Content Warning! This List Contains Spoilers For Season 4 of Stranger Things!
The epic conclusion to the fourth season of Stranger Things has finally arrived on Netflix after being split in two. It continues the exploration of the Upside Down and the threats it poses to the world above, giving audiences some exhilarating and genuinely shocking moments. The hit series continues to dominate the fanbase as it mixes fantasy, horror, and the best of eighties nostalgia.
Each season, many different types of antagonists have been introduced, whether they’re bullies, corrupt politicians, or otherworldly forces gunning to take over the world. Things might change in season 5, but these are the best villains thus far.
Tom Holloway
The third season introduces Michael Park as Tom Holloway, the editor for the Hawkins Post and boss to Nancy and Jonathan. Right from the start, he and his colleague, Bruce, are shown to be just selfish and cruel bullies. He completely disrespected Nancy, oozing sexism and toxic masculinity.
Tom does get a sort of comeuppance when Billy brings him under the control of the Mind Flayer. He and Bruce are then sent upon Nancy and Jonathan, who are able to kill them in the end. However, he is then incorporated into the demonic spider monster along with the other Flayed, so even in death, he served a purpose.
Grigori
As this takes place during the Cold War, tensions are high between the USA and USSR. It finally bleeds into season 3 when the Soviets are revealed to be in Hawkins. They are hiding under the newly built mall, researching the Upside Down and drawing the attention of the Hawkins crew.
Andrey Ivchenko plays Grigori throughout the season as he hunts after Alexei, Hopper, Joyce, and Murray. He is entirely ruthless, and he does succeed in his mission by tragically killing Alexei at the fair. Had he survived longer, he would’ve made it even more difficult to save Hawkins.
Larry Kline
The Russians are able to take hold of Hawkins because of the corruption and cowardice of the town’s mayor, Larry Kline, played by Cary Elwes. He was never established as anything but the sneaky and conniving politician, and it just goes to show – if Hopper isn’t a fan of someone, they’re probably not a good person.
Mayor Kline let the Starcourt Industries open the Mall, not only decimating his own town’s small businesses, but also welcoming the Russians to the town. He was fine to let Grigori kill Hopper and Joyce, actively helping him hunt them down. Following the destruction of the mall in the epic season finale, he was arrested for his corruption.
Lt. Colonel Jack Sullivan
While the large focus in Stranger Things is the Upside Down and its spread into the real world, the story also incorporates the real world’s evils too. That would be the case for Lt. Colonel Jack Sullivan, played by Sherman Augustus. He is a tertiary antagonist in the latest season, pursuing Eleven, believing she is a Soviet agent.
His intentions could be classified as good since he wants to stop the supposed spree of ritualistic teen murders in Hawkins – oblivious and dismissive of the truth – but his methods are just cruel. He tortures one of the agents assigned to protect Mike, Will, and Jonathan, and hunts down El to NINA, ordering his men to kill everyone there. He ends up surviving the season and even has Owens as a prisoner now.
Jason Carver
Season 4 introduced some great new characters, like the valiant hero, Eddie Munson, but it also introduced a real villain, Jason Carver, played by Mason Dye. He starts out as the classic jock, though perhaps he could’ve gotten the same sort of arc as Steve. However, following the death of his girlfriend, Chrissy, he turns full baddie.
Thinking Eddie was behind it, he and his friends hunted him down and whipped up a frenzy throughout the Hawkins’ citizens – playing off the satanic panic of the time. Jason is ready and willing to kill to get what he wants, nearly beating Lucas to a pulp, but he is beaten back and then killed when the Upside Down breaks into the real world.
The Demogorgon
The first season was a smash-hit, and that might be in large part to the choice of antagonist. The Demogorgon was just a mysterious, blank slate of a monster, which allowed the kids to put their own imagination onto it, naming it after one of the great monsters from Dungeons and Dragons. It is responsible for dragging Will into the Upside Down and the dreadful death of Barb.
What makes the Demogorgon – and the other creatures of the Upside Down like the Demodogs and the Demobats – so terrifying and such great villains is that they are just forces of chaos. There was no reason for their violence, or at least there wasn’t until the latest season in which they returned and it was revealed they were sent by Vecna to hunt down Eleven.
Billy Hargrove
When Dacre Montgomery was introduced as Billy Hargrove in season 2, it seemed at first that he could also be following the Steve Harrington trajectory. However, any hopes for that were swiftly squashed when his abusive nature was revealed. There were reasons presented for his cruelty – like him receiving the same treatment from his own father – but he chose to the pain along to others.
Of course, things changed drastically in season 3 when he became the agent for the Mind Flayer. This made him even more frightening and dangerous, helping to create the spider. While he did end up sacrificing himself to stop said monster, he still did way more harm than good.
The Mind Flayer
The second season expanded the characters' and audiences’ understanding of the Upside Down immensely by introducing the Mind Flayer. The enigmatic, spider-like being of smoke infected Will Byers and sought to use him to merge the two worlds. Although it was eventually exorcised, it still made its impact and Will has never been the same.
The Mind Flayer then used Billy to compose a massive body and sought out Eleven, stealing her powers. If Joyce and Hopper hadn’t closed the gate below the Mall, it likely would’ve fully crossed over. It seemed, therefore, that the Mind Flayer was being set up as the main big-bad of the Upside Down and the series, but the season 4 finale revealed that Vecna actually controls the Mind Flayer.
Martin Brenner
Up until the latest season, the forces of the Upside Down were terrifying for their sheer power and ferocity, but the real world still had the greatest antagonist, Martin Brenner AKA Papa, played by Matthew Modine. Time and time again, he is shown to be conniving and power-hungry – nearly every action and decision he makes ends up hurting someone, and he doesn’t care.
For each of the children, Brenner and his colleagues experimented on at Hawkins Labs, he saw a weapon. Then he lost them all, but Eleven. He saw her power, hoped to abuse it, and get back One from wherever she sent him. After some fake deaths over the years, it truly seems like he finally met his end, rejected by Eleven, who rightfully pointed out that without him none of this would’ve happened.
Vecna
Even ahead of the second volume of season 4’s release, Vecna would’ve still taken the top spot as the best villain in Stranger Things. While Brenner would be initially responsible for releasing this evil into the world, Vecna/One/Henry is still the one who wants to see the world burn. Vecna was a genius choice for the villain following two seasons focused on the Mind Flayer, and each twist and reveal only made it better.
At first, fans are led to believe that he is just the general for the Mind Flayer’s army, but then it's revealed that he is the true mastermind. He is so powerful he was able to command the dark force and shape an entirely new world. Vecna somehow survived the onslaught from Nancy, Steve, and Robin, meaning he will be back for a final showdown against the citizens of Hawkins.