Pennywise is one of Stephen King’s most popular and terrifying villains, and throughout It, the creature calls itself the “Eater of Worlds”, and there’s a sinister reason for that. For decades, Stephen King has introduced the world to some unique and terrifying characters, both human and supernatural. Some of these have appeared, been mentioned, or referred to in different works, and one of those is It’s Pennywise. Published in 1986, It was King’s 22nd published book, and it’s the introduction of the horrifying тιтle creature, which is a shapeshifting evil enтιтy the Losers refer to as “It.”

It takes readers to 1958, when, after the death of his younger brother Georgie, Bill Denbrough and his friends, the self-appointed “Losers Club”, come across It in their hometown of Derry, Maine. What makes It so terrifying is that it feeds off of the fear of its victims, and takes the shape of their fears, with its preferred shape being the clown Pennywise. The novel then jumps to 1985, when the now adult Losers reunite to defeat It once and for all. Throughout the novel, readers learn more about Pennywise’s nature, as the creature calls itself “Eater of Worlds.”

Pennywise Feeds On Fear & Its “Eater Of Worlds” Designation Points To Its True Goal

Pennywise Might Have Had Bigger & Darker Plans In Mind

As mentioned above, It is a shapeshifting enтιтy that feeds on fear, which is why it takes the shape of its target’s fears – according to Pennywise himself, that “salts the meat” and makes it tastier. Pennywise comes from a void outside the regions of the Macroverse, and it’s from a species called ᴅᴇᴀᴅlights. The true form of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅlights is very hard to describe, and those who have seen them have either died or gone insane. Ben came dangerously close to seeing the ᴅᴇᴀᴅlights and described them as an endless, hairy, crawling creature made of orange light.

The closest to it that the human mind can comprehend is the shape of a giant (female) spider, which is the shape It takes in front of the adult Losers. At different points throughout the novel, Pennywise refers to itself as the “Eater of Worlds”, which isn’t explicitly explained in the book, but it points to the creature’s ultimate goal. By feasting on the different fears of humans, Pennywise’s plan could be to consume all life on the planet, though that would take a lot of time given that It hybernates for 27 years.

Still, Pennywise is very powerful, and its unique and weirdly specific power makes it absolutely possible and believable that it could end all life on Earth if it’s not stopped. Luckily, the Losers defeated It at the end of the book (and the TV and film adaptations), but the тιтle of “Eater of Worlds” has bigger implications.

Stephen King Seems To Suggest That Pennywise Has Destroyed Other Worlds Before Earth

Would Pennywise Be Powerful Enough For That?

In the novel, TV miniseries, and movies, Pennywise’s reign of terror takes place on Earth and only there, but little is known and explored about its backstory and origins. Given that it comes from a void from the Macroverse and it has immense power, it wouldn’t be surprising if Pennywise wasn’t lying and it had truly destroyed other worlds before arriving at Earth. It is Maturin’s equal in terms of power but opposite in everything else: It represents chaos, fear, and evil, while Maturin is about kindness and compᴀssion, making them natural enemies.

This further shows how far Pennywise’s power and what it represents can go, so while Maturin provides for those in need, Pennywise is all about destroying what crosses its way. Because of this, it’s highly possible that, before crashing on Earth, Pennywise had already devoured all life on other planets, essentially destroying them, and planned to do the same on Earth. Obviously, Pennywise wasn’t counting on the Losers, who, when taking It’s true plans into account, basically saved the planet.