Summary

• Vecna's origin, powers, and control of the Upside Down need further exploration in Stranger Things season 5.
• The connection between Vecna, Will, and Eleven could have consequences if Vecna is defeated.
• Vecna possibly retained his victims' bodies in the Upside Down with unclear intentions for their use in the future.

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.

10 How 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.

9 What 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.

8 How 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.

7 Is Vecna Really In Control Of The Upside Down?

Vecna could be a victim of the Upside Down himself.