Stranger Things and Welcome to Derry Fans Settle Vecna vs Pennywise — And It's Not Even Close
Forget different leagues—this isn’t even the same sport, as one side laps the field and turns a supposed showdown into a solo exhibition.
Finn Wolfhard tossed a fun bit of horror math into the internet this week: Vecna vs. Pennywise. His pick? Not the one most fans expected.
What Finn said
On Brittany Broski's show 'Royal Court', the 'Stranger Things' and 'It' star was asked who wins if the Upside Down's big bad tangles with Stephen King's clown. Wolfhard, who plays Mike Wheeler in 'Stranger Things' and Richie Tozier in Andy Muschietti's 'It' and 'It: Chapter Two', did not hesitate.
'Vecna would easily beat Pennywise,' he said, calling the clown 'the most insecure monster ever.'
And look, he is not wrong that Richie and the Losers' Club basically bullied Pennywise into submission the first time. That is canon.
Fans were not buying it
Reddit lit up fast, and the crowd largely sided with King's shapeshifting nightmare. The common refrain: Vecna is nasty, but Pennywise plays on a different scale.
- 'Vecna is some telepathic dude who can hunt other dreams. Pennywise is a being beyond human comprehension. They not even in different leagues, they playing different sports.'
- 'This isn't even a contest. Vecna is toast.'
- 'Mindflayer vs Pennywise would be more interesting… Mindflayer can do what Pennywise does AND control and make corporeal beings.'
- 'Two horror villains I absolutely LOVE! Super into both franchises and both characters. However, the comparison is borderline ludicrous. Pennywise is so much higher of a being it wouldn't even be close. Vecna is getting annihilated.'
- One commenter even pulled receipts from 'Stranger Things' season 5, episode 4: Max (Sadie Sink) tells Holly Wheeler (Nell Fisher) the caves she is hiding in freak Vecna/Henry Creel out. Their takeaway: 'He has a very clear, manipulatable fear. IT might take damage and have to regroup from that crazy stabby hand thing... But I do think IT wins pretty decisively.'
The power scale problem
Here is why this whole matchup makes people twitchy: Vecna is a supercharged human with telepathy and dream-hunting tricks, while Pennywise is closer to cosmic horror. Different franchises, different rules. If we are scoring it like a fight card, Pennywise has the reach, the weirdness, and the metaphysics.
Could this ever happen onscreen?
Short answer: no. If you saw chatter about Netflix buying Warner Bros. and scooping up all those properties, that is not a real thing. 'Stranger Things' lives at Netflix. Pennywise and 'Welcome to Derry' are Warner Bros. territory. Crossovers like that do not just happen, contracts-wise. So for now, Vecna vs. Pennywise stays a fan debate, which is probably where it belongs.
Where to watch
'Stranger Things' season 5, Vol. 1 is streaming now on Netflix. 'It: Welcome to Derry' is airing Sundays on HBO.