Gandalf vs Pennywise: Why I Think Gandalf Wins

Gandalf versus Pennywise: who wins? I think Gandalf does. What's interesting about this fight is that both characters are far more powerful than they first appear. Gandalf is more than a wizard, and Pennywise isn't really a clown.

Pennywise is an ancient cosmic entity

Pennywise existed long before humanity. The clown running around the town of Derry is a physical manifestation of something much worse. In the novel, he can shapeshift into people's worst nightmares, manipulate their minds and distort reality, then at the end expose them to the deadlights. Those deadlights hint at his true nature, something so incomprehensible that looking into them can drive a person insane.

Gandalf is a Maia who killed Durin's Bane

Gandalf isn't technically a human. He's a Maia, an immortal spiritual being in the same tier as Sauron or the Balrogs. He fought Durin's Bane from the depths of Moria to the peak of a mountain for days before killing it. He went through a form of death, but came back stronger as Gandalf the White.

Gandalf's experience against supernatural evil

I think that's Gandalf's biggest advantage. Pennywise loves breaking minds and turning people's weaknesses against them, and Gandalf has spent thousands of years opposing creatures that do the exact same thing. I don't necessarily think it'll be easy, but he battled Sauron for centuries, and surely that will come in handy.

I think Gandalf can overcome Pennywise's fear and the clown's physical form, and he might even be powerful enough to send the deadlights running. Either way, Gandalf wins.