History Main / TheStand

* DeadExMachina: [[spoiler: the spirit of Nick Andros leads Tom Cullen to save Stu's life]].

** Stu Redman is forced to perform an appendectomy. Later on, the Free Zone is forced to rely on a vetrenarian until a doctor arrives.

* ArcWords: ''"my life for you!"'' [[CatchPhrase "M.O.O.N. That spells _____."]]

* ArcWords: ''"my life for you!"'' '''[[CatchPhrase "M.O.O.N. That spells _____."]]'''

* PassingTheTorch: [[spoiler:to Larry.]] In their [[WalkIntoMordor final journey]], Abagail prophesies that "one will fall by the wayside". [[spoiler:Stu]] breaks a leg and convinces the others to go on without him BecauseDestinySaysSo. They never see him again. [[spoiler:This is because all the others die, in the end, he is fated to BringNewsBack]]. Instead of [[ShootTheDog shooting the dog]], they leave the dog with him.

* MonochromeCasting: In both the book and the mini series, the only two non-caucasian characters are Abagail and the Judge. Other than that, ''every single'' black man is either dead or joined up with Flagg.

* NietzscheWannabe: [[spoiler:Harold]].
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: WordOfGod says Larry Underwood is an expy for BruceSpringsteen, and he looks the part in the {{miniseries}}.
* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: Nick receives one of these in his first scene in the book.
* NoNameGiven: The Kid

* NoPartyLikeADonnerParty: Lloyd Henreid (in fairness to him, this was a survival-motivated event, since he was in jail when the plague hit).

* NotGoodWithRejection: Harold, once Frannie picks Stu, despite the fact he'd been deluding himself into believing he had a chance with her.
* ObviouslyEvil: It's interesting that half of the remaining population would want to live with Flagg.
** It helped that he could pass for AffablyEvil before he started to decompensate.
* OneHundredAndEight: Mother Abagail is Really 108 Years Old.

* OptOut: Stu Redman is forced to do this due to injury.
* ParanoiaFuel: [[invoked]]Extensively talked about by the characters themselves. One of the original "Evil US Government quarantines innocent civilians at gunpoint and leaves them to die" plots, it seemed uncharacteristically cynical (even for King) until, say 2005 (as if!) Not to mention Capt. Trips itself. %% This trope is referenced in-work, so it is not YMMV insofar as it applies to the characters themselves.
* PassingTheTorch: [[spoiler: to Larry.]] In their [[WalkIntoMordor final journey]], Abagail prophesies that "one will fall by the wayside". [[spoiler:Stu]] breaks a leg and convinces the others to go on without him BecauseDestinySaysSo. They never see him again. [[spoiler:This is because all the others die, in the end, he is fated to BringNewsBack]]. Instead of [[ShootTheDog shooting the dog]], they leave the dog with him.
* PetTheDog: Lloyd's affection for Dinny, a four-year-old boy in the Las Vegas camp.
* ThePhilosopher: Glen Bateman, his main role.

* ThePlague: Captain Trips is indistinguishable from a common cold or a flu except by a doctor who knows what to look for.

* TheProfessor: Glen Bateman. "Not anymore, Larry. In case you haven't noticed, school is out."

* PutThemAllOutOfMyMisery: [[spoiler:Harold Emery Lauder]]. See AlasPoorVillain and {{Wangst}}.
* PyroManiac: Trashcan Man

* RapeAsBackstory: Dayna and Susan were part of a group of women used as sex slaves. When they encounter Stu's group, Dayna leads the women in a revolt against their rapists.

* RedemptionRejection: Harold, who realizes he ''can'' make a new and better life for himself in Boulder, but chooses to settle all of his childish grudges instead.

* SacrificialLion: [[spoiler: Nick Andros and Mother Abagail]] herself.
* SayMyName: "My name is Harold Emery Lauder."

* {{Shapeshifter}}: On the other hand, it's possible the crows are all Flagg in disguise.

* ShutUpHannibal: [[spoiler:Glen]] to Flagg. He ''laughs'' him [[DefiantToTheEnd out of the room]]!
* ShutUpKirk: Flagg to Whitney Horgan. It comes [[HoistByHisOwnPetard back to bite him]], though.
* SpannerInTheWorks: [[spoiler:Trash's]] plans to redeem himself by seeking the [[spoiler:[[DeusExNukina Big Fire]]]] to destroy the people of Boulder.
* SmugSnake: Randall Flagg spends a lot of time smirking and doesn't do much to prevent setbacks in his "plans".
* TheSpeechless: Nick Andros is a deaf-mute.
** By contrast, "Joe" (Leo) is TheVoiceless when Larry first encounters him.

* StepfordSmiler: [[spoiler: Harold becomes one when he reads Frannie's diary.]] When he starts up the practice, many characters start to comment on how cheery he's become. Oh, if only they knew...
** It doesn't fool everybody. Nick refuses to give him a place on the council in Boulder because he thinks there's something unsettling and fake in his constant grinning and glad-handing.

* TeamMom: Frannie Goldsmith.
* TechnicalPacifist / ReluctantWarrior: You wouldn't like Nick [[HandicappedBadass when he's angry]].

* TrademarkFavoriteFood: The Kid, who's obsessed with Coors and Rebel Yell Whiskey. It's even plot-relevant, as he chooses to drive through Colorado just to pass the Coors brewery in Golden.

* TraumaInducedAmnesia / TroubledChild: Joe/Leo.

* TyphoidMary: "Joe Bob" Brentwood, who spreads the superflu beyond any chance of containment.
** Actually, this'd have been Campion; the second he and his family made it off the base and encountered other people, it was already entirely too late to contain Trips.
* UndyingLoyalty: Kojak; Trashcan Man.

* VasquezAlwaysDies: [[spoiler:Dayna Jurgens]].
* VerbalTic: Laws, yes.
* VirginSacrifice: Why Nadine can't have sex.
* TheVoiceless: Leo Rockway. In the miniseries he gets his voice back when he's the one to find Mother Abagail.
* WaifProphet: Mother Abagail is so old she verges on a BlindSeer.

* {{Wangst}}: Harold's bitterness over being picked on throughout his school years and his inability to just get over it ends up with [[spoiler:him falling to TheDarkSide.]] After realizing how accepted he's become in Boulder, he realizes that holding on to his old grudges is stupid and pathetic and resolves to change... but then, [[spoiler:along cames Nadine.]] [[invoked]]%% In-work reference (note above). The miniseries bit is YMMV.
* WastelandElder: Mother Abagail's primary role. Then she goes into the wilderness.

* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: [[spoiler:Trashcan Man]] proves to be the ultimate instrument of destruction after he [[GollumMadeMeDoIt finally snaps]]. [[EvenEvilHasStandards Even Flagg feels sorry for him]], and wants him painlessly executed...[[invoked]] %% In-work reference, this trope is only marginally YMMV

* IHaveManyNames: And many of them begin with the initials R.F.
** As Glen Bateman says to Flagg's men: "His name is Randall Flagg, also known as the dark man, also known as the tall man, also known as the Walkin Dude. Don't some of you' call him that? Call him Beelzebub, because that's his name, too. Call him Nyarlahotep and Ahaz and Astaroth. Call him R'yelah and Seti and Anubis. [[IAmLegion His name is legion]] and he's an apostate of hell and you men kiss his ass."

* IOweYouMyLife: Lloyd Henreid, and also Trashcan Man: ''[[CatchPhrase "My life for you!"]]''
* ISenseADisturbanceInTheForce: Both Stu (rather unjustifiably) and Abagail do this in the miniseries. Ruby Dee even ''looks'' like Yoda, and [[AWizardDidIt she's a prophet]] so it's justified.
** Nick uses this to sense [[spoiler:the bomb]] in the book. In the miniseries, half the committee suddenly gets unexplained psychic powers, dulling the impact quite a bit.
* ImAHumanitarian: Lloyd is in prison during the superflu, and when he doesn't get food anymore because all of the guards have died, he resorts to eating from the meat of one of his fellow prisoners.

* IgnoredEpiphany: Harold has a moment when the camaraderie he shares with his coworkers makes him see that all the {{Wangst}}y bullshit he's been carrying around since high school is just that: bullshit. He resolves to give up his plan to betray the Free Zone and settle down. Then Nadine seduces him on orders from Flagg, and things go downhill from there...

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Larry Underwood. He ain't no [[NiceGuy nice guy]]
* JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope: [[spoiler: "My name is Harold Emery Lauder.]] I do this of my own free will."
* TheJudge: The Judge.

** Deliberately done by [[spoiler:Nadine]] to anger Flagg. Of course, RedemptionEqualsDeath.
* KneelBeforeZod: Flagg is particularly prone to doing this.
-->"For a favor of this magnitude, I really think you ought to get down on your knees."
* KnightInShiningArmor: Nick Andros, especially after [[spoiler:his death]].
* TheLancer (JerkWithAHeartOfGold): Larry Underwood.

* LostInTranslation: The Italian title of the book is "L'Ombra dello Scorpione" ("The Shadow of the Scorpion"). There are NO SCORPIONS in the book (of any relevance to the plot, anyway). None at all. Anywhere. Seriously, WTF?!?
* LouisCypher: Flagg, arguably.

* MadnessMantra: "Ciiiii-a-bola, bumpty-bumpty-BUMP!"
** And possibly Trashcan Man's "MY LIFE FOR YOU!" in the miniseries.
* MagicalNegro: Averted very hard. Abagail ends up being the emotional and moral center of the BFZ, so much so that the council - which is all white - make sure to give her veto power over any of their decisions, lest it look like they were trying to wrest power from her.

* MayorOfAGhostTown: Nick Andros in Shoyo. Also, Tom Cullen, who is the only surviving person in his.
* MeaningfulName: Stu [[NobleSavage Redman]], [[FunWithAcronyms Harold E. Lauder]], Nadine [[RuleOfSymbolism Cross]], Abagail ''Freemantle''
* MinorInsultMeltdown: Trashcan Man.
* TheMole: [[spoiler:Nadine and Harold become this]] in Boulder.
** Also [[spoiler: The Judge, Dayna and Tom]] in Vegas.
* Mondegreen: In the miniseries,when we first meet him, Glen mondegreens "Baby, Can You Dig Your Man?".

* MostWritersAreWriters: Harold.
* TheMountainsOfIllinois: In the TV Miniseries adaptation, Trash Can Man's arson incidents in Gary, Indiana and Des Moines, Iowa, are both shown with rugged mountains in the background, because they were filmed in New Mexico.
* MrFixit: Trashcan Man is a creepy {{Pyromaniac}} ManChild variant.
* MrViceGuy: Larry Underwood.
* MrsRobinson: "lovely Rita" Blakemoor.
** GrandmaWhatMassiveHotnessYouHave: ''"She's had lovers!"''

* TheEveryman {{Hero}}: Stu Redman
* EverythingIsBetterWithExplosions: Trashcan Man
* EvilCounterpart: A lot of Flagg's men have counterparts among Abagail's flock, as well as the two leaders themselves. The most obvious would probably be Trashcan Man and Tom Cullen.
* EvilFeelsGood: After [[spoiler:Harold's heel turn]], everyone comments on his newfound charisma and self-esteem.
* EvillyAffable: Randall Flagg.
* EvilOverlord: Randall Flagg. (He missed a couple items in the [[EvilOverlordList checklist]].)

* FaceHeelTurn: [[spoiler:Harold E Lauder]]

* FinalSpeech / PrescienceIsPredictable: [[spoiler:Mother Abagail]].
* FistOfRage : Stu, when he's talking to Franny after the explosion, and showing his anger toward Harold.

* FunctionalAddict: Rita Blakemoor. In the miniseries she's combined with Nadine.
* {{Geek}}: Harold. Possibly inspired by King's own awkward youth.

* GirlNextDoor: Fran; Lucy Swann.
* GogglesDoNothing: Trashcan Man. They don't help with radiation induced blindness and hair loss.
* GollumMadeMeDoIt: Trashcan Man

* GoodOlBoy: Stuart and Ralph

* HandicappedBadass: Nick Andros
* HeelFaceDoorSlam: Nadine Cross spent her life believing she had to save her virginity for DreamWeaver Flagg, who is revealed to be an expy for TheAntichrist; when she falls in love with [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Larry]] instead, she initially rebuffs his advances, then desperately asks him to sleep with her, after he has fallen in love with someone else; to break her commitment to Flagg. When [[FriendOrIdolDecision Larry refuses]], Nadine falls in with Flagg. (see Ignored Epiphany below.)
* HeroicDog: Kojak.
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Nick Andros]]. Also, [[spoiler:Larry Underwood and Ralph.]]

* HiddenDepths: Tom Cullen. He manages to creep the others out with them, under hypnosis.
** "I am God's Tom."

* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Flagg's [[spoiler:ball of electricity]].

* DaddysGirl: Frannie.

* ADayInTheLimelight: Kojak's [[spoiler: journey across the United States to Boulder]] told from the dog's perspective.

* DecoyProtagonist: [[spoiler:Stu Redman, Nick Andros]].

* TheDeterminator: Kojak; Trashcan Man. Due to UndyingLoyalty in both cases.
-->''You might say he never [[spoiler:[[IncrediblyLamePun flagged in his]]]] determination.''

* DisabilitySuperpower: Tom is especially susceptible to suggestion and is able to hypnotize himself to solve problems. He's also [[spoiler:[[PokeInTheThirdEye invisible to Flagg]]]].

* TheDitz: Frannie (miniseries only). She's merely [[PregnantBadass hormonal]] in the book.

* TheDragon: Lloyd Henreid

* DreamWeaver: Flagg, [[spoiler:Nick Andros]], Mother Abagail.
* TheDrifter: Nick Andros and Randall Flagg (they don't call him "The Walkin' Dude" for nothing)
* DrivenToSuicide / [[DroppedABridgeOnHim Dropped A Bridge On Her]]: [[spoiler:Rita]], who Larry survived [[spoiler:the Lincoln Tunnel with]], commits suicide in his sleeping bag. Also Starkey and several others who were involved in Project Blue.
* DroppedABridgeOnHim: [[spoiler:Nick Andros]] again, and half of the [[spoiler:Boulder Free Zone committee]].

* EccentricMentor: Glen Bateman.

* EmbarrassingNickname: Harold "[[ADateWithRosiePalms Whack-Off]]" Lauder.
** Also, "Trashcan Man", although the erstwhile Donald Merwin Elbert eventually comes to accept and even embrace that name as his true identity.

* ActionSurvivor: Stuart Redman.

* AdultChild: Tom Cullen is middle-aged but still enjoys playing with toys (he's mentally retarded). On a different level, Harold is quite immature even for his age.

* AllTakeAndNoGive: Larry Underwood. His mom calls him a "taker", which comes back to haunt him many times.
** To put it in the words of his friend Wayne Stukey, there's "something in [Larry] that's like biting on tinfoil."
* AndIMustScream: Nick Andros, who is already deaf-mute, nearly has both eyes gouged out by the last surviving human plague victim within a 50-mile radius.
* TheAntichrist: Flagg.
* AntiquatedLinguistics: Harold Lauder affects a bit of this early on. It is specifically noted as being kinda pretentious, and something he's doing because he's scared.
* AntiVillain: Lloyd, though YourMileageMayVary. While he can commit some real bad crimes, he's really nothing more than a child in a man's body. He follows Flagg only because the guy saved him from starvation, and even then [[spoiler: he begins to doubt him when his plans start to crumble.]]

* TheAragorn: [[spoiler:Stu Redman]]. In addition to being appointed [[TheGunslinger First Marshall]] 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.

* AteHisGun: [[spoiler: Harold]].

* AuthorAvatar: Harold is an unpopular, bespectacled teen from southern Maine who is a literary geek, lusts after the girl next door, and wants to write the next great American novel. Wouldn't be the first time King turned his own expy [[spoiler:into the villain]]...

* {{Badass}}: Nick Andros [[spoiler:instead of running from the bomb, he tries to ''defuse'' it.]]

* BerserkButton: Don't ask Trashcan Man about old lady Semple's pension check.
* BetterToDieThanBeKilled: [[spoiler: Dayna kills herself to prevent Flagg from torturing her for information. That he could not stop or predict this ''really'' rattles him]].
* BiTheWay: Danya Jurgens
* BigBad: Randall Flagg, the Dark Man.
* BigBrotherMentor: Glen Bateman.

* BigGood: Mother Abagail.

* BlessedWithSuck: Trashcan Man's pyromania and hallucinations made him an outcast in pre-Virus society, but it also gave him a sixth sense for finding weaponry post-Virus.

* BrokenBird: Rita Blakemoor

** Aforementioned trigger-happy mook is portrayed in the miniseries by SamRaimi.

* CelebritySurvivor: Larry, sort of; his first single had become a hit right before the plague wiped out everyone, and soon after everyone has forgotten that he was kind of famous. It's lampshaded late in the book, when Fran is talking to Larry trying to remember who sang ''Baby Can You Dig Your Man'' and says the name's on the tip of her tongue. Larry doesn't tell her that it was him.

* TheChick: Frannie.
* ChildhoodFriends: One of Larry's bigger regrets is how his selfish attitude ruined his relationship with a childhood friend. He goes into some detail not only about how trivial the argument was, but what a good friend he had had.
* {{Cincinnatus}}: Stu is [[DoesNotLikeGuns reluctant to be]] Marshal of the Free Zone, and ultimately [[spoiler:leaves for New England]].

* CoolCar: The Kid's Deuce Coupe.
* CoolHat: Ralph's hat becomes a MementoMacguffin in the miniseries.

A eight hour made-for-tv miniseries based on the novel aired for four nights on ABC in 1991. As of late 2011, a theatrical adaptation is being attempted for the second time-the first attempt was made during the 1980s and failed because of the difficulty adapting such a long novel for a big screen release, and the novel's dependence on narration to tell the story.

A eight hour made-for-tv miniseries based on the novel aired for four nights on ABC in 1991. As of late 2011, a theatrical adaptation is being attempted for the second time-the first attempt was made during the 1980s and failed because of the difficulty adapting such a long novel for a big screen release.

* TheStinger: Added to the Uncut edition, to strengthen the tie with ''TheDarkTower'': [[spoiler: Randall Flagg wakes up after the nuclear blast in another universe, and begins to take over a society once again.]]

* AbortedArc: Several storylines, such as Frannie's conflict with her mother over her pregnancy, Larry's career taking off and Lloyd's impending trial are interrupted by the superflu.

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_stand_cover1_3754.jpg

** A particularly large medical DNDTR appears in the movie, in which researchers at the isolation center in Vermont watch as a character suddenly wakes up, rips the IVs out of his arm, rips out his endotracheal tube, and suffocates to death. Not only would a patient who'd been intubated be restrained at the wrists, sedated heavily, and possibly kept chemically paralyzed, but according to descriptions of the disease itself any victim in need of a ventilator would be already be too weak to move.

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* {{Nakama}}: Stu, Larry, Glen and Ralph. There's also:
** Stu, Frannie, Harold, and Glen.
** Larry, Nadine, Joe, and Lucy, along with Rita.
** Nick, Tom, Ralph, and Mother Abagail.

* KickTheDog: Flagg runs into an [[{{Bambi}} innocent fawn]]. [-"Rub a dub dub, thanks for the grub!"-]

* EmergencyPresidentalAddress