Crimson King
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| The Crimson King | |
|---|---|
| The Dark Tower character | |
 The Crimson King atop the Throne of Bone as depicted by Michael Whelan |
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| First appearance | Insomnia |
| Last appearance | The Dark Tower |
| Created by | Stephen King |
| Information | |
| Nickname(s) | Red Daddy |
| Aliases | Los, Ram Abbalah, The Kingfish, The Red King |
| Species | Transdimensional Demon |
| Gender | Male |
| Age | Unknown |
| Occupation | Leader of the Random |
| Children | Mordred Deschain (Son) |
| Address | Court Can-TahAbbalah at Le Casse Roi Russe (in End-World) |
The Crimson King is a character created by Stephen King, and one of the main villains in the latter half of Stephen King's Dark Tower series. The King exists in two forms--one trapped on a balcony on the Tower's entrance, and another which exists in the physical plane and can command his armies and supporters. He is the leader of the Random, the opposing universal force to the Purpose. The King is the controlling power behind such villains as Atropos, The Fisherman, and Randall Flagg. The entity is known by several other titles, including but not limited to: Los, The Kingfish, Ram Abbalah, and Red Daddy. This terrible creature's only reason for being is to raze the Dark Tower to the ground and to perhaps rule the chaos-filled darkness that will follow this act of destruction. His chief means of doing this is to establish a camp of psychics called the Breakers, to eat away at the Beams which hold the Tower standing. He controls many minions such as vampires, the taheen, the can-toi (or low men) and numbers of humans. Lesser demons also flock to the King's banner, such as Mr. Munshun, in Black House.
No one knows the King's true form, but he appears in several guises, including that of the Kingfish (a catfish) and--in the final battle between the gun slinger and the King--an old man with a long white beard who looks like Santa Claus. His eyes are red and are said to fascinate, even from a distance. It may be that the King has no true form, simply drifting from one body to another. Something along the lines of this is said by deranged scientist Ed Deepneau, a pawn of the King in Insomnia. The Crimson King has a number of godlike powers, such as: telepathy, shapeshifting, causing death, weather control, and mental suggestion, as shown in Insomnia.
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[edit] Appearances
[edit] Insomnia
The Crimson King first appears as a mysterious, malevolent force controlling the mind of a citizen of Derry, Ed Deepneau, in order to commit an act of terrorism, which would result in the death of Patrick Danville. The King intervenes to prevent protagonist Ralph Roberts from stopping the terrorism. Picking a memory from Ralph's mind, the Crimson King manifests itself as a monstrous catfish. This incarnation of the Crimson King is wounded by the power of Ralph's determination and ability to overcome his fear, much like It. The wounded and enraged Crimson King is sucked into the Deadlights, the portal from which It sprang.
[edit] Black House
The plot of this book revolves around saving a talented boy, Tyler Marshall, from the forces of the King. The Crimson King wishes for Tyler to join his Breakers because Tyler is a powerful breaker. The King himself never makes an appearance, but directs events from his balcony prison at the Dark Tower. At the climax of the book, the Crimson King's forge, the Big Combination, is destroyed by the Marshall boy. This results in a massive loss of power for the King, perhaps leading to his insanity and weakness in The Dark Tower. This is the protagonist Jack Sawyer's contribution to the Way of the White.
[edit] The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower
In End-World in which the physical manifestation of the Dark Tower exists, the Crimson King resided in the abandoned castle Le Casse Roi Russe. He and his servants had access to a wealth of technology there, including travel between alternate dimensions and weaponry far beyond any practical use throughout the rest of the world -- however they did not fully understand it and were unable to replace or repair it.
According to one of his servants, the sorcerer Rando Thoughtful, after using his powers to witness the ka-tet's victory at the Devar-Toi, the Crimson King flew into an insane rage and killed nearly all of his subjects by forcing them to swallow rat poison. He then committed suicide by swallowing a razor-edged spoon (to thwart Roland and his guns as the gunslinger drew ever nearer; the Crimson King reasoned that if he were already dead, even Roland's guns would not be able to kill him). The now-undead King raced furiously ahead of protagonist Roland Deschain to the Dark Tower to try to enter it first and bring the multiverse down by his own hand.
The Crimson King gained access to the Dark Tower, but was trapped on a balcony on the second floor, as his spiritual form was imprisoned on the balcony as well. When Roland reached the edge of the Scarlet Field of Can'-Ka No Rey ("the red fields of none") which surrounds the Dark Tower, the King began to throw sneeches (flying grenades that explode on contact) at them, trying to kill them. Roland and Patrick took shelter behind a stone pyramid while the mad old man raged and cursed them. Roland was being drawn to the Tower by the songs of the roses, and the King knew that it would be only a matter of time before the gun slinger ran out into the open, where he would be easy prey to the flying grenades. In desperation, Roland asked Patrick Danville ("The Artist" who's paintings become reality) to draw a picture of the Crimson King on the balcony, meaning for Patrick to erase the picture and therefore remove the Crimson King from existence. After Danville did this, the Crimson King was partially erased from existence. Only his lunatic red eyes remained, forever staring out over the Scarlet Field to curse his fate.
[edit] In popular culture
The power metal band Demons & Wizards released Touched by the Crimson King in June of 2005, which referenced the character. The album featured Dark Tower related songs such as "Crimson King", "The Gunslinger", and "Terror Train". The cover art does not represent the king himself but does include an image of a rose which is a recurring element in the Dark Tower series. The limited edition release bore the Crimson King's "Eye" insignia. It should be noted however that the song 'Crimson King' on the album actually seems to refer to Randall Flagg, a man sometimes in the employ of the King.
[edit] Discredited theories
One of the more popular theories among Dark Tower fans is that the Crimson King and It are the same creature. However, this has been discredited by Stephen King. [1]
