Eleven faces down Vecna in a new poster for Stranger Things season 4, part 2. The Hawkins kids have faced a lot of scary supernatural enemies across Stranger Things’ six-year Netflix run. But none have been as terrifying as season 4’s monstrous Vecna.
The entity known as Vecna of course made his presence known early in Stranger Things season 4, part 1 with the mysterious horror-movie murder of cheerleader Chrissy. Later it was revealed that this entity is actually a denizen of the Upside Down who is capable of putting curses on normal humans. Stranger Things then filled in the backstory of Vecna, revealing that he was once a boy named Henry Creel whose psychokinetic abilities led Martin Brenner to imprison him inside Hawkins Laboratory as the test subject designated 001. But in a twist, Creel’s attempt to murder everyone at the lab led the young Eleven to send him to the Upside Down where he slowly began transforming into the horrible monster later dubbed Vecna after the Dungeons & Dragons character.
Indeed these harrowing Stranger Things season 4 events have set up what should prove to be a truly terrifying showdown between a revitalized Eleven and a vengeful Vecna. Fans have of course had to wait awhile since Stranger Things dropped its first run of season 4 episodes on Netflix. But that excruciating wait is about to end, as the show teases with a newly-shared poster, which can be seen in the space below:
Vecna’s horrifying season 4 activities of course were a focus of the action throughout part 1. But the stakes were definitely raised when his curse affected Max, leading to the now-famous season 4 moment where Kate Bush’s song “Running Up That Hill” playing in her Walkman helps Max fend off the monster. But it will no doubt take a lot more than Kate Bush music to ultimately defeat Vecna, who seems bent on exiting the Upside Down and unleashing his full vengeance on Eleven and the rest of Hawkins.
Indeed Stranger Things season 4 has been the darkest and most intense season of the show so far. Vecna’s very appearance is a big part of why season 4 has played as more of a full-on horror story than previous seasons. But Vecna’s incredibly brutal backstory has also colored season 4’s tone in a big way. Indeed the season has covered a lot of ground, and gone to a lot of scary places, in setting up the show’s most powerful and frightening villain. But as the above new poster promises, Eleven is fully back to being her powerful self, and is ready to face down her old enemy and hopefully save Hawkins and her friends from Vecna’s curse. Stranger Things season 4, part 2 arrives on Netflix on July 1, 2022.
Source: Stranger Things/Twitter