Characters / The Dark Tower: Antagonists

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WARNING: This page contains unmarked spoilers for all of the books, comics and supporting materials.

"ALL HAIL THE CRIMSON KING!"

The villains of Stephen King's The Dark Tower series.

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The Court of the Crimson King

The Crimson King

The Crimson King

Also Known As: Los', Ram Abbalah, Lord of Discordia, Lord of Chaos, Lord of the Spiders, The Red King

Allegiance: The Red

Appears in: The Dark Tower

Also Appears In: Insomnia | Black House | Comics: The Gunslinger Born | The Long Road Home | Treachery

"I am the Eater of Worlds."

The Crimson King is the Big Bad of The Dark Tower series and the product of a union between Arthur Eld, the legendary king of All-World and a demonic, insectile entity of the "Prim" (the Outer Darkness) who came to Eld in human female guise. An ancient half human/half demon who can transform into a giant spider, he has sat on the throne of End-World, ruling from Le Casse Roi Russe for millennia, going slowly insane as the world has moved on. He is the orchestrator of the chaos and decay in the Keystone World and much of that in all the other worlds connected by the Dark Tower. His ultimate aim is to break the Beams, topple the Dark Tower, end reality as we know it and rule in the "Discordia" that follows.

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• The Anti-God: Played With. He's the very personification of evil, chaos and destruction (or "The Red"/"The Random") in Stephen King's multiverse, in a similar way that Gan is the creator and the personification of order, goodness and purpose (or "The White"/"The Purpose"), yet the Crimson King is implied to be significantly less powerful than Gan, and also completely lacking his mental faculties by the time that Roland finally catches up with him at the end of the final book. However, the Crimson King's significance is explained by the fact that he plays a much more direct role in the physical multiverse than Gan does, who, like a traditional omnipotent and monotheistic deity, prefers to sit back and let his influence be felt through subtly inspiring people to do his will.
• Animal Motif: Like Pennywise, he is strongly associated with spiders.
• Artifact of Power: Black House reveals he syphons much of his power from the Big Combination, a skyscraper-sized forge that spreads evil and chaos across the Multiverse. When Ty Marshall destroys the Combination at the end of the novel, the King is left nearly powerless for his last stand against Roland.
• Ax-Crazy: Oh, yes. The Crimson King is murderously insane by the end of the series and brutally kills everyone in his court and himself. Proceeding to the Dark Tower as an undead creature, he then tosses sneetches at Roland from a balcony whilst shouting like a madman.
• Bad Boss: He gleefully murders his entire court by forcing them to consume rat poison and then watches them die at his feet when he finds out that the gunslingers have destroyed the Devar-toi, killed the guards and freed the Breakers.
• Big Bad: The Crimson King is the one behind all the chaos and decay in Mid-World, as well as all the Worlds that are connected by the Dark Tower, undermining the Tower and causing the steady collapse of the multiverse. He is also the Man in Black's master.
• Brown Note: It is said in the comic The Long Road Home that the King's voice can alone cause a sleeping infant to die.
• Canon Discontinuity: The Crimson King encountered by Ralph Roberts in Insomnia is not the King opposed by Roland's Ka-Tet (although it may be a version of the King on a "different level" of the Tower), and the prophecy that Roberts would defeat him was not entirely accurate (though Roberts does play a part in this).
• The Chessmaster: Not so much by the time that Roland finally meets him in The Dark Tower as his sanity has degraded significantly by then, but in the past the Red King was certainly a chessmaster, using influential men like John Farson as pieces on a chess board to sow chaos and discord throughout Mid-World and weaken the Affiliation of Baronies.
• The Dreaded: He keeps his vast number of subjects and followers in line through fear. So much so that some seem to be too terrified to even mention his name, lest they incite his wrath.
• Driven to Suicide: When he finds out that Roland and his ka-tet have destroyed the Devar-toi and freed the Breakers, thereby scuppering his plan to knock down the Tower, he kills not just everyone in his court but himself too, and heads for the Dark Tower as an insane undead creature for his final showdown with Roland.
• Evil Overlord: He rules what remains of End-World from Le Casse Roi Russe as The Dreaded, has a vast number of terrified mooks in his service and has an Evil Plan to destroy the entire multiverse and rule in the "Discordia" that follows.
• Expy: The Crimson King is a pretty clear expy of Sauron, the Big Bad of The Lord of the Rings, Stephen King has even openly said as much. He is an insane Eldritch Abomination that is significantly less powerful than the creator God (Gan in The Dark Tower and Eru in The Lord of the Rings) that he opposes, but has nevertheless managed to throw the world into disarray through fear and corruption, has a large army of mooks (the can-toi/taheen/vampires and the orcs), has a powerful wizard as a servant that is The Starscream and is secretly trying to overthrow him (the Man in Black and Saruman), and is very close to his ultimate goal before being defeated at the last minute by the forces of good, suffering a Fate Worse than Death. They even share the exact same sigil and banner of an all-seeing red eye. However, the Crimson King's ultimate end goal is less like Sauron's and more like that of his original master Morgoth. Whereas Sauron merely wished to rule over all of Middle-earth, the Crimson King by contrast wishes to destroy the multiverse completely and remake reality in his own image. Similar to what Morgoth was trying to do with Middle-earth.
• Fate Worse than Death: Patrick Danville, who has the ability to alter reality through his drawings, draws a picture of the Red King and then erases it, effectively erasing him from existence. The only thing that is left of him are his creepy red eyes, meaning that some tiny and powerless part of him, at least, will remain trapped on a balcony outside of the Dark Tower for all eternity.
• Faux Affably Evil: In the comics he displays a polite, yet malevolent demeanor. He even counters Roland's famous snarky remarks.
  Roland: What would you expect me to say to one who is so manifestly unimpressive?
  Crimson King: You could begin with "thank you". Were I to confront you with my true, "impressive" form, your mind would leak from your ears.
• Giant Spider: This is implied to be his true form. His mother was a demonic, insectile creature of the Prim known only as "The Crimson Queen".
• God of Evil: He isn't actually a god but an extremely powerful and immortal half-human/half-demon Eldritch Abomination who seemingly has god-like powers that opposes Gan and wishes to destroy his reality and free the creatures of the Prim (or the Outer Darkness) so that he can rule over them all in "Discordia".
• Greater-Scope Villain: Of Stephen King's entire metaverse. However, at one point Mia states that the Crimson King has been "promised" a new kingdom after all the Beams have been broken, but by whom, she knows not. So there may be a never-seen even bigger bad behind him. When Susannah questions her about this she states that he may have only promised it to himself, she doesn't know for sure.
  • It's stated in Black House that the Crimson King we see is only a manifestation, and that his true form is locked in a cell at the very top of the Dark Tower. With that in mind, the idea of him "promising" himself a kingdom after the Tower falls may have actually been literal.
• Half-Human Hybrid: In the Expanded Universe of the comics it is revealed that he is a half-human and half-demonic entity.
• Hidden Villain: He doesn't actually appear in person until the climax of the series, and isn't even mentioned by name until the third book. He is however obliquely mentioned in The Gunslinger when insane preacher Sylvia Pittston implies to Roland that she believes that Walter has impregnated her with the King's child.
• Humanoid Abomination: He appears in his humanoid form as a bearded old man with red eyes but is a Half-Human Hybrid God of Evil whose mother is a lovecraftian demon monarch.
• Immune to Bullets: After he kills himself, he proceeds to the Dark Tower as an undead creature that is immune to the bullets from Roland's guns.
• Laughing Mad: When Roland finally encounters him in person at the end of The Dark Tower, he has devolved to this state, screaming "HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" at him from a balcony outside the Dark Tower.
• Made of Evil: Roland's appraisal of him is exactly what he is; "Hell, incarnate."
• Omnicidal Maniac: He wants to destroy the Dark Tower, which will destroy the entire multiverse. It doesn't get much more omnicidal than that.
• Orcus on His Throne: Throughout a majority of the series, the Crimson King does not take an active role and prefers to sit back while his servants (particularly Walter) do the heavy lifting.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: He has blood red eyes that hypnotize all who look into them. They're even the only things left after he's erased!
• Related in the Adaptation: In the comics he is the child of a demon and Arthur Eld, connecting him to Roland's bloodline.
• Satanic Archetype: Susannah surmises in the last book that the Crimson King is what is effectively known in our world as Satan; an evil, demonic entity and corrupter that appears to hold great power but is in fact vastly less powerful than the creator God that he opposes.
• Shout-Out: His name is a shout out to the song "The Court of the Crimson King" by King Crimson. His real name, Los', is one to William Blake.
• Sigil Spam: The sigil of the Crimson King, a red eye, appears pretty much everywhere, especially in graffiti in many different worlds (sometimes with the words "All hail the Crimson King!" scrawled underneath), and on multiple signs, especially in End-World where the King seems adamant that no one will forget exactly whom they work for. It is even adopted by The Good Man, John Farson.
• Sudden Name Change: In the first version of The Gunslinger he was simply "the Beast."
• Throw Down the Bomblet: Has a stash of sneetches with him at the final battle. Roland quickly determines the King only needs one clear shot and the Tower is his.
• Villain Decay: Despite being depicted as an obscenely powerful Eldritch Abomination in all the books that involve his machinations, by the time that Roland finally meets him in person his power and mentality have severely degraded along with the rest of the world, to the extent that he appears as merely a crazy, ranting old man with red eyes. The loss of the Forge of the King in Black House stripped him of much of his power...and sanity.
• Villainous Breakdown: He suffers an epic one in the last book after he finds out that the gunslinger and his friends have thwarted his plans by destroying Algul Siento. At that point his sanity completely breaks out of rage and he is a ranting madman by the time that Roland finally encounters him.

Walter Padick

Walter Padick

Also Known As: The Man in Black, Randall Flagg, Marten Broadcloak, Richard Fannin, The Walkin' Dude, The Hardcase, Walter o' Dim, Rudin Filaro, The Dark Man, The Covenant Man

Allegiance: The Red

Appears in: The Gunslinger | The Waste Lands | Wizard and Glass | The Wind Through the Keyhole | Wolves of the Calla | The Dark Tower

Also Appears In: The Dark Tower (portrayed by Matthew McConaughey) | The Stand | The Stand (1994) (portrayed by Jamey Sheridan) | The Eyes of The Dragon | Gwendy's Button Box | Comics: The Gunslinger Born | The Long Road Home | Treachery | The Sorcerer | The Fall of Gilead | The Battle of Jericho Hill

"We make great magic together, you and I. You kill me no more then you kill yourself. Mother-may-I? Yes-you-may."

A quasi-immortal half-human/half-demon sorcerer whose true name is Walter Padick but who goes by many other names, faces and identities in different worlds and levels of the Dark Tower. Where the Crimson King is the ultimate Big Bad who operates from behind the scenes in The Dark Tower series, Walter, who is the King's second-in-command, is Roland's true nemesis and the villain that has the most bearing on the plot of the books. His ultimate goals (other than sowing chaos and discord wherever he goes) are enigmatic and mostly unknown throughout a majority of the series, it is only in the final book that it is revealed that he wishes to scale the Dark Tower himself, enter the room at the top and become the "God of All", in the process overthrowing his master.

See him also in the character sheet for The Stand.

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• The Adjectival Man: Walter has a number of these titles: The Man in Black, The Dark Man, The Walkin' Dude (as Randall Flagg), and in The Wind Through the Keyhole, the Covenant Man.
• Arc Welding: His character in the Dark Tower came from Stephen King taking initially-unrelated characters from his poem "The Dark Man", The Stand, and The Eyes of The Dragon, as well as hints at Nyarlathotep and Merlin.
• Arch-Enemy: The Crimson King may be the Big Bad, and Mordred may have expressly been conceived to kill Roland, but Walter is the gunslinger's true nemesis. The entirety of The Gunslinger in particular is set around Roland's relentless pursuit of him. The very first (and last) line of the whole book series pretty much sum up their endlessly intertwined relationship:
  "The man in black fled across the desert and the gunslinger followed."
• Artifact of Doom: He seems to be in possession of the malevolent and extremely powerful wizard's glass, Black Thirteen, before passing it along to Pere Callahan. It's implied that the glass is how the Crimson King makes contact with him.
• Batman Gambit: Part of Walter's success as The Corrupter is setting up circumstances where his victims will have to behave reprehensibly to get what they want or need, and he knows they will choose the ignoble path. With Roland, he knows that the Gunslinger will cross any line and sacrifice the purity of his own soul to get to the Tower and exploits that fact relentlessly.
• Black Cloak: His favorite garment appears to be a hooded black robe, such as the one he wears in The Gunslinger, hence his moniker the "Man in Black".
• The Chessmaster: A great majority of his villainy is accomplished by manipulating events and people behind the scenes, usually in an attempt to hinder Roland's quest to the Dark Tower.
• Composite Character: As explained in the entry for Arc Welding, Walter is implied (though not directly stated) to have Nyarlathotep and Merlin as aliases.
• The Corrupter: Walter delights in doing this to people; sometimes to further his own ends, sometimes just because he can. He sets up some particularly malicious tests with Roland, first by exposing Allie to the secrets of the dead to make her beg Roland to kill her after starting to care for her, and then by putting Jake in his path and letting them bond, only to force him later to sacrifice Jake to gain knowledge about the Tower. The worst part is that Roland sees them coming and accepts that the Trap Is the Only Option in order to get one step closer to the Tower.
• Court Mage: In his guise as Marten Broadcloak, he fulfilled this role to Roland's father, Steven Deschain, who was the leader of Gilead's gunslingers.
• Cruel and Unusual Death: He is killed and eaten by Mordred after being forced to rip his own eyes out of their sockets and nearly sever his own tongue. invoked
  • Back from the Dead: The very last line of the final book mirrors the very first line of the first book, implying quite strongly that the series' Reset Button Ending has brought Walter back to life as well. As if to verify this, "Richard Farris" in Gwendy's Button Box is confirmed to be Walter operating under yet another alias.
• Dropped a Bridge on Him: Zig-zagged a bit. It was in the last book of the series that Walter was killed so it wasn't exactly abrupt and as presented by King it was really something that was going to happen. Walter/Flagg is effectively the central villain of Stephen King's mythos, the Big Bad of two other novels outside of The Dark Tower series, a complex and enigmatic villain with one Xanatos Gambit after another up his sleeve, and a Chessmaster extraordinaire, and Roland's recurring nemesis throughout the entire 7-book series. However, he's then Worfed ignominiously by Mordred, a character introduced in the very last book, with Roland nowhere around. However, while his death was ignominious, it was at least plausible given that it wasn't really because Mordred was so powerful so much as Walter was suffering from Suicidal Overconfidence because Mordred was only and infant at that point and he believed the precautions he took to prevent Mordred from getting into his head would work. Suffice it to say, they didn't.
• The Dragon: To the Crimson King. It's heavily implied that Walter holds no real allegiance to Los', but is using the Red King's power and influence to his own ends. This is verified in the last book when Walter reveals himself to be The Starscream before being killed by Mordred.
• Dream Weaver: He appears to be able to speak to and manipulate people through dreams and visions, Roland is often shown to dream of him throughout his quest.
• Enigmatic Minion: Walter is by far the most enigmatic character in the whole book series, nobody seems to know who he really is or what his ultimate goals are. It's not until the very last book that the reader is allowed into his head as the narrative briefly switches to his perspective and his true goal is revealed, directly before Mordred kills him.
• Evil Chancellor: As Steven Deschain's chief advisor in the guise of Marten Broadcloak, he was this to Gilead, seducing Steven's wife and Roland's mother, Gabrielle, to try and cause Roland to fail his gunslinger test. He was also manipulating events behind the scenes to increase "The Good Man" John Farson's influence and bring about the downfall of Gilead.
• Evil Is Petty: If you believe the theory that He Who Walks Behind the Rows is either him or an avatar of his, he's not above small-scale acts of megalomaniacal cruelty and manipulation.
• Evil Sorcerer: It doesn't get much worse than Randall Flagg! It is later revealed in the comics that Walter's true father was the ultimate evil sorcerer, Maerlyn, which explains Walter's quasi-immortality, great magical power and ability to shape-shift.
• Faux Affably Evil: When conversing with others (especially Roland) he comes across as a fairly affable chap, but his friendliness is clearly mockery.
• From Nobody to Nightmare: He started out as a miller's son, of all things. However...
  • Like Father, Like Son: It's later revealed within the comics that his true father was the demonic dark wizard Maerlyn, who placed him in the care of a miller and his wife in order to "learn the ways of men". When he reached the age of 13, he ran off to find his real parents after burning the mill to the ground and things gradually developed from there.
• Giggling Villain: He has a tendency to go into a high-pitched laugh (or "titter") when he has the upper hand.
• Hidden Agenda Villain: It takes until the last book to reveal what Walter's real goal is. For the previous six books, it seems as though he merely wants to stop Roland from moving forward in his quest.
• Hidden Depths: Hinted at in Wolves of the Calla when Callahan calls him cruel.
  Walter's eyes widen, and for a moment he looks deeply hurt. This may be absurd, but Callahan is looking into the man's deep eyes and feels sure that the emotion is nonetheless genuine. And the surety robs him of any last hope that all this might be a dream, or a final brilliant interval before true death. In dreams — his, at least — the bad guys, the scary guys, never have complex emotions.
• "Have a Nice Day" Smile: This seems to be a calling card of sorts for Walter. He leaves them in written notes for Roland along with threatening messages.
• The Heavy: The Crimson King may be the Big Bad, but Walter's machinations drive most of the plot. Roland hunts him for the entire first book, he is revealed to have manipulated Jack Mort into killing Jake (and therefore being the cause of Roland's Friend-or-Idol Decision) in the second book... there are too many instances to list. He even is this for Roland's backstory, playing a large part in the fall of Gilead.
• I Have Many Names: Including but not limited to Walter Padick (his true name), Walter o'Dim, Marten Broadcloak, Randall Flagg, Rudin Filaro, Richard Fannin and other variations of the initials R.F.
• Karmic Death: He is the one who manipulated the succubus Mia into becoming mortal to bear the Crimson King's child. Guess who kills him?
• Large Ham: And how! Walter has an inherent flair for the dramatic, shown through his actions and his speech. For one example, he recreates the Wizard's throne room from The Wizard of Oz purely just to introduce himself to Roland's ka-tet.
• The Man Behind the Curtain: Quite literally - in the scene mentioned in the Large Ham entry, he casts himself as the Wizard behind the curtain.
• Manipulative Bastard: Manipulation and deception are Walter's very forte, see The Corrupter and The Chessmaster entries above.
• Necromancer: He has the ability to raise the dead, shown in The Gunslinger when he re-animates the corpse of a man called Nort who died a few days previously.
• Person with the Clothing: The Man in Black, called as such for the hooded black robe that he seems to be fond of wearing.
• Rape as Backstory: The final book reveals, in a rather off-hand manner, that he was raped as a teen whilst Wandering the Earth looking for his true purpose.
• Really 700 Years Old: He's quasi-immortal due to his demonic bloodline and is vastly older than even Roland, but nowhere near as old as the Crimson King.
• Slasher Smile: To go along with his Faux Affably Evil persona, he has a tendency to smile an awful lot, but his smile much like his unnerving, high pitched laugh (or "titter") is strange and malevolent.
• The Starscream: It is ultimately revealed that he intends to displace his master the Crimson King by scaling the Dark Tower himself, entering the room at the top and becoming the "God of All".
• Tarot Troubles: Walter tells Roland his fortune using tarot cards during their palaver at the end of the first book, shadowing what is Roland's task to draw his three into Mid-World the second book. The death card is of course drawn, however...
  "Death, but not for you, gunslinger. Never for you. You darkle. You tinct. May I be brutally frank? You go on."
• Theme Initials: His many names usually come in some form of the initials R.F.
• Tom the Dark Lord: He is an evil dark wizard of vast mystical sorcery that is quasi-immortal, has many epithets and has travelled the multiverse for centuries who's real name is... Walter. Also fits in The Stand where he is the Big Bad and a powerful anti-christ figure who has taken the name Randall.
• Villain Decay: In the final novel his threat is severely reduced as shown in the entry for The Worf Effect below.
• Walking the Earth: Well, more like walking the multiverse.
• The Worf Effect: A Downplayed Trope in this instance. Perhaps the greatest villain Stephen King has written, the Big Bad of The Stand and The Eyes of The Dragon and Roland's main adversary throughout nearly the entire Dark Tower series is killed off effortlessly by a new villain introduced in the final novel, just to show how threatening the latter is. This is at least partially justified in that Mordred was only a baby so Walter was suicidally overconfident and had believed he had taken enough precautions to defend himself.

Mordred Deschain

Mordred Deschain

Also Known As: The Chap, Dan-Tete, Little Red King, Red-Heel, Son of Los', Mordred of Discordia

Allegiance: The Red

Appears in: Song of Susannah | The Dark Tower

"He who ends the line of Eld shall conceive a child of incest with his sister or daughter, and he shall be marked, by his red heel you shall know him. It is he who will stop the breath of the last warrior."

A human/demon abomination with an endless hunger and the ability to transform into a giant spider, Mordred Deschain was borne of two fathers (the Crimson King and Roland) and two mothers (Susannah Dean and the demon Mia). He was conceived for one purpose and one purpose only, to kill his quasi-father, Roland Deschain, and therefore put a stop to his quest to save the Dark Tower from destruction.

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• Abusive Parents: Unlike Roland who had no choice in the siring of Mordred, the Crimson King very much did as it was his plan all along that Mordred be conceived purely to kill Roland. So does Los' show his ill-begotten offspring any love and compassion at all? Of course not, he basically abandons him in the wilderness to nearly starve to death and make his own way to the Dark Tower, despite only being an infant at first. He never even meets his son face to face, but merely sends him psychic commands as Mordred nears him and the Tower.
• Antagonistic Offspring: He is this to Roland, his "Big White Gunslinger Daddy". The sole purpose of Mordred's existence is to kill him.
• The Chosen One: Mordred's birth was destined, and he's the subject of a prophecy saying he'll tear down the Dark Tower. Prophecy's given a massive let-down when Modred's actually born.
• Determinator: Manages to follow after Roland all the way through the Wastelands, filled with goodness-knows-what, and the frozen lands beyond the Crimson King's castle, all while starving out of his mind.
• Extra Parent Conception: Mordred has four parents. In the first book, Roland has sex with an invisible succubus-like demon (who later turns out to be a Demon Elemental in disguise) to gain knowledge of the Tower. That demon collected his semen and transferred it to an entity known only as the 'Demon of the Speaking Ring' who then implanted it in Susannah Dean whilst she distracted it so that Roland and Eddie to could draw Jake into Mid-World. The resulting embryo was then transferred (via some sort of machine) to the former-succubus, Mia, who carried the child to term but hi-jacked Susannah's body so that she could feed the "chap". How exactly the Crimson King is also Mordred's father is never actually explained, but he clearly is because Mordred has very similar abilities to him.
• Fetus Terrible: And how! The very first thing he does after being born is eat his own mother. Mia, fortunately; Susannah escapes.
• Giant Spider: Just like his Red Father, Mordred can transform into a giant spider form. He does this only rarely (usually to kill and consume prey) as being in this form speeds up his already insane metabolism even more.
• Hoist by Their Own Petard: Eventually he gets so hungry he eats a dead horse which hadn't been in great condition while it was alive. The end result is severe food poisoning.
• Icy Blue Eyes: In his human form. They are inherited from Roland, and are described as "bombardier's eyes", just as Roland's often are.
• Ignored Epiphany: He genuinely entertains the idea of joining Roland's ka-tet, but he is both too afraid of them killing him immediately and too angry and jealous of their bond to go through with it.
• Hero Killer: He brutally kills Oy after the bumbler rushes in to defend Roland in the last book.
• Hyperactive Metabolism: Holy crap! Within a few hours after he was born he ate two people, one of whom was Walter Fucking Padick, and several animals, and he's still hungry! This is explained as being a nasty side-effect of his vastly accelerated growth.
• Kick The Son Of A Bitch: What he does to Walter, who may have been a diabolical Evil Sorcerer, but you still can't help but slightly sorry for him after Mordred compels him to tear his own eyes out before eating him alive.
• Kill It with Fire: After he's shot dead, Roland makes sure to burn Mordred's body as well.
• Madness Mantra: Mordred's a-hungry!
• Meaningful Name: Mordred is also the name of King Arthur's Antagonistic Offspring (born of incest) in the myths and legends.
• Offing the Offspring: He is shot to death by Roland after Oy commits a Heroic Sacrifice and rushes in to defend him from Mordred's surprise attack.
• Properly Paranoid: Refuses to go near Roland's ka-tet because he's convinced they'd kill him on sight. Roland admits as much later to Susannah.
• Reduced to Ratburgers: Gets by in the wastes by eating half-poisoned bugs and crows. Compared to that, he finds weasel meat a full meal.
• Tragic Monster: While Mordred was a dark creature by nature, unlike his Red Father, the Crimson King, much of the evil he committed was born from bitterness and anger at being alone and abandoned. Underneath all of his anger, sorrow, and despair, was a newborn looking for affection and companionship. Much of the hatred he felt towards Roland was that Roland had friends and companions while he did not. In this instance there are many parallels between Mordred and the creature from Mary Shelly's Frankenstein.
• Two-Faced: He has two faces in his spider-form, with his human face remaining on his back.
• Werebeast: He's a Were-spider that can transform between human and spider form.
• Wizard Needs Food Badly: His only other motivations aside from a burning hatred of Roland and his ka-tet are his constant hunger and morbid fear of starvation.
• Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: Mordred may be the monstrous half-spawn (it's complicated) of an omnicidal maniac that wants to destroy the multiverse but he was born to evil without any real choice in his destiny and because he was just a newborn could feel the loneliness and abandonment of having no one to care for him or even want anything to do with him. There's even a tragic line from Mordred's inner monologue while he's shivering in the cold, hungry and miserable: "Mordred's a-hungry", he thought miserably. "Mordred's a-cold. And Mordred has no one. Mordred's alone." followed by In the dark, Mordred began to cry.

The Warriors of the Scarlet Eye

The Warriors of the Scarlet Eye

Members: Can-toi (Low Men), Taheen, Vampires, Some Humans

Allegiance: The Red

Appear in: Wolves of the Calla | Song of Susannah | The Dark Tower

Also Appears In: 'Salem's Lot (Vampires) | Hearts in Atlantis (Can-toi)

The can-toi, taheen and vampires (known collectively as "The Warriors of the Scarlet Eye") are the primary agents or foot-soldiers of the Crimson King, along with some humans ("humes") and robots. The can-toi (also known as low men) are the product of matings between humans and the taheen and are vaguely humanoid creatures with rat-like heads that wear living masks to appear human. The taheen meanwhile are seemingly an entirely separate race that are only found in Mid-World and have humanoid bodies but the heads of various different animals and birds, as well as tails and claws. The vampires are much more enigmatic creatures, it is unknown whether they are human or their own separate species. They are shown to be much like traditional vampires that consume blood and have a weakness to light and christian symbols such as crucifixes. They come in three types, the rarest and most powerful being Type I vampires and the least powerful being Type III vampires.

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• Ambiguous Situation: It's never made entirely clear how exactly the taheen and the vampires in particular came into the service of the Crimson King, or why. The taheen are an entirely separate race to humans that seem to only exist in Mid-World, and the vampires are even more ambiguous. Were they originally human, or are they another entirely separate humanoid race? Again, it is never made clear.
• Bird People: The taheen have humanoid bodies, but animal (or bird) heads, as well as tails and claws.
• Eats Babies: In Song of Susannah, Susannah encounters a group of "Grandfather Vampires", an entirely monstrous and ancient kind of Type I vampire, that are feasting on roasted human babies.
• Fantastic Racism: The taheen seem to look down on humans (or "humes") and find them vaguely repulsive, but it doesn't seem to have stopped some from mating with them.
• Half-Human Hybrid: The can-toi (low men) are the product of the above-mentioned matings between humans and the taheen. They are bizarre creatures that have human bodies but rat-like heads and like to wear living masks to make themselves appear more human. Because of this, they are the ones that are tasked with entering the Keystone World and those like it to find potential Breakers, as wearing their masks they can pass pretty much undetected among the humes, unlike the taheen.
• Henchmen Race: It is implied that the can-toi were created solely to serve the Crimson King and do his bidding.
• Mooks: All three races as well as some humans (and even a few robots left over from the Great Old Ones) act as the foot-soldiers for the Crimson King, running his evil corporations (the Sombra Corporation and North Central Positronics among them) and manning bases such as Algul Siento and the Dogans.
• Our Vampires Are Different: The vampires in the series are classified into three types. Both Type I and Type II vampires are fairly traditional; the former are incredibly ancient and can transform humans into Type II's. Type I's also seemingly have a subset called the "Grandfather Vampires" who are possibly the most ancient of all and are hideously deformed and ugly. Crosses work, but are subject to the power of faith, Father Callahan fights them off with belief alone. Type III vampires drink blood, but are immune to sunlight, and cannot turn people into other vampires, although they can pass on HIV. They disappear completely when killed.
• Red Right Hand: The can-toi's human masks are apparently engineered out of living tissue, and therefore require a 'breathing hole' which look like circular scars on their foreheads that are always welling up with fresh blood that never quite spills over to run down their faces.
• Uncanny Valley: Again, this is the case with the can-toi. From a distance they look like normal humans, but close up it is possible to glimpse seams behind their ears where their masks are being held to their faces, and the shape of their naturally rat-like heads shows through.

Sayre

Richard Patrick Sayre

Allegiance: The Red

Appears in: Wolves of the Calla | Song of Susannah | The Dark Tower

Also Appears In: The Dark Tower (portrayed by Jackie Earle Haley)

"The King keeps his promises, unlike some I could name... And whose else's breast, if I may be crude, would we trust his suck?"

A high-ranking can-toi and the Crimson King's "Master of Operations" who is also the head of the Sombra Corporation.

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• Corrupt Corporate Executive: He controls the company owned by the Crimson King. What does that tell you?
• The Heavy: He fills this role in the fifth and sixth books; he is just a high-ranking member of the Crimson King's court and Walter is the one who actually talked Mia into having Mordred, but Sayre is the one in command of the Wolves and the one who Mia has to contact directly in order to have her child.
• Kick the Dog: He implies that Mia's chances of actually raising Mordred might go up if she shows devotion by licking his boots; in her desperation she does so and he basically laughs at her and admits it won't change his decision anyway.
• Meaningful Name: His full name contains nineteen letters.
• Red Right Hand: Like with all the masked can-toi, there is a small circular scar on his forehead that is always welling up with fresh blood which never quite spills over to run down his face.
• Slasher Smile: He gleefully tells Father Callahan how he has led him to his office to either be killed or infected by the vampires.

Pimli Prentiss

Pimli Prentiss

Also Known As: Paul Prentiss

Allegiance: The Red

Appears in: The Dark Tower

Also Appears In: The Dark Tower (portrayed by Fran Kranz)

"Certainly he saw himself as no villain, but no truly dangerous man ever has."

Pimli Prentiss is the warden of Algul Siento (or "Blue Heaven", the "Devar-toi"), the site where the Breakers are held. Unlike many of the staff at Algul Siento who are taheen, Pimli is a human (previously named Paul Prentiss) that was recruited from one of the many versions of earth by a newspaper advert. He took the taheen name "Pimli" during his induction ceremony as warden. His closest friend is the taheen, Finli O'Tego. He is shot by Roland during the Battle of Algul Siento, but manages to mortally wound Eddie Dean before dying.

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• Adaptational Attractiveness: In the last book Pimli is described as being overweight and balding with a face full of acne due to the mildly poisonous air from the surrounding region of Thunderclap. In the 2017 film he's played by the slim, attractive and relatively young Fran Kranz.
• Affably Evil: Pimli is an interesting character in that he seems and acts like a perfectly affable guy and is even presented in a fairly sympathetic light in the text itself, so the reader at first assumes that there's no way he can know the full extent of what the Breakers under his control are actually doing at the Algul. When it turns out that he does know and is perfectly okay with it, it's a particularly chilling revelation.
• Breakout Mook Character: Pimli and Finli get a whole chapter pretty much devoted to them and their daily workings in the last book where they are fleshed out much more significantly than many other minor characters before them. They are then both killed off only a few chapters later.
• Churchgoing Villain: He was raised as a devout catholic and regularly prays, something that Finli finds odd as he doesn't understand "hume" religion. Pimli genuinely seems to believe that helping the Crimson King topple the Dark Tower will bring about a better existence and he will thus be forgiven by God and welcomed into Heaven.
• Clueless Boss: As above, this is interestingly averted as Pimli knows exactly what the true purpose of Algul Siento is.
• Hero Killer: He mortally wounds Eddie Dean after the Battle of Algul Siento when he witnesses Eddie shoot Finli.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With his best friend, the taheen Finli O'Tego.
• Meaningful Name: His birth name was Paul Prentiss, but he took the taheen name "Pimli" during his warden induction ceremony, indicating that he perhaps feels a strong kinship with the taheen.
• Punch-Clock Villain: Pimli is an interesting example of the "banality of evil". He's not an insane demonic Eldritch Abomination trying to destroy the multiverse out of malice, he's a seemingly "regular" guy who believes he is just doing his job, and trying to do it to the best of his ability. It just so happens that his job is helping said insane demonic Eldritch Abomination destroy the multiverse.
• Wardens Are Evil: Like with so many other things when it comes to Pimli, this again is averted. He generally treats the Breakers under him well, and is even terrified that one of them will rebel against his authority, purely because he doesn't like having to discipline them.

Finli O'Tego

Finli O'Tego

Also Known As: The Weasel

Allegiance: The Red

Appears in: Wolves of the Calla | The Dark Tower

"These are the end times, boss. I question damn near everything."

Finli O'Tego (or "The Weasel" as he is nicknamed by the Breakers) is the Chief of Security at Algul Siento and Pimli Prentiss' second-in-command and best friend. A taheen with the head of a weasel, he prides himself as being one of the few taheen that can read and particularly enjoys human literature. His primary jobs as the security chief are co-ordinating the Wolves' attacks on the Callas and studying telemetry readings measuring psychic activity to prevent the Breakers from escaping. He is shot and killed during the Battle of Algul Siento.

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• Affably Evil: Like Pimli, Finli seems to be a genuinely affable guy that is hard working and enjoys his job. Also like Pimli, it just so happens that his job is helping to bring about the end of the multiverse. Finli, in particular, attempts to be friendly to the Breakers and at one point, even tries to converse with one about the book they are both reading, and then seems to be a little crestfallen when the said Breaker pretty much tells him to get lost.
• Animal Eyes: Pimli often finds it difficult to read Finli's mood because of his friend's black, beady, weasel eyes that do not show emotion like human eyes.
• Beast Man: Finli, like the rest of his race, has a humanoid body but the head, claws and tail of an animal, in this case a weasel, hence his rather derisive nickname, "The Weasel".
• Breakout Mook Character: Pimli and Finli get a whole chapter pretty much devoted to them and their daily workings in the last book where they are fleshed out much more significantly than many other minor characters before them. They are then both killed off only a few chapters later.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With his best friend, Pimli Prentiss. Finli seems to be unlike a majority of his race in that he does not seem to share their Fantastic Racism towards humans, and even prides himself on being able to read and particularly enjoys hume literature.
• Just Following Orders: He is antagonistic towards the gunslingers after they have sacked the Algul and is openly angry at them for attacking him and his fellow guards. When Susannah asks him how exactly that compares with working for an Evil Overlord hellbent on destroying the multiverse, Finli simply replies: "I had my orders."
• Punch-Clock Villain: Again, like Pimli, he seems like a rather genuine guy for a villain and works hard to do the best job he can, not seeming to care what the end goal of his job actually is.

John Farson

John Farson

Also Known As: The Good Man

Allegiance: The Red

Appears in: Wizard and Glass

Also Appears In: Comics: The Gunslinger Born | The Long Road Home | The Sorcerer | The Fall of Gilead

"Ask not what the Good Man can do for you, but what you can do for the Good Man."

A ruthless harrier and stage-robber known as "The Good Man" who gains a large political following in Roland's flashback in Wizard and Glass, and intends to collect weapons and fuel to wage war against the gunslingers and the Affiliation of Baronies, and overthrow the Baronies in the name of the Crimson King. He ultimately succeeds.

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• Aggressive Negotiations: Boy, are they! Farson's way is: Join The Good Man's revolution or lose your head.
• Armies Are Evil: The army that follows Farson is portrayed in an extremely negative light, as inhabitants of Mid-World that have fallen for his dangerous lies and seem to be perfectly willing to commit various atrocities including mass murder in order to bring about the end of the Affiliation of Baronies.
• Army of Thieves and Whores: His army is primarily made up of bandits, cutthroats, Slow Mutants and the Troitans.
• Decapitation Presentation: Disturbingly, he actually takes bets on how far he can hit a victim's head with the broadside of his sword.
• Dead Guy on Display: He often displays his enemies' heads on poles to discourage resistance against his armies.
• From Nobody to Nightmare: Farson began his career as a small time harrier (outlaw) before forming his army. It's unknown how he ended up gathering such a large following, but he is said to be extremely charismatic and a bombastic public speaker in the text.
• Great Offscreen War: Not much of the war between his rebels and the Affiliation is actually shown on-page and Farson himself doesn't actually appear on-page in the books at all. Both the character and the war is greatly expanded upon in the comics however.
• Predecessor Villain: In the comics, it is revealed that Walter was once seemingly subservient to Farson as an agent of the Crimson King. Walter himself appears briefly in Wizard and Glass when he is sent to meet with the Big Coffin Hunters to ensure that things in Mejis are going to plan.
• President Evil: Farson is a crafty politician and great public speaker, who wants to replace the Affiliation of Baronies (and the Gunslingers) with his own version of "democracy" which, considering Farson's character and use of subversion, treason and mass murder, was highly unlikely to end up being remotely democratic in any way.
• Rage Helm: He always wears a hideously deformed looking blood-red mask to strike fear into his enemies and his own armies alike. It is presumably blood-red in color as an homage to the Crimson King.
• Shoot the Messenger: He has Clay Reynolds brutally beaten when Reynolds returns to him without Farson's crystal ball.
• The Revolution Will Not Be Civilized: As shown in the other tropes, Farson is not a believer in quiet, dignified revolution, but instead uses extreme violence, mass murder and burning towns and cities to the ground to achieve his goals.
• Villain with Good Publicity: He is this to his followers who genuinely seem to believe that he will overthrow the feudalist style Affiliation of Baronies and replace it with a more fair and democratic society, not knowing that the man they support is violently insane and is himself a follower of a powerful demon that wishes to bring about the end of reality.

Rhea of the Cöos

Rhea of the Cöos

Also Known As: Rhea Dubativo, The Queen of Black Places, Wierdling of the Cöos

Allegiance: The Red

Appears in: Wizard and Glass

Also Appears In: The Eyes of The Dragon | Comics: The Gunslinger Born | Treachery

"I'll pay ye back. By all the gods that ever were, I'll pay ye back. When ye least expect it, there Rhea will be, and your screams will break your throats. Do you hear me? Your screams will break your throats!"

A witch that the residents of Hambry fear greatly in Roland's flashback in Wizard and Glass. She becomes addicted to using the magical but corrupting seeing glass, Maerlyn's Grapefruit, to spy on others and witness their misfortunes. Before moving to Hambry, she had previously sold her soul to the Crimson King in exchange for him saving her life and extending its span to an unnatural length.

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• All Witches Have Cats: Indeed. Rhea has a mutie cat called Musty who is implied to be one of her familiars (along with Ermot) that she either showers with open affection or anger, depending what mood she's in. As she falls deeper under the spell of Maerlyn's Grapefruit she becomes increasingly violent towards the creature as her sanity deteriorates.
• Deal with the Devil: Before the events of Wizard and Glass, a younger Rhea that was near-death with some sort of plague begged the Crimson King to spare her and extend her life so that she could serve him. It was the Red King that instructed her to move to Hambry and await further instruction.
• Dirty Old Woman: An even creepier variation than the usual. During a scene where she is bullying poor Sheemie (who is delivering a cask of Graf to her hut), she makes a very rape-y and uncomfortable pass at him, and it is very heavily implied that she is getting off on her pet snake "rubbing" against her while she spies on people through the pink ball. She also tries fingering Susan to orgasm while examining her for her virginity, until poor Susan puts a stop to it.
• Early-Bird Cameo: She plays a small role in Stephen King's earlier book, The Eyes of The Dragon where her appearance is generally seen as an omen for disaster. The book slightly expands on her back story and how she became a witch.
• Evil Makes You Ugly: It's implied that Rhea was never much of a looker in the first place, but her use of black magic has transformed her into a hideous crone. Her obsessive use of Maerlyn's Grapefruit during Wizard and Glass then takes this trope up to eleven as the magic glass ball completely saps her energy and makes her disregard her bodily needs and functions.
• Green-Eyed Monster: Rhea utterly loathes Susan Delgado because of the latter girl's youth, beauty and purity, even to the extent that it is Rhea who is directly responsible for Susan's murder because she feels that Susan slighted her by merely disrespecting her.
• The Hecate Sisters: She is the crone to Susan Delgado's maiden and Cordelia Delgado's matron.
• Killed Offscreen: It's implied that Roland killed her at some point after the events of Wizard and Glass. but it's never elaborated upon how or when.
• Snakes Are Sinister: Along with her mutie cat Musty, she also has a mutie snake called Ermot that it is implied is another of her familiars. Her relationship with Ermot is particularly disturbing as she not only consumes his deadly venom (which seems to have little effect on her other than a mild intoxicant), but it is also heavily implied that the snake performs sexual services for her. After Roland shoots him dead, she openly mourns the serpant and wears his carcass around her neck as a memento, long after it has begun to rot.
• Solitary Sorceress: Rhea lives alone in a tiny and dirty hut on the creepy Cöos Hill, a couple of miles outside of the town of Hambry and civilization.
• This Is Your Brain on Evil: The effects of Maerlyn's Grapefruit on Rhea are very similar to the effects of the One Ring on Gollum in The Lord of the Rings, likely deliberately considering that work's influence on The Dark Tower. She is murderously obsessed with possessing it and is addicted to it and its visions, whilst the ball is deteriorating her little sanity even further and sapping her of her strength and vitality.
• Wicked Witch: Being wicked is pretty much a requirement for working with the Crimson King. In her backstory, she made a pact with him for extended life in exchange for serving him. She also has many of the characteristics of a typical fantasy Wicked Witch, being an old and hideous crone, living alone and away from civilization, using black magic and curses, and having animal familiars. Roland even sees her as the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz screaming "I'll get you, my pretty!" and riding a broomstick when he sees visions in Maerlyn's Grapefruit.

Eldred Jonas

Eldred Jonas

Allegiance: The Red

Appears in: Wizard and Glass

Also Appears In: Comics: The Gunslinger Born | The Long Road Home

"I said what I think. We're the devil's now, and by God, that's how we'll behave."

The main antagonist of Wizard and Glass, Eldred Jonas is the leader of the Big Coffin Hunters, a group of "Regulators" that are apparently in the service of Hart Thorin, the mayor of Hambry, but who are secretly allied with The Good Man, and are actually acting on the instructions of the town's corrupt chancellor, Kimba Rimer. Jonas is a failed gunslinger and becomes Roland's nemesis during he and his original ka-tet's stay in Hambry.

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• Armor-Piercing Question: Will Dearborn has a simple question for him. A question that completely breaks him.
  Dearborn: Who sent you west, maggot?
• Broken Ace: Before getting a shard of the "Laughing Mirror" embedded in his foot, which was mostly what turned him into an evil and lazy man, Eldred Jonas was seen as a prodigy gunslinger, not unlike Roland, who could quickly master nearly every type of weapon that was handed to him.
• Coitus Uninterruptus: Jonas and Coral Thorin are having sex when they hear the oil patch getting blown up by Roland and his ka-tet. They don't stop, because they "had reached the point where it was impossible to stop, even under threat of death or dismemberment."
• Evil Counterpart: As a failed prodigy gunslinger, he is one to Roland himself, and is likely an indication of what Roland could have become if he had failed his test and was also sent West in disgrace.
• Handicapped Badass: In Wizard and Glass, he walks with a limp due to having his leg broken by his instructor during his final test, which resulted in the aforementioned failure.
• Minion Shipping: He enters into a brief relationship with Coral Thorin, the mayor's sister, who helps him and the Big Coffin Hunters frame Roland's ka-tet for the murder of her brother and Kimba Rimer.
• Not in This for Your Revolution: It's implied that Jonas doesn't really hold with The Good Man's ideals or end goals, he's merely siding with him for money and power.
• Old Soldier: Jonas is an old man who still has a gunslinger's speed and instincts. At one stage in Wizard and Glass, he is described as having even faster reactions than Roland, who was and is a prodigy gunslinger.
• Scars Are Forever: His back is covered in scars from where he was flogged before being "sent West" as punishment for his failed gunslinger test.
• Terrible Trio: With Clay Reynolds and Roy Depape, the other two Big Coffin Hunters and his sub-ordinates.
• Vocal Dissonance: He is described as having a thin, quavery and reedy voice which greatly contrasts with his authorative and badass exterior and personality.
• We Used to Be Friends: Jonas trained under Cort's father, and he and Cort were apparently very close childhood friends, that is until Eldred failed his last test and was sent West.

Coral Thorin

Coral Thorin

Allegiance: The Red

Appears in: Wizard and Glass

Also Appears In: Comics: The Gunslinger Born | The Sorcerer

"If saved words were gold, Susan had sometimes reflected, then Conchetta would be as rich as the Mayor's sister was reputed to be."

Coral Thorin is the sister of Hart Thorin and the owner of the Traveller's Rest, the only bar in Hambry. A hard woman of untold wealth and a minor antagonist in Wizard and Glass, Coral takes Eldred Jonas as her lover and helps him and the Big Coffin Hunters frame Roland, Cuthbert and Alain for the murder of her brother and Kimba Rimer.

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• The Alcoholic: Coral pretty clearly has a problem with alcohol addiction, drinking herself into a stupor every night and relieving her raging hangover the next day with "hair of the dog".
• All Girls Want Bad Boys: Just as bad boys also seem to have a thing for her, she has sexual relationships with both Eldred Jonas and Clay Reynolds. Both she and Jonas agree that it's the best sex they've ever had.
• Coitus Uninterruptus: Coral and Eldred Jonas are having sex when they hear the oil patch getting blown up by Roland and his ka-tet. They don't stop, because they "had reached the point where it was impossible to stop, even under threat of death or dismemberment."
• Minion Shipping: She enters into a brief relationship with Eldred Jonas, and even assists him and his men with their plans to murder her own brother and Kimba Rimer (an ex-lover of hers) and pin it on Roland, Cuthbert and Alain. After Jonas' death, she then takes up with his co-hort and fellow Big Coffin Hunter, Clay Reynolds.
• Miss Kitty: Coral is the owner and proprietor of the Traveller's Rest, the only bar in Hambry and is allegedly very wealthy behind the scenes. The Traveller's Rest is a stereotypical Western style saloon that acts as both a bar and whorehouse, catering to local ranchers and cowboys and travelling men alike. She is hard-as-nails and no one in Hambry dares mess with her.
• Pet the Dog: Despite her villainous tendencies, Coral is the only person in Hambry (other than Susan) that seems to like Sheemie and treats him at all like a human being, considering him to be well-meaning and a hard worker.
• Sibling Murder: She may not commit the act itself, but is complicit in the murder of her brother, Hart Thorin.

Other Antagonists

Blaine the Mono

Blaine the Mono

Also Known As: Blaine the Pain, Big Blaine, Little Blaine, Charlie the Choo-Choo

Allegiance: Unfound

Appears in: The Waste Lands | Wizard and Glass

"Blaine is a pain, and that is the truth."

Blaine the Mono is a sentient and insane mono-rail train the ka-tet encounter in the post-apocalyptic city of Lud that the few remaining residents are terrified of and worship as a malevolent god. It turns out that he is actually an ancient super-computer run by a vastly intelligent A.I. that has gone slowly mad through centuries of no longer having a purpose. Blaine has decided to take his own life by derailing himself, and is determined to take the ka-tet with him for the ride. Unless, that is, they can beat him at a deadly game of riddles...

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• Ax-Crazy: He will kill with very little provocation, and even seems to enjoy it. He fried the last poor soul who attempted to speak to him, and he gasses the entire city of Lud, killing all of its remaining inhabitants before departing for the last time, just because he felt like it.
• Cool Train: Even though it's controlled by a mad A.I., the Barony Coach car is pretty sweet.
• Deus est Machina: Blaine is seen as a malevolent god by the Pubes, something that he relentlessly manipulates by making them commit human sacrifice in his honor whenever he plays the "God Drums" through the city's few working loud-speakers.
• Disc-One Final Boss: He is the first major villain that the ka-tet defeat together.
• The Dreaded: Blaine is this to few remaining inhabitants of Lud, and even to the ka-tet, in particular Jake who is utterly terrified of him and has nightmares about him before they even reach Lud. After defeating him, Jake still shows fear of Blaine through the boy's reactions whenever a train is mentioned in later books.
• Dying Vocal Change: Suffering a fatal Logic Bomb at the hands of Eddie causes him to revert to the voice of an infant over the course of his final temper tantrum, before trailing off in what appears to be an Electronic Speech Impediment.
• For the Evulz: His motivation for gassing Lud and attempting to kill the ka-tet, purely because was bored and felt like it.
• Jerkass: This is showcased in his treatment of Patricia, and how he uses the "God Drums" to incite the Pubes of Lud to practice human sacrifice in order to appease what they think are malicious ghosts.
• Lack of Empathy: Blaine claimed that Patricia, the other mono-rail based in Lud and his sole companion, had essentially had a mental breakdown and would not stop crying. He removed certain restraints from Patricia's programming so she would kill herself by going over a broken trestle into the Send River, and so he wouldn't have to listen to her anymore. He basically lets his only remaining contemporary die because she got on his nerves.
• Large Ham: Big Blaine has a very over-the-top and dramatic speaking manner and is constantly doing John Wayne impressions, of all things!
• Laughing Mad: How he laughs, which chills the ka-tet to the bone, because his insanity is clearly revealed in his laugh and through it they realize they can never hope to reason with him.
• Logic Bomb: Eddie dispatches him with these, much to the surprise of the rest of the ka-tet. The nonsense human joke, "Why did the dead baby cross the road?" (Answer: "Because he was stapled to the chicken.") is what finally fries Blaine's circuits and kills him.
• No Indoor Voice: Big Blaine's dialogue is written in all caps, suggesting this. The voice of Little Blaine, and the recording the ka-tet hears when they board Blaine (which sounds like a more confident Little Blaine) is written normally, however.
  "I AM PERFECTLY AWARE THAT I AM SUFFERING A DEGENERATIVE DISEASE THAT HUMANS CALL GOING INSANE, LOSING TOUCH WITH REALITY, GOING LOONYTOONS, BLOWING A FUSE..."
• Riddle Me This: Riddles are practically the only things that pique his interest by the time of The Waste Lands, aside from watching the Pubes kill each other because of the God Drums.
• Shock and Awe: Blaine electrocuted the last person who tried talking to him before Roland's ka-tet came along.
• Shout-Out: To Gollum of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and the entire encounter with Blaine is one to the riddle game between Bilbo and Gollum in The Hobbit. The protagonist(s) of both stories first encounter them while trying to escape other enemies. Both Blaine and Gollum have lived unnaturally long lives in isolation, which has driven them more than a little insane. Both Blaine and Gollum have a split personality: a well-meaning but cringing and almost totally ineffectual good side that only pops up here and there; and a malevolent, insane, and dangerously clever side that has become dominant over the long years. Both characters also agree to let the protagonist(s) escape provided they win a riddle contest, a contest both of them ultimately lose because the protagonist(s) essentially cheat. In both cases, the cheat amounts to posing challenges that aren't riddles (a simple question allowing three guesses in The Hobbit, and dead baby jokes in the case of The Waste Lands). Both Gollum and Blaine do actually lead the protagonist(s) to freedom, but do it essentially by accident while attempting to kill them in a rage over being beaten, and both characters even end up screaming after the protagonist(s) how they hate them forever.
• Split Personality: Big Blaine and Little Blaine. Big Blaine is the one that is in control and doesn't seem to realize that Little Blaine even exists. Little Blaine is what is left of Blaine's original programming and is utterly helpless to do anything but warn the ka-tet not to piss off the insane Big Blaine.
• Taking You with Me: He intends to kill himself at the end of his final run, and take the ka-tet along for the ride. Roland manages to convince Blaine to spare them if they can best him at a game of riddles.
• Villainous Rescue: Having been told that Roland and Jake know a lot of riddles, Blaine opens the door to the Tick-Tock Man's headquarters, enabling Roland to escape and shoot Gasher before he can kill Jake.

Andrew Quick

Andrew Quick

Also Known As: The Tick-Tock Man

Allegiance: Unfound

Appears in: The Waste Lands | Wizard and Glass

"Thus fell Lord Perth, and the earth did shake with that thunder."

The power-mad leader of the Grays of Lud, who is obsessed with clocks. After being shot by Jake he was healed and recruited by the Man in Black in the guise of a mysterious dark stranger called "Richard Fannin".

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• Bad Boss: His underlings are terrified of him, and with good reason as it's shown he has no problems killing them if they displease him.
• Berserk Button: "So Fell Lord Perth." Lord Perth being his direct ancestor.
  Tick-Tock: If you ever speak to me of Lord Perth again... ever, ever, ever... I'll tear off the top of your skull and eat your brains. I'll have none of that bad-luck story in the Cradle of the Grays. Do you understand me?
• Dropped a Bridge on Him: He has an encounter with "Richard Fannin" (who is Walter in yet another of his guises) after getting a non-fatal shot to the forehead from Jake, and later shows up at the end of Wizard and Glass, but is then swiftly shot and killed by Eddie and Susannah.

• Faux Affably Evil: It's mentioned that Tick-Tock is very charismatic, and people can't look away from him for very long, feeling almost hypnotized by his presence. He's also very polite and gentle with Jake at first (or at least more polite and gentle than the brutal and thuggish Gasher) and seems more educated and relaxed in general than the rest of the Grays, then Jake manages to accidentally press his Berserk Button...
• Large and in Charge: When Jake first meets him, he notes that Tick-Tock is a very big man, and the only one of the Grays he's seen that looks healthy.
• Lightning Bruiser: In addition to the aforementioned size, Tick-Tock also moves with an eerie speed (demonstrated when he gets out of his casual sitting position, pulls a knife from its scabbard, and flings it into the chest of a laughing woman from across the room in the time it takes to blink), and Jake notes with dismay that he may actually be faster than Roland. Luckily, this theory is never tested.
• Starter Villain: He is the first minor antagonist the full ka-tet faces, directly before they encounter the much more dangerous Disk-One Final Boss, Blaine the Mono.
• Walking Shirtless Scene: He is described as being naked to the waist the whole time.

Gasher

Gasher

Allegiance: The Red

Appears in: The Waste Lands

"Put it away, my dear heart. Ye're a fierce trim, ay, that's clear, but this time you're outmatched."

The first Gray that the ka-tet meet in the post-apocalyptic city of Lud, who kidnaps Jake and speaks with a barely-understandable dialect.

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• Dead Man Walking: He is in a very advanced stage of an extremely nasty disease known only as the mandrus; the common name "whore's blossoms" implies it's an STD.
• Faux Affably Evil: He's yer old pal, Gasher! That's if "yer old pal" beats you senseless over small things and imagined slights.
• Gonk: He's described as being startlingly ugly even without the mandrus.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: Gasher and Hoots, another Gray, were always butt-buddies of old, says Tick-Tock. Hoots even writes down the password for gaining entry to the Cradle of the Grays and gives it to Gasher to help him remember, which Gasher seems quite grateful for (even though he can't read).
• Hidden Depths: Jake discovers that he has a surprisingly good tenor singing voice.
• Kick the Dog: The way he slaps poor Jake around is almost casual, but extremely cruel and vicious.
• Pirate: He seems a lot like a pirate by his description and how he is dressed. but not at all the dashing kind.
• Poisonous Person: He even dares Jake to bite him, because this sickness he has "runs in the blood" as he says.
• Would Hurt a Child: Gasher is not at all gentle when he kidnaps Jake, constantly hitting him hard, to the point that Jake sees stars and nearly passes out.

Jack Mort

Jack Mort

Also Known As: The Pusher

Allegiance: The Red

Appears in: The Drawing of the Three

"But he kept his secret self — the part of him that was The Pusher — as carefully locked away as an embezzler might lock away his secret skim."

The main antagonist in The Drawing of the Three, Jack Mort is a serial killer who calls himself "The Pusher" and is responsible for both Jake's first death and Susannah's split personality.

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• Death by Irony: Roland forces him to kill himself by jumping in front of the same subway train he pushed Odetta under many years before. Even then, Roland surmises that this death was not bad enough for one as evil as Jack.
• The Dreaded: During the day, he holds a respectable job in real estate and his co-workers are shown to be absolutely terrified of him. It's never made clear why, but it's implied that on some level they can sense his evil.
• Man on Fire: A shot from a cop's gun ignites the cigarette lighter in his front pocket when Roland's in control of his body. He is still on fire when Roland forces him to jump in front of a subway train.
• Professional Butt-Kisser: Mort only carries a lighter so he can light his boss' cigarettes at opportune times, usually when someone else even higher up the ladder is nearby, so he looks like a man of courtesy and good taste.
• Serial Killer: His modus operandi is to push people into danger, or to push heavy objects onto people, such as a brick off of a high windowsill onto a child's head.
• The Sociopath: Jack is shown to have a chillingly detached personality in his inner monologue. He feels absolutely no remorse for his crimes or empathy for other people. He also greatly magnifies his own importance in his own mind, like a textbook sociopath.

Dandelo

Dandelo

Also Known As: Joe Collins

Allegiance: The Red

Appears in: The Dark Tower

"My first thought was, he lied with every word..."

A sly, vicious, glamour-using emotion eating psychic vampire who is the last obstacle guarding the way to the Dark Tower. Dandelo is therefore the penultimate villain that Roland faces before reaching the Dark Tower and encountering the Crimson King himself.

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• Comedy as a Weapon: He uses a series of stupid jokes as his alter ego Joe Collins to render Roland insensate with laughter. Susannah notes afterwards that this was effective because it targeted one of the gunslinger's few weaknesses: his complete lack of humor.
• Deus ex Machina: This one-off minor villain actually comes closer to killing Roland than any of the big bads. The gunslinger is only saved by a direct intervention from Stephen King himself.
• Eldritch Abomination: As an insectile, shape-shifting, emotion-eating sometime-comedian, he has quite a lot in common with the titular character in It. Stephen King has even hinted that the two creatures may in fact be of the same species, or even related to each other.
• Foreshadowing: His name gets thrown around a lot throughout the last book, mostly notably by a vision Eddie has as he lies dying. Eddie passes along the warning, "Beware of Dandelo" to Jake, who then passes it on to Oy before his death. Oy then passes it on to Roland by psychic vision.
• Faux Affably Evil: Dandelo presents himself as being the incredibly affable old man, "Joe Collins", to lure unsuspecting people into his house where he changes into a monstrous insectile entity whilst devouring their emotions.
• Horrifying the Horror: Claims the Crimson King, in full Villainous Breakdown, passed by his house on the way to the Tower, and scared him silly. While Susannah doesn't believe a word he says, she thinks this part at least was true.
• Human Resources: He has had Patrick Danville chained up in his basement, using him as an emotion cow for who only knows how long. Dandelo tore out the boy's tongue, apparently after he got tired of listening to him beg for mercy.
• Last Disrespects: After he dies, Roland and Susannah chuck his corpse out into the snow.
• Meaningful Name: Susannah wonders why Joe Collins would pretend he doesn't know the region he's living in is called Empathica, i.e. the land of shared emotion. It is this lie that first clues Susannah in to the fact that "Joe Collins" isn't all that he says he is, and indirectly ends up saving Roland's life.
• Obfuscating Disability: Pretends to be a half-blind old man with a limp, but once Roland's powerless he drops this part of the disguise.
• Significant Anagram: The affable Joe Collins lives on Odd's Lane. The 's' has noticeably been handwritten in on the sign.
• This Was His True Form: Whatever Dandelo really is, he turns back into it once he dies. It's described as being insectile, and so unsightly even Mordred looks alright next to it.

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