“ | Y'know, I really gotta hand it to you. You guys are a lot more persistent than I thought. It's no wonder my master likes playing with you. But come on now. How many times will you have to play the same song and dance number? How many times are you gonna steer the bus away from the cliff? How many of your loved ones must die for you to realize "what if the bus wants to go over the cliff?" I'm only doing this world a favor. I'm just putting it out of its misery. | „ |
~ Randall Flagg |
Randall Flagg is one of the Million Favored Ones and Nyarlathotep's most loyal servant. Being a purported avatar of Nyarlathotep, it was Flagg who was the catalyst behind several of the events that led to the Anung Un Rama prophecy coming to fruition.
Appearance[]
As a human, Randall Flagg appeared as a Caucasian man wearing a denim jacket, black jeans, and dirty cowboy boots. His hair was unkempt and a dark brown. Most striking were his eyes, having no visible irises instead being pure black with white sclera making his character quite unnerving.
As Nyarlathotep's avatar, Flagg wore a black gas mask that covers the entirety of his head. Over that, he wears a golden skull mask that covers the lower portion of his face as well as a black hooded cloak pulled up onto his head, the lining of which is striped blue and gold. The cloak covers his shoulders, coming down into two points at the back. On the cloak right shoulder is the Million Favored One Egyptian style symbol in white.
History[]
Background[]
Randall Flagg is often considered to be Nyarlathotep's most loyal servant, to where some even claim that he could be a terrestrial avatar of the Crawling Chaos. At some unknown point in time, Flagg eventually met Nyarlathotep himself, and he was seduced by his powers. Nyarlathotep saw potential in Flagg and would become the first mortal to be shown a glimpse of Anung Un Rama, Urush Un Rama. Overwhelmed, Flagg nearly went completely mad but steeled himself while having his eyes open to the true inner machinations of destiny. He was now under the unshakeable belief that the countless cataclysms the Earth endured were meant to happen so that the world and creation can be "reborn anew".
Nyarlathotep would have Flagg learn the ways of black magic, transforming into a very powerful sorcerer and to some extent even a demon of sorts with a "quasi-immortality", effectively becoming Nyarlathotep's avatar. He was rumored to be the architect behind many of the events that transpired up until the Blackest Night under the command of Nyarlathotep. Among of which is his recruitment of Grigori Rasputin, an infamous Russian mystic, to join his cause in bringing about the "new chaos" who in turn would be set another on his destined path; the cambion known as Hellboy. As a purported avatar of Nyarlathotep, his goals typically center on bringing down civilization, usually through spreading destruction and sowing conflict.
Avatar of Chaos[]
Flagg was the one who made sure that the current wielders of the Ab Initio Artifacts would find and utilize the power of the artifacts as a means of "shaking off the rust" so they would function properly. When the users of the artifacts display promising capabilities, Flagg would relay it to his master before summoning the Four Horsemen of Nyarlathotep to Earth so as to hunt down the artifact wielders. It was also later revealed that he was partnered with Varvara Rasputin and by extension her father Grigori Rasputin, and even helped her locate the Moonblade so as to perform the ultimate sacrifice to summon the Great Old Ones and have them claim the Earth.
In the End Times, Flagg was among the survivors who ventured to the Hollow Earth after the Ogdru Hem took control of the planet. Knowing that the last of the Ab Initio Artifacts was present, the Wheel of Shadows, Randall began the final phase of Nyarlathotep's plan. As a reward for his service and loyalty, Gith, one of Nyarlathotep's horsemen, imbued him with Shakti, turning him into the Black Flame. As the Black Flame, Flagg became a homing beacon for the Old Ones to locate and desecrate the Hollow Earth, along with the surviving populations of humanity.
Personality[]
Much like Judge Holden who embodies the worst of humanity's evil, Randall Flagg operates on a similar level but is more of a nihilistic fatalist given his connection to the Ogdru Hem. Highly meticulous and malicious, Flagg has no qualms nor moral boundaries when orchestrating ruthless acts of slaughter and even gleefully participates out of fun and personal enjoyment. Holding an aura of unshakable confidence, charisma, and sarcasm, he rarely loses his cool and consistently maintains a composed and collected personality. He has no hesitation when engineering disastrous events which results in killing thousands to instill fear in the hearts of mankind, and to facilitate the extinction of humanity.
He has no restraint over his men and sees them as infallible and loyal. Highly egotistical and arrogant, Flagg views himself as greater than humanity, something of a messiah that was hand-picked by the Old Ones to 'liberate' the world. This has also led him to look down on those who claim otherwise, most prominent of which is Grigori Rasputin, the self-proclaimed prophet of the Ogdru Jahad. While he cannot deny that Rasputin is instrumental in the Old Ones gaining their freedom and has his uses, he views him with contempt and that Rasputin was chosen by him just as Christ chose his disciples.
Due to him meeting Nyarlathotep, he finds out the truth about everything and becomes a hyper-fatalist hellbent on bringing about the mass extinction of humanity via the Anung Un Rama prophecy which culminates into the Final Conflict. He sees this chain of disastrous events that have occurred throughout the ages as a 'cleansing' of the filth that has plagued creation since the dawn of time and it was long overdue for an erasure. He implores the likes of Sam Bridges, Liz Sherman, and the others to realize their apparent inevitable destruction and that delaying the world's end will only invite greater catastrophes. Interestingly, he views the world around him as a "banshee screaming horrendous nothings" in his ear much like how Azathoth views God's creation, like someone on their deathbed pleading endlessly to die. His philosophy is heavily influenced by fatalism, the realization of destiny and its purpose. As such, he accepts his fate and the inevitability of the Final Conflict without pause or doubt.