Somewhere just past what can be seen, measured, and quantified by human eyes and brains is
another place, a place of shapes beyond the shapes.
Described as the void which surrounds and encapsulates our own universe, this Macroverse
is home to things the human mind cannot comprehend for their forms and minds have no basis in
our own reality.
We have no comparison for these shapeless void-things in our prime material existence,
and cannot hope to ever comprehend the truth of these exo-cosmic horrors.
Pennywise the Dancing Clown is one of these horrors, a being as ancient as pre-creation,
who existed possibly as long as Gan, or the 'other', who is widely believed to be the
creator of all things in this world and all others.
Passing from the uncreation of the Macroverse to the creation of our own universe, It is
incomprehensibly ancient, and has wandered the cosmos feasting on all life it encounters
like a universal parasite.
Recently it found its way to earth taking up residence in Derry, Maine, although some
believe that it arrived long ago in a massive cataclysmic event similar to an asteroid impact,
and seeing a young world full of the promise of life, settled in for a long sleep, awaiting
for the inevitable rise of its favorite prey: intelligent life.
Suppose that one day you found yourself on a road trip through beautiful Maine, enjoying
its famous lobster bisque and gorgeous coastal vistas- when suddenly you stop for an overnight
stay in the quiet town of Derry.
The people are pleasant enough, but as you stroll through town you can't help but notice
all the posters for missing children.
Doing a little more research you are stunned to discover that great catastrophes, and large
numbers of missing children, seem to come in predictable cycles to this unfortunate
town, every 27-30 years.
With growing horror you realize that it's now officially been 27 years since the last
bout of missing children- and that's when you see it... a figure watching you from the
treeline, it looks like a clown with brightly colored pants and shirt, tufts of red hair,
and stark white face with pouty red lips.
You blink and suddenly it's gone, and realization breeds a terrible fear inside you as you understand
that you are now It's new prey.
So, you're being stalked and terrorized by an interdimensional being who feasts on humans-
how can you defeat it?
First let's take a look at what you're up against.
Pennywise's true origins are unknown past that it comes from the space beyond space,
a region known as the Macroverse that exists outside our own reality.
This place might also be the 'deadlights', a place that Pennywise sometimes exiles the
souls of its victims to, leaving their bodies as empty shells.
However, the deadlights and the macroverse may be two completely separate locations,
but what is known is that the human mind risks insanity if it ever catches a glimpse of either.
Formless voids that defy the orderly nature of our own existence, a human brain effectively
shuts down if its exposed to either the deadlights or the macroverse, bringing on instant lunacy.
Pennywise's origin from within this formless void forces him- or more accurately It- to
adopt a physical shape for as long as it exists in our reality.
That gives Pennywise incredible powers of shapeshifting, able to take on the form of
any person or object.
However It is bound to the rules of our universe's physics, meaning that if it takes on the shape
of a bird for instance, then it must fly like one and cannot defy the laws of physics.
This obedience to the rules of our universe means that Pennywise's shapeshifting can leave
it temporarily vulnerable, if it shape shifts into a cabinet and you set it on fire, it'll
burn.
However Pennywise also has incredible resistance to physical damage and near-invulnerability,
even being shot in the head won't stop Pennywise for long, or even give it much pause.
If you've seen our previous episodes then you know that we here at The Infographics
Show abide by one belief: problem-solving through superior firepower.
In this case however, no amount of firepower is going to put a dent in Pennywise... at
least not until you overcome its psychic defenses first.
As a creature with psychic abilities, Pennywise uses its abilities to manipulate its victims
into greatly fearing it, stating that “fear salts the meat”.
In fact, Pennywise refuses to eat people unless they are good and properly terrified, having
grown a taste for scared children.
Complete invulnerability to physical damage, an immortal lifespan, and the ability to escape
into the deadlights... this time you are up against a formidable challenge indeed.
Luckily though, Pennywise does have one glaring weakness: its narcissism.
A being of superior power, Pennywise believes that humans are far beneath it, and centuries
of preying on hapless people have given it a serious ego boost.
Yet powerful as Pennywise is, that staggering ego is a crippling Achille's heel, for it
is completely incapable of believing that it could ever be resisted, let alone overcome
by a mere human.
When a group of children forced it to retreat in the 1950s during one of its feeding cycles,
Pennywise awoke three decades later and for the first time questioned its own power and
abilities.
A being as ancient as the universe, and likely even more, tasted defeat for the first time,
and left it with crippling self-doubt.
Pennywise's self-doubt is going to be the vulnerability you're going to exploit, but
first you have to be able to resist it's fear-based attacks against you.
That means you're going to have to learn to control your own fear, as when Pennywise can't
terrify its prey it clearly loses power over them, and that even translates to growing
physically weaker in our own universe, becoming vulnerable to damage that it would normally
shrug off without a second thought.
So, we're not going to do as usual and recommend this weapon or that, or this trap or that
trap- rather, the first thing we're going to recommend is that you take some yoga classes
immediately.
Pick up meditation habits and make it a routine to center yourself and empty your mind.
Pennywise will try to flood you with fear, and it will be important that you're able
to push those fears out of your mind.
Move to West Hollywood and take up classes in a local yoga studio, maybe start eating
Kale for every meal and start going to obscure indie band concerts- you need to get as spiritual
as any LA hipster and prepare for the ultimate confrontation.
Once you've started saying Namaste instead of hello and goodbye in every conversation
you're ready for your confrontation- but beware because Pennywise will prey on your deepest
personal fears.
It won't be enough to simply push fear out of your mind through superior meditative powers-
you'll need to have physically faced those deepest fears you have and overcome them,
because you can be sure that in any fight against Pennywise he's going to summon them
against you.
Pennywise's power to create illusions is so strong that they can even physically hurt
people, so if you're afraid of swimming in the ocean because of great white sharks, you
better be ready to face down a few great white sharks because that's exactly what Pennywise
is going to be throwing at you.
Psychologists recommend exposure therapy to get over severe phobias, and we recommend
the same for preparing in your fight against Pennywise.
Gradual exposure to deep fears can help overcome them by putting them in perspective, and by
slowly acclimating to the fear inside you until it becomes normal.
Go swim in the ocean if you're afraid of sharks, and once you're accustomed to that step it
up a notch and maybe fly to a tropical island or somewhere with a program that lets you
swim with live sharks.
Once you've done that, go swimming with sharks while tying bloody steaks to your body.
If you survive that, then you're ready to face Pennywise.
Assuming you weren't bitten in two by a great white shark because you decided to turn yourself
into a meat popsicle, your actual confrontation with Pennywise will be quite brief.
It will try to taunt you, summon your deepest fears and launch them at you- to which you'll
simply laugh and shrug them away.
At this point fear will grow inside Pennywise, as it realizes that it has no power over you.
Cornering the sniveling clown, it'll likely beg for its life and make all sorts of promises
if you just let it go- everything from bringing dead relatives back to life to making you
nearly immortal yourself.
Don't listen to it, just take your preferred weapon of choice, or even a simple children's
baseball bat, and finish the job.
Without the power to terrify you, Pennywise's physical powers diminish as well, and though
it's never certain if it can ever truly die, you'll at least have liberated the town of
Derry for another thirty years.
Just beware that Pennywise typically reverts to its true form when close to defeat, and
the closest approximation in our universe to its true form is that of a giant spider.
So while we personally don't find spiders particularly terrifying, the sudden appearance
of a spider the size of a house would no doubt be terrifying to anyone, so try not to be
suddenly scared to death of a mega-sized arachnid when you're so close to victory... although
if you were, honestly, we wouldn't blame you.
Even if that means Pennywise likely bit your head off in the end.
How would you defeat Pennywise?
What's your deepest fear and how would you prepare yourself to face it?
Oh, and check out our other video, You vs Chucky!
See you next time!