Flagg goes by many names, ranging from the mythical, such as Nyarlathotep (an H.P. Lovecraft character) to the common. Many of the names he goes by make use of the initials "R.F." Examples include Richard Fannin, who is involved in the storyline of The Waste Lands, and Rudin Filaro, who appears via flashbacks in The Dark Tower. He also draws on the archetype of the "plague-bearer", particularly in The Stand, and of Ahasuerus, the legendary Wandering Jew. He carries pamphlets for the Ku Klux Klan, the Black Panthers, the Weather Underground and other such groups, presumably to stir up trouble where none exists.