No, Pennywise doesn't primarily eat its victims' bodies; it feeds on their fear, finding it more delicious, but it does consume some flesh, often as an afterthought or to fulfill the expectation that monsters eat people, keeping bodies in its lair as trophies. While its main sustenance comes from terror, scenes in the book and adaptations show partial consumption, hinting that the Deadlights (its true form) might absorb souls or essence, making it a complex entity that feeds on both fear and physical remnants.
And well the answer as to what this is is going to be more disturbing than you could have imagined. Now believe it or not but Pennywise or it does not actually eat its victims. It eats its victim's fear. The more they fear the better they taste to it.
He scares them and then kills them. This process seems to capture them in some fashion, presumably in his deadlights, which are closer to his true form. It seems like he doesn't enjoy killing those who aren't afraid of him, or perhaps he only has power over those who are afraid of him.
As well as having his right arm bitten clean off, Georgie is trying to crawl away but he was dragged into the sewers and devoured by Pennywise, with an unnamed older woman and her cat being the sole witnesses of the horrific scene, including before Georgie lost his arm.
Kody Grulick his power isn't tied to fear, though. It is more than able to kill someone who isn't afraid. We hear in Its own words how fear makes its prey taste better and It compares making Its prey afraid to seasoning meat.
Pennywise (It) goes into a deep hibernation beneath Derry, Maine Fandom, often in its subterranean lair in the sewers, after being forced back by the Losers' Club, using the ~27 years to mature, rest, and regain strength before awakening for its next cycle of terror. This ancient, trans-dimensional entity feeds on fear and emerges roughly every 27 years to cause mass destruction in Derry, its chosen feeding ground, before retreating again.
The very life essence and even true form of the dangerous extradimensional fiend IT is comprised of the Deadlights themselves and "he" uses this power to blind his fresh victims (usually human children) and robs them of their conscious minds as It drives them crazy as well as leave them both immobile and lifeless ...
It runs away to tend to its injuries, but Bill, Richie, and Ben chase after it and find that it has laid eggs. Ben stays behind to destroy the eggs, while Bill and Richie head toward their final confrontation with Pennywise.
The presence of courage and heart are Its main weaknesses. This appears to have a phycological effect that installs fear and enables it the inability to function properly in its physical form. Given that it feeds on fear, it makes sense that courage and heart can overcome it.
It is the only live-action villain role of Tim Curry to be Pure Evil so far. Its 1990 incarnation was the first Pure Evil portrayed by Tim Curry, giving him (Alongside Robin Atkin Downes) the second highest acting and voice acting amount of Pure Evil villains after Jim Cummings.
The 27-year cycle refers to the extended interval between waking periods of the extra-dimensional shapeshifter in the novel IT, as well as the interval between occurences of The Troubles (outbreaks of increased supernatural activity) in the television series Haven.
As I understand the book (I've read it several times but it's also been a few years), Pennywise can be physically hurt and even killed, but the conditions have to be right. He's vulnerable when he takes a physical form, to whatever can harm that form.
Chapter 1 is the better film, but the second film is better than the second half of the mini-series on the whole and again it is a more than admirable and brave attempt at adapting an extremely difficult and near-unfilmable book. While there is a good deal to recommend, there are some glaring problems.
Why is Eddie Kaspbrak the only member of The Losers' Club that Pennywise fears? Eddie Kaspbrak, a central character in Stephen King's IT and its adaptations, stands out as the sole member of The Losers' Club feared by Pennywise. He courageously battles Pennywise, the Dancing Clown, in 1958, 1985, 1989, and 2016.
In The Change Constant, after Penny took Sheldon out drinking at the Cheesecake Factory, she returned to Leonard and had spontaneous sex with him without any protection which resulted in her pregnancy. In the series finale, Penny finds out that she is expecting a baby.
It is not literally female, as It has no gender, but has grown so swollen with fear and children that a pregnant female spider would be accurate.
Pennywise: [Last word] Fear.
Essentially, the Deadlights are a universal representation of cosmic evil that powerful entities, like IT and the Crimson King, can access or embody.
IT represents chaos, evil, and fear, while the turtle is a force of kindness led by compassion, making them direct opposites. Both being interdimensional entities, their powers are at the same level, meaning that the turtle could kill IT if it wanted to.
In the 2017 It film adaptation, Beverly Marsh witnessed the Deadlights and was put into a temporary coma. She was brought out of the coma by Ben Hanscom kissing her. Upon looking at the Deadlights, Beverly hears sounds of children screaming, including an older person who shouted "HELP ME!!!".
It's subjective, but many find the 2017 version scarier due to gore, modern effects, and Bill Skarsgård's more sinister Pennywise, while the 1990 miniseries is often seen as creepier for its psychological dread and Tim Curry's iconic performance, though some find the original less frightening now due to dated effects and music. Ultimately, the 2017 film is often considered more intense, but the 1990 version's atmosphere and Curry's menace stick with viewers, making the "scarier" choice depend on personal preference for horror styles (jump scares/gore vs. psychological dread).
While there's no official It: Chapter 3 greenlit, the producers are actively discussing it and exploring the universe through the prequel series Welcome to Derry, with potential for future films, possibly focusing on Pennywise's origins or other untold stories in Derry, using the existing lore as a foundation. Bill Skarsgård is returning as Pennywise in the series, suggesting the character's story is far from over.