7 Most Shocking Pennywise Reveals In It: Welcome To Derry, Ranked

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The new series, It: Welcome to Derry, builds on the story from Andy Muschietti’s It films and reveals important details about the creature at the heart of the narrative. Some of these revelations are quite surprising and will likely have a big impact on what happens next. The first season is currently available on HBO Max.

The show explores scenes taken from the Stephen King book, focusing on important events in the town of Derry, Maine. This season, it showed what happened before the Black Spot was burned – an event that signaled the end of the monster’s 27-year cycle in 1962.

As a huge fan of It, I was really blown away by Welcome to Derry. It doesn’t just retell the story we know; it actually expands on the mythology of Pennywise, adding completely new layers to the character. Honestly, some of the reveals about It are so shocking, they’ve completely changed how I see the book, the original movies, and what could happen in future seasons. It’s a game-changer for anyone who loves this story!

7. Pennywise Stole His Persona From A Real Clown Named Bob Gray

In the novel IT, Pennywise the Dancing Clown also goes by the name Bob Gray, but the reason for this isn’t explained. The sequel, It: Chapter Two, hints that Pennywise was once a man named Bob Gray. Fortunately, the prequel novel It: Welcome to Derry finally reveals who Bob Gray is and how he’s connected to Pennywise.

The actual Mrs. Kersh – the person the movie is based on, not the character in the film – was the daughter of Bob Gray, a performer who worked at carnivals. He was known as Pennywise the Dancing Clown, but behind the scenes, he was often unpleasant, grumpy, and drank too much. Despite this, children adored him and were captivated by his performances as Pennywise.

The creature first appeared to Bob Gray as a child resembling the boy from the movie Insidious, then led him into the woods and killed him. After that, it began to favor the form of Pennywise the Dancing Clown, as it proved effective at attracting children. While this was hinted at in It: Chapter Two, it’s still a noteworthy detail about its methods.

6. Pennywise Is Trapped In Derry, Maine

A key revelation in It: Welcome to Derry explains why the shape-shifting monster never leaves the town of Derry, Maine. The reason is surprisingly simple: Pennywise is unable to leave. He’s essentially trapped within the town’s limits.

Whether Pennywise could escape Derry was a long-standing question for fans before this new story, so how surprising the answer is will depend on what people already believed about Stephen King’s universe. I always figured he was stuck there, so the reveal wasn’t a huge shock for me. However, I did appreciate the explanation they gave for why he couldn’t leave.

I expected the story behind It to involve other dimensions or a larger universe. But episode 4 of It: Welcome to Derry reveals a different origin: the Shokopiwah tribe trapped It long ago. They buried thirteen pillars in a circle around the spot where It landed in a meteorite, effectively imprisoning It and establishing a council to make sure It remained contained.

5. Pennywise Sleeps In A Pool Of Blood & Dismembered Body Parts

A particularly unsettling but interesting detail from It: Welcome to Derry shows where Pennywise sleeps during his long periods of hibernation. The series reveals he awakens after a military strike destroys a pillar, finding himself nearly completely underwater in a pool of blood, surrounded by severed body parts.

The scene was so disturbing, it actually made me laugh nervously. It was incredibly gruesome and bloody. But honestly, that’s not surprising when it comes to Pennywise. He has no limits, and we see that clearly when he transforms into Mrs. Kersh in It: Chapter Two.

Considering everything, the strangeness of where he sleeps doesn’t seem so odd. If he’s killing so many people, there simply isn’t room for all the bodies to just disappear into the sewers. And actually, he eats the remains when he wakes up.

4. Pennywise Is Weak To The Meteorite Shards

Brooke Palmer/HBO

In the It films, Pennywise is primarily vulnerable to the power of belief. The Losers Club can only injure him when they truly believe their actions will work – like when Mike uses a special bolt gun or Eddie uses his inhaler. However, It: Welcome to Derry introduces a tangible weapon that can actually harm him, regardless of belief.

In It: Welcome to Derry, the creature known as It is vulnerable to pieces of the meteorite—referred to as a ‘star’ in the show—that it originally came to Earth with. Although Pennywise intends to kill Lily Bainbridge, it’s stopped by a dagger Taniel accidentally dropped. It’s surprising to discover such a significant weakness for Pennywise, particularly considering that fragments of the meteorite are still buried underground.

It’s also possible the meteorite fragment only seems to work because the local people believe it will. The Shokopiwah elder thought the star was the creature’s weakness, and because of that belief, it became true. This belief then spread, reinforcing its effectiveness. This could explain why Pennywise can exist within pieces of the meteorite in It: Chapter Two without being harmed – it’s all based on what people believe.

3. Pennywise Used To Live In Peace With Humans

A major reveal in It: Welcome to Derry is that It, known as the “galloo” by the Shokopiwah tribe, once lived peacefully with the native people. It originally inhabited the forest long before any humans settled there, and the Shokopiwah discovered a way to live alongside it.

The settlers discovered a meteorite dagger that protected their town from a dangerous creature. As a deal, they allowed the creature to roam freely in the nearby forest, essentially offering it anyone who dared enter. This worked for everyone until outsiders arrived, took over the land, and transformed Derry into a logging center.

As a lifelong fan, the thought of It peacefully coexisting with humanity just doesn’t compute. They explained how it could happen in the story, but I honestly can’t wrap my head around it. It feels way more jarring and unbelievable than even the reveal that meteorite fragments could hurt Pennywise. That’s saying something!

2. Pennywise Experiences All Times At Once

A major and surprising discovery in It: Welcome to Derry is that Pennywise doesn’t experience time like humans do. We perceive time as a straight line – past, present, and future – but Pennywise experiences all moments simultaneously. He’s aware of his beginning and end at the same time, and sees everything that has been, is, and will be all at once.

This power manifests in unsettling ways. For example, It appears as Betty Ripsom in the final scene of It: Welcome to Derry, even before she’s born. It can also create things like the missing poster for Richie, showing it to Marge. In the events of 1962, knowing the Losers Club will ultimately defeat him, It attempts to eliminate their family history by targeting their ancestors.

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Given that his attempt to kill Marge failed in 1935, it’s logical he’d try a different strategy to protect himself. This surprising discovery raises a lot of questions, but it’s understandable that a being from another dimension wouldn’t be limited by our world’s rules.

1. Pennywise Can Still Stop The Losers Club (Maybe)

The biggest surprise in It: Welcome to Derry is the possibility that Pennywise might be able to prevent the Losers Club from destroying him – though it’s not certain. It’s unclear if he can actually save himself, and the story leaves open questions about whether Derry exists in a time loop or if harming a relative of the Losers would create a new reality.

We only got a quick, unclear idea of how Pennywise perceives time, and we’ll likely learn more about it in the upcoming seasons. The key isn’t whether Pennywise will defeat the Losers Club, but that he thinks he can. This belief is why It: Welcome to Derry tells its story in reverse order.

It’s unclear if Pennywise can actually alter his fate, but he’ll likely become increasingly desperate to avoid death over the next two seasons of It: Welcome to Derry. This could lead him to take extreme actions, such as targeting the ancestors of the Losers Club or even attempting to wipe out Derry completely. Whatever happens, it promises to be a thrilling ride.

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2025-12-21 03:30