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Henry Bowers
It character
First appearanceIt (1986)
Last appearanceIt Chapter Two (2019)
Created byStephen King
Portrayed by1990 miniseries:
Jarred Blanchard (teenager)
Michael Cole (adult)
2017 film and 2019 sequel:
Nicholas Hamilton (teenager)
Teach Grant (adult)
In-universe information
OccupationCriminal
Mental patient
FamilyOscar "Butch" Bowers (father; deceased)
Henrietta Bowers (mother; unknown)
HomeDerry, Maine, United States

Henry Bowers is a fictional character and secondary antagonist created by Stephen King from his 1986 horror novel, It. Bowers is described as being a psychopathic teenager and local bully, leading a gang of local bullies known as The Bower's Gang. He often torments "The Loser's Club" and is often abused and neglected by his father, Butch. Bowers ends up becoming a henchman of sorts to Pennywise the Dancing Clown, who has Bowers kill his own father and attempt to kill the members of The Loser's Club. Bowers is imprisoned in a mental institution and blamed for the deaths of all the children murdered by Pennywise. He is portrayed by Jarred Blanchard and Michael Cole in the 1990 miniseries adaptation of the novel as a teenager and adult respectively. Bowers is portrayed by Nicholas Hamilton as a teenager in It and by Teach Grant as an adult in It Chapter Two. The character has also been subject to analysis and comparisons to other Stephen King characters such as Ace Merrill from The Body and Renfield from Dracula.[1]

Fictional Character Biography[edit]

Henry Bowers was born to Oscar and Henrietta Bowers in 1946. He was raised by his father, who was an alcoholic and would consistently abuse Henry. This caused Henry to grow into a hateful young man and leader of The Bower's Gang, consisting of Vic Criss, Patrick Hockstetter and Reginald "Belch" Huggins. Bowers became the resident bully in Derry, his most common targets being the members of "The Loser's Club", notably Ben Hanscom and Mike Hanlon, having attempted to carve his own name into Ben's stomach, killing Mike's dog, breaking Eddie Kaspbrak's arm and maiming Stanley Uris's face.

Descent into madness[edit]

After losing a rock fight with The Loser's Club and the death of Patrick Hockstetter, Henry becomes increasingly more sadistic, which leads Pennywise the Clown to use Bowers' growing insanity to It's advantage. Pennywise gifts Bowers with a switchblade, which he uses to kill his father. Bowers, Belch and Vic follow The Loser's Club into the Derry sewers, where It kills Belch and Vic. Bowers was framed for all of the deaths that occurred over the summer (including Georgie Denbrough) and was committed to Juniper Hill Asylum for life.

Escape from insitution and death[edit]

27 years after being committed, Pennywise returns to Derry and comes to Bowers in the asylum in the guise of Vic (Belch in the miniseries and Hockstetter in the film series) to persuade him to continue his work. The pair kill an orderly and escape. Bowers finds the grown-up members of The Loser's Club and attacks them, cutting Mike's femoral artery and breaking Eddie's arm again before Eddie kills Bowers with a broken glass water bottle.[2]

Adaptations[edit]

Henry was portrayed by Jarred Blanchard as a teenager and by Michael Cole in the 1990 miniseries adaptation of the novel. He was portrayed again by Nicholas Hamilton as a teenager and by Teach Grant as an adult in It and it's sequel, It Chapter Two. This adaptation shows Bowers as a punk rather than a Greaser, as well as showing more of Bowers's sadism and mental deterioration. A deleted scene from the first film shows that after killing his father, Bowers also killed Vic and Belch, rather than Pennywise.[3][4][5][6][7][8]

Analysis[edit]

Sadism[edit]

Bowers has been noted for his sadistic nature in the novel and film adaptation. Henry is noted for his racially charged attacks against Mike Hanlon, and will often make derrogatory comments towards Hanlon. Bowers' comments would often make reference to Hanlon's parents' death in The Black Spot. Bowers's sadism has been interpreted as being a result of his abusive childhood, but was only truly unlocked by Pennywise. Teach Grant, who portrays the older Bowers in It Chapter Two spoke about Bowers's descent into insanity stating, "We see the cycle of abuse from his father which basically pushes Henry to become who he is. So in a way, Henry himself is kind of just a victim acting out. When you say words like psychotic or a maniac, I think there's a little bit more to it. I think there's a bit of a victim complex and he is sort of acting out."[9][10][11]

Comparison to other characters[edit]

Bowers has been compared to other Stephen King teenage delinquent characters such as Ace Merrill from King's novel The Body, which was adapted into the film Stand by Me. Bowers and Merrill share similar qualities, both being teenaged gang leaders who hunt down a group of outcast children. Both Bowers and Merrill showcase psychopathic tendencies, and a hint of sadistic qualities.[12] Bowers has also been compared to the characters of Billy Nolan from King's novel Carrie as well as the character of Billy Hargrove from the television series Stranger Things, which is heavily influenced by King's works.[13][14][15] Bowers has been compared often to the character of Renfield from Bram Stoker's iconic novel Dracula. Bowers has been seen as acting as Pennywise's henchman, acting in the same mannerisms in which Renfield acted for Count Dracula. Bowers acts as the human enforcer for Pennywise, who attempts to disrupt The Loser's Club's attempts to defeat the interdimensional creature. Pennywise unlocks Bowers's insanity in a similar way that Count Dracula drives Renfield to insanity in Stoker's novel, and more explicitly seen in Tod Browning's 1931 film adaptation of Stoker's novel featuring Bela Lugosi as Dracula and Dwight Frye as Renfield. [16][17][18]

Reception[edit]

Nicholas Hamilton's portrayal of Bowers in It received positive reactions from fans and critics, with many believing him to be a worthy side antagonist, and a genuinely disturbing presence. Teach Grant's portrayal in It Chapter Two received mixed reviews, with some feeling the character's importance was trimmed down in the film, with the audience not getting enough time to know Bowers as an adult. [19]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Nicolaou, Elena (2019-09-06). "What Happened To Henry Bowers In IT, Again?". Refinery29. Retrieved 2019-12-21.
  2. ^ Atkinson, John (2019-09-19). "IT: Who Killed [SPOILER] In The Book?". ScreenRant. Retrieved 2019-12-21.
  3. ^ Kennedy, Michael (2019-12-18). "IT Deleted Scene Makes Henry Bowers Even More Evil". ScreenRant. Retrieved 2019-12-21.
  4. ^ "Nicholas Hamilton plays bully Henry Bowers in IT". Mail Online. Retrieved 2020-01-20.
  5. ^ McClendon, Lamarco (17 August 2016). "Nicholas Hamilton On Filming Stephen King's 'It' Remake". Variety. Penske Business Media, LLC. Retrieved 2020-01-20.
  6. ^ Disgusting, Mr (June 21, 2016). "'It': Pennywise Comes After Nicholas Hamilton". Bloody Disgusting. Archived from the original on June 25, 2016. Retrieved 2020-01-20.
  7. ^ Wigney, James (September 2, 2017). "Australian actor Nicholas Hamilton is becoming a Stephen King expert after The Dark Tower and It". The Herald Sun. Retrieved 2020-01-20.
  8. ^ McClendon, Lamarco (August 17, 2016). "Nicholas Hamilton on Filming Stephen King's 'It' Remake". Variety. Archived from the original on August 19, 2016. Retrieved 2020-01-20. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  9. ^ Cotter, Padraig (2019-08-02). "IT Bully Henry Bowers Was Even More Sadistic In The Book". ScreenRant. Retrieved 2019-10-27.
  10. ^ "It: Chapter 2's Teach Grant explains sequel's human horror Henry Bowers, says a 'bully isn't born, he is created'". Meaww. 2019-08-28. Retrieved 2019-12-21.
  11. ^ https://books.google.com.au/books?id=uMhyDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT79&lpg=PT79&dq=henry+bowers+sadism&source=bl&ots=E8wsjeuPhU&sig=ACfU3U0N4jy0f7oHCoF1QLhRarsEJrzGZg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiR1bS7uJHnAhUb63MBHa0cCF8Q6AEwGnoECA4QAQ#v=onepage&q=henry%20bowers%20sadism&f=false
  12. ^ Buxton, Marc (2019-04-06). "Stephen King: 10 Best Human Villains". Den of Geek. Retrieved 2020-01-20.
  13. ^ Romano, Evan (2019-06-21). "Could a Classic Stephen King Character Hold a Clue About Billy's Fate in Stranger Things?". Men's Health. Retrieved 2020-01-20.
  14. ^ https://books.google.com.au/books?id=neqOJbFjVvEC&pg=PA86&lpg=PA86&dq=henry+bowers+billy+nolan&source=bl&ots=6Qy1Ev3MLN&sig=ACfU3U0cAx8L6TqDZNaBXWPnf9WHEyjtXw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiFzNahvJHnAhUL8HMBHaVvAEYQ6AEwDHoECAkQAQ#v=onepage&q=henry%20bowers%20billy%20nolan&f=false
  15. ^ Rausch, Andrew J. (2019-09-14). "Tormentors and the Tormented: Bullies in the World of Stephen King". Diabolique Magazine. Retrieved 2020-01-20.
  16. ^ Grey, Orrin (2019-09-07). "{Movie Review} Fear Salts the Meat: It Chapter Two (2019)". Signal Horizon. Retrieved 2019-10-27.
  17. ^ Verniere, James (2019-09-06). "Clown posse returns in 'It Chapter Two'". Boston Herald. Retrieved 2019-10-27.
  18. ^ "IT ends… eventually!". The Watchman. 2019-09-10. Retrieved 2019-10-27.
  19. ^ Zachary, Brandon (2019-09-07). "It: Chapter Two Improves One Major Character, But Wastes Another". CBR. Retrieved 2019-12-21.

Category:It (novel) Category:Stephen King characters Category:Fictional bullies Category:Fictional murderers Category:Fictional henchmen Category:Fictional murderers Category:Male horror film villains Category:Fictional patricides Category:Literary characters introduced in 1986 Category:Fictional characters from Maine Category:Teenage characters in film Category:Horror television characters

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