Mike Hanlon may be the only Losers’ Club member of color in IT, but that’s not the only reason he’s special, and vitally important to the story. Stephen King’s delightfully twisted creative mind has invented dozens of terrifying monsters over the years, and IT‘s titular shape-shifting alien from another dimension is arguably the greatest of them all. However, while the being behind Pennywise the Dancing Clown is the straw that stirs ITs drink, the true heart of the story is unlikely heroes The Losers’ Club.
A ragtag group of social outcasts, abuse victims, and grief survivors, The Losers’ Club shouldn’t stand a chance against IT, and they wouldn’t if they hadn’t found each other. Together, the Losers became so much more than the sum of their individual identities, and their love for and faith in each other turned them from potential monster food into a formidable force for cosmic good. They may be Losers in the eyes of some, but they ultimately win the fight against evil.
Of the Losers’ Club line-up, Bill Denborough is the nominal leader, while Ben Hanscom, Beverly Marsh, and Richie Tozier also get the spotlight. Less often focused on, especially in the IT screen adaptations, are Eddie Kaspbrak, Stan Uris, and of course, Mike Hanlon. However, Mike has a strong claim to the title of the Losers’ Club’s most important member.
Stephen King’s IT: Why Mike Hanlon Is The Most Important Losers’ Club Member
While they’re by no means his only contributions to the Losers’ Club dynamic and the group’s battles with IT, Mike Hanlon is the most important member for two major reasons. First, after a summer of being menaced by Pennywise and ITs other various forms, as well as being bullied and attacked by Henry Bowers’ gang, it’s when the Losers finally meet Mike and accept him into the fold that their fateful septet at last becomes complete. The lucky seven, as they’re also sometimes called, needed Mike’s addition to be at full strength, and without him providing that last crucial piece of the puzzle, the Losers never could’ve defeated IT once, much less twice.
As if that wasn’t enough of an achievement, Mike also plays the vital role of “lighthouse keeper” for both the Losers’ Club and Derry, Maine as a whole. All the other Losers end up moving out of the town as kids, and the longer they spend away, their memories of what actually happened to them became shrouded in a supernatural brain fog. Mike stays behind, keeping watch over Derry and preparing for ITs eventual return. In doing so, he sacrificed having a normal life for himself, all to protect his friends and the world from an inter-dimensional monster. For that, he’s the biggest Loser in the club, and that’s meant in the most complimentary way.
