History Main / TheStand

** The heroes are {{Decoy Protagonist}}s, traveling ToHellAndBack BecauseDestinySaysSo.

* PinballProtagonist: For all the emphasis put on Stu, Glen, Larry, and Ralph journeying to Vegas to confront Flagg, they don't accomplish much of anything tangible.

*** Um...on the outskirts of Des Moines.

* CanonWelding: ''The Stand'' became part of ''TheDarkTower'' continuity.

** YourMileageMayVary, since civilization ended outside Boulder and [[WeAreNotGoingThroughThatAgain people started leaving]] when they started arming the [[{{Utopia}} Free Zone]] officials.

* CosyCatastrophe: Doesn't start out that way, but becomes one by novel's end.

* ItGotWorse: First a plague wipes out most of humanity. ''Then'' a demonic drifter tries to conquer what's left. Finally, the ending reveals that [[spoiler:he survived a freaking nuclear weapon, and [[OrIsIt is scheming anew]]]]. Then again, after 99.7% of humanity has been destroyed, the entire Randall Flagg situation seems rather tame in comparison. Also, Flagg's empire [[spoiler:seems well on its way of falling apart on its own without any action by the hero characters]] in typical Stephen King style.

** After the virus settles down, there are a series of vignettes about a secondary die-off as the survivors get themselves into trouble and no one is left to help them out of it. One is a young man who gets bitten by a Rattlesnake, but doesn't know how to administer antidote. When his foot swells up, he tries to ''hacksaw it off'' and dies when he faints from the pain.
*** He stepped on a nail after swimming, and tried to avoid getting tetnis by cutting his foot off.

** It's also hinted he's [[HPLovecraft Nyarlathotep]] [[TheMoorcockEffect as well]].

* TheMoorcockEffect: ''The Stand'' became part of ''TheDarkTower'' continuity.

* TheDrifter: Nick Andros

* MonochromeCasting: Besides Abagail and an anonymous henchman of Flagg in Las Vegas there are absolutely no minorities among the survivors of the plague. (Richard Farris was black in the mini-series though.)
** Wasn't the Judge black? He was part of the BFZ.
*** Unless the series really scrambled characters around, Farris *was* the Judge. About the only character whose race is specified in the book is Mother Abagail.

--Isn't the Judge black? He was part of the BFZ. It's been a while since I've read the book.

** It's been rebuilt as a [[BladeRunner giant black pyramid]] since the novel was written, so, um, {{so yeah}}.

* EmbarrassingNickname: Harold "Whack-Off" Lauder.

King set out to write "An American {{Lord of the Rings}}", although he later demurred as to whether he was successful. Still, it is one of his [[SoYeah most popular]] books, and, along with ''{{It}}'', one of the most important works of King's early period.

** The [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEuAVP44EG0#t=1m50s main guitar/violin theme]] by W.G. "Snuffy" Walden, that kicks in as the heroes begin their [[DoomedExpedition final journey [[WalkIntoMordor to Las Vegas]].

** The [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEuAVP44EG0#t=1m50s main guitar/violin theme]] by W.G. "Snuffy" Walden, that kicks in as the heroes begin their [[WalkIntoMordor final journey to Las Vegas]].

* TheLancer / JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Larry Underwood

* TheProfessor: Glen Bateman again

* TheAragorn: [[spoiler:Stu Redman]]. In addition to being appointed [[TheGunslinger First Sheriff]] of Boulder, he leads the final mission to overthrow the Dark Man. [[spoiler: It turns out he was only sent in order to BringNewsBack about the others' subsequent sacrifice and destruction of Flagg's kingdom.]] See Passing The Torch.