Vecna (/ˈvɛk. nɑː/ VEK-nah) is a fictional character appearing in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Vecna has been named one of the greatest villains in the Dungeons & Dragons franchise. As portrayed in the 3rd Edition sourcebook Deities and Demigods.
Henry Creel, also known as One under Hawkins Labs' experiments, infamously known Vecna, is the main antagonist of the horror/sci-fi web series Stranger Things. He is from Hawkins laboratories who seeks to destroy the Human race after tricking Eleven into helping him escape.
In the most shocking turn, the character who viewers thought was little more than another victim of the subterranean experiments that resulted in Eleven's powers is actually the villainous Vecna.
Don't feel bad. Long story short: Vecna is a villain from Dungeons & Dragons.
For Dungeons and Dragons players, the name Vecna is one of familiarity. In D&D lore, Vecna was a once-powerful wizard who became a lich after becoming undead. He was eventually destroyed, with only his left hand and left eye surviving his death.
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).
Then, as he was falling through the Upside Down, One became the creature Vecna after lightning struck him in such a way that it changed his skin and made him into the monster he is now.
At his empire's height, Vecna was betrayed and destroyed by his most trusted lieutenant, a vampire called Kas the Bloody-Handed, using a magical sword that Vecna himself had crafted for him, now known as the Sword of Kas.
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.
Patrick was targeted due to his father's abuse of him. Finally, Vecna targets Max for her trauma from witnessing Billy's death and uses Barb's (Shannon Purser) death as a way to use Nancy.
Eleven has a memory during this episode and realizes that 001/Henry Creel (Jamie Campbell Bower) wants her to join him on his evil journey, and she banished him to the Upside Down. 001 then transformed into Vecna, the horrifying Stranger Things villain.
He believed that the construct of time and monotony needed to be destroyed. So, in his mind, by destroying humanity, he was doing it favor. That's what makes him so evil.
Realizing he had tremendous psychic power, he haunted his family with visions before ultimately killing most of them. His father was framed for the murders and locked away in a mental hospital as a disturbed serial killer. Henry then found himself in the care of Brenner, who decided he wanted more kids like the boy.
Near the end of Stranger Things Volume 1, Dustin speculated that Vecna is the Mind Flayer's “five-star general,” but the truth is nowhere near that simple. From the information we got during the Stranger Things 4 finale, we can conclude that Henry Creel is the one calling the shots; in fact, Henry is the Mind Flayer.
Before coming to the Hawkins National Lab, Venca had a classic villain origin story — he became obsessed with black widows, tortured his family, and brutally killed his mother and sister pinning it on his father.
Orcus, the demon prince of undeath, taught Vecna a ritual that would allow him to live on as a lich. Beyond death, he became the first and greatest of all liches.
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.
Essentially, Vecna hates humanity, and wants to take over their world. He had hoped that Eleven would help him achieve this goal. But when he realised she wouldn't, Vecna instead used her.
Then Eleven—who in this future moment discovers that she in fact does not have the blood of her siblings on her hands—defeats Henry Creel, sending him to the Upside Down where he gets blasted by lightening and burnt to a crisp and, thus, becomes Vecna.
Eleven defeats Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) in a psychic battle, Steve and Nancy light his body on fire, and Nancy shoots him several times with a sawed-off shotgun.
In her rage, Eleven looks to disintegrate One, but instead sends him through to the Upside Down, opening her first gate to that other dimension. One bursts into flames as he is struck by beams of crackling energy, and ultimately becomes Vecna.
There's been debate as to whether or not this scene implies that Eleven created the Upside Down or merely opened the first gate to it. But according to Millie Bobby Brown, the Upside Down existed before El ever meddled with it. “I don't think that she created the Upside Down,” Brown told Variety in June.
Once he takes control of the mind, he traumatizes them by showing the visions of their dark past. He takes them to unknown places and gives them a glimpse of himself. The pain of his victims doesn't end here. Every single one of his victims experiences nose bleeding and severe headaches as well.
Next up, the viewers go on to theorise that One/Vecna is actually Eleven's dad. Yep, told you it was wild. The theory claims that Brenner wanted to create a child with stronger powers, so he waited until One was old enough to become a father.
According to the helpful folks over at the Dungeons & Dragons Forgotten Realms fandom wikipedia, Vecna was once a human king who became a lich (a powerful undead wizard).