After falling out of the window at Creel House, Vecna's burned body had been considerably harmed but was able to disappear. Vecna is confirmed to be alive, with his consciousness still being used to control the Upside Down's beings that are preparing to take over Hawkins in Stranger Things season 5.
Before his '86 killings, he was responsible for the 1979 Hawkins Lab Massacre and killed his mother and sister twenty years prior. Before killing each victim, he psychologically haunts them with their traumatic pasts for days before psychically breaking their bones and gouging their eyes.
Vecna draws power from sad and angry memories and that is the main reason he targets traumatized teens. Those teens are a well of power just there to be absorbed. This is not just a theory, Vecna himself told Eleven about the power that angry and sad memories hold.
Ever… We have to kill him.” In D&D, the character Vecna is able to rip out his soul and put it in a horcrux-like object called a phylactery. This must be destroyed to actually kill Vecna, as he is not simply a corporeal being.
His main weakness is not any particular set of traits, but a constraint imposed by his location: the Chaotic Quest entrance is a portal rather than a staircase, and Vecna is covetous. Vecna will therefore readily warp to you, but will not teleport away to heal.
After inflicting protracted suffering, Vecna finally executes the victim, using his powers to make them levitate before snapping their limbs and gouging out their eyes.
So, Max was nearly murdered like Vecna's three previous victims. Just before Max died, Eleven rallied her strength, defeated Vecna and freed Max -- but the damage had already been done. Even though Max was free from Vecna, she died in Lucas' arms.
He was eventually destroyed, and his left hand and left eye were the only parts of his body to survive. Even after the character achieved godhood—being a member of the third edition's default pantheon of D&D gods (the pantheon of Oerth)—he is still described as missing both his left eye and left hand.
Nancy, Steve and Robin get freed too. They rush to find Vecna's body and burn it down. With this Vecna's soul turns to ash in front of Eleven. Max's dies in Lucas' arms, thus getting Vecna his fourth kill.
Vecna's curse causes people to bleed before they are killed, which is probably linked to the Upside Down being partially toxic to humans or at least warping their bodies due to exposure.
Dr. Brenner (Matthew Modine) clarifies that Vecna "consumes" his victims, as he isn't interested in simply killing them - meaning Vecna takes everything about and from a person.
While intending to get his revenge on Eleven and Brenner, Vecna also goes after victims who have dealt with traumatizing experiences in the past (reminiscent of his childhood and his time at the Hawkins lab).
History. The Hand of Vecna and the Eye of Vecna were the only remnants of the powerful lich Vecna, after he was betrayed and killed by his lieutenant Kas. The two appendages were left with a fragment of the lich's will and attempted to work his deeds wherever they went.
Vecna as a Means for Externalizing Trauma and Depression
Chaiken suggests that while Vecna is a source of horror in Stranger Things, the monster can also serve as a useful vessel for externalizing issues like trauma and depression.
6 Vecna Takes A Physical Toll
Vecna's power not only takes a mental toll but also a physical one. Much like depression, Vecna's victims experience physical symptoms such as exhaustion, lack of sleep, headaches, and nosebleeds.
Dr. Brenner (Matthew Modine) clarifies that Vecna "consumes" his victims, as he isn't interested in simply killing them - meaning Vecna takes everything about and from a person. By being in the Mindscape, Vecna can do what he will with his victims outside their physical bodies, including the opening of the giant Gate.
What Does Vecna Want? Vecna's goal is to open as many gates to the Upside Down as he can, in order to help the Mind Flayer.
Eleven can take control of the Upside Down from Vecna, but she will still need to find a way to shut down the Mind Flayer and the Upside Down. Stranger Things season 4 already showed audiences how Eleven can defeat Vecna in the Netflix series' final season.
Making their way there, they fought a death knight, Delilah Briarwood, and the newly reborn Undying King, Vecna. The fight went badly and Vax'ildan was Disintegrated. Percy succeeded in killing Delilah, but little damage was done to either Vecna or the death knight.
His method of killing is ritualized. Vecna started twisting bodies and removing eyes before imprisonment in the UD to fuel its own individual power. It takes the eyes to help hold the souls in darkness and because it did not wish to be observed.
If the eyes and the right hand weren't enough to convince you already, it's confirmed that Vecna was once human – and he has a very strong connection to Eleven and the Hawkins Lab.
But 001 appears in season 4 as a friendly orderly at the lab. (Even the end credits on most episodes state Bower plays a "friendly orderly.") He looks after all the kids, but he takes a liking to Eleven.
Through the window, Max saw her real body levitating above the cemetery, her friends panicking on the ground below. Bracing herself, Max pulled at a vine in Vecna's neck, causing him to writhe in pain and accidentally release her from the vines' grasp.
Is Max alive at the end of Season 4? Physically, yes. Lucas tells his friends that Max is in a coma, and we see her wearing casts on her arms and legs. The Duffer brothers have also confirmed that at the end of Season 4, Max is alive yet "brain dead, blind, and all of her bones are broken."
One of the most confusing parts of season 4 of Stranger Things is Eleven being able to revive Max. As far as fans know, Eleven hasn't been able to do this before. It's not clear how she gained the power to revive someone or if she would be able to do it again in the future.