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The Crimson King
The Dark Tower character
The Crimson King atop the Throne of Bone as depicted by Michael Whelan
First appearance	Insomnia
Last appearance	The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower(in chronological sequence)
Created by	Stephen King
Information
Nickname(s)	Red Daddy, The Red King
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, also commonly known as Los, is a fictional character created by Stephen King. He is the antagonist in the novel Insomnia and one of the main villains in the latter half of Stephen King's Dark Tower series.

In the series, the Crimson King is described as a powerful immortal being whose characteristics mirror both the physical realm as well as the Prim; which is a magical realm that predates the creation of the worlds within the Stephen King universe. 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, Mr. Munshun, Dandelo and Randall Flagg. He also controls many minions such as vampires, the taheen, the can-toi (or low men) and a great number of humans via John Farson. He has a number of godlike powers, such as telepathy, shapeshifting, weather control, and mental suggestion, as shown in Insomnia sometimes in the form of nightmares. He is also able to travel and exist on different levels of the Dark Tower simultaneously which explains his presence in several different Stephen King novels.

The Crimson King can take whatever guise he chooses, usually one that terrifies the viewer. In the novel Insomnia, he appears to Ralph Roberts as a Kingfisher (a catfish) because the Crimson King was able to see into his mind and assume a form from his past memories to frighten him. In The Dark Tower VII, he is shown trapped on a balcony of the Dark Tower as an old man with a long white beard and burning red eyes. The comics show him in a guise that is closest to his true form; that of a spider-like humanoid much like that of Mordred Deschain in The Dark Tower VII. This is because he is the child of both a human and a creature from the Prim. In almost every form he is described to have red eyes which are said to both fascinate and terrify even at a distance.

There is really not much of a back story given to the Crimson King. The only thing that is known about either his origins or his past is that like Roland Deschain, he is also a descendant of Arthur Eld. Because they both share the same bloodline, a prophecy in the novels states that only Roland can kill the Crimson King. His main objective is to destroy the Dark Tower and likewise all of the worlds and universes that are contained within. 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 along with raising an army of various creatures to combat anyone who would stand in his way. His plan is to rule over the darkness and chaos that is to prevail after its fall. Roland and his ka-tet are the only major forces standing between the Crimson King and his ultimate victory over the forces of the Purpose. Because of this and the prophecy, the Crimson King spends a lot of time trying to either kill or divert Roland from his quest for the Dark Tower.

His symbol is that of a glaring and hateful red eye that is either worn by his servants or used as graffiti as seen by Roland and his ka-tet in the Dark Tower novels. The slogan "All hail the Crimson King" is also seen throughout the novels.

[edit] Appearances

[edit] Insomnia

The Crimson King first appears as a mysterious, malevolent force controlling the mind of a citizen of Derry, Maine, Ed Deepneau, in order to commit an act of terrorism, which would result in the death of Patrick Danville. Danville plays a significant role against the Crimson King in The Dark Tower VII. The King intervenes to prevent protagonist Ralph Roberts from stopping the terrorism. Picking a traumatic childhood 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. The wounded, enraged Crimson King is sucked into the Deadlights (which is also described as "It's", the title character's true form in Stephen King's novel of the same name).

[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. 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 where the physical manifestation of the Dark Tower exists, the Crimson King resides in the castle Le Casse Roi Russe. He and his servants have access to a wealth of technology there, including travel between alternate dimensions and advanced weaponry, but they do not understand it and are unable to replace it.

According to what was told by 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 flies into an insane rage and kills nearly all of his subjects. He then commits suicide by swallowing a razor-edged spoon (to thwart Roland as he draws nearer; reasoning that if he is already dead, Roland's guns will not be able to kill him). The now-undead King races furiously ahead of Roland to the Dark Tower to enter it first and destroy the multi-verse.

The Crimson King gains access to the Dark Tower, but is trapped on a balcony on the second floor. When Roland and Patrick Danville reach the edge of the Scarlet Field which surrounds the Dark Tower, the King begins to throw Sneetches (flying grenades) at them. Roland and Patrick take shelter while Patrick draws a picture of the Crimson King on the balcony. Patrick then erases the picture, which erases the King from existence, leaving only his red eyes on the paper which were created using Roland's blood and thus not able to be erased. Roland is then allowed to access the Tower.

[edit] Comics

The Crimson King also plays an important role in the comic book adaptations of the Dark Tower series.

[edit] The Gunslinger Born

The King is seen briefly in Chapter 2 in the guise of a spider-like humanoid (which is closer to his true form) listening to Randall Flagg as he discusses the events transpiring in Gilead against the Affiliation. It is at this point that the Crimson King orders Randall Flagg to kill Roland to prevent the prophecy of his future death by Roland from coming true.

[edit] The Long Road Home

Randall Flagg in the form of a raven delivers Roland to his master, while Roland is trapped in Maerlyn's Grapefruit. The Crimson King reveals that he and Roland are both descendants of Arthur Eld, making them akin to cousins, suggesting that only those of the same blood of the King, are able to kill him. He seems to contradict the previous statement of his true form by saying that if Roland ever saw his true shape, his mind would shatter. However, he says this to Roland while Roland sees him in human form. Therefore, the "true form" of a large spider is still possible. The Crimson King then attempts to convert Roland to joining him. Meanwhile, Sheemie Ruiz who has by this point, caught up to Alain Johns and Cuthbert Allgood delves into Maerlyn's Grapefruit in order to save Roland with his new found powers and is able to prevent the Crimson King from converting or killing him this time.

[edit] Treachery

Upon returning home, Roland is still fascinated with staring into Maerlyn's Grapefruit, and using it, sees himself at the Dark Tower itself, only to be ambushed by the Crimson King, and nearly killed until Roland looks away.

[edit] In popular culture

The power metal band Demons & Wizards released Touched by the Crimson King in June 2005, which referenced the character. The album featured songs such as "Crimson King", "The Gunslinger", and "Terror Train".

The Crimson King is also mentioned in the Stephen King novel Hearts in Atlantis.^[1]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official Dark Tower web site
• Official site for The Dark Tower Comics
• Theories on the Crimson King