Wayne Munson, portrayed by Joel Stoffer, is a minor character in the fourth season of Stranger Things. He is the uncle of Eddie Munson.
History[]
Background[]
Wayne had a Southern-tinged accent, indicating he had familial roots outside Hawkins, Indiana. Despite this, Wayne knew about the infamous Hawkins resident Victor Creel ever since he was a child. His brother was Al Munson, a man infamous for his dubious schemes.[1] At some point, Wayne became the guardian of Al's son, Eddie.
1986[]
On March 21, 1986, Wayne was interviewed by Nancy Wheeler on the death of Chrissy Cunningham, who was found dead in his trailer. He told Nancy that he doesn't think that it was Eddie that murdered Chrissy, but he believes that Victor Creel was responsible.
A few days later, he was visited by Sam Owens' agents who proceed to examine his house and find an oozing crack on the ceiling where Chrissy had died. Wayne is asked to relocate by Agent Stinson after they recognize symptoms of a gate.
After Eddie died and the "earthquakes" hit Hawkins, Dustin Henderson approached Wayne while Wayne was replacing a missing person poster of Eddie that had been defaced with satanic imagery. At this point, Wayne believed Eddie to be alive and was actively searching for him. Dustin broke the news to Wayne that he and Eddie were together "when the earthquake hit," as the general public believed Hawkins was hit with a freak wave of tectonic activity. Dustin gifted Wayne with Eddie's guitar pick necklace and told him he was sorry, alluding to the fact that Eddie was dead. Wayne sat in disbelief and sadness as Dustin told him about how courageous and loveable his nephew Eddie was. Dustin confirmed Eddie's innocence to Wayne and called him a hero while Wayne wept.
Personality[]
Based on his interactions with Nancy Wheeler and Dustin Henderson, Wayne appears to be a gruff, slightly brusque man who cares deeply for his nephew Eddie Munson. He is strongly affected by the news of Eddie's death.
He dislikes gossip and seems to value truth, especially when it comes to clearing his nephew's name.
Relationships[]
Little is known of their dynamic. Despite his unruliness, Wayne does not believe Eddie was capable of any of the killings and believes that his nephew is a good kid. He knows people think Eddie is a freak, but cares deeply for his nephew and states it is not in Eddie's nature to commit murder. While Eddie is above the age of 18, it is presumed that Wayne had been Eddie's legal guardian. Eddie states his uncle works long hours at "the plant" in order to provide for their meager household, but does not specify the nature of this job.
Appearances[]
| Season Four appearances | |||
| Vecna's Curse | |||
| The Nina Project | |||
| The Piggyback | |||
Family tree[]
note: family trees are only visible on desktop.
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Behind the scenes[]
His character was first revealed on IMDb.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- It has yet to be revealed if Wayne is Eddie's maternal or paternal uncle, or an in-law. However, in episode eight of series four, Eddie references himself "really living up to the Munson name" in relation to his father, so Wayne was likely his paternal uncle, as he is also a Munson - that's assuming Eddie's father did not take his partner's name at any point.
- In Stranger Things: Flight of Icarus, however, Wayne is confirmed to be Eddie's paternal uncle.[1]
- Wayne's southern accent was a personal choice by Joel Stoffer, who imagined Wayne as someone who grew up with rural beginnings and moved to Hawkins later in life, and that Wayne was just as much an outsider in the town as Eddie.[2]
- When discussing the character of Wayne in an interview, Stoffer stated; "This guy [Wayne Munson] is someone who cares about his nephew, that's it. He's concerned about his nephew, you know, his nephew's been wrongly accused of something and there's no proof about it, I just know my nephew. And I know he didn’t do it. Whether or not he was a trailer park guy, who might've been an angry, bitter, guy... which I think there is a little bit of angry bitter in Wayne, but still, you know, the concern about his nephew overrides any of that stuff ... but he's [Wayne] also somebody who I think has some anger, you know because of whatever trauma he might've had in his life ... I probably saw a lot of crap that Eddie had to deal with growing up maybe with whatever parents he had. Probably some abuse, trauma. I saw that, and I made it a mission as his uncle, to protect him."
- It is unknown if Wayne is older or younger than his brother, Alan.