- 9,749
- 4,371
Figure I might as well get this one over with. The Gunslinger's missing some good shit on his profile, and it's time some of it was addressed.
Some of this is stuff I've found on my own, but most are things I found in two surprisingly comprehensive respect threads. (Big props to the makers of those threads, by the way. They caught a lot of things I've missed in my readings)
Physical Prowess
Roland does indeed possess resistance to telepathy and mind control in the novels and comics, as seen above. However, in spite of this, it's not until the 2017 film that he's shown directly resisting the full force of The Man in Black's psychic powers.
That said, his telepathic resistance appears to have become stronger over the course of the chronology (Ex: Flagg can effortlessly read his mind in the comics, but is incapable of doing so in the novels), and can thus be seen as having reached its current apex by the time the events of the film take place. If you're wondering why I'm bringing this up now, you'll see in the next section.
Magic Resistance
Discrepancies with this one
In The Gunslinger, The Man in Black was able to put Roland to sleep in both the novel and the comic. He does so with a single thought in the novel, but is shown raising his hands in order to do so in the comic, implying that the comic scene involved magic. While I initially believed this to be the case, it appears that if this were indeed an instance of magic usage, it would be the only case of Roland being affected by non-physical magic in the entire series. As such, it's likely that the act was done psychically in the comic as well.
The Guns of the Eld/The Guns of Deschai
...
Hopefully we can take this mountain of evidence and apply it to his profile. I'd certainly like to.
Some of this is stuff I've found on my own, but most are things I found in two surprisingly comprehensive respect threads. (Big props to the makers of those threads, by the way. They caught a lot of things I've missed in my readings)
Physical Prowess
- Roland pumps a rusted railway handcar at 10-15 mph on an uphill grade by himself.
- He tanks being hurled into the inside wall of a train when it crashes. Said train was Blaine the Mono, a monorail capable of traveling "well over 800 miles per hour" and producing legitimate sonic booms whenever it was moving at top speed. It had been slowing to a stop for about 10-15 seconds before it crashed, but was still fairly close to its top speed.
- He can catch and hold a teenager against house-shattering winds and pull him through a doorway.
- He can reload so fast that his fingers actually burn and sizzle from the friction.
- He can intuitively sense when he's being watched, as well as the point where he is no longer being monitored.
- He can force himself asleep on-command, yet remains aware even when doing so.
- He can forcibly wake himself up, will his heart into beating faster, and force his nerves to re-accept pain that had become dormant in his near-comatose state.
- While not particularly skilled in "the touch" (read: psychic powers), he's good enough that he can read a person's mind.
- He uses this mind-reading as a form of pseudo-precognition, knowing what someone is going to do before they themselves realize that they're going to do it.
- He has learned how to block telepathic intrusions.
- Jake, a teenager who can accurately pick thoughts out of a person's head with his telepathy, fails to make it past Roland's mental defenses.
- He can reach out and touch the minds of those whom he has hypnotized prior.
Roland does indeed possess resistance to telepathy and mind control in the novels and comics, as seen above. However, in spite of this, it's not until the 2017 film that he's shown directly resisting the full force of The Man in Black's psychic powers.
That said, his telepathic resistance appears to have become stronger over the course of the chronology (Ex: Flagg can effortlessly read his mind in the comics, but is incapable of doing so in the novels), and can thus be seen as having reached its current apex by the time the events of the film take place. If you're wondering why I'm bringing this up now, you'll see in the next section.
Magic Resistance
- The Man in Black states that Roland can resist his magic, immediately after having attempted to kill him with it. As a note, some of the powers included among Walter's "magics" are obviously telepathic/psychic in nature, which meshes with Roland's pre-established ability to block telepathy.
- Roland's resistance is stated again.
- Background lore states that Roland is protected by "the spell of the White", and that Rhea Dubativo, a fairly powerful witch, was not strong enough to affect him with her magic:
Discrepancies with this one
In The Gunslinger, The Man in Black was able to put Roland to sleep in both the novel and the comic. He does so with a single thought in the novel, but is shown raising his hands in order to do so in the comic, implying that the comic scene involved magic. While I initially believed this to be the case, it appears that if this were indeed an instance of magic usage, it would be the only case of Roland being affected by non-physical magic in the entire series. As such, it's likely that the act was done psychically in the comic as well.
The Guns of the Eld/The Guns of Deschai
- The bullets can be inserted into one's ears to block out the effects of the thinny. Thinnies are distortions between worlds, filled with malevolence that forcibly overwhelms the mind and draws everyone affected into it via compulsion. Basically, the bullets can block eldritch-tier mind control generated by literal holes in reality.
- Non-corporeal spirits run in fear of being shot by these Guns, implying that said weapons can harm and even kill them.
- After Roland shot his mother with one of these Guns, Marten Broadcloak was unable to resurrect her with his magic:
...
- The Man in Black states that the Guns are, in fact, made from the melted down sword of Arthur Eld, and that said sword was the verse's equivalent to Excalibur.
- Three of the Crimson King's minions state that, due to the Guns being made from Arthur Eld's sword, they can permanently kill immortals such as the Crimson King as he was prior to turning himself undead. We originally handwaved this one, but between Los' impending downgrades and the other evidence seen above, I think we can safely use it now. (EDIT: Also, let it be known that Los' was able to regenerate from his own act of cutting himself open and letting his entrails fall out, and may be capable of even more.)
Hopefully we can take this mountain of evidence and apply it to his profile. I'd certainly like to.
