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This Pure Evil was Headlined on October 2023. | ||
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"Mature Content Warning!" |
| “ | Time to float! | „ |
| ~ It's most famous quote. |
It, also more commonly known by its main form as Pennywise the Dancing Clown, is the titular main antagonist of the 2017-2019 duology of the same name and will return in some capacity in its upcoming 2025 television series prequel IT: Welcome to Derry.
Like in the original novel and 1990 counterparts, it is an ancient, billion year-old cosmic entity who takes the form of one's worst fears (particularly children) before it feeds on them.
It as Pennywise was portrayed by Bill Skarsgård, who also played the Marquis de Gramont in John Wick: Chapter 4 and Count Orlok in Nosferatu.
What Makes It Pure Evil?[]
In General/Background[]
- Like its original novel counterpart, it caused a massive cataclysmic event upon its arrival to Earth, killed countless natives that attempted to defeat it with the Ritual of Chüd and was responsible for the Kitchener Ironworks massacre.
- It also killed 340 Settlers from The Derry Company when they moved into Derry Township.
- Also, like its literary counterpart, it awakens every 27 years to devour the people of Derry (mostly the children for being an easier target).
- While it rarely attacks adults (aside from the Losers Club in Chapter Two), it still manages to manipulate most of them into being ignorant about the events it causes throughout the town, something that it's other counterparts also did.
- This version of It is arguably more cruel and sadistic than it's novel and miniseries counterparts, being that some of it's murders are actually shown in full detail, such as Georgie getting his arm ripped off and Dean's blood getting splattered onto the mirror. Not to mention how cruelly and sadistically it taunts its enemies and victims, mainly the Losers Club (mostly Bill) and many kids it killed, before attacking or killing them.
- In the flashback scene in Chapter Two, It transforms into a bird like creature and brutally kills a native then kills the other natives alongside the ones that defeated It in The Ritual of Chüd presumably in the future.
- While it’s true that It needs to eat humans in order to survive, this doesn’t make It sympathetic in any way or serve as an excuse for its actions, as It sadistically torments its prey instead of just scaring and killing them and on top of this, It killed most of Its victims slowly and painfully.
- In it's final battle against the Losers Club, it calls itself the "Eater of Worlds", implying that it may have destroyed entire planets and worlds in the past by eating them.
- There is no evidence to suggest It is made of evil as It has proven to have moral agency due to how sadistic it is in its actions by taking on its victims' worst fears.
- An example of this is shown when Bill Denbrough tells it that it can just take him since he's actually there now (unlike when Georgie died which he still blames himself for as an adult), it sadistically chooses to ignore his request and instead makes him relive his traumatic childhood by killing another little boy named Dean in front of him.
- Another example of this is how it is capable of creating balloons and making children laugh, which implies it is capable of good but chooses to be evil instead, since it enjoys tormenting and eating children.
- Despite having comedic moments as Pennywise, such as its childish-like behavior, its dancing scene and sometimes acting as a literal clown, most of its humor is dark and only makes it even creepier with its crimes being played surprisingly horridly, meaning it's to be taken completely seriously.
It (2017)[]
- Tricked Bill's younger brother Georgie by offering his paper boat back before biting his arm off and dragging him into the sewers to mercilessly kill him.
- Killed Eddie Corcoran and Betty Ripsom before the events of the film.
- Prevented a couple from saving Ben Hanscom from the Bowers Gang.
- Murders Patrick Hockstetter (one of Henry's friends) in the sewers after taunting him with visions of zombie kids. While one could argue he deserved his fate, his crimes in this adaptation are significantly toned down compared to his novel counterpart, who definitely deserved it.
- Repeatedly tries to kill the Losers Club while taunting them with their greatest fears, such as:
- Taunting Bill with Georgie's death.
- Taunting Beverly Marsh with her father Alvin's sexual abuse as well as her fear of blood.
- Taunting Richie Tozier with his fear of clowns.
- Taunting Ben's overweight frame and exploiting that with his crush on Beverly, as well as showing him the Kitchen Ironworks incident with a boy's head being left in a tree.
- Taunting Mike Hanlon with the deaths of his parents in a fire.
- Taunting Stanley Uris with the fear of a creepy-looking, flute playing woman in a picture.
- Taunting Eddie Kaspbrak with the fear of a leper, as well as his hypochondria and his relationship with his mother.
- During the Neibolt House confrontation, it cruelly taunted Eddie by pretending to bite his arm and mocked his crying while drooling and preparing to devour him. When it overheard Bill claiming that none of its tricks to scare the kids were real, it taunts him by saying "it was real enough for Georgie" to sadistically toy with Bill and tries to kill him instead, only stopping because Beverly impaled it through the head.
- Tried to drown Bill and Richie in a pool of ink colored acid.
- Uses its claws to threaten the Losers, until scratching Ben's stomach and retreating.
- Manipulates Henry Bowers into killing his abusive father Oscar "Butch" Bowers by speaking to him on a TV full of children (who are implied to be the same children that It killed) and a teacher. Although Oscar outright deserved his fate, this was still malicious on Its end, developing Henry's already sociopathic and sadistic nature into full-on murderous intent and psychopathy, to the point that Henry even murders his own friends (as shown in the deleted scenes) for no reason and tries to kill the Losers too, thus making It responsible for turning a sadistic bully into an outright serial killer.
- It is implied that it possessed Beverly's sexually abusive father before forcing him to rape Beverly, leading to her knocking him unconscious out of self-defense.
- Kidnapped Beverly and when she said she isn't afraid of it to its face, it resorted to forcing her to witness the horrible deaths and future of the Losers Club through the Deadlights.
- It is also implied that it used Beverly's father's blood to write "You die if you try" as a way to prevent Bill from saving Beverly.
- Viciously attacked Stan in the sewers in the form of the creepy flute playing woman he's afraid of, violently mauling his face and leaving him scarred.
- As an adult, Stan would later commit suicide out of trauma from this and it would mock the Losers for the loss of their friend.
- Kept the Losers occupied with their fears to stop them from rescuing Beverly.
- Attempted to manipulate Bill over the possibility of Georgie still being alive, appearing to him as a fake illusion of his brother as part of his manipulation to kill him.
- While It did try to bargain with the other Losers, offering to only take Bill and go back to sleep for 27 years, this is out of cowardice rather than genuine honor as It realized the losers were no longer afraid and that It couldn’t take on all of them, making Its generosity pragmatic.
- During the battle, it turned into the Losers' fears and insecurities one more time in an attempt to torment them, even mocking Beverly about her father.
- After realizing it's feeling the thing it brings upon many lives: fear, it cowardly retreats into hibernation after the Losers Club gains the upper hand, just so they don't manage to kill it.
- Since It went back into hibernation for 27 years after its defeat, it technically got away with all its heinous atrocities, at least at the time.
It Chapter Two[]
- In 2016 after reawakening from a 27 years worth of hibernation, it kills a man named Adrian Mellon in front of his boyfriend, all while writing the message, "COME HOME" on the bridge with his blood.
- Killed a girl named Lisa Albrecht offscreen.
- Sent a message via fortune cookies that read "Guess Stanley Could Not Cut It" to mock Stanley's suicide in front of the Losers Club.
- Tricks a girl named Victoria with her insecurity about the birthmark on her face by acting as if it was constantly rejected by its appearance too, and then devours her on the count of 3.
- Frees the completely psychopathic Henry Bowers from the mental institute to assist him of killing the Losers Club.
- Sadistically toys with Bill, and repeats the same tragedy of Georgie with another boy named Dean who lived in Derry by trapping the child in a hall of mirrors at a carnival and violently killing him in front of Bill as he watched helplessly. Bill even offered for It to kill him in Dean's place, yet it still chose to brutally murder Dean just to torment Bill even more for its own sadistic amusement.
- Torments the Losers during their second battle with their fears, even nearly burying Ben alive, not to mention that it fat-shames Ben and claims that he'll die alone before closing the hatch on him and leaving him in the dark.
- It is implied that if it had succeeding in killing the Losers Club, it could possibly kill the rest of humanity right after it returns to its usual role of killing and devouring people of Derry.
- Kills Eddie right in front of the Losers Club after he lets his guard down and attempts to slaughter the rest of them as well.
- While It remarking that the Losers Club had "grown up" in it's final battle against them might be seen as a bit honorable, it is very likely that It was just taunting them one final time.
- While Its death was gruesome and painful, as its heart is ripped out and crushed by the hands of the Losers Club which leads to It disintegrating as a result, it's not played for any sympathy, but rather for karma and satisfaction as it truly deserved it for its sadistic and vile actions considering not only what it did to the children of Derry that it had killed over the years, but also for what it did to the Losers Club, Georgie and everybody else as well.
Trivia[]
- This is the cruelest version of Pennywise to date, as Georgie only had his arm torn off and was otherwise able to give his family closure, something Bill couldn't until the end of the first film. Conversely, it's faux-affability is very much downplayed, as it, while acting polite to Georgie and Victoria, couldn't prevent Itself from drooling with hunger.
- In It's final battle against the Losers Club, it calls itself the "Eater of Worlds", possibly implying that It has destroyed planets and other worlds by eating them in the past. If this were ever confirmed, it would make It even worse.
- This incarnation of It, in its Pennywise form, is the current icon of the Pure Evil Wiki.
- While this version of It is currently Pure Evil just like the novel and the TV miniseries incarnations, there's a slight possibility that this may change once Welcome to Derry, an upcoming HBO Max prequel show about its origins set in the 1960s is released, as the series will delve into its backstory.
- There is an interview with Bill Skarsgård that It wanted to get killed by the Losers Club, as it wanted to experience fear and wanted to end its miserable life, given that is subconsciously was tired of doing the same things over and over again, and wanted to end its self torment . However, it is too debatable, as It could have wanted to experience fear but not want to die, and this fact is not confirmed canon by the director Andy Muschietti, leaving this as a debatable and possibly non canon disqualifying factor. Even then if it were confirmed by Andy Muschietti, this may not disqualify It considering Word of God doesn't count unless it's shown onscreen to back such a claim up.
- It has been stated that there was a deleted scene of It devouring a baby, which would have made it even worse had it been kept in the movie. It could be possible that the scene was deleted due to it being way too gruesome and violent.
External Links[]
- It on the Villains Wiki
- It on the Ultimate Evil Wiki
- It on the Hate Sink Wiki
- It on the Stephen King Wiki
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