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"It's a job. I make Money."
—Belch to Henry

Reginald "Belch" Huggins is one of Henry Bowers' friends and a minor character in IT. He is played by Drum Garrett in the miniseries and Jake Sim in the film adaptation.

1958

Gaining his nickname from belching on command, Belch had a fierce loyalty towards his friends, especially to Henry. He was very big for his age, standing at 6 feet tall (182 cm) and weighing in at a 170 pounds (77 kg) at the age of 12 (although in the movie, he is surprisingly shorter in stature and more stockily-built as a teenager). He tended to be a brutal and short-tempered individual, as he once savagely beat up a boy named Owen Phillips down at the Tracker Brothers, who had simply laughed at Belch after a baseball had struck his head. He was also a very good baseball batter, being able to strike the ball to great distances. Not much is known about his parents, although the novel states that his father died years ago from unknown causes. The novel also stated he had a job for the Weekly Shopper which Henry calls "Weekly Shopper Crap".

Ben Hanscom and the Barrens

On the last day of school, Belch, alongside his other friend Victor Criss, helped Henry ambush and attack a overweight boy named Ben Hanscom (whom Henry had wanted to get revenge on for not letting him copy his exam paper, and as a result had to take summer school in order to pass the grade even though Ben was merely following the rules of the exam). Although Belch initially enjoys taunting Ben about his weight problem, he soon becomes shocked and scared as Henry begins cutting and carving his name on Ben's belly. Before Henry is able to finish, Ben manages to fight back and flees into the Barrens. While Belch and his two friends search for him under the Barrens, the three of them encounter two other boys named Bill Denbrough and Eddie Kaspbrak. The three bullies then break the dam that they had been working on and soon leave, losing interest in looking for Ben.

The Rockfight

By July, Henry and his buddies (including Belch and Victor as well as Peter and Moose) would often help Henry's crazy father, Butch Bowers, out on their farm. Henry's buddies realize at that point how crazy Butch is, after a violent confrontation between Butch and Victor. As dumb as he was, even Belch thinks Henry's father is crazy, to which he tells Victor "I don't fuck with crazy people". In late July, he joins Henry in chasing down a boy named Mike Hanlon (whom Henry had deeply hated, as he is the only black boy in Derry) across the Junkyard all the way to the Barrens, where they encountered the Losers there. A violent rock fight then occurred between Henry's gang and the Losers' Club. Eventually, Henry's gang loses as they, one-by-one, flee (although Belch was Henry's last ally to flee away from the fight, further showing his loyalty towards him).

The Junkyard

On one late July afternoon, Henry, Victor, Belch and a sociopathic boy named Patrick Hockstetter were down at the Junkyard (where they had blown up some M-80's on the day of the rock fight) lighting their own farts with Henry's lighter. After a brief argument, Belch and Victor both leave, having chores to do back at home. Little did the two boys realize what was going to come next down at the Junkyard if they had not left earlier that day.

Death

In mid-August, Belch and Victor follow Henry (who was under the influence of It) down into the sewers where the Losers were. Belch and Victor both meet their end at the hands It, who appears as the Frankenstein Monster, decapitating and killing Victor. The creature then pursues Henry, but Belch steps in front of the monster and attempts to defend his friend by attacking It. However, to Belch's surprise, It easily overpowers him and tears down the left side of his face off. Henry by then had fled and left his friend to die.

In the 2017 film, a deleted scene reveals Henry cut his and Vic's throat. Without it being mentioned at any point in the 2019 film it is unknown if this scene is still intended to be canon within this version’s universe until further notice.

1985 ("Christine")

While serving time in Juniper Hill, Henry begins to hear voices from the moon, including Belch's voice, as well as the Losers' voices, one by one. Later on the novel, It picks up Henry in a 1958 Plymouth Fury (a direct reference to the novel, Christine) with Belch's re-animated corpse behind the wheel. During the ride, Henry apologizes to Belch for leaving him to die that day in the sewers. In the 1990 film, It appears in Juniper Hill taking the form of Belch, talking to a full-grown Henry Bowers, where he encourages Henry to escape to seek vengeance upon the Losers. It then helps Henry escape by taking on the form of a Doberman Pinscher to attack an orderly who tried to thwart Henry's flight to freedom.

Appearances

Quotes

"I ran into the Hockstetter's dad the other day. He said he still hasn't heard anything."
―Belch to Henry about talking to Mr. Hockstetter for Patrick's whereabouts [src]
"FUCK... YOU, BITCH!!"
―Belch to Losers Club before he was hit by Beverly with a rock[src]
"if he had not died that summer, he might have grown to six-six or better, and might have learned along the way how to maneuver his outsized body through a world of smaller denizens. He might even, Eddie thought, have learned gentleness."
―Eddie remembering Belch in the Tracker Brothers field in 1985[src]

Trivia

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