Henry Creel Has Dr. Manhattan Parallels (& Stranger Things Wants You To Know)
Warning: This article contains spoilers for Stranger Things season 4, volume 1.
The Stranger Things villain Vecna — aka Henry Creel — has uncanny parallels to Dr. Manhattan from Watchmen. Netflix's biggest TV show, Stranger Things has always been quite open about its tendency to draw inspiration from superhero comics. The very first episode saw Will and Dustin race for a copy of Uncanny X-Men #134, while Eleven (or "Jane") is conceptually very similar to the X-Men's Jean Grey.
Vecna, the villain of Stranger Things season 4, doesn't really have a direct parallel. But attentive viewers noticed a curious detail that seemed to point to another superhero franchise — Alan Moore's Watchmen. Vecna's visions often include a haunting image of a grandfather clock, and he seems strangely — and, as yet, inexplicably — obsessed with the passage of time. In Watchmen, the ticking of a clock is strongly associated with Dr. Manhattan, the most godlike of all Moore's superheroes. This is tied to Doctor Manhattan's origin story, when he accidentally left his wristwatch behind in an intrinsic field laboratory, and was trapped in the experiment when he went to retrieve it.
Related: Why Eleven Doesn't Have Her Powers In Stranger Things Season 4
But the nods to Doctor Manhattan aren't just Easter eggs in Stranger Things season 4 volume 1. On close examination, they play an important role in the story, with the show deliberately striking parallels between the character and Vecna. These references may well serve to hint at Vecna's arc when Strange Things season 4, volume 2 releases.
Vecna's backstory is revealed in Stranger Things season 4, episode 7, which features an extended sequence in which Vecna tells Nancy his origin story even as Eleven
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