Who is Vecna? Explaining Stranger Things' season 4 newcomer
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Stranger Things spoilers follow.
Stranger Things season four is meaner, darker and even more gruesome than its predecessors, and in part that has a lot to do with Vecna.
Hawkins' latest demon makes the demogorgon look like a cuddly puppy. No doubt the gang of misfits are longing for the days it plagued their lives, versus the shattered, bloodied trail of bodies Vecna has left behind.
So far Vecna's body count is at least five, if you include the murders of Alice Creel (Livi Burch) and Virginia (Tyner Rushing) from the '50s.
Now the tentacled being is stalking both Max (Sadie Sink) and Nancy (Natalia Dyer), threatening a murder that would be more fitting in an episode of The Boys – but who is Vecna and what can we expect from him going into Stranger Things season four volume two?
Vecna's Stranger Things origin story has already been explained. In short Vecna, in his human form, was the son of Victor Creel (Kevin L Johnson), who developed abilities in the '50s and murdered his mother and sister before purposely sticking his father with the blame.
In an unfortunate twist of events he was taken in by Dr Brenner (Matthew Modine) – the same doc who tortured Eleven – and experimented on before having his powers sedated when he was a less than ideal subject.
Years later, after a heinous killing spree, he was banished to The Upside-down by Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown). This very act set off this chain of events we know to be Stranger Things, starting with Will's disappearance.
However, given that The Upside-Down monsters seem to take their inspiration from Dungeons and Dragons' game, it's definitely worth exploring who this beast is within D&D lore.
Who is Vecna?
Vecna is a vanquished lich.
"What does that mean?" we hear you cry. A more detailed explanation pegs him as a wizard who used forbidden magic to become immortal.
According to Dungeons and Dragons lore, the undead wizard was destroyed in battle, leaving behind only a hand and an eye.
These relics became powerful items that D&D masters could dole out as rewards for their players, but in order to use these remains the player would have to hack off their own arm or scoop out their eye. Gah!
As Chris Perkins, D&D's game and design architect, describes him, Vecna is cold and calculating. In an interview with TIME, Perkins said:
"I think we don't ever dig down into layers of psyche that would reveal anything other than that.
"He's always deliberately sort of cast as an enigmatic or shadowy or mysterious figure whose true motives tend to be inscrutable, but I think whenever he's shown up, he's been cold and calculating."
This accurately echoes the Vecna from The Upside-Down who fans have come to know and fear but the similarities don't end there.
It seems both Vecnas share a complicated past with their mothers. Peter (Jamie Campbell Bower) aka Henry Creel aka Vecna, expresses a deep disdain for his mother after she attempts to get him professional help to cure his 'disturbed nature'. This act earned her a spot in the grave.
His animosity towards her bears resemblance to D&D's Vecna, who viewed his mother as an evil woman who sacrificed animals (much like Hawkin's Vecna) and aligned herself with monstrous beings (again, ring any bells?). This cruelty helped to shape the character in both life and death.
Vecna's origin story
Similarly to the Stranger Things character, Vecna, according to D&D lore, was once a mere human who developed an obsession with power.
Vecna shed his humanity, initially gaining lichdom (becoming a powerful wizard or dragon preserved as an undead through a powerful ritual) before ascending to godhood.
"He was a mortal, [but] he's always looking for the next big thing," Perkins explains. "Godhood was sort of his quest for a long, long time."
Our Vecna takes a slightly different stance. Still egotistical but a different kind of narcissism.
His plight involved the restoration of balance to a broken world, placing him as the predator tasked with bringing about this harmony through sadistic means.
Where the two somewhat fall back into alignment is in their powers.
What are Vecna's D&D powers?
D&D's Vecna had a penchant for acquiring and maintaining secrets which he believed to be the source of true power. To Vecna, every being holds a single secret that could be manipulated to bring about their downfall. Through this he would gain dominion over others.
The Hawkins version may not know his victim's secrets per se but we do know that he is able to ascertain their deepest, hidden pain and trauma to use against them.
For season four's first victim, Chrissy (Grace Van Dien), it was her destructive relationship with her mum. For Fred (Logan Riley Bruner) it was his fatal hit and run, and we learn that Max is consumed with guilt following Billy's death.
Vecna also seems to have dredged up some long-buried guilt Nancy is holding on to about best friend Barb's death. He uses his tragedies to immobilise his prey in a trance before striking hard and fast.
Vecna's ability to paralyse his victims matches that of Vecna's D&D powers in which he was able to paralyse people with touch. Mind-control was also among his other numerous powers.
How will Vecna develop in season 5?
The more detailed fleshing out of Vecna's background and powers within the Dungeons and Dragons world came post-1989. This means season four of Stranger Things, which is set in 1986, predates it.
However that does not mean we won't see the more intricate features of Vecna's characterisation in the show. After all, this is the world of fiction, so the Duffer brothers may choose to draw inspiration from the character as a whole.
If that turns out to be true Vecna could be shaping up to be way more powerful than we first anticipated and we already anticipate him to be a big old meanie. In terms of the weight behind Vecna's punch Perkins says:
"If I were to get my list of top three villains, it would probably be Vecna, who is the iconic lich; Strahd, who is the iconic vampire; and probably Demogorgon, who is the iconic demon lord." Which gives you an idea of just how frightening he has the potential to be.
This conflicts slightly with Dustin's theory. As Dustin lore goes the Mind Flayer is the mastermind behind all of Hawkins' Upside-Down sorrow with Vecna playing the part of his general.
Vecna however has proven himself powerful in his own right and so it's very likely he won't be so easily squashed at the end of season four part two. It's also possible we haven't yet seen the full extent of his powers given the fact that he is still gathering strength.
It's said that D&D Vecna can cast spells and alter reality and while we can't see him duelling it out with the Gandalfs of the world, altering reality doesn't step too far out of the law of the Stranger Things' world.
Either way, we wouldn't bet against him returning for the finale showdown in season five with the Mind Flayer backing him.
Stranger Things season 4 vol 1 is available to stream now on Netflix.
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