Stranger Things is among the most iconic of Netflix’s properties, with season 4 of the show being one of the most hotly anticipated releases this year. Now, fans can finally sink their teeth into the latest adventure for the Hawkins gang, but they may want to proceed with caution.
Stranger Things has never shied away from scares, having thrown ample grotesque creatures at the protagonists over the first three runs. Apparently the Duffer brothers could do better than the Mind Flayer, though, because Twitter has been absolutely squirming over the Upside Down’s nightmarish new antagonist, Vecna.
Vecna may lack the beastly apathy of the Demogorgon or the overwhelming essence of the Mind Flayer, but it more than makes up for it with an unrelenting malice and grisly methods of killing. For you Dungeons & Dragons fans out there, Vecna is the name of a lich-turned-god that’s feared across the D&D multiverse, so you know that the Stranger Things counterpart means a whole new level of business.
Season 4 of Stranger Things sees the gang more separated than ever; Will, Joyce, Jonathan, and Eleven have all moved out to California, while the presumed-dead Hopper finds himself hiding out in a prison camp in Russia. With threats like Vecna on the horizon, it’s set to be the greatest struggle ever faced by Hawkins’ champions, even rivaling the dreaded social dynamics of high school (yes, the kids have grown that much).
Volume 1 of season 4 of Stranger Things is currently available to stream on Netflix. Volume 2 will release on July 1.