Stranger Things is set to release its fifth and final season in 2025, but the final season has a lot still to reveal about the series’ main villain, Vecna. Stranger Things began streaming on Netflix in 2016, where it quickly became the platform’s biggest show. Throughout the first few seasons, audiences were introduced to the town of Hawkins, and the group of friends known as The Party. However, despite Hawkins appearing like any other town from the 80s, there is a dark secret that lies beneath in a netherworld known as the Upside Down.

The Upside Down is home to monsters and a weird mirror dimension of Hawkins where everything is in ruins, but so far, very little has been explained about this realm and the creature who calls it home. In Stranger Things season 4, the origin of Vecna was revealed, and his former identity as Henry Creel, but there is still far more that remains unanswered about the character than what is known. With the final season on its way, there is a lot to unpack about Vecna and the true nature of the Upside Down.

10How Did Henry Creel Get Powers?

Season 5 could finally explain where Creel and Eleven’s powers come from.

 

The powers that the children like Eleven possess in Stranger Things are largely still a mystery. Even more confusing is the extent of their abilities, and what it is that they can do. Eleven has shown that she has telekinetic powers, and that they are significantly more powerful than any of the other kids, and enough to overwhelm Henry Creel when he cruelly kills the others. However, where these powers come from, and their full extent, is still up for debate.

While the origin of the other kids’ powers was tied to experiment 001, or Creel himself, his powers are still a mystery. There is speculation which suggests he could have inherited his powers from his mother, who was aware of Doctor Martin Brenner, and she had intended to send him to Brenner for help. However, it is clear that even if she had psychic powers, they were nowhere close to as powerful as Henry’s.

9What Made Vecna Look Like That?

Vecna’s appearance is based on the character of the same name from Dungeons & Dragons.

 

Henry Creel was a fairly handsome young man, with no distinctive or monstrous features to speak of. However, when he was sent into the Upside Down by Eleven, his form underwent a significant change. Fair enough, Eleven did tear him apart as she sent him into the Upside Down, causing severe injuries and permanent disfigurement, but even his first moments in the Upside Down revealed an appearance that is several leaps away from Vecna’s horrifying visage.

In the tabletop RPG Dungeons & Dragons – the favorite game of Stranger Things’ main cast – Vecna is an ancient king, dark wizard, and lich who becomes a god.

For a start, where did his nose go? Did he strip away the rest of his skin to conform to his new monstrous reality? Did he shave his hair, shed his clothes, and any discernable parts that could have exposed him as being human? Vecna is a terrifying monster, but that change in appearance did not come suddenly, so season five should reveal more about his time in the Upside Down and the gradual change to becoming a monster.

8How Does Vecna Control The Upside Down?

The true extent of Vecna’s control remains a mystery.

 

Creel is evidently a powerful psychic being, who was able to use his gifts to kill and manipulate others. However, in the Upside Down, there is an entire world of creatures and monsters whom Creel had never encountered before. Despite this, he somehow forms a psychic link and connection with all of the monsters in the realm to take control of the Upside Down.

He even uses his extraordinary gifts to create the behemoth known as the Mind Flayer based on drawings he made as a child. However, how he suddenly went from being able to kill kids, but unable to overcome Eleven’s attack, to being a god in a new world is not fully revealed. The transition and growth of Vecna’s powers needs to be further explored in season 5.

7Is Vecna Really In Control Of The Upside Down?

Vecna could be a victim of the Upside Down himself.

Despite his apparent powers and manipulation within the world of the Upside Down, Creel could actually be a victim of the realm. For one, the origin of this world has yet to be revealed, and there is a greater argument to be made suggesting Eleven created it than that Creel did. The alternative possibility is that Creel is not actually in control of the Upside Down, but a small part of it under the control of something else.

If the Upside Down existed before Creel was banished there, it could be something that links those with powers together, like Creel and Eleven. If this world then lives inside of their heads somewhere, Creel could have been exposed to it from an early age and actually had the Mind Flayers or something else controlling him and his actions. He may have been used to enact their wicked plans and help them break into Earth on the other side.

6Can Vecna Be Killed?

Vecna’s time in the Upside Down might have made him unkillable.

 

However, before The Party faces off against Vecna for what must be the last time, they need to form a game plan and determine how they will take him down. That is, of course, if Vecna can be killed at all. Surely the attack from Eleven would have been enough to kill anyone, but instead, it wounded him and thrust him into the Upside Down.

Then, in the monstrous world that eats up many others, he managed to survive and thrive, taking control of the monsters there, although, potentially at the cost of his physical body which could have been eaten away and destroyed by those same creatures. Vecna appears to be somewhat invulnerable, and capable of withstanding any attack, so the kids will need to come up with the perfect plan to finish him for good.

5How Is Vecna In Will’s And Eleven’s Heads?

Both Will and Vecna’s psychic link to Vecna remain wholly unexplained.

Will Byers was one of the first victims of the Upside Down in season 1 when he was snatched and stored in the dark, dangerous world of the Upside Down. Since then, Will’s mind has had an unbreakable link to the world of the Upside Down, which has helped him to direct others and detect when threats are coming. The only other person with some sort of psychic link on the heroes’ team is Eleven, who has her own psychic gifts.

However, both have some sort of mental link with Vecna, as he has used this to communicate with and threaten the kids at times. Even if Vecna and Eleven are connected through their gift, it is not perfectly clear how he manages to remain in Will’s head. This intense connection could have been intentional, or possibly a side effect from Will’s time in the Upside Down, but the link works both ways, and both Will and Eleven can use it to their advantage.

4If Vecna Dies, Will Others Die Too?

Vecna’s powerful mind reaches across dimensions.

 

However, the connection could present some other complications which are less desirable. Considering the Upside Down has a permanent residence in Will’s mind, and Eleven also has a connection to the dark realm, what happens if it’s destroyed? Or, at the very least, if Vecna is defeated, will it have other consequences for Eleven and Will?

The connection appears strong, and it seems that the fate of these individuals is inherently tied together. But the outcome of a win over Vecna could also result in the severing of parts of Will’s and Eleven’s minds, or potentially even their deaths. With season 5 being the show’s final entry, anything is possible, and it could mark the end of the road for these fan-favorite characters as they sacrifice themselves to defeat Vecna.

3Does Vecna Still Have A Hold On Max?

Vecna may have an even deeper hold on her due to Max being in a coma.

At the end of Stranger Things season 4, Max remains in a coma after the gang sever her connection to Vecna. While Max appears to have broken free of Vecna’s hold and the damage it was causing, there is no clear way to know if she is fully free of his control. Her comatose state could be a direct result of Vecna still having a link to her mind.

If this is the case, it’s possible that Vecna could keep her in a coma and suffering with no hope, or potentially worse, wake her up. If Max were to wake up and join with her friends, they would doubtless be delighted to have their friend back. But this could land them in a trap with Vecna if he chooses to use Max under his control and manipulate the group further.

2Is Vecna Technically Related To Eleven?

Eleven’s parentage has never been truly revealed.

The show revealed that Creel was actually used in order to create the other children with psychic gifts. His DNA, through undisclosed means, was spread to these other children, potentially in the womb, or as babies. It is highly unlikely that he was used in order to actually donate his own sperm in order to make these gifted children his direct offspring. It is possible that his connection with Eleven was greater than the others.

Eleven’s father is unknown, and her ability to control her powers far exceeds any of the other children. Brenner was clearly experimenting with these babies to try and explore these powers, and it could have been his bright idea to create another child as a more pure test subject. Eleven had a special place in Brenner’s heart, and he behaved as though the child was different. If she is Vecna’s biological daughter, that could complicate things in the final season of Stranger Things.

1Why Was Vecna Keeping His Victims’ Bodies?

The remains of Vecna’s victims remain in the Upside Down for mysterious reasons.

Returning to the point that Vecna had become a fully fledged monster, there is a possibility that he had different plans about how he could return to the world above. Vecna retained his victims’ bodies while he was in the Upside Down, but the purpose of this was never made clear. Considering that some of his other creatures were capable of possessing humans, like Billy, Vecna could have had sinister intentions for the bodies.

In order to return to the world above and not raise any suspicion, he could have been planning to possess the deceased bodies. His powers are still undefined, so what he planned for these bodies was never revealed in Stranger Things season 4. However, as the show enters its final season, it is the time to finally unveil the mysteries of Vecna and answer the questions that are still lingering.