Stranger Things Season 4: Vecna Villain's Origin Explained

Our first glimpses of the villainous Vecna in Stranger Things Season 4 teased a threat that rivaled the power of Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), as it appeared to be not only a physical menace, but also possess supernatural abilities. Given that previous threats in the series have been much more monstrous in nature, fans have had a lot of questions about how Vecna factors into the new season, its connection to Upside Down, Hawkins, and other characters in the series. Luckily, Volume 1 of Season 4 has offered insight into the character's origins, with these episodes now streaming on Netflix.

WARNING: Spoilers below for Stranger Things Season 4 – Volume 1

For much of the season, Vecna sporadically appears in Hawkins and kills a number of victims by using telepathic abilities to contort his victims into torturous poses, before he returns to the Upside Down. The reason why he seems to share a connection to Eleven is because the pair crossed paths many years ago, as they were both subjects of Dr. Brenner (Michael Modine) at the Hawkins research facility.

Thanks to a series of flashbacks, audiences learn in Episode 7 that Vecna was originally an orderly who looked after young Eleven before the events of Season 1 of the series. The pair form a friendship, which leads to the orderly attempting to help Eleven escape, resulting in her using her abilities to remove an implant in the orderly's neck that is dampening his powers. The orderly then goes on a rampage in the research facility and kills many of the other test subjects with his abilities. He then reveals that, with all of the other subjects earning numbers instead of names, he is Dr. Brenner's One, the first test subject at the facility.

The orderly then goes on to reveal that his name is Henry Creel, who moved to Hawkins with his family when he was a young boy. Henry grew tired of humanity and began to concoct a way to use his telepathic powers to find freedom, which he does by killing his mom and sister with his abilities, crimes which his father is blamed for and imprisoned because of. The act causes Henry to be hospitalized, eventually being taken into the custody of Dr. Brenner to become One. 

The young Eleven and One have a showdown with their telepathic powers, resulting in Henry seemingly being killed, though actually being banished to the Upside Down. Henry's time in the Upside Down disfigures his body in horrific ways, with his years in the otherworldly realm seeing him craft a plan to continue to terrorize Hawkins and possibly fulfill his initial goal of wiping out humanity. 

As fans of the series know, villains earn nicknames based on Dungeons & Dragons threats, which is why our heroes refer to Henry/One as Vecna.

Stranger Things Season 4 – Volume 2 debuts on Netflix on July 1st, which could resolve more narrative threads focusing on Vecna.

What did you think of the villain? Let us know in the comments below or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!