The Bowers Gang are major antagonists of the Stephen King multiverse.
They are the secondary antagonists of the novel It, miniseries, and its film adaptations. They are also mentioned in 11/22/63.
They were a gang of bullies led by Henry Bowers in Derry, Maine in 1958. Together, they bullied a group of kids known as The Losers Club before and during the summer of '58/'89.
Members[]
- Henry Bowers (leader) (deceased)
- Vic Criss (second-in-command) (deceased in deleted scenes: assumed deceased)
- Peter Gordon (novel and miniseries) (assumed deceased)
- Patrick Hockstetter (deceased)
- Belch Huggins (assumed deceased; deceased in deleted scenes)
- Gard Jagermeyer (novel) (assumed deceased)
- Moose Sadler (novel and miniseries) (assumed deceased)
- Connor Bowers (2019 movie) (associated with)
- Marcia Fadden (novel) (loose association)
Biography[]
The Bowers Gang was formed by Henry Bowers sometime during the early-to-mid 1950's. Henry first met Vic Criss and Belch Huggins in first grade during 1952. They became good friends and allies. Although Vic and Belch appreciated Henry being the neighborhood bully in all, they became horrified when Henry almost drowned Bill Denbrough in a dunk tank one time at the town fair in 1954. Henry later became friends with Moose Sadler in late 1954. Henry gained three more friends, Patrick Hockstetter, Peter Gordon, and Gard Jagermeyer in 1955. Belch and Vic were also horrified when Henry white-washed Stan Uris's face in snow until it bled in 1955. Henry is seen again when he rolls Mike Hanlon, the only black boy in Derry in mud, and poisons his dog with tainted meat in 1956. Henry became the leader of his gang, as the six bullies always followed Henry and they enjoyed tormenting The Losers Club and other children. Marcia Fadden, in the novel, could be found with them at times, though she doesn't seem to have any contact with anyone other then Peter Gordon (her boyfriend) in the gang, and seems to be insignificant to Henry.
1958[]
The Bowers Gang is first seen in June 1958 when Henry, Belch, and Victor ambush an overweight kid named Ben Hanscom in the Barrens. Henry attempted to carve his name into Ben's stomach using his switchblade, to Vic and Belch's horror. However, Henry manages to finish an H before Ben kicks him in the crotch and flees. With Ben hiding in the Barrens, Henry spots Bill Denbrough and Eddie Kaspbrak playing next to their built-up Dam. They angrily ask them where Ben is but Bill and Eddie say they haven't seen any fat kid around. Henry then breaks down their Dam and he also breaks Eddie's nose. Bill tells the bullies to back off and Henry and his buddies leave the two boys, losing interest in finding Ben.
In late June, the bullies are seen again when they chase Richie through downtown. When Richie finds a place to hide, the bullies run right by and start to lose interest in finding him. Later during the summer, Gard, another more dim-witted friend of the three main bullies, pushes Richie down from out of nowhere as he is leaving the Derry Ice Cream Bar, shattering the left lens of his glasses. In early July, Henry along with Vic, Belch, Peter, and Moose chase Mike to where The Losers are in the landfill. The two gangs engaged in a rock-fight. One by one, each member of Henry's gang flee from the fight until Henry is the last one left. Henry then swears vengeance on the Losers intending to kill them all. Later that same month, Henry, Vic, Moose, and Patrick break Eddie's arm in the park. Afterwards, Henry, Patrick, Vic, and Belch light farts on fire with Beverly Marsh, one of the Losers watching them from behind a broken-down car. After talking, Belch and Vic are shown leaving. After Henry assaults Patrick for giving him a hand job, Henry leaves. Patrick, the only left in the landfill is attacked and kidnapped by It in the form of flying leeches while trying to dispose of animal corpses in a refrigerator. Patrick is later killed by It while in the sewers.
In mid-August, Henry is given a switchblade by Pennywise the Clown and Henry murders his father with the blade. Henry also takes Vic and Belch with him intending to kill the Losers for humiliating them in the rock fight. While chasing the Losers under Derry, Henry, Vic, and Belch encounter It in the form of Frankenstein's Monster, who decapitates Vic and mutilates Belch's face with Henry managing to escape. Henry is later arrested and framed for the murders of his friends and the murders of the missing children It committed.
It is unknown what happens to the remaining members of the gang, Peter Gordon after the violent apocalyptic rock-fight, Moose Sadler after he helps Henry break Eddie's arm, and Gard Jagermeyer, who wasn't involved in either event. The Losers assume they were killed by It, though it's unknown if Peter and Moose were considered to be in that group after the rock fight.
1985[]
Henry was placed in a mental asylum and stayed there until May 28, 1985. Henry escaped the asylum with assistance from It and was told by It in the form of Pennywise the Clown and the form of his deceased friend, Victor Criss, to murder the remaining Losers.
After Henry found the Derry Library, he wounded Mike and retreated to the hotel the other Losers were staying at. With Its assistance, (in the form of Henry's other deceased friend, Belch Huggins) Henry found the hotel and attacked Eddie, managing to break his arm (again). After a brief dispute, Eddie, in self-defense, stabs and kills Henry with a broken glass bottle. Henry's body was later discovered by Pennywise and later, the police.
Film Adaptation Changes[]
In 1989, they are all 15–16 years of age. Belch is their main driver, appearing to be the owner of a blue 1978 Pontiac Firebird Trans-Am. Patrick seems well integrated into the group, and the other three boys are never seen with them. They seem to have little to no connection to Greta Keene or her posse of girls. Patrick was killed by It during a failed search for Ben Hanscom after he escapes the Gang on the Kissing Bridge. Belch and Victor are presumed deceased as no official movie footage shows or references their death, but deleted footage shows that after murdering his father, Henry slit their throats in the Trans-Am before driving it to Niebolt for the final confrontation with the Losers. During a flashback scene in the sequel, Henry and his gang confront Richie Tozier in the arcade after Henry's cousin Connor claims that Richie was making a move on him. Henry forces the publicly humiliated Richie to leave.
In the final confrontation, Henry fights Mike Hanlon and is shoved down a well to his apparent death. As seen in the sequel, Henry was eventually washed out of the sewers by a flash flood into the Barrens with the bodies of many of It's victims. Henry returned home, only to find that the police found his father's body. As a result, Henry was arrested for his father's murder and insisted that he wasn't done and had to "kill them all." He was subsequently sent to a mental asylum, Juniper Hill Sanitarium, as Henry had completely lost his mind by the time of his arrest.
27 years later in 2016, Henry is estatic to see Pennywise's red balloon. A zombified Patrick arrives to help him escape, killing another guard. They drive Belch's Trans-Am to Derry. He first encounters Eddie Kaspbrak in the Derry Townhouse, stabbing him in the cheek before Eddie uses the same knife to stab Henry in the gut. Both manage to escape, and Henry goes after Mike at the library. After trying to kill Mike, Henry is impaled in the head and killed by Richie Tozier with a display axe in the library.
Appearances[]
- IT
- 11/22/63 (Henry Bowers, Victor Criss, Belch Huggins and Patrick Hockstetter are briefly mentioned by Beverly Marsh and Richie Tozier, two of the Losers.)
- It (1990 Miniseries) (Henry Bowers, Victor Criss, Belch Huggins, Peter Gordon and Moose Sadler; the latter two only have two scenes and are played by unknown actors, while the middle two have medium screentime compared to Henry)
- It: Chapter One (2017 film) (Henry Bowers, Victor Criss, Belch Huggins and Patrick Hockstetter)
- It:Chapter Two (2019 film) (Henry Bowers, Patrick Hockstetter, Belch Huggins and Victor Criss)
Gallery[]
