate characters, with Walter clearly dying at the end of the novel. When Stephen King published an expanded edition of the novel, Walter and Marten are portrayed as being one and the same, and Walter fakes his own death.
Randall Flagg makes his next appearance in the series' third novel, The Waste Lands. Flagg appears in the city of Lud
Lud (city)
Lud is a fictional city in Stephen King's Dark Tower series and is briefly mentioned in Rose Madder. In The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands, the book's protagonists, led by the gunslinger Roland, travel from Lud to an alternate reality version of Topeka, Kansas via a supersonic monorail called...
, where he saves the Tick-Tock Man Andrew Quick
Andrew Quick
Andrew Quick, known as the Tick-Tock Man to his followers, is a fictional character created by Stephen King appearing in The Dark Tower series...
, an enemy of Roland's ka-tet
Ka (Dark Tower)
Ka is a plot element in Stephen King's Dark Tower series. It is a word of the fictional language High Speech.-Overview:In the books, it is a mysterious force that leads all living creatures. It is the will of Gan, the approximate equivalent of destiny or fate, in King's fictional language of High...
, who was left for dead in an earlier confrontation. Quick becomes Flagg's devoted servant afterwards. In this guise, Flagg assumes the name of Richard Fannin. Flagg returns in the fourth book, Wizard and Glass, where he is officially revealed to be Marten Broadcloak. Here, he identifies himself as Flagg as well, and warns Roland and his ka-tet to abandon their quest for the Dark Tower. It is learned through flashbacks that Flagg, as Walter o'Dim, was the emissary for John Farson
John Farson
John Farson is a fictional character from Stephen King's The Dark Tower series of novels and comic books. Known as "The Good Man", Farson is the leader of a revolution in In-World who appeals to the common people, wanting to end the training of Gunslingers and re-distribute power. His stated...
, one of the main individuals responsible for the destruction of Gilead, Roland's home.
In the "Argument" (a recap of the series so far that precedes the story) of Wolves of the Calla, the fifth novel in the series, it is noted that Flagg is known as Broadcloak, Fannin, and also John Farson, depending on what world he is residing in. In Wolves of the Calla, Flagg would make a brief appearance as Walter o'Dim when Father Callahan
Father Callahan
Father Donald Frank Callahan is a fictional character created by Stephen King. He originally appeared in Salem's Lot and later the Dark Tower, appearing in The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla, The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah and finally The Dark Tower...
first arrives into Roland's world. Here, Flagg gives Father Callahan Black Thirteen
Wizard's Rainbow
The Wizard's Rainbow , are a group of magical objects that play an important role in the Dark Tower series by Stephen King. It is made up of 13 talismans , twelve representing the Twelve Guardians of the Beams, the last representing the Dark Tower...
, a dangerous crystal ball, in hopes that it will kill Roland on his journey to the tower. In this encounter, Flagg is described as having "the face of a human weasel" with "the same welling red circle" on his forehead as the Can-toi
Can-toi
The Can-Toi are fictional creatures from Stephen King's Dark Tower series and related works. They are unofficially but more commonly known as low men, as in Low Men in Yellow Coats due to their often garish yellow clothing...
. The character's appearance in The Song of Susannah is set in a flashback, where it is revealed that Flagg made a bargain with the succubus
Succubus
In folklore traced back to medieval legend, a succubus is a female demon appearing in dreams who takes the form of a human woman in order to seduce men, usually through sexual intercourse. The male counterpart is the incubus...
Mia, which resulted in her giving birth to a son, Mordred Deschain
Mordred Deschain
Mordred Deschain of Discordia is a fictional character from Stephen King's The Dark Tower series of novels and comic books. He is one of the major antagonists of The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower, seeking to destroy his father Roland and his ka-tet...
, who was the child of both Roland and the Crimson King
Crimson King
The Crimson King, also commonly known as Los', is a fictional character created by Stephen King. He is the antagonist in the novel Insomnia the main villain due to a plot twist in Black House and one of the main villains in the latter half of Stephen King's Dark Tower series.-Fictional...
.
In the last novel, Flagg indicates that he is not John Farson, but merely served under him until Farson's downfall. Flagg reveals his plans to climb the Dark Tower and see the room at the top and become the God of all. Flagg's ultimate goal, however, is to kill Roland Deschain once and for all for all the trouble he's caused him, but "most of all for the death of his mother, whom I once loved." The character believes that the only way to achieve these goals is through Mordred, whom he sees as an opportunity to further his plans. Flagg attempts to befriend Mordred, pledging allegiance to him, but Mordred telepathically
Telepathy
Telepathy , is the induction of mental states from one mind to another. The term was coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Fredric W. H. Myers, a founder of the Society for Psychical Research, and has remained more popular than the more-correct expression thought-transference...
senses the wizard's true motives and kills him.
The Dark Tower reveals more of Flagg’s backstory, stating that he was born at least 1500 years earlier in Delain to Sam the Miller of Eastar’d Barony, and named Walter Padick. At the age of 13, Walter set out for a life on the road, but was rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
d by a fellow wanderer on his journey. (Bev Vincent hypothesized in The Road to the Dark Tower that Flagg's later actions towards Delain in The Eyes of the Dragon
The Eyes of the Dragon
The Eyes of the Dragon is a novel by Stephen King published in 1987. Previously, it was published as a limited edition hardcover by Philtrum Press in 1984. The mass-market version had been slightly revised for publication. At the time it was a surprising deviation from the norm for King, who is...
may have been revenge for his treatment as a child.) Resisting the temptation to crawl back home, Padick instead moved on towards his destiny learning various forms of magic and achieving a sort of quasi-immortality
Immortality
Immortality is the ability to live forever. It is unknown whether human physical immortality is an achievable condition. Biological forms have inherent limitations which may or may not be able to be overcome through medical interventions or engineering...
. After centuries of causing havoc, Flagg attracted the attention of the Crimson King, who took him as his emissary.
In film
The Stand (TV miniseries)
# Project Blue [1:33]# The Dream Begins [2:08]# On the Road to Kansas [3:57]# The Trashmen in Vegas [1:58]# Headin' West [1:56]# Larry & Nadine [2:38]# Mother Abigail [3:10]# 'Sorry Mister, I Don't Understand' [2:54]# Mid Country [3:22]...
. King felt Flagg was the best villain he had ever created, and he wanted the actor portraying him to be right for the part. The original ideas tossed around by director Mick Garris
Mick Garris
Mick Garris is an American filmmaker and screenwriter born in Santa Monica, California.-Biography:He is best known for his adaptations of Stephen King stories, such as directing the horror film Sleepwalkers starring Madchen Amick and is the creator of the Showtime series Masters of Horror...
and the studios were to give the role to an established star such as Christopher Walken
Christopher Walken
Christopher Walken is an American stage and screen actor. He has appeared in more than 100 movies and television shows, including Joe Dirt, Annie Hall, The Deer Hunter, The Prophecy trilogy, The Dogs of War, Sleepy Hollow, Brainstorm, The Dead Zone, A View to a Kill, At Close Range, King of New...
, James Woods
James Woods
James Howard Woods is an American film, stage and television actor. Woods is known for starring in critically acclaimed films such as Once Upon a Time in America, Salvador, Nixon, Ghosts of Mississippi, Casino, and in the television legal drama Shark. He has won three Emmy Awards, and has gained...
, Willem Dafoe
Willem Dafoe
Willem Dafoe is an American film, stage, and voice actor, and a founding member of the experimental theatre company The Wooster Group...
, or Jeff Goldblum
Jeff Goldblum
Jeffrey Lynn "Jeff" Goldblum is an American actor. His career began in the mid-1970s and he has appeared in major box-office successes including The Fly, Jurassic Park and its sequel Jurassic Park: The Lost World, and Independence Day...
. Miguel Ferrer
Miguel Ferrer
Miguel José Ferrer is an American actor and voice actor who is often cast as a villain. His notable roles include Bob Morton, a supporting character in RoboCop , the short tempered FBI agent Albert Rosenfield in Twin Peaks, and Dr...
, who played Flagg's henchman in the film, was interested in playing the villain.
King's idea for the role was someone who "would make the ladies' hearts go pitty pat, that looked like the type of guy you would see on the cover of one of those sweet, savage love paperback romances". He eventually persuaded the decision makers to cast a lesser-known actor as Flagg, which ultimately ended up being Jamey Sheridan
Jamey Sheridan
James Patrick "Jamey" Sheridan is an American actor. He was born in Pasadena, California.He has had a prolific acting career in theater, television, and feature film productions. Born to a family of actors, he made it to Broadway and earned a Tony nomination in 1987 for his performance in the...
.
Sheridan's performance was generally well-received. Erik Childress of Apollo Movie Guide wrote that Sheridan stood out among the rest of the cast, whom he also praised. Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
’s Ken Tucker
Ken Tucker
Ken Tucker was an English footballer who played as a left winger....
wrote that the best acting came from Sheridan, who he said gave the character a “grim intensity”. Tucker commented on Sheridan’s physical appearance, stating that he has “leading-man looks” with the hair of a “dissolute heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
star”, which makes him “unsettling” even when he is not wearing makeup that makes him look like a devil
Devil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
. Douglas E. Winter, of Fangoria
Fangoria (magazine)
Fangoria is an internationally-distributed US film fan magazine specializing in the genres of horror, slasher, splatter and exploitation films, in regular publication since 1979.-Planning:...
magazine, believed that Sheridan might have been a bit young and “zany” for the part, but he gave a credible performance as Flagg; Winter stated that Sheridan attacked the role “with the swagger of Elvis, the sway of David Koresh
David Koresh
David Koresh , born Vernon Wayne Howell, was the leader of a Branch Davidian religious sect, believing himself to be its final prophet. Howell legally changed his name to David Koresh on May 15, 1990. A 1993 raid by the U.S...
and as much craziness as your heart desires (and network TV allows)".
In comic books
Starting in 2007, Marvel ComicsMarvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
released a series of comics
The Dark Tower (comics)
The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born is a seven-issue comic book limited series, published in 2007 by Marvel Comics. It is the first story arc of five based on The Dark Tower series of novels by Stephen King. It is plotted by Robin Furth, scripted by Peter David, and illustrated by Jae Lee and...
that served as a prequel to the Dark Tower novels. Randall Flagg, appearing as both Marten Broadcloak and Walter o'Dim, plays a significant role in the series.
In April 2009, Marvel released a single-issue comic, written by Robin Furth
Robin Furth
Robin Furth is the personal research assistant to Stephen King and the author of Stephen King's The Dark Tower: A Complete Concordance, which was published by Scribner on December 5, 2006...
and illustrated by Richard Isanove, titled The Dark Tower: Sorcerer
The Dark Tower: Sorcerer
The Dark Tower: The Sorcerer is a one-shot issue comic book, which serves as a prelude to The Dark Tower: The Fall of Gilead story-arc within Marvel's The Dark Tower comic book series, which is a spin-off of Stephen King's The Dark Tower novel series.Unlike the previous three Dark Tower story-arcs,...
that focused on the character of Marten Broadcloak/Walter o'Dim. Sorcerer gives a different origin from the one that King initially wrote, stating that Walter was in fact the bastard son of Maerlyn who was left at the home of a mill owner "to learn the ways of men"; at the age of thirteen, Walter burns down his adoptive father's mill before running away to find his true father. No mention of Walter's rape is given. Furth wrote in the afterward that the revelation that Maerlyn was Walter's father came from King himself. The comic also revealed that Marten had poisoned Roland's younger brother as an infant. Furth introduced the idea that Walter (as Marten) had engaged in an incest
Incest
Incest is sexual intercourse between close relatives that is usually illegal in the jurisdiction where it takes place and/or is conventionally considered a taboo. The term may apply to sexual activities between: individuals of close "blood relationship"; members of the same household; step...
uous relationship with his 'sister', the female personification of the Pink Grapefruit (being that both are born from Maerlyn). Thus, it is Marten's romantic feelings for Roland's mother that spurs the jealousy of the Grapefruit, who in turn influences Roland to unwittingly kill his mother. (In Wizard and Glass, the witch Rhea of the Cöos
Rhea of the Cöos
Rhea Dubativo of the Cöos is a fictional character who appears in several novels by Stephen King, most notably his Dark Tower series, as well as the comic book spinoffs of that series. Rhea is a very stereotypical fairy tale witch in appearance, personality and abilities; she is old, ugly, rides a...
was behind Roland's matricide as revenge for him killing her pet snake.) Enraged, Marten imprisons his 'sister' in the Grapefruit and vows revenge on Roland for his involvement for his love's death.
On writing the character of Marten, Furth opined that "[he] is one of the scariest characters that Stephen King has ever created. He moves from book to book, bringing chaos and anarchy with him...He is quite a demonic figure, and as such he is one of the great anti-heroes of contemporary popular fiction" and that "[j]ourneying into Walter's mind is a pretty wild experience and at times a little frightening. You have to travel to very dark places."
Marvel later released an comic book adaptation of The Stand
The Stand (comics)
The Stand: Captain Trips is a five-issue comic book miniseries, the first of six The Stand series by Marvel Comics, adapting Stephen King's novel of the same name. It is to be overseen by King, written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, illustrated by Mike Perkins, and colored by Laura Martin...
that began in September, 2008. It is set to run for thirty issues. Writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa is an American playwright, screenwriter and comic-book writer best known for his work for Marvel Comics and for the HBO drama series Big Love.-Biography:...
described Flagg as "The man of nightmares. Or, put another way, our nightmares given human (more or less) form. The dark side of the American Dream
American Dream
The American Dream is a national ethos of the United States in which freedom includes a promise of the possibility of prosperity and success. In the definition of the American Dream by James Truslow Adams in 1931, "life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each...
...King's 'Walkin' Dude' may not be the Devil, himself, as Mother Abagail says, but he comes pretty damn close..." Initially, artist Mike Perkins
Mike Perkins
Mike Perkins is a British comic book artist known for both his inking work and full art duties on comic books such as Captain America, Ruse and Stephen King's The Stand.-Career:Mike Perkins began drawing at a very early age...
said that he felt that "Flagg needed to be designed less as a man—more as a force of nature. His hair will obscure his features, his face will be almost always in heavy shadow. This is the creature lurking under your bed, in your wardrobe, in your nightmares. Slightly familiar but wholly terrifying." Later on, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa commented on original idea to never show Flagg's face: "...the further into the book and the adaptation you go, the less feasible that becomes. Stephen spends so much time describing [Flagg]'s features and smiles, you need to show those things."
Concept and creation
Donald DeFreeze
Donald David DeFreeze , also known as Cinque Mtume, was the leader of the American guerilla group Symbionese Liberation Army, a group operating in the mid-1970s, under the nom de guerre "Field Marshal Cinque."...
, the lead kidnapper in the Patty Hearst
Patty Hearst
Patricia Campbell Hearst , now known as Patricia Campbell Hearst Shaw, is an American newspaper heiress, socialite, actress, kidnap victim, and convicted bank robber....
case, as his inspiration for Randall Flagg. According to King, he was remembering the Patty Hearst case when he began to write a description of DeFreeze. King started by writing, "Donald DeFreeze is a dark man.” He remembered through the photographs taken of the bank robbery that Patty Hearst took part in that DeFreeze was only partially visible, hidden under a large hat. What he looked like was based on guesses made by people who only saw a portion of him. This inspired King, who then wrote, "A dark man with no face." After reading the motto, "Once in every generation the plague will fall among them," King set to work writing The Stand, and developing the character of Randall Flagg.
In 2004, King stated that Flagg's real inspiration just came to him "out of nowhere", while he was attending college. According to King, he just had this image of a man in cowboy boots, denim jeans and jacket, who was always walking the roads. This character inspired King to write "The Dark Man", a poem about a man who rides the rails and admits to murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
and rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
. To the author, what made Flagg interesting was the fact that he was a villain who was "always on the outside looking in". King has stated that he believes that Flagg has been present since he first began his writing career.
Characterization
A common characteristic of Randall Flagg is his embodiment of evilEvil
Evil is the violation of, or intent to violate, some moral code. Evil is usually seen as the dualistic opposite of good. Definitions of evil vary along with analysis of its root motive causes, however general actions commonly considered evil include: conscious and deliberate wrongdoing,...
. When Stephen King was first creating his vision of Flagg, he based him around what he believed evil to represent. To King, Flagg is “somebody who’s very charismatic, laughs a lot, [is] tremendously attractive to men and women both, and [is] somebody who just appeals to the worst in all of us.” This idea is carried into The Stand, Flagg’s first appearance in literature. Here, Flagg is characterized as the personification of evil set against Mother Abagail, the personification of good. The character of Tom Cullen describes Flagg as having the ability to kill animals and give men cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
simply by looking at them. Cullen goes on to refer to him as the demon Legion
Legion (demon)
Legion is a group of demons referred to in the Christian Bible. The New Testament outlines an encounter where Jesus healed a man from Gadarenes possessed by demons while traveling, known as Exorcising the Gerasenes demonic.- In the Bible :...
. According to Stephen King, he was not trying to say that Flagg was the Devil. He wanted Flagg to represent a "gigantic evil", though the character was supposed to taper off by the end of The Stand. King stated, "I think the Devil is probably a pretty funny guy. Flagg is like the archetype
Archetype
An archetype is a universally understood symbol or term or pattern of behavior, a prototype upon which others are copied, patterned, or emulated...
of everything that I know about real evil, going back all the way to Charles Starkweather
Charles Starkweather
Charles Raymond Starkweather was an American teenaged spree killer who murdered eleven people in Nebraska and Wyoming during a two-month road trip with his 14-year-old girlfriend, Caril Ann Fugate. The couple was captured on January 29, 1958...
in the '50s — he is somebody who is empty and who has to be filled with other people's hates, fears, resentments, laughs. Flagg, Koresh
David Koresh
David Koresh , born Vernon Wayne Howell, was the leader of a Branch Davidian religious sect, believing himself to be its final prophet. Howell legally changed his name to David Koresh on May 15, 1990. A 1993 raid by the U.S...
, Jim Jones
Jim Jones
James Warren "Jim" Jones was the founder and leader of the Peoples Temple, which is best known for the November 18, 1978 mass suicide of 909 Temple members in Jonestown, Guyana along with the killings of five other people at a nearby airstrip.Jones was born in Indiana and started the Temple in...
, Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
— they're all basically the same guy." Though Flagg was never intended to represent Satan
Satan
Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
, that did not detract from what King sees as his ultimate goal. King notes that it does not matter who sees him, or how they see him — Flagg can appear differently to each individual — but that his message is always the same: "I know all the things that you want and I can give them to you and all you have to do is give me your soul
Soul
A soul in certain spiritual, philosophical, and psychological traditions is the incorporeal essence of a person or living thing or object. Many philosophical and spiritual systems teach that humans have souls, and others teach that all living things and even inanimate objects have souls. The...
."
Apart from King’s interpretation, literary critics have noted Flagg’s penchant for evil. Tony Magistrale
Tony Magistrale
Anthony Samuel Magistrale is a Professor in English at the University of Vermont since 1983. He received a B.A. in 1974 from Allegheny College, and from the University of Pittsburgh an M.A. in 1976 and a Ph.D. in 1981. He has written several books about Stephen King and Edgar Allan Poe.-References:...
sees Flagg as a Shakespearian
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
villain, comparing him to such Shakespeare villains as Iago
Iago
Iago is a fictional character in Shakespeare's Othello . The character's source is traced to Giovanni Battista Giraldi Cinthio's tale "Un Capitano Moro" in Gli Hecatommithi . There, the character is simply "the ensign". Iago is a soldier and Othello's ancient . He is the husband of Emilia,...
, Edmund
Edmund (King Lear)
Edmund or Edmond is a fictional character and the main antagonist in William Shakespeare's King Lear. He is the illegitimate son of the Earl of Gloucester, and the younger brother of Edgar, the Earl's legitimate son. Early on in the play, Edmund resolves to get rid of his brother, then his...
, and Richard III
Richard III (play)
Richard III is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1591. It depicts the Machiavellian rise to power and subsequent short reign of Richard III of England. The play is grouped among the histories in the First Folio and is most often classified...
, even going so far as to say that Flagg is an antihero. Magistrale states that Flagg’s evil is based on his ability to cause conflict where it has never been before, and destroy things simply because they are united; though he seeks power, that power is just a resource for him to achieve a higher degree of destruction. Heidi Stringell finds that Flagg truly is “an embodiment of pure evil” and that King sees good and evil as “real forces”, and that Flagg’s representation of pure evil is validated by the fact that “he is a killer, a maker of mischief, a liar, and a tempter”. To Stringell, Flagg’s disappearance at the end of The Stand shows that “evil ultimately leads nowhere”. The author goes into further detail when she calls Flagg a “generic hybrid” of the character archetypes “the Dark Man and the Trickster”. To her, it is the combination of these two characteristics, both found in different cultural realms, that force people to face their own “flawed humanity” with the “amorality
Amorality
Amorality is an absence of, indifference towards, or disregard for moral beliefs. Any entity that is not sentient may be considered amoral. In addition, it can be argued that sentient but non-human creatures, like dogs, have no concept of morality and are therefore amoral...
” Flagg represents.
Douglas Winter believes that Flagg actually epitomizes the Gothic
Gothic fiction
Gothic fiction, sometimes referred to as Gothic horror, is a genre or mode of literature that combines elements of both horror and romance. Gothicism's origin is attributed to English author Horace Walpole, with his 1764 novel The Castle of Otranto, subtitled "A Gothic Story"...
villain — an “atavistic
Atavism
Atavism is the tendency to revert to ancestral type. In biology, an atavism is an evolutionary throwback, such as traits reappearing which had disappeared generations before. Atavisms can occur in several ways...
embodiment of evil” — as his appearance is indistinct, malleable and a “collection of masks”. Flagg symbolizes “the inexplicable fear of the return of bygone powers — both technological and, as his last name intimates, sociopolitical”. Like other Gothic villains, Flagg’s plans seem to fail at every turn, while seeming to need to convince others of his importance. Winter states that Flagg is a Miltonic
John Milton
John Milton was an English poet, polemicist, a scholarly man of letters, and a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell...
superman who receives his strength from some dark, mysterious source. He compares Flagg to J. R. R. Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
’s Sauron
Sauron
Sauron is the primary antagonist and titular character of the epic fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien.In the same work, he is revealed to be the same character as "the Necromancer" from Tolkien's earlier novel The Hobbit...
, from The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
, in that both collapse when directly confronted. Alissa Stickler describes Flagg as a “contemporary medievalist interpretation on the themes of evil, magic and the (d)evil figure”. Stickler likened Flagg’s presence to that of Merlin
Merlin
Merlin is a legendary figure best known as the wizard featured in the Arthurian legend. The standard depiction of the character first appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae, written c. 1136, and is based on an amalgamation of previous historical and legendary figures...
whispering in the ear of Arthur
King Arthur
King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...
; she notes that Flagg is politically powerful in both The Stand and The Eyes of the Dragon, but that he uses his power differently in each novel and challenges the depictions of evil and witchcraft
Witchcraft
Witchcraft, in historical, anthropological, religious, and mythological contexts, is the alleged use of supernatural or magical powers. A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft...
that was common in medieval times. First, she explains that there does not appear to be a higher power to which Flagg “must appeal to his abilities”, as there typically is with the traditional evil. Flagg appears more as a “humanesque evil”, which ultimately works against him as much as it does for him. Flagg’s supernatural knowledge is far from infallible, and that customary depiction of black and white is replaced with an “acceptance of a shadowy gray area”. She states that even though Flagg appears “terrifying and supernatural”, thanks to King’s narration, there are no absolutes. Stickler concluded that Flagg represents the medieval monster of both past and future, which challenges and at the same time supports the perception of the literary Middle Ages.
Flagg’s representation of evil has its detractors. In his essay "The Glass-Eyed Dragon", author L. Sprague de Camp
L. Sprague de Camp
Lyon Sprague de Camp was an American author of science fiction and fantasy books, non-fiction and biography. In a writing career spanning 60 years, he wrote over 100 books, including novels and notable works of non-fiction, including biographies of other important fantasy authors...
criticized Flagg's appearance in Eyes of the Dragon, saying that Flagg was one of the least believable characters in the book and that he was too evil to be credible. According to de Camp, absolute evil is hard to believe in and, where men like Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
and Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
believed that they were actually bettering the world by their actions, Flagg only enjoys causing destruction and chaos. The author goes on to say that Flagg fails to see that there are no advantages in his actions.
Representing evil is not the only characteristic seen by critics. Joseph Reino commented that Randall Flagg presence in The Stand was "Stephen King's version of a pestilential Big Brother". Tony Magistrale revisited the character in a second book, this time comparing him to Norman Mailer
Norman Mailer
Norman Kingsley Mailer was an American novelist, journalist, essayist, poet, playwright, screenwriter, and film director.Along with Truman Capote, Joan Didion, Hunter S...
. Here, Magistrale states that in The Stand Flagg gives the reader an “illustration of King’s jaundiced perspective of modern America”, as he presents the natural consequence of worshipping technology and sacrificing “moral integrity to the quest for synthetic productivity”.
Flagg’s physical characterization changes with each novel. In The Eyes of the Dragon, Flagg is described as a "thin and stern faced man of about 50 [years of age]". He is further described as a hooded figure, who stood in the dark and controlled the kings and queens of Delain; he is also described as a "sickness" that always seems to reappear whenever there is something worth destroying.