Joyce Byers Portrayed by
Winona Ryder, Joyce Byers (née Maldonado) is the mother of Jonathan and Will and is divorced from their father Lonnie. Joyce is a very caring and strong-willed woman who works as a retail clerk at Melvald's General Store in downtown Hawkins. She was born and raised in Hawkins and she attended Hawkins High School with Jim Hopper and Bob Newby. In season one, Joyce refuses to believe Will is dead after he mysteriously disappears, interpreting paranormal events as proof he is alive and pushing Hopper to continue the investigation. She learns Hawkins Lab opened a gate to the Upside Down and helps Hopper rescue Will from there. In season two, Joyce focuses on Will’s recovery and plays a central role in freeing him from possession by the Mind Flayer. She dates Bob during this time, only for him to die in a Demogorgon attack at Hawkins Lab. In season three, Joyce, grieving Bob, uncovers a Russian operation beneath Starcourt Mall while Hopper begins pursuing her romantically. She helps infiltrate the lab and ultimately shuts down the machine opening the gate to the Upside Down, an act that leaves Hopper presumed dead. Joyce then takes in Eleven and moves the Byers family to California. In season four, Joyce learns Hopper is alive and, with Murray, travels to the Soviet Union to rescue him from a prison camp. She reunites with Hopper after helping him escape, and the two affirm their romantic feelings for one another before returning to Hawkins, where Vecna’s actions have torn open rifts to the Upside Down. In season five, Joyce aids Hopper’s covert missions into the Upside Down and helps train Eleven while protecting Will, whose link to Vecna resurfaces. She later aids the group's final efforts against Vecna and delivers the killing blow after his defeat. About 18 months later, Joyce accepts Hopper’s proposal, and with her children grown, plans to move with him to
Montauk, New York.
Jim Hopper Portrayed by
David Harbour, Jim Hopper, nicknamed "Hop," is the Hawkins chief of police. Hopper has lived in Hawkins nearly all his life, having attended high school with Joyce and Bob. A veteran of the
Vietnam War, Hopper divorced after his young daughter, Sarah, died of cancer linked to his work with
Agent Orange during the war, which caused him to lapse into alcoholism. Eventually, he grows to be more responsible, saving Will from the Upside Down as well as taking Eleven in as his adopted daughter. In season 2, Hopper continues sheltering Eleven without telling anyone else, including Mike Wheeler. He soon investigates pumpkins that were mysteriously rotting and eventually discovers vines that travel underneath Hawkins but he is trapped there but soon rescued. When he was at Hawkins Lab when the demodogs were invading, Hopper attempts to rescue everyone. When he was at the Byers house, Eleven and Hopper reunite and together, they close the gate underneath the Hawkins Lab, essentially cutting off the Mind Flayer from the world. In season three, Hopper attempts to control Mike and Eleven’s relationship while pursuing Joyce romantically, and becomes involved in investigating Russian activity beneath Starcourt Mall. He helps uncover a Soviet machine opening a gate to the Upside Down and is presumed dead. In season four, Hopper is revealed to have survived and is imprisoned in a Soviet labor camp in
Kamchatka. After a failed escape attempt and recapture, he is reunited with Joyce and Murray, who travel to the Soviet Union to rescue him, and he and Joyce affirm their feelings for each other. Hopper survives a Demogorgon attack and helps destroy other Demogorgons at the prison to weaken Vecna’s influence. He then returns to Hawkins and reunites with Eleven as rifts to the Upside Down begin to spread. In season five, with Hawkins under military quarantine, Hopper carries out covert reconnaissance missions into the Upside Down and trains Eleven while she is pursued by the military. Stranded in the Upside Down during a mission, he works with Eleven to infiltrate the military's research facility there, where they find and rescue Kali and enlist her aid in freeing kidnapped children trapped in Vecna’s mind. After Vecna’s defeat and the collapse of the Upside Down, Eleven remains behind against Hopper’s wishes, presumably perishing along with the Upside Down. 18 months later, Hopper proposes to Joyce, and the two plan to move to Montauk, New York, where he has accepted a position as chief of police.
Mike Wheeler Portrayed by
Finn Wolfhard, Mike Wheeler is the son of Karen and Ted, younger brother of Nancy and older brother of Holly, and is friends with Lucas, Dustin, and Will. Mike is an intelligent and conscientious student who is committed to Lucas, Dustin, and Will. In their
Dungeons & Dragons party, Mike is their Paladin and usually plays the role of
Dungeon Master. In season one, Mike befriends Eleven after she escapes Hawkins Lab and shelters her while helping search for Will. Acting as the group’s leader, Mike believes Eleven’s claims about the Upside Down, protects her from government agents, and helps her locate Will. He forms a close bond with Eleven and develops romantic feelings for her, before she disappears after defeating a Demogorgon in Hawkins Middle School. In season two, Mike struggles with Eleven’s absence, calling out to her nightly and becoming withdrawn and irritable. He supports Will as Will begins suffering from Upside Down-related episodes and helps the group determine that the gate at Hawkins Lab must be closed. When Eleven returns, Mike is relieved but angry at Hopper for hiding her. Before she leaves to seal the gate, Mike tells her he cannot lose her again, and they attend the Snow Ball together afterward. In season three, Mike and Eleven begin dating, but Hopper forces them apart, leading to conflict and a brief breakup. Mike reconciles with Eleven during the Mind Flayer's return to Hawkins, expressing concern over the toll her powers take, and struggles to tell her he loves her. After the Battle of Starcourt, Eleven moves away with the Byers family, telling Mike she loves him before leaving. In season four, Mike joins the
Dungeons & Dragons-themed Hellfire Club at school while maintaining a long-distance relationship with Eleven. Visiting her in California, he discovers she has been hiding severe bullying, and is separated from her again after she is arrested for assaulting her bully and subsequently taken by Dr. Owens. Mike escapes a military attack with Will, Argyle, and Jonathan, tracks Eleven to
Nevada with the help of Dustin's ex-girlfriend Suzie, and aids her psychic confrontation with Vecna by professing his love to her, giving her the strength to fight back and save Max. The group then returns to Hawkins, finding it torn apart by rifts to the Upside Down. In season five, with Hawkins under military quarantine, Mike helps coordinate Hopper's covert missions into the Upside Down. After Vecna kidnaps his sister Holly, Mike infiltrates a military base with his friends to rescue targeted children and is saved from a Demogorgon attack by Will, who discovers he has psychic powers linked to Vecna. Upon learning of Vecna's plans to merge Earth with the Abyss, Mike joins the final battle in which Vecna and the Mind Flayer are destroyed. Believing Eleven to be dead when the Upside Down collapses, a grieving Mike nearly skips his graduation before Hopper convinces him to attend. He then plays a final game of
Dungeons & Dragons with his friends, telling them that he chooses to believe Eleven is still alive.
Eleven Portrayed by
Millie Bobby Brown, Eleven is a telekinetic girl. She later becomes Jim Hopper's adoptive daughter and Mike's girlfriend. Born to Terry Ives and originally named Jane Ives, Eleven was abducted at birth by Dr. Martin Brenner and raised at Hawkins National Laboratory, where her telekinetic abilities were developed alongside other gifted children. In 1979, she was manipulated by Henry Creel (Subject One), who murdered the lab staff before Eleven defeated him and banished him to the Abyss, where he later became Vecna. The event left Eleven in a coma, resetting much of her memory and abilities. Eleven was then used as a test subject in Brenner's experiments to restore her powers, which Brenner used to search for Henry and to spy on the Soviets for the U.S. government; during one of the experiments, Eleven inadvertently made contact with a Demogorgon, creating a gateway from the Abyss to Earth known as the Upside Down and spawning a portal to the Upside Down in Hawkins Lab. In season one, after escaping the lab in 1983, Eleven befriends Mike, Dustin, and Lucas and helps them locate Will Byers while evading Hawkins Lab agents. She kills a Demogorgon and is transported to the Upside Down. In season two, she escapes the Upside Down and is taken in by Jim Hopper, who eventually adopts her. In 1984, she briefly leaves Hawkins to learn about her past and meets Terry Ives, her biological mother, Becky Ives, and eventually Kali (Subject Eight) before returning to close the gate to the Upside Down. In season three, in 1985, Eleven begins dating Mike and helps defeat the Mind Flayer at Starcourt Mall, but loses her powers, and believes Hopper has died, prompting her move to California with the Byers family. In season four, in 1986, Eleven endures bullying at Lenora Hills High School and is arrested after retaliating against her tormentor Angela. Dr. Owens takes her to a Nevada research facility, where Brenner and Dr. Owens helps her recover her powers by forcing her to relive suppressed memories of Hawkins Lab via a
sensory deprivation chamber. After the facility is attacked by the U.S. Army and Brenner is killed, Eleven reunites with her friends and uses her restored abilities to confront Vecna, saving and resurrecting Max. She returns to Hawkins to find the town fractured by rifts to the Upside Down. In season five, in 1987, with Hawkins under military quarantine, Eleven goes into hiding and later follows Hopper into the Upside Down after Vecna kidnaps several children. She rescues Kali from a military base, learns the origin of their powers, and enters Vecna's mind to free the captives. After Vecna's defeat, Eleven remains behind as the Upside Down collapses to prevent her abilities from being exploited. Her fate is left ambiguous, with Mike telling his friends that he believes that she survived and began a new life elsewhere.
Dustin Henderson Portrayed by
Gaten Matarazzo, Dustin Henderson is an only child with a single mother Claudia Henderson, he is a friend of Mike, Will, and Lucas, and a smart and quick-witted boy whose
cleidocranial dysplasia causes him to
lisp. In the
Dungeons & Dragons party, Dustin is the Bard and has arguably the most extensive knowledge of the game, particularly the monsters. Dustin is also shown to possess a keen grasp of physics, often being the one to explain the science behind the paranormal happenings at Hawkins to his friends. In season one, Dustin joins Mike, Lucas, and Eleven in uncovering the truth behind Will Byers’s disappearance and helps Eleven locate him in the Upside Down. In season two, Dustin secretly adopts a strange creature he names Dart, later discovering it is a juvenile Demogorgon. After Dart escapes, Dustin teams up with Steve to stop a Demogorgon invasion through the underground tunnels connected to the Upside Down, forming a close friendship with him in the process. In season three, Dustin reveals he has a long-distance girlfriend, Suzie, whom his friends initially doubt exists. While using a homemade radio tower to contact her, Dustin accidentally intercepts a Russian transmission and helps Steve, Robin, and Erica uncover a secret Soviet base beneath Starcourt Mall. In season four, Dustin joins the Hellfire Club and forms a close bond with its leader, Eddie Munson. After a series of supernatural murders, Dustin identifies the killer as Vecna and assists in the plan to stop him. While distracting Upside Down creatures with Eddie, Dustin witnesses Eddie’s death and later informs Eddie’s uncle of his sacrifice, calling him a hero. In season five, Dustin struggles with grief over Eddie’s death, becoming withdrawn and confrontational before rejoining his friends after Vecna kidnaps several children. He enters the Upside Down with Steve, Nancy, and Jonathan, where he uncovers research identifying the Upside Down as a gateway to the Abyss, and helps stop Vecna’s plan to merge the dimensions together. After Vecna and the Mind Flayer are defeated and Eleven is believed dead in the destruction of the Upside Down; Dustin delivers a defiant
valedictorian speech at graduation honoring Eddie, and later plays a final game of
Dungeons & Dragons with his friends.
Lucas Sinclair Portrayed by
Caleb McLaughlin, Lucas Sinclair is the eldest child of Sue and Charles, the elder brother of Erica, and a friend of Mike, Will, and Dustin. Often skeptical of the supernatural at first, Lucas consistently proves loyal and decisive in crises, evolving from a guarded outsider within the group into one of its most reliable fighters. His relationship with Max Mayfield and his responsibility as Erica’s older brother further shape his maturity as Hawkins faces escalating threats from the Upside Down. In season one, when Will disappears, Lucas joins Mike and Dustin in the search but is initially distrustful of Eleven and doubtful of her powers. Acting independently, he investigates Hawkins Lab and uncovers evidence of government involvement, confirming that the threat is supernatural in nature. Realizing Eleven is not their enemy, Lucas reconciles with his friends and helps defend them during the final confrontation with the Demogorgon, reuniting with Will afterward. In season two, Lucas becomes close to newcomer Max Mayfield, forming a flirtatious rivalry with Dustin for her attention. As Will’s connection to the Upside Down worsens, Lucas helps protect him and takes part in the plan to burn the tunnels beneath Hawkins, damaging the Mind Flayer’s hold. At the school's annual dance, the Snow Ball, Lucas and Max share a kiss, beginning their romantic relationship. In season three, Lucas and Max’s relationship becomes volatile but affectionate as the group faces a new incarnation of the Mind Flayer. Lucas proposes using fireworks as a weapon, which proves critical in injuring the creature and buying time when it attacks the Starcourt Mall. After the death of Max's older brother Billy and the mall’s destruction, Lucas supports Max as the group begins to drift apart. In season four, entering high school, Lucas joins the basketball team to avoid being targeted as an outsider, putting him at odds with Mike and Dustin. When Vecna begins killing numerous students and Max becomes a target, Lucas abandons the basketball team and fully recommits to his friends. He protects Max during her confrontation with Vecna, fighting basketball captain Jason Carver to stop him from interfering, and witnesses Max’s apparent death before Eleven revives her. In season five, with Hawkins destabilized by rifts to the Upside Down, Lucas remains by Max’s side as she lies comatose, refusing to give up on her recovery. He aids in tracking Vecna, helping Hopper infiltrate the Upside Down via military transports, and fights to protect children from being kidnapped by Vecna. Max eventually awakens from her coma after escaping Vecna's mind lair, and Lucas protects her from an attack on the hospital by Demogorgons. Lucas and his friends eventually enter the Abyss, the origin of the Upside Down's creatures, and he helps them defeat Vecna and another physical incarnation of the Mind Flayer. 18 months later, Lucas graduates high school with his friends and play a final game of
Dungeons & Dragons with them.
Will Byers Portrayed by
Noah Schnapp, Will Byers, the younger brother of Jonathan and the youngest son of Joyce, is the shy, kind, timid, and often the most overlooked member of the party. In the group's
Dungeons & Dragons party, Will is the wizard, but later occasionally plays the role of Dungeon Master; he is referred to as "Will the Wise". His mysterious disappearance sets the events of the series in motion. Schnapp was promoted to series regular for the second season, after recurring in the first. In season one, Will disappears after being abducted by a Demogorgon and becomes trapped in the Upside Down. His disappearance prompts a search led by his mother Joyce, brother Jonathan, and friends Mike, Dustin, and Lucas, with help from Eleven. Will survives by hiding and communicating through lights before being rescued. He is returned to Hawkins but shows signs of lingering physical and psychological trauma. In season two, Will begins experiencing episodes linked to the Upside Down, including visions and sensory disturbances connected to the Mind Flayer. He becomes temporarily possessed, allowing the Mind Flayer to spy on Hawkins through him. After the possession is exorcised, Will assists the group by describing the Mind Flayer and helping identify its underground tunnel network. In season three, Will continues to feel residual effects from the Upside Down, sensing the Mind Flayer’s presence before others, while growing apart from his friends over his lingering attachment to the childhood he felt he lost and that they are outgrowing. He warns the group of the Mind Flayer's return and helps them understand its behavior during the events leading up to the Battle of Starcourt. After the mall’s destruction, Will moves away from Hawkins with Joyce, Jonathan, and Eleven. In season four, living in California, Will supports Eleven as she struggles to adjust to a new life and later accompanies Mike and Jonathan during their efforts to reunite with her. He participates in the group’s journey to Nevada and later returns to Hawkins as Vecna’s attacks escalate. During this time, Will struggles with his repressed homosexuality and unrequited romantic feelings for Mike. In season five, with Hawkins under military quarantine and rifts spreading from the Upside Down, Will becomes directly involved in efforts to stop Vecna’s plan to merge dimensions. He develops psychic abilities linked to the Upside Down’s hive mind, which he uses to kill Demogorgons before they can kill his friends, as well as assist in freeing the children Vecna kidnapped. Will comes out as gay to his family and friends along the way, realizing that overcoming his shame and fear over his sexuality help break Vecna's hold on him. He and Mike also affirm their friendship after Mike apologizes for not noticing Will's internal struggle. Will assists Eleven in the final confrontation with Vecna in the Abyss, culminating in Vecna's death and the destruction of the Upside Down. 18 months later, Will graduates high school with his friends and plays a final game of
Dungeons & Dragons with them.
Nancy Wheeler Portrayed by
Natalia Dyer, Nancy Wheeler is the oldest daughter of Karen and Ted and the older sister of Mike and Holly. Nancy begins the series as an aloof and stereotypical schoolgirl before becoming hardened in her fight against forces from the Upside Down, developing proficient skill with firearms. She also discovers her passion for investigative reporting. In season one, Nancy is dating Steve Harrington and has grown distant from her former friends, including her best friend Barb Holland. After Barb disappears at a party hosted by Steve, Nancy becomes increasingly distressed and teams up with Jonathan Byers to investigate. Their search leads Nancy into the Upside Down and ultimately into a confrontation with the Demogorgon, which she helps injure with Jonathan and Steve. After Will Byers is rescued, Nancy reconciles with Steve and resumes their relationship. In season two, Nancy remains deeply affected by Barb’s death while continuing to date Steve, frequently visiting Barb’s parents, who believe their daughter is still missing. After their relationship ends, Nancy works with Jonathan and conspiracy theorist Murray Bauman to expose Hawkins Laboratory’s role in the supernatural events and Barb’s death. Their efforts lead to the lab’s shutdown, and Nancy and Jonathan begin a romantic relationship. She later assists in restraining Will to help free him from the Mind Flayer and attends the official funeral for the lab’s victims including Barb. In season three, Nancy and Jonathan intern at
The Hawkins Post, where Nancy faces sexism and is dismissed by her colleagues despite uncovering evidence of the Mind Flayer’s return. Continuing her investigation after being fired, Nancy helps expose the possession of Hawkins residents and joins the group in the battle against the Mind Flayer beneath Starcourt Mall. Following the destruction of the mall, Billy Hargrove’s death, and Jim Hopper’s apparent death, Nancy shares an emotional farewell with Jonathan as the Byers family leaves Hawkins. In season four, Nancy prepares for college while working for the school newspaper and investigating a series of murders connected to a supernatural entity known as Vecna. She uncovers Victor Creel’s history, helps determine that music can disrupt Vecna’s control, and enters the Upside Down to rescue Steve Harrington. After being briefly possessed by Vecna and learning his true identity, Nancy participates in an unsuccessful attempt to kill him, witnessing the resulting devastation of Hawkins as the Upside Down begins to merge with the town. In season five, Nancy helps run a local radio station that she and her friends use to coordinate coded “crawls” into the Upside Down in search of Vecna. While investigating Hawkins Lab in the Upside Down, she and Jonathan become trapped in a melting room and, believing they may die, end their romantic relationship before escaping with help from Dustin and Steve. A heavily-armed Nancy leads the charge during the final confrontation with Vecna and the Mind Flayer in the Abyss. In the aftermath, the Upside Down is destroyed and life in Hawkins gradually returns to normal. Nancy drops out of
Emerson College to pursue a career in journalism, while maintaining her friendships with Jonathan, Steve, and Robin.
Jonathan Byers Portrayed by
Charlie Heaton, Jonathan Byers is the older brother of Will and the oldest son of Joyce and Lonnie. Portrayed as an antisocial young man interested in photography, Jonathan possesses strong family ties. Later, he becomes a romantic interest for Nancy. In season one, Jonathan is an outcast at school and blames himself for Will’s disappearance. While searching for him, Jonathan unknowingly witnesses Barbara Holland moments before she is taken into the Upside Down. He is bullied by Steve Harrington and his friends for secretly taking photographs, though Nancy sympathizes and later notices a creature in one of Jonathan’s photos. Realizing it matches what his mother has described, Jonathan investigates with Nancy and narrowly escapes the monster. He defends Nancy during a fight with Steve and, after being arrested, is bailed out by Joyce Byers and Jim Hopper so he can help search for Will. Jonathan later fights the Demogorgon alongside Nancy and Steve. In season two, Jonathan grows closer to Nancy while she is still dating Steve and remains concerned about Will’s trauma. Wanting justice for Barbara, Jonathan helps Nancy secretly record Sam Owens admitting Hawkins Laboratory’s role in her death. With Murray Bauman’s help, they expose the lab, leading to its shutdown. Jonathan and Nancy begin a romantic relationship, and Jonathan assists in closing the gate to the Upside Down. In season three, Jonathan and Nancy intern at the Hawkins Post and investigate strange behavior linked to the Mind Flayer. After being fired to stop their investigation, Jonathan helps fight townspeople possessed by the Flayer, including their boss, who he kills in self-defense. He joins the group in the battle at Starcourt Mall and helps Eleven remove a fragment of the Mind Flayer from her leg. After Hopper’s apparent death, Jonathan moves to California with Joyce, Will, and Eleven. In season four, Jonathan lives in California and befriends a stoner named Argyle while struggling with uncertainty about college and his future with Nancy. When Eleven is taken by Owens to regain her powers in a research facility, Jonathan helps locate the facility and rescue her. Learning of Vecna’s attacks in Hawkins, he assists in building an isolation tank for Eleven and later returns to Hawkins, reuniting with Nancy as the Upside Down begins spreading into the town. During this time, he also intuits that Will is struggling with accepting his sexuality, and shows him support. In season five, Jonathan helps operate a local radio station used to coordinate coded missions into the Upside Down in the search for Vecna. He and Steve frequently come at odds over their shared feelings for Nancy, who is growing apart from him. While investigating Hawkins Lab in the Upside Down, Jonathan and Nancy become trapped in a melting room and, believing they may not survive, agree to end their romantic relationship before escaping with help from their friends. Jonathan saves Steve's life which resolves their rivalry. Jonathan survives the final confrontation with Vecna and the destruction of the Upside Down, and afterward remains closely connected to the group as life in Hawkins begins to recover. He goes on to attend
New York University as a film student, working on an anti-capitalist, cannibal project titled
The Consumer, while maintaining his friendships with Nancy, Steve, and Robin.
Karen Wheeler Portrayed by
Cara Buono, Karen Wheeler (née Childress) is the mother of Nancy, Mike, and Holly and the wife of Ted Wheeler. Although a loving mother at heart, she remains largely clueless about her children's activities up until the destruction of Hawkins by Vecna and often tries to directly connect with them rather than trying to understand them. Nancy believes she only married her husband to fit the image of a
nuclear family. At the end of the second season and the beginning of the third, she develops a sexual attraction towards
Billy, partly out of boredom with her husband, but ultimately decides against acting on these feelings to avoid splitting her family apart; her brief submission to them, however, indirectly results in Billy being possessed by the Mind Flayer. Later, she finally connects with Nancy by encouraging her to continue pursuing the story she was fired for working on against her editor's orders. In season four, Karen remains clueless to her children's activities even after police involvement. She stays in Hawkins and suffers through the "earthquake" with Holly, which, unbeknownst to her, is the rift between Hawkins and the Upside Down opening. In season five, Karen protects Holly from a
Demogorgon, stabbing it with a wine bottle, before it brutally slashes her and lands her in the hospital. She later helps Mike and Nancy realize Holly's imaginary friend is
Vecna. When Vecna sends Demogorgons to abduct
Max from the hospital, Karen struggles down to the basement and kills them in an explosion she triggers by putting oxygen tanks in an industrial clothing dryer. She attempts to join Mike and his friends to find Holly, but is ultimately convinced to stay in the hospital due to her weak state. In the finale's epilogue, Karen has recovered and attends Mike's graduation alongside Ted, Nancy, and Holly.
Martin Brenner Portrayed by
Matthew Modine, Dr. Martin Brenner, who is referred to as "Papa" by Eleven and the other children he experimented on, is the head scientist of Hawkins Laboratory and the experiments performed there. He is a callous and manipulative scientist, having abducted Eleven from her mother, Terry Ives, whom he later subjected to
electroshock therapy to destroy her mind and thoughts. Brenner then put Eleven through numerous experiments, one of which saw her use her abilities to accidentally establish a link to the Upside Down. After Eleven escapes the lab, Brenner and his team hunt for her throughout Hawkins while covering up the actions of the Demogorgon they unknowingly let loose. Brenner is apparently killed by the Demogorgon in the first-season finale. In season two, a former worker named Ray claimed Brenner was still alive during his attempt to plea for his life to Eleven and Kali. In season four, Brenner is definitively revealed to still be alive and working with Dr. Owens on a project called "NINA", which they hope can restore Eleven's powers. NINA is a specialized
sensory deprivation tank and experimental drug that allow Eleven to vividly recall memories of her time in the lab. Flashbacks to 1979 show that Brenner was experimenting on at least fifteen children (not counting previously escaped Kali) alongside Eleven until all of them except for her were murdered by One / Henry, whom Eleven overpowered and banished to the Upside Down, where he would become Vecna. The exertion put Eleven in a coma that erased most of her memories and weakened her powers, which Brenner began attempting to restore. Brenner's experiments on Eleven throughout the first season are revealed to have been attempts to locate Henry, whose powers he sought to replicate in the other children. The NINA project ultimately succeeds in restoring Eleven's powers, but
U.S. Army troops led by Lt. Col. Jack Sullivan storm the facility and kill the staff, believing Eleven to be responsible for a string of murders in Hawkins (which were in fact committed by Vecna). Brenner is shot by a sniper (and apparently dies) while attempting to escape with Eleven, who overpowers the Army.
Max Mayfield Portrayed by
Sadie Sink, Maxine "Max" Mayfield is Susan Hargrove's biological daughter and
Billy's younger stepsister. She is an avid skateboarder, and the
tomboy of the group. Introduced in season two, Max catches Lucas's attention when it becomes known that she has the highest score in
Dig Dug, Keery was promoted to series regular from the second season onwards, after recurring in the first. Steve then played a more prominent role, developing a brotherly relationship with Dustin, and becoming a self-described babysitter for the main group of kids. Steve is the owner of what the friends call "The Bat", a baseball bat with multiple large nails driven into the head of it, made by Jonathan to fight the Demogorgon. Steve uses the bat to fight off a pack of adolescent Demogorgons that attack Hawkins in the second season. In season three, Steve works at Starcourt Mall at an ice cream shop called Scoops Ahoy with Robin. He, Robin and Dustin discover a secret Russian base under Starcourt Mall, where soon later Erica, Lucas's sister joins. Steve, along with Robin, is later imprisoned by the Russians. He admits to having a crush on Robin but is rejected soon after learning that Robin is a lesbian. In season four, Steve continues working with Robin at the local video store. He teams up with Robin, Nancy, Dustin, Max, and Lucas for much of the season, investigating the Creel house to search for and learn about Vecna, and also locating Eddie. After they discover a new gate to the Upside Down in a lake, Steve dives down to investigate and is pulled through, but eventually makes it back with Nancy, Robin, and Eddie after they follow him in. During the final plan to defeat Vecna, Steve returns to the Creel house in the Upside Down with Nancy and Robin to kill Vecna, and the three succeed in severely maiming him with
Molotov cocktails before he escapes. Vecna's plan nonetheless succeeds, and Steve, Robin, and Dustin volunteer to help townsfolk affected by the "earthquake" created by Vecna's gates. In season five, Steve helps operate a local radio station used to coordinate coded missions into the Upside Down in the search for Vecna. He and Jonathan frequently come at odds over their shared feelings for Nancy, who is growing apart from Jonathan. While investigating Hawkins Lab in the Upside Down, Steve and Dustin argue over grief for Eddie's death, though they ultimately make up. During "Operation Beanstalk", a plan devised by Steve to rescue the children kidnapped by Vecna, Jonathan saves Steve from falling to death, which resolves their rivalry. Steve survives the final confrontation with Vecna and the destruction of the Upside Down, and afterward remains closely connected to the group as life in Hawkins begins to recover. He stays in town, becoming the Hawkins Middle School
baseball team coach and
sex education teacher, dating a new girl named Kristen, while maintaining his friendships with Nancy, Jonathan, and Robin.
Billy Hargrove Portrayed by
Dacre Montgomery, Billy Hargrove is the arrogant, abusive, careless and rash step-brother of Max. In season two, he taunts Steve at school and warns Max away from Lucas, in addition to pursuing an attempted affair with Mrs. Wheeler. His own behavior is revealed to be a consequence of the physical abuse he himself is subjected to by his father. Max threatens to hurt or possibly kill him if he doesn’t leave her and her friends alone which he agrees to leave them alone. In season three, Billy becomes the main unwilling host for the Mind Flayer after stumbling into the Upside down. He collects people for it to possess for the biomass body it was building. Eleven, having looked into his memories earlier, reminds Billy of his happy memories with his mother before his father ruined it, allowing him to temporarily break free from the possession and sacrifice himself to save Eleven from the Mind Flayer. After the Mind Flayer is defeated, Billy apologizes to Max for all his wrongdoings as he dies in Max's arms. In season four, Billy appears as a hallucination when Max is put into a trance by Vecna, where Billy blames her for his death. Max reveals that a part of her is happy and sad that he died but that she still cared about him and loved him.
Bob Newby Portrayed by
Sean Astin, Bob Newby (Superhero) is a former classmate of Joyce and Hopper, who runs the Hawkins
RadioShack, and becomes Joyce's boyfriend in season two, as well as a mentor figure for Will. An amiable man, he often refers to himself as a "superhero" and sees a future with the family. The Byers initially try to keep him from learning about the Upside Down, but end up relying on his help to locate Hopper when he is able to use his puzzle-solving skills to decipher Will's drawings of the tunnels underneath Hawkins. He, Hopper, an unconscious Will, Mike, Joyce, and Owens are eventually trapped by the Mind Flayer in Hawkins Lab with the power out. As the only one capable of resetting the breakers and unlocking the doors, he volunteers to do so. After succeeding, he is attacked and killed by Demodogs, adolescent Demogorgons, in front of Joyce and Hopper. He appears in seasons three and five during Joyce's flashback memories of him.
Sam Owens Portrayed by
Paul Reiser, Dr. Sam Owens is a
United States Department of Energy executive who replaces Brenner at Hawkins Laboratory. Owens is as committed to science research and stubborn as his predecessor, but much more empathetic to the residents of Hawkins. is Steve's coworker at the Starcourt Mall's ice cream parlor, Scoops Ahoy!. Robin decodes a Russian radio message and finds the base along with Steve, Dustin, and Erica. She tells Steve she was obsessed with him in high school, but only because Tammy Thompson had a crush on him, thus revealing that she is a lesbian. In season four, Robin continues working with Steve, but at a local video store, where she reveals her encyclopedic familiarity with films. She has a crush on classmate Vickie. After the first murder was committed by Vecna, Robin, along with Steve, Dustin, Max, and Nancy locate Eddie. After that, Robin and Nancy look up information on Victor Creel in a library, learning that Victor blamed his family's murders on a demon, which they believe to be Vecna. The two pretend to be psychology students and visit him at Pennhurst Asylum, where he recounts his family's murders. Later, she goes with Nancy and Steve to the Creel house in the Upside Down as part of their plan to defeat Vecna. During the last episode of season 4, Robin and Vickie hit it off. In season five, she yet again works with Steve, this time at the local radio station, and is secretly dating Vickie, who is now a
candy striper at the local hospital.
Erica Sinclair Portrayed by
Priah Ferguson, Erica Sinclair is Sue and Charles' youngest child and is Lucas' younger sister. She was introduced in the second season as a recurring character and promoted to series regular in the third season. She aids Dustin, Steve, and Robin in infiltrating the Russian base beneath Starcourt Mall. During these events, Dustin convinces Erica that, like himself and his friends, she is a nerd and that she should embrace that. At the end of the third season, she is given Will's
Dungeons & Dragons manuals. She is very snarky, foul-mouthed, sassy and often thinks of Lucas and his friends as nerds, though she is also very brave and can be nice at times. In season four, she has embraced her nerdy side and joins the Hawkins High School's Hellfire Club in her brother's place after demonstrating proficient knowledge of
Dungeons & Dragons. She serves as a lookout and communicator between the many groups in their plan to defeat Vecna. In season 5, she has become fond of Mr. Clark's class and manages to successfully drug the Turnbow family. Erica later assists Dustin in his valedictorian speech.
Murray Bauman Portrayed by
Brett Gelman, Murray Bauman is a private investigator and
conspiracy theorist hired to investigate Barbara Holland's disappearance. He was first introduced in season two as a
freelance journalist who previously worked for the
Chicago Sun-Times. He assists Nancy and Jonathan in their mission to shut down Hawkins National Laboratory. In season three, he helps Joyce and Hopper infiltrate the secret underground base in Starcourt Mall, where the Soviets had been building a machine capable of opening a gate to the Upside Down. He is also shown to be fluent in
Russian. In season 4, he and Joyce travel to
Kamchatka to rescue Hopper from imprisonment. There, he disguises himself as Yuri Ismaylov to rescue Hopper and burns Demogorgons to aid the kids in Hawkins against Vecna. He is a dramatic, bearded and balding man who loves vodka and often drinks it to think. In season 5, he disguises himself as a truck driver named "Austin" and acts as a smuggler for the protagonists, sneaking supplies for them into Hawkins past the military checkpoints. In the climax, he goes into the Upside Down with the others and helps fight off the soldiers so the others can defeat Vecna.
Vecna Portrayed by
Jamie Campbell Bower as an adult and Raphael Luce as a child, Vecna is a murderous being in the Upside Down, who first appears in season four as a main character. He preys on individuals reeling from past traumas, and his method of killing involves inducing grandfather clocks and nightmarish visions before telekinetically breaking their bones and imploding their eyes into their skulls. He operates out of the Creel house in the Upside Down. He is revealed to have been responsible for the events that terrorized Hawkins in previous seasons, all the way back to Will's disappearance. Vecna was born Henry Creel, who as a child stumbled upon a scientist in a cave possessing a mysterious briefcase. Despite the scientist's urges, Henry opened the case and found a stone that telepathically connected him to an alternate dimension known as the Abyss, where the Mind Flayer exerted influence over his psyche. Henry gradually fell further under the influence of the Mind Flayer, becoming hateful of humanity as a result; he particularly came to resent his family for their perceived hypocrisy, having learned that his father Victor mistakenly bombed the home of an innocent family during
World War II. In the 1950s, he terrorized and murdered his mother and sister in his family's house using his powers, but the exertion put him in a coma while his father was arrested for the murders and placed in a psychiatric institution. Henry was placed in the care of Dr. Brenner, who made him the first test subject in Brenner's attempts to replicate Henry's powers in other children by transfusing them with his blood. As an adult, Henry was made an orderly at Hawkins Lab to help oversee Brenner's experiments on a number of superpowered children, including Eleven. Brenner placed an implant (dubbed "
Soteria") in Henry's neck that suppressed his powers. In 1979, Henry befriended Eleven amidst her being bullied by other subjects, and pointed out to her that she and the rest of the lab's occupants were prisoners. Sympathizing with Henry's plight after witnessing him being tortured by Brenner, Eleven destroyed the Soteria implant, restoring his powers. Henry massacred all the other children and most of the lab's staff and attempted to kill Eleven after she refused to help him eradicate the rest of humanity. Eleven overpowered Henry and sent him into the Abyss, where he became disfigured by
lightning injuries and prolonged exposure to its toxic environment. Henry discovered various creatures residing in the realm, as well as the Mind Flayer, with which he had come to share a consciousness; he was thus able to control the creatures in the Abyss via their shared
hive mind. Eleven's unwitting contact with one of the creatures during Brenner's experiments on her created a
wormhole between Earth and the Abyss known as the Upside Down, allowing Henry to return to Hawkins to prey on its residents. In 1986, after spending several years remaining dormant and growing stronger while controlling the Upside Down, Henry begins terrorizing Hawkins himself, murdering three Hawkins High School students: Chrissy Cunningham, Fred Benson, and Patrick McKinney. Dustin and Eddie dub him "Vecna" based on his similarities to the
Dungeons & Dragons character of the same name. Vecna nearly kills Max until her friends find a way to break his influence using music. He later possesses Nancy, reveals to her his past, and then shows her a vision of the future where Hawkins is torn apart by rifts before releasing her. Nancy and her friends deduce that Vecna needs to open four gates to the Upside Down to enact his plan, three of which have been spawned at the site of each of his murders. Max attempts to bait Vecna while her friends travel to the Upside Down to kill him. Eleven enters Max's mind and confronts Vecna, who reveals himself as the mastermind behind the Upside Down's past attacks on Hawkins. Vecna possesses and kills Max before Eleven overpowers him, while Steve, Nancy, and Robin severely injure his physical form before he escapes. Though Eleven revives Max, her brief death opens a fourth gate to the Upside Down, causing rifts to tear through Hawkins. In 1987, while Hawkins is under quarantine following the opening of the rifts, Vecna kidnaps 12 children, beginning with Holly Wheeler, and imprisons them in his lair in the Abyss, having lured them by pretending to be the character "Mr. Whatsit" from the novel
A Wrinkle in Time. The children's minds are trapped inside a realm made of Henry's memories, where Max's mind is also trapped; she hides in the cave containing Henry's traumatic memory of first communing with the Abyss as a child, preventing him from reaching her inside his mind; Max eventually escapes with Holly's help and reawakens in her physical body. Vecna plans to use the children as vessels to erode the barrier between Earth and the Abyss, so that he can physically bring the two worlds together into one dominated by him. Mike, Will, Lucas, Dustin, Steve, Jonathan, Nancy, and Robin formulate a plan to allow the Abyss to descend close enough to Earth for them to climb into it from the Upside Down, and face off against the Mind Flayer in its final, giant
kaiju form, controlled from inside its body by Vecna (which is also where he has imprisoned the children). Eleven arrives and overpowers Vecna with the help of Will, who finds himself capable of telepathically connecting with Vecna and being able to control both his creatures and Vecna himself. Joyce kills the injured Vecna by decapitating him with an axe.
Argyle Portrayed by
Eduardo Franco, Argyle is a student at Lenora Hills High School, where Eleven, Will, and Jonathan now attend in Lenora Hills,
California. Argyle becomes Jonathan's best friend, and he provides Jonathan with needed counsel, helping him relax with his stoner mentality. He works as a
pizza delivery driver for Surfer Boy Pizza. When
U.S. Army soldiers attack the Byers' home in search of Eleven, Argyle provides getaway transportation for Mike, Will, and Jonathan in his pizza delivery truck. He goes on to join the boys in their own attempt to find her. During their travels, they seek help from Dustin's long-distance girlfriend, Suzie, in
Salt Lake City, and Argyle falls for the hacker's older sister, Eden. Argyle is pivotal in the Indiana Crew's efforts to aid the Hawkins Gang's plot to defeat Vecna, helping create a sensory deprivation tank for Eleven at a Surfer Boy Pizza location in Ohio. He then accompanies Eleven, Mike, Will, and Jonathan back to Hawkins, before returning to California.
Eddie Munson Portrayed by
Joseph Quinn, Eddie Munson is an eccentric Hawkins High School student and president of Hawkins High's
Dungeons & Dragons-themed "Hellfire Club", where he befriends Mike and Dustin. He lives with his
uncle, Wayne, and has parents who abandoned him. While the two are not seen onscreen together, it is made clear that their relationship is very close. While selling
drugs to Chrissy, Eddie watches as Vecna telepathically kills her. He screams in horror and runs away. He realizes that the authorities will not believe his story and is later located by Dustin, Steve, Max, and Robin, who explain to him the existence of the Upside Down. The local
police name Eddie as their chief suspect in Chrissy's murders. The school basketball team, led by Chrissy's boyfriend Jason Carver, attempts to hunt him down, with Jason believing Eddie to be the leader of a "
Satanic cult". The group of friends realize they must work to clear Eddie's name. When they locate a new gate to the Upside Down in a lake, known as the Water Gate, he dives down after Steve gets pulled in and experiences the Upside Down for the first time. In preparation for the final battle against Vecna, the group purchases and crafts weapons, with Eddie and Dustin re-entering the Upside Down to distract the demobats, small winged Demogorgons which resemble bats, protecting Vecna's lair. As part of the final plan, Eddie plays
Metallica's "
Master of Puppets" on his electric guitar. He later stays behind and sacrifices himself to further fend off the demobats. After Vecna's gates create large rifts that tear through Hawkins, the town still believes Eddie is responsible for the murders. Dustin meets Eddie's uncle and assures him that Eddie was a hero who died protecting the town that hates him. Eddie also has a written book about his past. The book Flight of Icarus written by Caitlin Schneiderhan is about Eddie's life before we see it on screen.
Holly Wheeler Portrayed by
Anniston and Tinsley Price (seasons 1–4) and
Nell Fisher (season 5), Holly Wheeler is the younger sister of Nancy and Mike and the youngest child of Karen and Ted. She was introduced in the first season as a minor character, seeing glimpses of the supernatural events that happen in Hawkins. After being portrayed by the Price twins in prior seasons, the role of Holly was recast to Fisher in season five, in which she became a series regular. She is targeted by Vecna under the guise of an imaginary friend, "Mr. Whatsit" (based on the character from the novel
A Wrinkle in Time), and is eventually abducted by a Demogorgon from her home. She lands into a realm of Vecna's memories, meeting and befriending Max, who informs her of Vecna's true agenda. The two escape together, but Holly is recaptured and taken back by Vecna. She eventually leads the other children on an escape from Vecna's mind, and even manages to attack him. She is physically reunited with her family after they free her from Vecna's lair in the Abyss. Holly attends the graduation ceremony of the younger teens and later plays
Dungeons & Dragons with her friends in the Wheelers' basement.
Dr. Kay Portrayed by
Linda Hamilton, Dr. Kay is the new leader of the branch of the US military investigating the rifts between Hawkins and the upside down. She operates military bases both in Hawkins and the Upside Down. She has a goal of hunting and capturing Eleven, while performing science experiments of the creatures of the upside down. It is eventually revealed that she is holding Kali/Eight captive and is using her blood to inject it into pregnant mothers with the hope of restarting Brenner's program with their babies.
Derek Turnbow Portrayed by
Jake Connelly, Derek Turnbow, nicknamed "Dipshit Derek" and "Delightful Derek", is a bully in Holly Wheeler's class at school, and the younger brother of Erica's privileged friend Tina. He often taunts and annoys Holly and her friends on the school playground. He is targeted by Vecna after Holly as part of his plan to capture twelve children. To keep Vecna from capturing him, he is drugged and kidnapped by Erica, Robin, Joyce and Will, who try to warn him of the monsters coming. After he realizes they are telling the truth, he agrees to help them bring the other kids to safety, however he is captured and becomes trapped in Vecna's mind with Holly and their classmates. He initially refuses to help Holly after Vecna threatens to kill his family, but eventually escapes Vecna's mind alongside the rest of the children with Eleven, Kali and Max's help, before being physically saved by the rest of the rescue party in the Abyss. Derek attends the graduation ceremony of the younger teens and later plays
Dungeons & Dragons with Holly and her friends in the Wheelers' basement. == Creatures of the Abyss ==