The character is based on J. G. Ballard's "The Day of Forever" and Michael Moorcock's Jerry Cornelius, which led to accusations of plagiarism from Moorcock.
Though the album is based around Elric, "Needle Gun" is a reference to Jerry Cornelius, another of Moorcock's fictional characters.
Tom and Jerry | Jerry Lee Lewis | Jerry Lewis | Jerry Garcia | Jerry Brown | Jerry Seinfeld | Jerry Pournelle | Jerry | Jerry Springer | Jerry Reed | Jerry Jeff Walker | Jerry Bruckheimer | Jerry Goldsmith | Cornelius Vanderbilt | Cornelius | Jerry Stiller | Jerry Wexler | Jerry Seinfeld (character) | Jerry Douglas | Jerry Siegel | Jerry Uelsmann | Jerry Mathers | Jerry Marotta | Jerry Hall | Pope Cornelius | Mungo Jerry | Lucius Cornelius Cinna | Jerry Saltz | Jerry Nadeau | Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller |
The Alchemist's Question was the last Jerry Cornelius novella and was the cornerstone work of the volume.