Stephen King has created plenty of iconic villains throughout his literary career, and as a result, it’s almost impossible to identify which of them is truly the best, but Randall Flagg and the Crimson King are contenders. Several of his classic antagonists have appeared in multiple stories, shifting between worlds and taking on different faces as they pose new threats to new heroes. This has allowed the author to create a kind of interconnected universe, with his books connected by these faceless villains that take on new roles each time. While many would agree that Randall Flagg is King’s best villain, there’s another suitable candidate for that title.

Both The Dark Tower book series is hugely popular and most of that comes down to the characters, including the two overarching villains of the series and beyond.

10 Randall Flagg Has The Most Appearances Across King’s Novels

The Villain First Appeared In The Post-Apocalyptic Thriller The Stand

When discussing King’s best villain, there’s a reason that Randall Flagg’s name is brought up so often. He’s undeniably the most interesting and complex villain the author has created, and much of this comes down to the fact that he’s appeared in multiple novels - including some of King’s most popular. Not only is he the primary antagonist of the Dark Tower series, but he’s also the main villain in The Stand, and has a starring role in The Eyes of the Dragon.

The character is so entrenched in King’s bibliography that it’s hard to read any of the author’s early works without at least seeing the footprints of the character on this world. There are also countless theories about the figure that fans have deduced throughout the years, including that Randall Flagg is Carrie’s father or that he was secretly the coordinator of the titular mist in The Mist. The fact that there’s so much evidence for these theories proves just how dense King’s writing and characterization of this figure are.

9 The Crimson King Is Flagg’s Superior

The Creature Has Much More Power Than Flagg

However, while Flagg is undeniably powerful and displays some shocking abilities across his several appearances, the truth still remains that the Crimson King is his superior. He’s a higher-ranking villain in the order of the Dark Tower franchise, taking the antagonist role in the final book of the series and displaying the full strength of his supernatural abilities. He’s clearly more powerful than Flagg, and undeniably the most powerful villain in King's multiverse, period, and his authority makes him even more intimidating.

Without the Crimson King, Flagg wouldn’t have the strength needed to fight so effortlessly against the gunslinger during their encounters. While it’s reductive to say that Flagg is a puppet of the Crimson King, he certainly owes some of his strength to the Dark Tower being, and that’s clear enough evidence to state that the Crimson King is a more powerful and dangerous villain. However, in Stephen King’s world, strength isn’t all that’s needed to be a formidable villain.

8 Flagg Is A More Complex Character

His Personality Is Much More Unpredictable

While the Crimson King may have untouchable strength, Flagg’s complexities and ambiguous background make him much more interesting to read about. The only real information that’s known about his origins and intentions is what he decides to share with the gunslinger, and even that can’t fully be trusted. His motives are more dubious and less straightforward than the Crimson King’s quest for chaos, which makes him arguably even more dangerous. Although Flagg wasn’t that interesting in the Dark Tower movie that even Stephen King himself criticized, he’s much more complex and enigmatic in the books.

Stephen King has said in the past that he views Randall Flagg as the equivalent of the Devil in his his universe.

Flagg is present from the very beginning of the Dark Tower series, and it’s his cat-and-mouse chase with the gunslinger that makes that first story work so well. The reader doesn’t know much about either character, but from the very beginning, Flagg’s seemingly impossible feats of breeding devils and reviving strangers make him such a compelling villain, and his revolving cycle of nicknames in The Dark Tower show his shapeshifting and trickster abilities. From there, King’s characterization just gets richer and richer as the dynamic between these two characters gets increasingly complicated and difficult to discern.

7 The Crimson King’s Only Goal Is Destruction

He's Only Interested In Destroying The World And Taking Everybody With It

While Randall Flagg has complex motives and ambiguous goals that are often kept hidden from the reader, the Crimson King’s goal is much simpler: he thrives in chaos and seeks to destroy the entire multiverse by bringing down the Dark Tower, the nexus point that holds up all universes. While simplicity is often seen as the mark of a weak character, King really makes it work by presenting the Crimson King as somebody who simply doesn’t care about the consequences of his actions and is only driven by making others suffer. In that way, he’s much less human and more frightening than Flagg.

Flagg is aware of his own immorality, even if it never stops him from being selfish and destructive.

There’s something chilling about the Crimson King’s total lack of comion or even recognition of his own evil; Flagg is at least aware of his own nature, even if it never stops him from being selfish and destructive. The Crimson King is the opposite - he’s more of a primal force than a human, born of the primordial soup from which the multiverse was created and driven by instincts of destruction and chaos. If the villain appears in the Dark Tower television series, it would be fascinating to finally see this character adapted for the screen.

6 Flagg Has A More Developed Backstory

King Has Devoted More Time To Exploring Flagg's Character

Although it’s the Crimson King’s unknowability that makes him such a great villain, there’s arguably even more strength in having a villain with a rich, layered backstory that’s gradually revealed throughout the series. This is what King does with Randall Flagg, offering readers a glimpse of his past during The Dark Tower’s most unsuspecting moments. These details always help to make the character feel more real, giving him another dimension that’s never present in the Crimson King.

But notably, King never goes too far with his detailing of Flagg’s backstory, only revealing bits and pieces of his past when he went by other names, such as Walter o'Dim or Marten Broadcloak. There’s still plenty of mystery there to keep readers invested and frequently confused by his actions, which makes him even more interesting. A full backstory would definitely help make Flagg’s actions more comprehensive and understandable, but King knows that this would only distract from the mystery of the character.

5 The Crimson King Is An Original Fantasy Character

He's One Of Stephen King's Most Interesting Creations

Throughout the course of his career, King has created several iconic characters who aren’t human. Pennywise is likely the most obvious, with other creatures such as the Boogeyman and the vampire Kurt Barlow displaying the same creative horror that makes King such an accomplished writer. The Crimson King is a perfect example of this, serving as a vessel for some of the most evocative, disturbing prose in the horror genre as a whole.

There’s an ongoing theory among King’s fans that his frequently featured town of Castle Rock is actually cursed, and the Crimson King is certainly evidence in favor of that conclusion. There are so many disturbing, supernatural creatures that King has created in his fictional universe that it’s impossible to believe these towns and worlds aren’t cursed by something - but The Dark Tower has the darkest and most gruesome creatures of them all.

4 Flagg Is More Present Outside The Dark Tower Series

He's Got The Most Surprise Appearances In King's Bibliography

Both of these characters are best known for their presence in King’s Dark Tower series, but that wasn’t actually the first place that Randall Flagg was seen. The character was first introduced in The Stand, where he is portrayed as a post-apocalyptic demon who wreaks havoc after the world is destroyed by a supervirus. This is later revealed to be the Dark Tower’s connection between universes, allowing Flagg to travel between stories and appear in countless different places.

This rich history among King’s works definitely makes him the most recognizable villain he’s written so far.

This is what makes him such a great villain - he could feature in any Stephen King story, and the author has played around with that idea a lot. Flagg was a major character in The Eyes of the Dragon too, allowing him to make a name for himself before The Dark Tower franchise finally brought him into the spotlight, and he's appeared in other novels and short stories. This rich history among King’s works definitely makes him the most recognizable villain he’s written so far.

3 The Crimson King Is Described As Omnipotent

The True Extent Of His Power Is Unknown

Of all the Stephen King villains that have been introduced throughout the years, the Crimson King has a strong case for being the most powerful. During his final appearance in The Dark Tower, the creature is essentially described as totally omnipotent - he’s close to making himself a God, with all the power in the multiverse at his fingertips. The only other entity in Stephen King's multiverse that bests the Crimson King in power is Stephen King's multiversal god, Gan. Flagg’s power doesn’t even come close to this.

While power obviously isn’t enough to make a great villain alone, it’s the way that the Crimson King uses his power that makes him so domineering. He’s never afraid to push the limits of his abilities, going further than any of King’s other villains and posing a legitimate threat to the fabric of reality. While such ferocious characters can often ruin stories by being overpowered, it’s the unlimited power of the Crimson King that keeps The Dark Tower’s stakes consistently high, as truly anything could happen, especially with an antagonist whose evil manipulations can ripple into and through multiple universes.

2 Flagg Has Multiple Different Identities

The Villain Has Many Names And Faces

One strength of having a character appear across multiple different timelines and projects is that he doesn’t always have to use the same identity. This is exactly the case for Randall Flagg, whose true name is somewhat of a mystery. He’s used several different monikers throughout King’s career, which allows him to adopt several different personalities and ideologies while remaining the same person.

Although Flagg hasn't been as interesting a villain in movies and miniseries as in Stephen King’s books, the original version of the character is something unlike any other literary villain. He appears in different places under different names, and, as a quasi-immortal being, he's lived for centuries, and it takes some real detective work to even realize that they’re the same person. It’s like an extra challenge for the reader, trying to uncover Flagg’s various identities alongside the book’s heroes.

1 The Crimson King Is The Puppet Behind Other King Villains

The Villain Is Responsible For Many More Monsters In The King Universe

Although Flagg is a more interesting character in isolation, the Crimson King has the added bonus of being responsible for countless other villains in Stephen King lore. His position as the “omnipotent” creature in The Dark Tower series essentially gives him dominion over the lesser monsters in that universe, including vampires and zombie-like creatures that cause trouble on his behalf.

Stephen King has frequently said that the Crimson King is heavily inspired by Sauron from The Lord of the Rings, a dark wizard with control over the orc population of Middle-Earth. While there are several differences between the characters, this is just another notch to prove the Crimson King’s immense strength, and it allows the villain to claim responsibility for the actions of countless other monsters in the series.