Will Byers/History

This page chronicles the history of William "Will" Byers, a major character in Stranger Things.

Background

Will is the son of Joyce and Lonnie Byers, and the younger brother of Jonathan Byers. Will was close with his mother and brother, but not with his father. Because of this, Jonathan became a much larger role model for him than their father. Ultimately, Joyce and Lonnie divorced, resulting with Lonnie moving out. Joyce, Jonathan and Will remained at their home in Hawkins, Indiana.

Will and Jonathan listen to a mixtape.

Will was best friends with Lucas Sinclair and Mike Wheeler from a very young age. He met Mike on the first day of kindergarten and instantly accepted his request to be friends. In fourth grade, Dustin Henderson arrived at their school and joined their friend group. They would often gather at Mike's house to play Dungeons & Dragons; this hobby was developed as early as 1979. The four boys had a great relationship with their science teacher Mr. Clarke, and they were members in the AV Club he ran. They would take part in the annual science fair, winning first place almost every year. On one occasion when the boys biked together, Will fell off his bike and broke his finger.

Will was exceedingly creative. His drawings were hugely detailed and distinctive for a child of his age, and he had built his own little wooden fort in the local woods. At one point Jonathan gave Will a mixtape, which included a Clash single, 'Should I Stay Or Should I Go' which Will became very fond of.

1983

Abduction by the Monster

November 6

Will and Dustin race home

On the evening of November 6, Will, Dustin, Mike, and Lucas played Dungeons & Dragons in Mike's basement. Mike, acting as Dungeon Master, summoned a Demogorgon, which ultimately defeated Will's character. While they looked for missing dice, Mike's mother insisted it was time for Mike's friends to leave. Will rode his bike home alongside Lucas and Dustin. Lucas turned down another street while Dustin and Will continued riding forward. Dustin suggested that the two race, and the winner would win a comic. Will took off ahead of Dustin and shouted that he wanted his X-Men #134.

While riding on Mirkwood, a humanoid monster crossed Will's path. Will panicked; he rode his bike off the road and crashed to the ground. He rushed to his house looking for his family, but there was no one home. He ran to the shed and loaded a rifle to protect himself, but was stunned when the Demogorgon appeared behind him. The light bulb glowed brightly before Will decided to shoot the Demogorgon. But as he did, he vanished into an alternate dimension with the Monster.

Trapped in the Upside Down

November 6-12

After figuring out that the Demogorgon was still alive, Will attempted to find his brother and mother. On returning to his home however, he realized he wasn't actually in the real world. Memories of the D&D campaigns reminded him that splitting the party can have terrible consequences. He began exploring the place and wandered out in Mirkwood to look for a way out. He came across Eleven but before he could reach her out, she disappeared. Desperate to contact his friends, Will checked on his supercom only to hear his mother's voices. However, before he could respond the Demogorgon found him.

Will communicates with his mother via the Christmas lights

In the Upside Down, Will evaded the Demogorgon for a week, showing his great ingenuity, ability to hide, and creativity. Somehow, Will figured out that his presence in the Upside Down could affect electrical devices in his home dimension, and Will began attempting to communicate with his mother. He first tried using the landline at his house, with very limited success. On several further occasions he attempted to communicate, manipulating the electricity in the Byers household.

An exhausted Will rests in Castle Byers

Eventually weakened from hunger and thirst, in addition to the Upside Down's toxic air, he collapsed in the Upside Down's Castle Byers. The test subject Eleven managed to find him there after entering a deeper psychic state, where they briefly communicated. Will told Eleven to hurry, as he was only becoming weaker and more vulnerable.

As Will sang one of his favorite songs, the Demogorgon found him, destroying his wooden fort. Will was taken to the library and strung up in the strange biological webbing prevalent throughout the Upside Down, unconscious and alone with only corpses and skeletons for company.

A captured Will, with a tendril extending down his throat

Joyce and Chief Hopper entered the Upside Down via the Gate to search for Will. They eventually found him entangled in the web, attached to some kind of tendril extending down his throat and into his stomach; Hopper pulled it out before shooting and killing it. Joyce and Hopper managed to resuscitate Will after performing CPR and safely brought him back escaping the alternate dimension.

Back home

November 12

Will was immediately hospitalized in Hawkins General Hospital. There, Jonathan, Mike, Lucas, Dustin, and Nancy visited him at the local hospital and recounted the events that occurred during his absence.

Will's friends visit him in the hospital

December

That December, the boys ran another campaign of Dungeons & Dragons, encountering the dreaded Thessalhydra—but this time, Will's character triumphed over the enemy. Jonathan picked up Will from the Wheeler's' house and brought him home in his car. At dinner, Will excused himself to wash his hands. This was not his true intention—in the bathroom, he threw up and washed away a slug-like creature down the sink. Before Will left the bathroom and returned to dinner, he momentarily saw the Upside Down flicker around him.

1983 - 1984

There was some surprise in Hawkins after Will returned to normal life, since his death had been widely acknowledged within the town. A cover story was put out to explain Will's miraculous re-appearance, which, according to Lucas, became accepted as public knowledge. It had appeared that Will had drowned at the quarry, due to the fake body that Hawkins Lab had planted there. The cover story explained that another child had drowned at the quarry, who was confused with the then-missing Will due to their "super decomposed" body, and that Chief Jim Hopper found Will alive in an abandoned cabin a few miles out of Hawkins.

Will's vision of the Mind Flayer.

Despite having only spent a week in the Upside Down, Will developed a psychic connection to the shadowy entity residing there. He began experiencing psychosomatic episodes similar to those related to post-traumatic stress disorder (as attested by Dr. Owens). However, the increasing frequency and intensity of these episodes led Joyce to realize they were something more than just flashbacks. At school, Will was not readily accepted by the rest of the students and became more of an outcast than before, being given the nickname "Zombie Boy".

1984

Visions of the Upside Down

October 31

Will has another vision at the Upside Down

On Halloween night, Jonathan let Will go trick-or-treating as a Ghostbuster with his friends. Mike, irritated that Max had joined them, told Will that she was ruining their best night of the year before going ahead, leaving him behind. When Will fell behind, he experienced another episode in the Upside Down with a large shadow-like creature attempting to catch him. Before the creature was able to teach him, Mike lapsed Will out of the vision and took him back to the Wheelers' basement. Will revealed to Mike that he felt he was trapped in between the real life and the Upside Down and also requested him not to tell anyone about the vision as no one would understand.

Possession by the Mind Flayer

November 1

The next day, Will was taken to school by Bob and during a conversation between them, Bob, unaware of Will's vision of the shadow creature, revealed that he'd once been traumatized by an encounter with Mr. Boldo but overcame it by standing up to his fears, inspiring Will. At school, Dustin revealed a pollywog-like creature, Dart, which was similar to what Will threw up last year, leading Will to conclude that Dart was from the Upside Down. Before they could do anything, Dart escaped the AV room, prompting the group to split up to find it.

Will being taken over by the Mind Flayer.

However, Will experienced yet another episode of the Upside Down when he tried to retrieve Dart. As he tried to run away from the shadow monster, remembering Bob's advice to confront his fears, Will stopped and angrily told the creature to go away. In response, the monster imparted part of itself within Will; despite his body being in Hawkins, he became "possessed" by the entity, allowing him to understand its motives and intentions.

After Joyce took him back home and pleaded him to reveal the truth, Will acknowledged that the shadow monster got him and that he felt it inside him.

November 2

When Hopper and Joyce asked him about the Shadow Monster, Will told them he could see and know whatever the shadow monster did, calling these visions "now-memories". In order to better understand these visions, Will began drawing them. At first, they appeared to be random scribbles, but after being assembled in the correct order, they depicted a strange maze-like pattern. Believing the drawing depicted vines, Hopper left to investigate the pumpkin patch.

As Will's connection with the Mind Flayer grew deeper, he started becoming more demoralized and scared. Mike came back to the Byers house and solaced him, assuring that they wouldn't let the shadow monster spy back on him.

November 3

After Hopper became trapped by the tendrils in the tunnels, Will's connection with the Mind Flayer allowed him to know of the impending danger. Having revealed this to Mike and Joyce, he drew Hopper's location within the tunnels. With help from Bob, the group figured out the location and left to rescue Hopper.

Will began convulsing as the tendrils burned

Will soon became overpowered by the Mind Flayer's influence, having become part of the hive mind. As a result, after Hopper was rescued from the tunnels and the soldiers arriving from Hawkins Lab burnt the tendrils, the connection caused Will to experience severe pain and he collapsed to the ground, convulsing.

November 4

Will, suffering from memory loss, was asked if he recognized Mike

Will was immediately taken to Hawkins Lab for inspection. Upon awaking, he suffered from memory loss as he recognized only Joyce and Mike, but didn't seem to recall Bob, Hopper or even Dr. Owens. After a test involving burning a tendril and observing Will's painful reaction, Dr. Owens confirmed that Will was connected to a hive intelligence with the other hosts. While Joyce became impatient and attempted to pass through the guards, Will told Mike that he may know how to stop the monster.

Will used the photos of the tunnels and located a place that the Shadow Monster tried to hide from him. Dr. Owens and Hopper, being convinced, sent some soldiers to investigate the place.

Will being interrogated by Joyce, Hopper, Jonathan & Mike

When the soldiers entered the tunnels to scrutinize the location, Will apologized to Mike and Joyce as he revealed that the Mind Flayer had coerced him to send the soldiers into a trap. He also implored Joyce to go away as the Demodogs were reaching them. Mike tried to warn the scientists but it was too late as the Demodogs massacred the soldiers and started invading the lab. Taking Mike's advice, Joyce sedated Will as he pointed out that the Mind Flayer could be spying on them. With the help of Hopper, Joyce, Bob, Dr. Owens and Mike, Will was taken out of Hawkins Lab, in spite of the swarming Demodogs and returned home to the Byers' household.

After some discussion, the group planned to interrogate Will to find out the shadow monster's weakness as he was connected to it. To keep the Mind Flayer from finding their location, the Byers' shed was remodeled and Will was tied to a post in the middle of the shed where they attempted not only to bring Will's memories back, but also to find out how to defeat the monster.

However, despite Will being essentially part of the monster's army, he was able to communicate the instructions to foil the Mind Flayer's plans by covertly using Morse Code with his hand to spell: 'Close Gate', which referred to the portal at the lab.

Defeating the Mind Flayer

November 5

Soon after, the phone in the Byers' kitchen rang, alerting the Mind Flayer to their location. The Mind Flayer then sent several Demodogs to their location. The group sedated him once again, and after a brief fight with Demodogs that ended with Eleven's reappearance, Joyce, Johnathan, and Nancy decided to take Will to Hopper's cabin to free Will from the Mind Flayer's possession.

Will is forced by the Mind Flayer to choke Joyce

Reaching the cabin, they restrained Will to a cot and made his body uninhabitable by increasing his body temperature with several space heaters. Will broke free of his restraints and attempted to strangle Joyce, but was subdued by Nancy burning him with a fire iron. Unable to bear the pain, the portion of the Mind Flayer fled from Will's body and out into the sky. This alleviated Will of the monster's possession once and for all.

After his recovery, Will hung a picture of Bob Newby that he drew to honor his memory, due to Bob's valiant sacrifice to ensure everyone's safety at Hawkins Lab.

The Snow Ball

December 15

Will and his friends at the Snow Ball.

When Will and his friends attended the Hawkins Middle School Snow Ball for the first time, a girl in Will's class asked him to dance, to which he reluctantly agreed.