After a long wait, we finally find ourselves in the Upside Down yet again. Stranger Things Season 5 Volume 1 is here, and much to no one's surprise, it ended things in quite a cliffhanger. After years of watching Eleven do all the heavy lifting and single-handedly keeping at bay the horrors that lie in Dimension X, someone else was finally able to join her as the first line of defense. Will has now developed psychic powers of his own and used them to crush the bones of the Demogorgons as Vecna once did with his victims.
On the one hand, it's exciting to learn that the whole Stranger Things squad now has more firepower against Vecna and his forces. On the other hand, we can't help but ask: Where did Will's powers come from? Granted, he has shared a special connection with the Upside Down ever since Season 1, but it seems a bit out of left field for him to be able to move and kill things with his mind all of a sudden. So what is the true source of these abilities? Well, to understand it, we first need to talk about the origin of everything: Henry Creel.
The truth behind Vecna and Eleven's psychic powers, explained
Stranger Things Season 4 revealed that Henry Creel is the very first person in the Stranger Things universe ever to possess psychic powers. The MKUltra experiments held at the Hawkins National Laboratory were an attempt to replicate his abilities in other people, and they delivered positive results as subjects like Eleven and Eight now have powers of their own. However, it's implied that Henry was born with these abilities, which is far from the truth.
Stranger Things: The First Shadow revealed that a group of scientists was the first to ever travel to the Upside Down back in 1943 when attempting to create a naval ship called the USS Eldridge that could be turned invisible and, hence, undetectable by other countries. The plan did not go as expected, as the ship was accidentally transported to the Upside Down, where Demogorgons killed the whole crew except for one man: Captain Brenner.
Captain Brenner returned to the real world, and it was there that he told his son, Doctor Martin Brenner, about the alternate realm originally called Dimension X. It's also important to note that Brenner senior had mutated blood after the unexpected trip and died not too long after. That's when it became Martin's personal goal to be able to open a gate to this alternate reality once again and see what his father stumbled upon. To do so, he established a military base in Nevada and, with the help of a team, created the technology necessary to visit what would be known as the Upside Down. The only problem? One of Martin's men was an undercover spy for the Soviet Union, and stole some equipment to hide it in a cave surrounding the Nevada military base.
You can either call it fate or bad luck, but Henry Creel happened to stumble upon this very same cave when he was still living in Nevada before moving to Hawkins. He then accidentally activated the equipment and was transported to Dimension X. When he was finally able to return to our world, he was a different kid altogether. Not only did he display psychotic tendencies after the incident, but he also had psychic powers such as telekinesis and telepathy, along with mutated blood (just like Brenner senior). The Mind Flayer had corrupted Henry.
When the MKUltra experiments were founded, Doctor Martin Brenner transfused Henry Creel's mutated blood to pregnant women, and their kids eventually had superpowers of their own. This is of vital importance because it reveals that characters such as Eleven and Eight were not born with psychic abilities, but they were instead transferred from Vecna himself. So if these abilities can't be learned and aren't present from birth, where did Will get them from?
Will's powers are the result of his connection to the Upside Down's hive mind
At first glance, it would seem that Dimension X itself is responsible for mutating the blood of any human who sets foot on it, giving them psychic powers along the way. Unfortunately, it's clear that people like Barb and Eddie Munson didn't have these special abilities despite spending some time in the Upside Down (otherwise, they might still be around). So why are some humans completely fine after going to Dimension X, while others "randomly" gain telekinesis and telepathy? Well, it could be due to the hive mind / Mind Flayer.
It seems a bit coincidental that everyone on board the USS Eldridge died except for one person: Brenner senior. The likely scenario is that the Mind Flayer recruited him to form part of the Upside Down's hive mind, mutating his blood along the way. The monster would later try to use him as a vessel to conquer our world. However, Brenner senior died before the Mind Flayer could put its plan into motion, but Henry Creel would later become the monster's minion and serve this same purpose.
When Vecna kidnaps a new victim (such as Will), it connects them to a tentacle of sorts. It could be through this process that the victim is then connected to the Hive Mind and receives superpowers in turn. After all, sharing the same mind with terrifying creatures and monsters from other dimensions could change the chemistry within a human's brain, resulting in mutated blood and special abilities.
If the theory turns out to be true, then it would also give us an insight into Vecna's bigger overarching plan. He mentioned wanting to kidnap 12 kids who are easily broken, reshaped, and controlled. These victims could then be connected to the Hive Mind, develop powers, and aid the Mind Flayer in their mission of extending the Upside Down into our world. If the military couldn't hold its own against one single version of Vecna, imagine trying to do so against 12 of them.
Will's connection to the Hive Mind / Mind Flayer could be the reason why he now has mutated blood that gives him superpowers. Granted, characters with special abilities, such as Eleven, aren't connected to the hive mind, but they already have that special blood running through their system due to a transfusion, which gives them psychic abilities either way.
Only time will tell whether Will's mutated blood is the reason why he's now a superhero, or if he's simply "borrowing" these abilities from Vecna, given that the two seem to be one and the same in many ways. Fortunately, we won't have to wait long to find out.
Stranger Things Season 5 Volume 2 will be released on December 25 on Netflix.