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With unforgettable characters and startling narrative turns, Stephen King's epic The Dark Tower series is a vast story of good against evil. But one big change in the updated and enlarged version of The Gunslinger greatly improved the main villain of the series: The Man in Black.
Tricks Roland Deschain into nodding off during their conversation in both the original and corrected editions of The Gunslinger, The Man In Black, also known as Walter Padick, Walter O'Dim, The Walkin' Dude, and many more names. Ten years have gone by when Roland wakes, and The Man in Black has vanished leaving just a skeleton behind. Roland doubts it in the revised edition while in the original he thinks his enemy has died. This minute alteration opens the path for The Man in Black to return and accentuates his menacing presence.
Several villainous characters in Stephen King's literary universe exhibit similar traits and wicked inclinations. In his 1978 post-apocalyptic book The Stand and his 1984 fantasy book The Eyes of the Dragon, Randall Flagg (or "Flagg") is established as the ultimate evil as a magician and master of deceit. Flashbacks in The Gunslinger show how Marten Broadcloak, Roland's father's magician and adviser, seduced Roland's mother in order to get Roland exiled.
Although the original The Gunslinger portrayed Flagg and Broadcloak as separate people, the updated and enlarged edition gently suggests that Randall Flagg, Marten Broadcloak, and The Man in Black are all one person. Confirming this is the fourth book in The Dark Tower series, Wizard and Glass. Randall Flagg becomes even more terrible and potent upon this realization.
The knowledge that Flagg, Walter, and Marten are all one and the same gives the character's menacing presence even more terrifying weight. Roland and other characters come across several strong and evil magicians over King's linked universe. Knowing that these people are all different faces of the same entity, though, helps Flagg's villainous character to reach whole new heights. Seemingly unbeatable and maybe ageless, he is able to propagate anarchy and evil over several worlds and eras.
Flagg's ability to alter his look further reinforces his horror. Walter Flagg, Marten, and Marten all look different enough that Roland first doesn't identify The Man in Black as Marten. Beyond his own form, Flagg's influence shapes other people, including the priest Jack Mort, who orders Jake Chambers to be killed and dispatched to Mid-World.
The realization that Walter O'Dim, Marten Broadcloak, and Randall Flagg are all the same person retroactively strengthens The Man in Black's performance in The Gunslinger. He is no more only a one-off enemy; he becomes a major face of Flagg, turning The Gunslinger into a narrative about Roland's continuous control by the same entity that tormented him as a young man.
Combining these characters transforms Flagg's role from a series villain to the main villain of King's whole linked universe. Although The Crimson King might be the last boss in The Dark Tower, Randall Flagg leaves his fingerprints all over King's books and causes the most major evil impact on Roland's life. This increases the impact of The Man in Black and raises The Gunslinger's own quality as a book.