Vecna's Curse Explained: Why He's Killing Hawkins Teenagers
This article contains spoilers for Stranger Things season 4 volume 1.
Stranger Things season 4 volume 1 introduces Vecna, a terrifying new villain who is killing Hawkins teenagers. Every season of Stranger Things features another monster, but the show has switched things up for season 4; rather than a mindless creature like the Demogorgon or a monstrous intelligence like the Mind-Flayer, it features a powerful human being who has been living in the Upside Down. Named "Vecna" by the Hawkins kids, this being makes its presence felt in the real world through horrific visions that they liken to a curse.
The truth about Vecna is finally revealed in Stranger Things season 4, episode 7. A series of flashbacks reveal the monstrous being is in fact Number One, Dr. Brenner's first subject at Hawkins Lab. Number One possesses all Eleven's powers, but was successfully restrained by Brenner for years; he manipulated Eleven into freeing him, committing a massacre at Hawkins that only came to an end when Eleven herself confronted him. Their battle was the real inciting incident of Stranger Things, with Eleven triumphing — but tearing open a window through the dimensions, blasting Number One into the Upside Down.
Related: Stranger Things Season 4 Cast & Character Guide
Vecna has become one with the Upside Down's hive mind. Although the Hawkins kids believe he now serves as the Mind-Flayer's "five-star general," it's actually unclear whether that is indeed the case; the Mind-Flayer itself is notably absent from the Upside Down's skyline in Stranger Things season 4, meaning it's entirely possible Vecna has supplanted its place as ruler of the hive mind. Whatever the case may be, Vecna's curse appears formidable — and the key to Stranger
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