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It Lives is a boss that can appear on the second floor of Chapter 4 (WombWomb, UteroUtero, (except in Rebirth)Scarred WombScarred Womb). It is unlocked by beating Boss Mom's Heart ingameMom's Heart 11 times; after that, it permanently replaces it.

Behavior[ | ]

It Lives behaves identically to Mom's Heart, with the exceptions of different spawns for its phases:

Gallery[ | ]

Unlockable Achievements[ | ]

Notes[ | ]

  • Just like Boss Mom ingameMom and Mom's Heart, using Collectible The Bible iconThe Bible or (in Repentance)XV - The Devil?XV - The Devil? against It Lives will kill it instantly.
  • (except in Rebirth) Isaac can encounter It Lives in the nightmare boss wave of chapter 4 in Greed/Greedier mode even if it has not been unlocked.

Trivia[ | ]

  • It Lives! appeared in the original The Binding of Isaac. Unlike its appearance in Rebirth, It Lives had opened eyes, a simple poker face, and hung to the ceiling in a sideways position via an umbilical cord.
  • The music that plays during this fight is titled Ventricide.[1] Ventricide is a portmanteau formed from the word ventricle (chamber of the heart) and the suffix -cide, which denotes an act of killing. This theme is used in other tracks, such as Matricide, Hericide, and Infanticide.
    • Ventricide could also be a junction of the prefix ventr- (from the latin word venter), which could denote "belly", "stomach", "womb" or "fetus", with the suffix -cide.
    • It Lives shares this theme with Mom's Heart.
  • It Lives, according to the developers, takes the shape of what Isaac looked like as a fetus.
  • According to Edmund McMillen, It Lives supposedly represents Isaac wishing that he were never born.
  • The boss could be represented as literally breaking Mom's Heart. This would explain Mom's Heart eventually becoming It Lives, as Mom worries more and more about Isaac, getting consumed thinking about him all the time & trying to control his life. The fully empty room in Mom's Heart endings shows Isaac's jump into chest from a different angle as well - he feels guilty for disappointing his Mother / He can't handle the worldview she's trying to force on him anymore, leading him to hide in the Chest from all worries. The endings with golden chests also show how when Isaac is alone in his room with lack of motherly love, something tends to always go badly.
  • It Lives makes the same sounds as Mom's Heart.
    • Like Mom's Heart, if Isaac takes damage from It Lives' Collectible Brimstone iconBrimstone attack, Mom's laugh can be heard.
  • Despite being a major boss, It Lives isn't linked to any Ending, instead, it opens up entrances to both SheolSheol and the CathedralCathedral, as well as (except in Rebirth)?????? if beaten in under 30 minutes.
  • The unlock note for It Lives states "Your futures past awaits.", referencing Time Fcuk, another game by Edmund Mcmillen.
  • (except in Repentance) During the versus screen, It Lives' enemy/boss-spawning sound can be heard. It Lives is one of (except in Repentance)seven/(in Repentance)five bosses that can be heard during the versus screen, the other (except in Repentance)six/(in Repentance)four being (except in Rebirth) Boss The Stain ingameThe Stain, (except in Rebirth) Boss The Forsaken ingameThe Forsaken, (in Afterbirth † and Repentance) Boss Big Horn ingameBig Horn, Mom, (except in Repentance) Mom's Heart and (in Repentance) Boss Mother secondphase ingameMother.

Bugs[ | ]

Bug Bug! (in Rebirth and Afterbirth) Sometimes, if the boss intro is skipped, the game will not teleport Isaac into the center of the bottom of the room, resulting in immediate contact damage with one of the Eyes or It Lives, depending on the direction of the room's entrance.

References[ | ]


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