Stranger Things season 4, volume 1 introduces Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) as a nightmarish new antagonist set on destroying Hawkins and terrorizing teenagers - but did he also take Will back in Stranger Things season 1? Vecna, the Freddy Krueger of Hawkins, prays on the emotional weakness of his victims, tormenting them before ending their lives. Though Stranger Things season 4 is his first official appearance in the series, it may not be Vecna's first time threatening the town from the Upside Down.

In the very first episode of Stranger Things, Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) disappears. It is later revealed that Will has been taken to the Upside Down, a harsh and inhospitable alternate dimension that exists parallel to Earth. Will is stranded there, trying to survive, and it is in the Upside Down that the Mind Flayer, who has total control over the Upside Down, becomes interested in Will. Stranger Things, season 4, episode 7, "The Massacre at Hawkins Lab," reveals that Vecna has been in the Upside Down since El (Millie Bobby Brown) sends him there after he is revealed as Number One, massacring the children and employees in the lab. As a result, this means Vecna is in the Upside Down when Will is trying to survive there despite not being revealed to audiences at the time.

Related: How Is Vecna Connected To The Mind Flayer?

If Dustin's (Gaten Matarazzo) theory is true and "Vecna is the Mind Flayer's five-star general," it's likely Vecna has been around since season one and is involved in Will's disappearance. When Vecna arrives to claim his victims in Stranger Things season 4, a grandfather clock chimes, acting as an omen of death. Interestingly, a clock can be heard just before Will is taken in season 1, episode 1, "The Vanishing of Will Byers," as he rides home on his bike. When Will sees a mysterious otherworldly figure that could well be Vecna, he tumbles down a hill, and Vecna's clock can be heard. This isn't the only clock heard before season 4. Billy Hargrove (Dacre Montgomery) meets the Mind Flayer in season 3, episode 2, "The Mall Rats," after crashing his car. As he runs to the phone booth to call for help, a clock chimes - and it sounds eerily similar to the grandfather clock that announces Vecna. All of this evidence suggests that not only has Vecna been actively claiming victims in Hawkins for years, but that he was directly involved in Will's disappearance back in Stranger Things season 1.

Stranger Things Season 2 Review Chapter 1 Will Cant Escape the Upside Down

Initially, it had been theorized that the Demogorgon is the entity who took Will, but the Demogorgon is a feral, animalistic creature that hunts and kills its prey. It isn't likely that the Demogorgon would kidnap Will rather than devour him. While in the Upside Down, Will hears noises and growls resembling the Demogorgon as he hides in the shed, but the Duffer Brothers have already introduced many retcons in Stranger Things season 4, changing the history of the Upside Down. This means that while the growls were likely originally intended to be the Demogorgon, that may not be the case anymore.

The Duffer Brothers have revealed that Vecna was always part of their Stranger Things plan, even if it "took [them] a while to get around to telling that story." The pair reportedly had a 25-page document, at the request of Netflix, outlining the entire mythology of the Upside Down, and this document also details the story of Vecna. This story "completely informs what's happening in the present" (via Tudum). The Duffer Brothers have likely been planting seeds of Vecna, Hawkins Lab's Number One, from the very first episode - again making his involvement in Will's disappearance more likely.

As a result, Vecna was part of Stranger Things' mythos before the show had even begun, and it is his cruelty and misuse of his powers that lead to the connection between the Upside Down and the Rightside Up in the first place. Will's disappearance, marked by the chiming of a grandfather clock, runs parallel to the clocks heard by the victims of Vecna. Stranger Things, season 4, volume 2 will likely be the chapter in which Vecna's full past is revealed - a past that may have included taking Will all the way back in season 1.

Next: Stranger Things: Why Vecna Waited Seven Years To Start Killing Again

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