Walter Padick
The birth name of Randall Flagg, the Man in Black, son of Sam the Miller of Delain.
Walter Padick is the given name of Randall Flagg, the sorcerer Stephen King has used in at least nine novels and the Man in Black of The Dark Tower series. The final book, The Dark Tower, reveals that he was born in Delain as the son of Sam the Miller of Eastar'd Barony. In the series he works with the Crimson King to keep Roland Deschain from the Tower so that he can claim it and become a god.
Last updated 2026-10-11 from the source article.
Quick Facts
- Born in
- Delain
- Father
- Sam the Miller
- Also known as
- Walter o'Dim
- Marten Broadcloak
- Richard Fannin
- the Covenant Man
- Played by
- Matthew McConaughey (2017 film)
Lore & Background
Padick left home at thirteen for life on the road and, rather than return, went on toward his destiny, learning several kinds of magic and gaining a kind of near-immortality. After centuries of causing havoc he caught the attention of the Crimson King, who made him his emissary. In the series he wears many guises: Walter o'Dim, chased across the desert by Roland in the first book; Marten Broadcloak, the wizard who has an affair with Roland's mother Gabrielle; Richard Fannin in The Waste Lands; and the Covenant Man in The Wind Through the Keyhole. In the last novel he plans to kill Mordred and take his marked foot to climb the Tower, but Mordred senses his intent and devours him.
Reader's Guide
Matthew McConaughey plays the character in the 2017 film The Dark Tower, where he calls himself only Walter, kills Roland's father and uses kidnapped psychic children to attack the Tower before Roland shoots him dead. In the original edition of The Gunslinger, Walter and Marten were separate characters; King's revised edition made them one.
More in Characters & Cast
Elsewhere in The Dark Tower
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