Eddie Munson || STRANGER THINGS

Eddie Munson is a senior at Hawkins High School, where he is first introduced in Chapter One, "The Hellfire Club," when Dustin and Mike sit at his table with him and his D&D group, the Hellfire Club. Throughout their interaction, he is very reserved and displays a strong dislike for the Hawkins High jocks and believes he is lumped into the "freak" clique, pointing out that even the "geeks" are inferior to him, and blames the world for its disrespect for him, saying that everything suffers from conformity. He then also reveals that he should have graduated in 1984, but was held back twice. He is later seen in an episode with Chrissie Cunningham, where the two are involved in a drug deal. At first, he doesn't understand why she wants anything to do with him, but he begins to warm up to her to make her feel comfortable in his presence. They have a somber exchange, during which Chrissy confides in him about feeling lost, and he supports her. After the exchange, he begins to joke around and reminisce about their past, jokingly expressing his frustration at her delay in remembering him, but then Chrissy points out he was in the band Corroded Coffin; he corrects her and points out they're still playing, indirectly inviting her to one of their upcoming concerts. Once the deal is put aside, everyone leaves the Hawkins High campus and heads home to prepare for the game. Eddie and the Hellfire Club then meet after school during the game, and Eddie meets Erica Sinclair, to whom he quickly becomes attached once she demonstrates her mastery of D&D. During the game, Eddie mentions Vecna ​​and is the game master who enjoys subtly hinting that Erica and Dustin give up when the game is in the hands of the two, but in the end, Erica wins and Eddie is overjoyed that their campaign is coming to an end.

Eddie becomes the prime suspect in Chrissy's murder due to his involvement with the Hellfire Club, so he goes on the run. This leads Max, Dustin, Robin, and Steve to hunt for Eddie, which eventually leads them to Reefer Rick's house. But when they go there to search for Eddie, they end up finding him in the dock house, hiding under a tarp. He is discovered by Steve Harrington, whom he promptly pushes against the wall and holds a broken bottle to his neck. Dustin tries to calm Eddie's nerves, trying to convince him that he and his friends believe in his innocence and have come to help. Eddie eventually lets go of Steve and collapses to the floor in despair, declaring some form of survivor's guilt, mourning Chrissy's death, and explaining what happened to her. The group tries to console him and ultimately succeeds: they tell Eddie the entire story of the Hawkins curse, or, more importantly at this point, the curse of Vecna. Then Dustin and Eddie connect the dots, realizing that Vecna ​​is responsible for Chrissy's death.

Time passes, and Eddie continues to show signs of paranoia, especially after Chrissy's funeral. Finally, one day, cautiously peering out the window again, he spots Jason and his friends at Reefer Rick's house. He tries to contact Dustin on the radio to explain what's happening, but no one answers. Eddie then decides to escape by boat across the lake, but Patrick and Jason spot him and try to catch up by swimming. Halfway across, Patrick falls into a trance and, just like Chrissy, is consumed by Vecna's curse. Eddie and Jason, frozen in place, watch as Vecna ​​kills Patrick, but Jason believes Eddie is to blame, using his "satanic powers." Eddie manages to escape and makes his way to the opposite side of Lovers' Lake, where he stealthily steals a radio from one of the workers at the construction site and hides in a rock formation called Rock Head. Eddie's denim jacket is a vest worn over a leather jacket that features patches of Megadeth, Motorhead, Dio, WASP, Accept, Mercyful Fate, and Judas Priest, as well as a large DIO patch on the back.