Jane Hopper (born Jane Ives), also known as Eleven, is a main character in Stranger Things. She is portrayed by Millie Bobby Brown.
Jane Ives was born with special psychokinetic abilities; Jane’s mother, Terry, was experimented upon in the controversial government program known as ”MKUltra”, which, by accident or by Dr. Martin Brenner’s design, affected Jane in the womb. Upon her birth, Jane was immediately kidnapped by Dr. Brenner, and brought to Hawkins National Laboratory. Jane was redesignated “Eleven”, being the eleventh of Brenner’s series of child test subjects. Throughout her childhood, Brenner tested Eleven and the others’ abilities at the lab, all the while denying her access to the outside world.
On September 8, 1979, a mysterious Hawkins Lab orderly showed Eleven that Brenner had implanted a strange device in his neck, and tricked her into removing it with her powers. Eleven soon realised that the orderly was in fact Henry Creel, or One, the lab’s original psychokinetic test subject. In a fit of rage, Henry - his powers restored from having the implant removed - brutally murdered the other test subjects and attempted to sway Eleven to his cause. However, Eleven refused and overpowered him, sending him through a temporary gate to another dimension. Following the incident, Eleven fell into a coma, and became somewhat amnesiac, with her powers blunted.
Four years later, on November 6, 1983, Brenner pushed Eleven to make contact with a creature from the alternate dimension, accidentally opening a second gateway at the lab. Amongst the chaos, Eleven escaped the lab through a drain pipe; she was soon found by Mike, Lucas, and Dustin. Upon discovering her abilities, Mike believed that she could help find Will, their missing friend. During their time together, she and Mike formed a strong bond and quickly grew to like each other. In an attempt to protect her friends, Eleven eventually destroyed the monster she had unleashed in a showdown at Hawkins Middle School, mysteriously vanishing in the process.
Despite her apparent demise, Eleven had survived, and secretly began living with Jim Hopper at his grandfather's old cabin. Frustrated from being separated from her friends, Eleven decided to defy Hopper's orders, and went on a journey of self-discovery, uncovering her past. Realizing she could not leave her friends behind, she returned to Hawkins, reuniting with her allies to help them neutralise yet another supernatural threat dubbed the "Mind Flayer". Eleven was then taken in by Hopper as his adopted daughter, her legal name now "Jane Hopper". In December, she attended the Snow Ball school dance with Mike.
By the summer of 1985, Eleven had struck up a friendship with Max, with her romantic relationship with Mike continuing to blossom. Upon learning that the Mind Flayer had returned to wreak havoc in Hawkins, she and her friends began efforts to defeat it. During their fight against the possessed Billy, "the Flayed" and the Mind Flayer's various proxy forms, Eleven suffered a traumatic injury and lost access to her powers.
Following Hopper's apparent death, Eleven was taken in by the Byers family, and were all relocated to Lenora Hills, California under the supervision of Dr. Sam Owens. By the spring of 1986, Eleven was still struggling to adapt to her new life and new school in Lenora, being viciously bullied by classmates. She planned to spend spring break with Mike, who was travelling to California to be with her, but these plans were disrupted when Dr. Owens regretfully informed her of a new evil threatening Hawkins.
Eleven was persuaded by both Dr. Owens and Dr. Brenner to partake in an experimental scheme to restore and even boost her abilities. As part of the process, Eleven “re-experienced” her repressed memories as a seven-year-old at Hawkins Lab; she remembered Henry Creel was responsible for the massacre of her fellow test subjects on September 8, 1979, and that she had fought and banished Henry to the Upside Down on that same day.
The scheme was a success in restoring El’s abilities, but was interrupted by an attack by the US Military orchestrated by the distrustful Lt. Col. Sullivan. Despite the military's best efforts to assassinate Eleven, she quickly overpowered them and escaped with the aid of Mike, Will, Jonathan, and Argyle. Eleven then attempted to assist her old friends in Hawkins via psychic projection, but could not prevent Vecna's plan to further the Upside Down’s incursion.
Personality and Traits[]
Raised in Hawkins National Laboratory and completely deprived of socialization, Eleven was timid, socially withdrawn and extremely cautious of other people. However, she became fiercely protective and showed unyielding loyalty towards those who cared for her, especially to Mike whom she fell in love with, to the point of sacrificing herself to destroy the Monster when it threatened to harm her friends. Even after being separated for a year, Eleven showed considerable determination in saving her friends by returning to them in Hawkins from Chicago when she sensed them to be in grave danger through the Void, reuniting with them in the process.
If Eleven attempted to defy Dr. Brenner's orders when under his control, she would be locked in a cramped room as punishment, potentially for hours on end. These painful experiences lead her to develop severe claustrophobia. She also showed some signs of post-traumatic stress disorder, frequently remembering her harrowing experiences at the lab following her escape.
Despite her life being clouded with people manipulating and bullying her, El is shown to be incredibly empathetic, sweet, and curious about the world. Her sheltered life has left her incredibly emotional, becoming distraught easily in a dangerous or somber setting. As she grows older, El never loses her compassion, but begins to be careful on who to extend that compassion to. El's friends and family are her upmost priority, willing to do anything and everything for them even if it threatens her life.
Due to a very limited vocabulary, she could not effectively communicate her thoughts and emotions and had little to no understanding of simple concepts such as friendships or promises. These difficulties communicating often lead to misunderstandings with her friends. Despite this, she was a quick learner and came up with creative ways of explaining concepts as shown when she flipped the Dungeons & Dragons game board to explain the nature of the Upside Down.
Episodes of intense stress and fear had the potential to trigger Eleven's powers, releasing them in unpredictable and sometimes dangerous ways. She was reluctant to harm innocent life and had no malicious intent but was sometimes forced to maim or kill in extreme circumstances. She did not take this lightly as these instances were always followed by strong feelings of guilt and self-loathing (not to mention the physical toll these acts had on her body). Despite having killed before, upon being pressured by Kali into trying to kill, she refused to after seeing the man she was about to kill had children and then stopped Kali from shooting him. In every event of having to resort to killing someone, she has done it in self-defense.
After nearly an entire year of living with Hopper, Eleven's vocabulary expanded significantly, although she still struggled to understand complex words and social cues. Eleven also learns to be more independent when she forms a friendship with Max Mayfield and to start making her own choices. When discovering the Mind Flayer's return, Eleven became onboard to stopping him and when viewing the memories of the possessed Billy Hargrove, she sympathizes with him for having an abusive father which allows him to break free from the Mind Flayer's control over him.
When losing both her father and her powers temporarily, El is forced into a new environment that leaves her having difficulty adjusting to social interaction beyond her Hawkins friends. As bullying from her classmates worsen to the point she acts out with physical violence, El sinks into a solemn belief that she is a "monster" instead of the "superhero" her friends put her up as. Upon having the chance to regain her powers, El undergoes a special training program to reignite her powers, and slowly overcomes her belief that she is a "monster", overpowering Brenner's manipulation and coldly rejecting his dying attempts to gain sympathy for his horrific actions.
Powers and Abilities[]
Psychic abilities[]
The effect of the subsequent direct experimentation on Eleven and her powers is unclear. It is possible that her powers laid dormant and could only be unearthed through further experimentation. However, it is also possible that Eleven had access to these powers at birth, but merely gained understanding and experience of them during her time in the laboratory. As her mother displays similar psychic powers, it is possible the experimentation on her mother during her pregnancy augmented her powers or she simply naturally developed stronger abilities.
Initially, exercising her abilities to accomplish small tasks was shown to be rather difficult for her. However, with practice, Eleven was able to accomplish greater and greater feats. Nearly a year after the events of November 1983, Eleven became able to use her telekinetic and telepathic powers far more easily and without as much effort and concentration, easily closing doors, lifting objects, and entering her mental void by simply placing a blindfold on and using the white noise from a television.
Her abilities are somewhat linked to her emotional state, being at their strongest when influenced by her anger and fear. Being in distressing situations would occasionally cause Eleven to unleash her powers involuntarily. This was most likely how Eleven had opened the Gate: her fear of witnessing the Demogorgon possibly magnifying her powers to the point where she was able to open an interdimensional portal. This was also observed in "The Flea and the Acrobat" when she unintentionally flung Lucas across the junkyard during his fight with Mike. In "Will the Wise", following an intense argument with Hopper, Eleven had a "psychic tantrum", causing her to violently break all of the cabin’s windows. With help from Kali, Eleven learned to harness her anger at will, allowing better control over her powers. She would go on to use this knowledge to aid herself while closing the Gate.
Using her powers takes a physical toll on her body. When using her powers to perform more menial tasks, Eleven usually only suffers from nosebleeds. Based on how her powers are executed, it is likely the source of this blood is actually her brain. When accomplishing more daunting tasks, however, she would become physically exhausted, often to the point where she'd be unable to walk. Her most extreme acts caused bruising on her face, her eyes to become bloodshot, her ears to bleed, and occasionally even unconsciousness. However, if Eleven was sufficiently satiated, this physical toll could be alleviated. Eventually, Eleven’s body had grown accustomed to the recurrent use of her powers, being able to go longer durations without succumbing to complete exhaustion.
Eleven's powers would occasionally affect the nearby electricity; when attempting psychic communication, nearby lights would sometimes flicker or even go out entirely. The Demogorgon, while traveling between dimensions, had remarkably similar effects on nearby electricity, suggesting her abilities may also cause distortion of the electromagnetic field.
After the battle against the Mind Flayer, Eleven's abilities seemed to vanish. According to Dr. Brenner, power overuse led to a blood vessel in her brain to burst, causing a stroke. While strokes in ordinary people can cause cognitive and paralysis issues, for Eleven, the stroke caused the "signals" in her brain to become too scrambled for her psychic abilities to work. Through intensive immersion therapy, which also unlocked prior memories, Eleven began to regain her former power of telekinesis, but has yet to display the use of her other abilities.
- Psionics: Eleven was born with a vast array of preternatural abilities, acquired through a combination of inheritance and exposure to hallucinogenic drugs while in utero during her mother's time as an MKUltra test subject. These abilities were the reason she was abducted at birth and raised at Hawkins National Laboratory, where she was experimented on.
- Telekinesis: Her most recurrent power, she is able to manipulate objects, people and creatures with her mind. When amplified by her emotions, her telekinesis is strong enough to lift large and heavy objects; she flipped a Hawkins Power and Light van in the air in "The Bathtub", and in "The Lost Sister", she was able to channel her anger in order to pull a train car towards her. Moreover, in "The Mind Flayer", she was able to throw and kill a Demodog with her mind. Eleven could also use this ability to attack and cause physical damage to people (primarily in self-defense), even being able to affect internal organs to some extent; she was able to squeeze Troy's bladder in order to make him urinate himself and later broke his arm. Additionally, she has thrown people against walls on several instances, broken the neck of an orderly at Hawkins Lab, and was even able to crush the brains of several agents at once. After deep diving into her most traumatic memories in 1986, Eleven's powers not only have been brought back, but amplified to the point where she can levitate a 1,000 pound tank with absolute ease and telekinetically play around an entire helicopter, as if it was merely a toy helicopter.
- Levitation: Via telekinesis, Eleven could suspend objects in the air, making them levitate. This was first displayed in "Holly, Jolly" where she made Mike’s model of the Millennium Falcon float. This ability is not restricted to objects, as shown in "The Monster" when she saved Mike by levitating him to safety after he had jumped off a cliff. In "The Gate", Eleven herself levitated as she was closing the Gate, possibly as a side effect of her using so much power.
- Portal Manipulation: Eleven can open and manipulate portals to the Upside Down. She was first revealed to have this power in "The Monster", where it was shown that she had accidentally opened the Gate upon making contact with the Demogorgon. Eleven later manages to close the Gate in "The Gate". In "Trick or Treat, Freak", she manipulated a portal that the Demogorgon had opened in order to make it large enough for her to pass through. This ability is rooted from the primary telekinetic power.
- Dimensional Travel: After the Gate was opened, it allowed Hawkins Lab scientists to go into the Upside Down. She herself entered the dimension after defeating the Demogorgon in "The Upside Down."
- Biokinesis: Eleven could manipulate the bodies of living creatures to a certain extent, as shown when she disintegrated the Demogorgon. This ability is rooted from the primary telekinetic power.
- Resurrection: Eleven can resurrect deceased characters. In "The Piggyback", Eleven brings Max Mayfield back to life after she is killed by Vecna. Her injuries remained and she was put into a coma.
- Teleportation: Tentative. She appears to possess this ability as shown when she was somehow transported to the Upside Down upon defeating the Demogorgon, though the exact specifics of how this happened are unclear. It's highly possible the Demogorgon could have played a part, considering it appeared to have abilities similar to Eleven's. Another possibility is that the teleportation was an unintended side effect from Eleven exerting so much power. In any case, if she does possess this ability, she most likely has no knowledge of it. In the Stranger Things collaboration event in The Seven Deadly Sins: Grand Cross, Eleven, after finding Mike's conscience at The Void, managed to teleport herself to the world of Britannia. This ability may be rooted from the primary telekinetic power.
- Extrasensory Perception (ESP): Eleven can gain information through the mind rather than the physical senses. She could recognize people taken into the Upside Down from photos, though she had presumably never met them before, and could sense Will's corresponding location in the other dimension.
- Remote Viewing: Via ESP, she can seek out and find targets in different locations than her own. When amplified by sensory deprivation, this ability is powerful enough to find targets over vast distances, even as far as other dimensions.
- Telepathy: Often used in tandem with her RV abilities. When she has located her target, she can choose to communicate with them mentally.
- Mind Walking: Eleven can enter the minds of others via contacting them through the Void. This was mainly seen in "The Piggyback", where she enters the mind of Max Mayfield in order to save her from Vecna's curse.
- Memory Reading: Eleven is able to view the memories of others via contacting them through the Void. This ability was first displayed in "Dig Dug" where she was able to see several of Terry's memories. She later used this ability in "E Pluribus Unum", viewing the memories of Billy Hargrove's abusive childhood in order to find the Mind Flayer's lair.
- Evocation: Eleven can seemingly communicate with deceased characters. This is seen in "The Piggyback", when she talks with Max Mayfield whilst in ESP.
- Telepathy: Often used in tandem with her RV abilities. When she has located her target, she can choose to communicate with them mentally.
- Psychometry: Or "token-object reading", Eleven can gain information about a person by touching objects associated with them. In "The Weirdo on Maple Street", she was able to correctly identify which game piece was Will's when demonstrating with the D&D board.
- Remote Viewing: Via ESP, she can seek out and find targets in different locations than her own. When amplified by sensory deprivation, this ability is powerful enough to find targets over vast distances, even as far as other dimensions.
- Technopathy: To some extent and with varying results, she can transmit the voices of people and other sounds in other locations over electronic speakers.
- Telekinesis: Her most recurrent power, she is able to manipulate objects, people and creatures with her mind. When amplified by her emotions, her telekinesis is strong enough to lift large and heavy objects; she flipped a Hawkins Power and Light van in the air in "The Bathtub", and in "The Lost Sister", she was able to channel her anger in order to pull a train car towards her. Moreover, in "The Mind Flayer", she was able to throw and kill a Demodog with her mind. Eleven could also use this ability to attack and cause physical damage to people (primarily in self-defense), even being able to affect internal organs to some extent; she was able to squeeze Troy's bladder in order to make him urinate himself and later broke his arm. Additionally, she has thrown people against walls on several instances, broken the neck of an orderly at Hawkins Lab, and was even able to crush the brains of several agents at once. After deep diving into her most traumatic memories in 1986, Eleven's powers not only have been brought back, but amplified to the point where she can levitate a 1,000 pound tank with absolute ease and telekinetically play around an entire helicopter, as if it was merely a toy helicopter.
Regular Abilities[]
- Survival skills: While living in the woods for a month, Eleven learned crucial survival skills, such as hunting (by using her powers) and how to make a fire. As well as due to her time as a test subject it allows many instincts on killing with no guilt or hesitation, stealth that gives her the advantage to hide or escape, and fight without (relying on her supernatural abilities) against prey or threats including coming up with clever plans and strategies making her an excellent survivor.
- Intellect: She has shown to be smart enough in strategizing clever ideas and tactics during life-threatening moments. Eleven demonstrated her intellect in "E Pluribus Unum" when the group was aware that going after Flayed Billy was a risk of endangering themselves, El remembers how she communicated with her mother over her schizophrenia, by using powers to figure out what she was saying in her mind and decides to do the same over his. This allowed her to enter Billy's memories to find the exact location of where the Mind Flayer began the spreading of the Flayed. In "The Piggyback" when the group was 2,000 miles from Hawkins, she illustrates a plan to protect Max while being far away by fighting Vecna in her mind with her Remote viewing knowing it would link them together which was a success.
- Stealth: In "The Vanishing of Will Byers" She was able to sneak inside Benny's Burgers without giving notice and eats spotted french fries until she got caught. Later that night when MKUltra kills Benny, Eleven quickly sprints out the back door only to be held at gunpoint by two agents but quietly kills them before escaping. Then after entering a doorway out of the Upside Down during "Trick or Treat, Freak," when attempting to meet up with Mike at his house the government was present for questioning about her whereabouts as she looks at Mike through the window but hides in the woods so they couldn’t get her, 353 days later Eleven also tried to find Mike at Hawkins middle school only to see him with Max causing her to trip her off her skateboard and leaves without her presence being trace. In "The Battle of Starcourt" when the Mind Flayer breaks into the mall, her and the group separately hides in different areas and she heads in the store Gap with both Mike and Max while remaining silent from the creature's tentacles until Lucas distracts it with his wrist-rocket giving them the chance to make it out the back way of the building.
- Fighting adaptation: After realizing her powers still remained lost and has not been trained with any formal fighting skills. Eleven resorted on her instincts which aid in adapting a combat of both offense and defense through utilizing inanimate objects for improvised weaponry against opponents or in difficult situations. As she instantly prepared to use a roller skate as an improbable melee weapon to attack a bully physically in the face causing a grade 2 concussion, waits for the police officer to unlock the back door before slamming it at his face briefly dazed. She also managed to grab the handle of a defibrillator to swing at Dr. Brenner which scars his mouth.
- Morse code: She was taught how to read and signal Morse code by Hopper as a means for them to safely communicate.
Relationships[]
Familial[]
Terry Ives
While Terry is her biological mother, Eleven originally had no knowledge of her or even the fact that Brenner had kidnapped her at birth. However, Terry tried desperately to get her daughter back and still believed she would one day return. After learning that her mother was alive through the Void, Eleven defied Hopper's rules to meet her. However, when Eleven finally met her mother, she was heartbroken to see her mother catatonic and learned that Hawkins Lab was responsible for causing her mother to be mentally unstable. Despite this, Eleven harbored some love towards her mother, even though she knew that Terry could not raise her as a result of being mentally broken. Although Eleven was saddened and horrified of her mother's tragic fate, she still loved her mother.
Becky Ives
Becky is Eleven's aunt. Like Terry, Eleven had no knowledge of her due to not knowing the circumstances of her birth. Becky believed Terry really miscarried and in extension believed that Jane did not exist. Becky helped Eleven (Jane) look for her "sister" Kali. Eleven stayed the night at Becky's house, but ran away due to her calling the police in regards to her being found.
Jim Hopper
| “ | My dad is famous. He ... He saved lots of lives. In a mall fire. He was a hero for people. And he was my hero, too.
— El defending father as her hero, The Hellfire Club |
” |
Chief Hopper was an ally of Eleven and later became her adoptive father. He rescued her and her friends from government agents, safely bringing them to the Byers house to meet with the others. Their relationship likely had little opportunity to develop at this time as they were preoccupied with saving Will. Hopper ultimately had to reveal Eleven's location to Hawkins Lab in order to save Will, a decision he did not take lightly. Hopper appeared to have some awareness of Eleven's status following her self-sacrifice, providing her with Eggo waffles on Christmas Eve. Eleven's disappearance reminded Hopper of the loss of his daughter, and he became determined to find her.
Hopper eventually found Eleven in the woods and began taking care of her, relocating her to his grandfather's old cabin. The two developed a complicated father-daughter dynamic as they lived together for almost a year. For her safety, Hopper neither permitted her leaving the cabin, nor did he permit her to communicate with Mike or her friends.
After the shutdown of Hawkins Lab, Hopper officially took Eleven in as his adopted daughter and allowed her to attend the Snow Ball.
In 1985, after living with Hopper for over a year, Eleven had come to see Hopper as her father. She remained close with him, even though he did not enjoy her spending so much time with Mike. After learning Hopper forced Mike to lie to her so they can start being distant, Eleven showed no anger towards Hopper, believing her adopted father was right as she had spied on Mike and his friends making comments on girls. When reunited with Hopper at Starcourt Mall, Eleven and Hopper had an emotional talk as they prepared to shut down the key and close the gate with their allies. Though Eleven wanted to help fight, she eventually agreed with Hopper to get safety as she now knew his protectiveness over her was out of love and concern while sharing an embrace with him. However, the defeat of the Mind Flayer's avatar, Eleven was saddened to discover Hopper was supposedly killed in the attempt to close the gate, resulting her to be taken in by the Byers family and move out of Hawkins.
A year later, in 1986, Eleven continued to mourn for Hopper and still loved him. She would even do a history project on Hopper in order to honor his memory where even describing his supposed death brought her to tears. When Angela mocked Hopper, Eleven was provoked to angrily attack Angela in order to defend her adopted father and his memory. After temporarily defeating Vecna, Eleven was tearfully reunited with Hopper who was revealed to be alive due to having been captured by the Russians after closing the gate last year. Overjoyed to see Hopper alive, Eleven shared a warm embrace with him as he comforted her.
Joyce Byers
| “ | "I'm happy you went to your ... conference."
— El expressing gratitude to Joyce for rescuing Hopper in "The Piggyback" |
” |
In 1983, when her son went missing, Joyce asked Eleven for assistance in locating Will in the Upside Down. However, unlike Brenner, Joyce was extremely patient and kind to Eleven. When helping her put on duct-taped goggles, Joyce praised El for her bravery and thanked her for helping her family, something El was visibly confused about but appreciative of. While in the pool, El began having a panic attack upon discovering Barb’s corpse, but Joyce held her arm and comforted her. El does eventually locate Will, and Joyce hugs her and praises her after El exited the Void.
In 1984, El tearfully reunited with Joyce following a year in hiding. The two hug tightly while Joyce affectionately calls her “sweetheart”. Eleven doesn’t hesitate in once again rescuing Will and assisting Joyce.
In 1985, Eleven maintained a good relationship with Joyce who was supportive of her relationshi with Mike. After getting a piece of the Mind Flayer's avatar out of her leg, El reunited with Joyce and they, along with their friends came up with a plan to close the Gate in order to kill the Mind Flayer's avatar. After successfully closing the Gate, El made eye contact with Joyce who simply stared at her in tears as El slowly broke down crying as she realized from Joyce's expression that Hopper presumably did not survive. Three months later, El was taken in by Joyce and joined her family in moving out of Hawkins. On moving day, Joyce discovered Hopper’s letter to Mike and El when folding his clothes. In turn, she gave it to a curious Eleven to read. El broke down as she read it, sobbing over the crinkled page, and Joyce comforted her afterward.
In 1986, El came to regard Joyce as her mother figure while living with her in Lenora Hills, California. However, it was likely El did not tell Joyce she was being bullied at her new school due to Joyce being busy with her new job as a telemarketer. During spring break, El was surprised to hear Joyce announced she had to go to a "conference" in Alaska, but did not say anything about it as she was upset over her alteration with Angela. On March 29, after temporarily defeating Vecna, El reunited with Joyce in Hawkins and learned she had actually gone to Russia to rescue Hopper who had actually been kidnapped by the Russian government. Upon reuniting with Joyce, El shared an embrace with her and jokingly expressed how happy she was that she went to her "conference".
Jonathan Byers
In the fall of 1983, Jonathan first met Eleven when she helped assist his family locate Will in the Upside Down using her telekinetic abilities.
In the fall of 1984, Jonathan was shocked upon Eleven's return after saving him and the others from rampant Demodogs.
In the summer of 1985, Jonathan and Eleven worked together alongside Mike, Lucas, Will, Max, and Nancy in taking down the Mind Flayer and Billy. El assisted Jonathan in saving Nancy from the melted form of Bruce Lowe and Tom Holloway. When El was bitten by the Mind Flayer, leaving her ankle punctured, Jonathan assisted in dressing her wound the best he could. When El fainted from exhaustion and began screaming in pain at the Starcourt Mall, Jonathan ran towards a Chinese restaurant and grabbed plastic wrap, a wooden spoon, and a knife heated by a stove. Giving her the spoon to bite down on, Jonathan was honest to El and told her what he was about to do would "hurt like hell", but El allowed him to continue onward with the removal of the infection. El began to scream as Jonathan opened a slit on her leg and riddled through the wound to get the Mind Flayer piece out, but El told him to stop and said she could do it, using the last of her telekinesis to remove the piece. Jonathan later assisted the others in ambushing the Mind Flayer with Lucas' fireworks to save El. Three months later, following Hopper's "death", El had begun living with the Byers, and moved out of Hawkins alongside them.
In the spring of 1986, Jonathan and El have begun to address themselves as siblings or stepsiblings to the public, as they struggled to adjust to their new lives in Lenora Hills, California. El mentioned to Mike in her letter how she discovered Jonathan and his new best friend Argyle smoking "smelly plants" together, and Jonathan told her that they were safe since they came from the earth, but made her promise not to tell Joyce. She also expressed hope that Jonathan could go to Emerson College in Massachusetts with Nancy. When a high Jonathan and Argyle pick up El, Mike, and Will from the Rink-O-Mania after El assaulted Angela, Jonathan attempted to comfort a guilt-ridden El, but made things worse when he and Argyle turned it into a joke. At dinner, El glared at Jonathan when he unintentionally brought up the incident in front of Joyce and Murray. The next day, Jonathan answered the door to find two police officers looking for El. Jonthan addressed himself as El's brother/stepbrother, and was shocked that the police had a warrant for El's arrest after she assaulted Angela. He asked the officers if cuffing El was necessary, and ran back to the house to call Joyce, with no success. At the police station, Jonathan and Will's attempts to bail El out since they were her family proved to be unsuccessful since they weren't El's legal guardians. After a trio of Dr. Owens' agents arrive at the Byers' home to tell the boys that El has been taken away to reignite her powers in order to defeat a new evil lurking in Hawkins, Jonathan agreed with Mike and Will to sneak away from the agents so they could find El and return to Hawkins. After finding El in Nevada, Jonathan reunited with his foster sister and told her that they needed to get her out of Nevada before the government found her. In the Surfer Boy Pizza van, El said that they needed to get to Hawkins as soon as possible since their friends were in danger, but Jonathan informed her that it was impossible since the drive would be over 2,000 miles. At night, Jonathan helped assist making a sensory deprivation tank for El made from a pizza dough freezer at a local Surfer Boy Pizza in Nevada. When El began to choke as a result of Vecna strangling her in the Void, Jonathan helped lift El out of the freezer and placed her on a table, holding her arm as Mike comforted her. Two days later, El and Jonathan traveled back to Hawkins, finding their former home wrecked from Vecna. Jonathan would help assist El, Mike, Will, Nancy, and Argyle rebuilt the Hopper's family cabin.
Will Byers
In 1983, when asked by Mike to help look for Will, Eleven agreed to help, despite not knowing Will at all. El located him in the Void inside the dimension’s version of Castle Byers, telling him to hold on a little longer, since his mother was coming to rescue him. Shortly afterward, Eleven disappeared, but Mike, Dustin, and Lucas spoke of her to a bewildered Will in the hospital after he was rescued.
In 1984, when Eleven returns, she doesn’t hesitate to assist her friends in rescuing Will from the possession of the Mind Flayer, closing the Gate and killing the Demodogs. A month afterward, El has joined the Party and attends the Snow Ball alongside her friends.
By 1985, Will had secretly grown jealous of the fact that his friends have matured and now spend their time obsessing over girls, most particularly with Mike and El. When the two lie about El’s curfew to sneak away from the Party, Will comments that their relationship is “gross”. After witnessing El and Max break up with Mike and Lucas, Will ceases the opportunity to play Dungeons & Dragons like they used to. However, he grows angry over their snide comments about his campaign and obsession with calling the girls. After storming out, Will yells at Mike that he’s ruining the Party because he’s “swapping spit with some stupid girl”. However, when Will discovers the Mind Flayer has returned, he puts his anger aside and has Eleven assist in once again defeating the monster. Due to their connections with the Upside Down, Will and El are the two main keys in the Party’s battle. Three months after the destruction of the Starcourt Mall, El has become Will’s adopted sister, joining the Byers in moving out of Hawkins.
In 1986, they become closer after moving, due to not knowing anyone else their age. El and Will became high school freshmen in Lenora Hills, California, where she was subjugated to bullying by their peers though was supported by Will. On the last day of school before spring break, El was once again supported by Will when she presented her diorama in front of the class, and did her best to ignore Angela when she and her cronies teased her. Unfortunately, El grew emotional and hurt by the bullying, and stormed out in tears. Will tried to tell her that it wasn't bad as it seemed, but El yelled that friends don't lie. Will said he wasn't lying and called out to El and she walked to her next class emotionally. At the end of the day, after El attempted to use her powers to no avail when Angela and her cronies destroyed her project, El sadly noticed Will who looked equally sad as well. As the crowd dissolved, Will fell to the floor and tried to tell El that he'll help fix her project, but El began to cry when she discovered her figurine of Hopper has been snapped in half.
The next day, when Mike arrived in Lenora Hills, El's lying to Mike was discovered by Will when she explained she was "friends" with Angela and went to parties at Rink-O-Mania. When Mike left to get socks at the counter for rollerskating, El was confronted by Will over her lies. When he told her Mike would not be happy when he discovered the truth, El ignored Will and continued to lie to Mike. Unfortunately, her lies would be exposed as El was humiliated by Angela and her cronies at the center of the rink. While eating dinner back home, after El had angrily struck Angela in the face with a roller skate in retaliation, El and Will glared at Jonathan and Argyle as they explained to Joyce and Murray (in a high state) about the incident, and they both glared at Mike when he said that Angela didn't look fine.
The next morning, when police arrived to arrest El, Will tried to cover for her and explaining what happened was an accident, but the officers say that the warrant they had proved otherwise. At the police station, Will tried to bail El out of jail by stating that he and Jonathan were her brothers and family, but it wasn't enough since they weren't El's legal guardians. After being rescued by Dr. Owens, El decided to risk not seeing Will again in order to regain her powers and fight a new evil terrorizing Hawkins. Nearly a week later, Eleven was reunited with Will where she embraced and cried in his arms. Will pulled away and asked if she was alright as he touched with the locked collar around her neck. El confirmed she's fine as the collar was released from her neck by a dying Dr. Brenner. That night, Eleven was assisted by Will in making a sensory deprivation tank at Surfer Boy Pizza to defeat Vecna, and he later hoisted her out of the freezer when she began to hyperventilate.
Two days later, Eleven and Will returned to Hawkins together and reunited with their friends before they worked together to rebuild Hopper's cabin.
Non-Familial[]
Martin Brenner
Eleven's history with Dr. Martin Brenner runs deep: not only did he define her childhood, but he was potentially responsible for her very existence. Brenner had experimented on her mother Terry, who had volunteered to become a MKUltra test subject. While undergoing these tests, Terry mysteriously became pregnant. After discovering the pregnancy, Brenner took the child away directly from birth, raising her at Hawkins Lab.
Throughout childhood, Eleven was treated harshly and severely. Brenner appeared to be Eleven's only source of social engagement, and thus she grew to be dependent on his attention. Brenner built himself up as a father figure, establishing a somewhat tender demeanor when in her presence. However, an unstated threat was present in even the most affectionate words he uttered, lurking just beneath the surface.
When Eleven performed well, Brenner would "reward" her with affection. When Eleven disobeyed him, she would instead be subjected to cruel psychological torture. Even when Eleven was on her best behavior, she spent much of her time in solitary confinement, locked in a "bedroom" cell. Brenner's only true interest in the girl was her extraordinary power; her physical or mental health was merely of tangential importance to his goal. When Eleven performed extraordinary feats, Brenner appeared proud of her accomplishments.
After Eleven escaped from the lab and experienced genuinely loving relationships for the first time, she could finally see through Brenner's façade. When he eventually found her and promised to take her home, she rejected his offer, instead crying and reaching out to her new friends.
Mike Wheeler
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In 1983, Mike and Eleven developed a special relationship in the six days they knew each other and quickly fell in love. Out of the three boys who found her in the woods, Mike grew the closest to Eleven, partly due to her staying at his house. Although Dustin and Lucas eventually developed trust for her, Mike was the first to do so, welcoming her into his home and keeping her a secret from his parents. Eleven, in turn, was clearly most relaxed while alone with Mike. Unlike Dustin and Lucas, Mike immediately understood that, despite her powers and strange appearance, she was ultimately just another kid and did not mean to cause trouble for him and his friends. His respect and admiration for her deepened when she aided and defended him and his friends in their search for Will.
Mike even invited her to be his date to the Snow Ball, an offer she happily accepted. Out of love for Mike and to protect him and their friends, Eleven used her powers to disintegrate the Demogorgon and vanished into the Upside Down. Mike was devastated by her disappearance and called her on his Supercom for 353 days in a row while keeping her pillow fort in perfect condition. This whole time, he was unaware that Eleven was actually alive and attempting to reach him through the Void.
After almost a year of separation, the two were finally reunited and shared a long-awaited hug. Unfortunately, their reunion was cut short, due to the crisis at Hawkins Lab. Mike told Eleven that he “can’t lose her” to which she promised that he would not. Eleven leaned in to kiss Mike but was interrupted by Hopper. Afterwards, Eleven and Mike attended the Snow Ball where they shared their second known kiss and danced to the song “Every Breath You Take”.
In 1985, their relationship blossomed more and more, much to her father's dismay. Hopper became concerned to the point of threatening Mike into not spending time with Eleven. Fearful of the threatening police officer, Mike did as he was told and kept his distance from El, lying to her and claiming that his nana is sick. With the help of Max, Eleven saw through his lie and when Mike refused to explain himself, she broke up with him, quoting Max's earlier advice: "I dump your ass". Max and Eleven quickly left on the bus and Mike was left there, heartbroken, with Will and Lucas. Eleven was frustrated with Mike for seemingly wanting to control her and not believing in her, though he later revealed to everyone except Eleven that he was only behaving like this because he loved her and he couldn't lose her again. Mike later explained that he only avoided Eleven because Hopper had threatened him, and the two reconciled in the hospital while waiting for Nancy and Jonathan to return.
Mike saved Eleven's life three times. When her leg was seriously injured, he helped her walk and took care of her. When she was in pain, he was very worried about her. After nearly losing her to the Mind Flayer, Mike ran to Eleven's side at the end of the battle, and the two hugged. Later, they are seen together in the back of an ambulance.
Three months later, Eleven was preparing to move away from Hawkins with Will's family. Although she was still unable to use her powers, Mike was optimistic that they would come back. The two made plans to see each other at Thanksgiving while Mike also wistfully imagined a Christmas together. El recalled how Mike expressed his feelings for her at the cabin and kissed him, telling him she loved him, too. Outside the Byers' home, they shared long, tearful hugs. In the moving truck, Eleven already missed Mike as she looked out the window, revealing her desire to stay in Hawkins with him.
By the spring of 1986, El and Mike keep in touch with one another through letters. El has a shrine on a hope chest in her bedroom filled with cards and photos from Mike, though they have begun to suffer from communication problems; Eleven has been lying about how great California is to Mike, avoiding the mention of her getting bullied by Angela and her posse. Mike, on the other hand, has still been finding it difficult to say the words "I love you" directly to El, simply ending his letters with "From". Though El hides her frustration over his lack of saying "love", it hits a breaking point when El is humiliated at the Rink-O-Mania that causes her to assault Angela in the face. The next morning, Mike attempted to comfort El and say that he understood since he's been bullied his entire life. El, however, shut down his statement by saying that no matter where she goes, she does not belong anywhere, due to believing people look at her as if she were a monster. She accused Mike of perceiving her as a monster too due to him reacting negatively when El had hit Angela in the face, but Mike said he was just surprised and it didn't take away from how much he "cares about her". This made El even more upset as she revealed to Mike that he never signed his letters to her with the word "love", but "from" instead. Though Mike attempted to comfort her by saying she knew what he thought of her and she was still a superhero, El said she wasn't anymore due to still not having her powers. El was then arrested due to the assault, and Mike tells El through the police car windows that he will fix this. After being rescued by Dr. Owens, El decided to risk not seeing Mike again in order to regain her powers and fight a new evil terrorizing Hawkins. She even had Agent Ellen Stinson give Mike a note, letting him know she was going to become a "superhero" again, though she signed it "From El." However, while working to regain her powers, El missed Mike so much during her time at the Nina Project.
Nearly a week later, after El took down a helicopter with her newly equipped powers, El was surprised to see Mike who had eventually tracked her down but she happily hugged Mike as they pressed their heads together. Once they escaped in Argyle's van, Eleven told Mike and Will, that they had to get back to Hawkins immediately, due to their friends risking their lives to kill Vecna. They later stopped at a gas station, and Jonathan frantically called many airlines, trying to find a way for them to get back to Hawkins. After El realized that she can "piggyback" in order to fight Vecna and will need a sensory deprivation tank in order to do so, the group proceeded to go to Surfer Boy Pizza, as there was enough salt there to create a tank for Eleven. El and Mike sat together in the shop where Mike made El giggle after he joked about "looking so cool" with the glasses that he made. Eleven then took his hands and talked about how she missed him. He said that he missed her as well, and began to talk about his feelings for her, but they are then interrupted by Argyle. Argyle placed a pizza on the table, telling Mike and Eleven to try it. Mike immediately refused, due to there being the pineapple as a topping. El tried the pizza and says that it's "really good". El and Argyle playfully forced Mike to try the pizza which made him like it in the end.
Later, while Eleven was in the sensory deprivation tank fighting Vecna, she started choking due to being trapped by tentacles in Vecna's Mind Lair. In order to help El fight Vecna in her mind, Mike delivered an emotional monologue about how he loved Eleven, and how he could not lose her. Confessing that he "felt like his life started" the day he bumped into her in the woods, he called her his "superhero” and urges her to fight, which gave Eleven the strength to resist Vecna. Later on, El and Mike returned to Hawkins and leaned on one another as they look over a comatose Max before they started to rebuild Hopper's cabin and witness the Upside Down beginning to merge into Hawkins.
Lucas Sinclair
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Lucas was initially suspicious of Eleven, dismissing her as a "psycho". Although Dustin and Mike made efforts to become friendlier, Lucas kept some distance from her, viewing her as a distraction from the search for Will. Eleven, lacking social skills and confidence, was unable to convince him that she was truly on their side. When Eleven was discovered to be manipulating the compass to keep the boys from finding the Gate, Lucas grew angry, accusing her of being traitorous. After Eleven ran away, Lucas had little interest in finding her. However, after Lucas realized that she was justified to keep the boys away from the dangerous forces at Hawkins Lab, his opinion of her changed. Following the kids' reunion, Eleven and Lucas apologized to one another and remained friendly.
In 1984, when Eleven revealed herself to be alive, she embraced Lucas and Dustin. Lucas said they've missed her, with Eleven saying she missed them too.
In 1985, Lucas and Eleven were shown to still be good friends with each other. The two would work together, along with their friends, in trying to stop the Mind Flayer who had returned to Hawkins. When Eleven was choked by Billy, Lucas was shocked and worried for her, showing he does care for her. After Lucas found out that Eleven and Max spied on him and Mike, Lucas was upset, but quickly forgave Eleven. During the fight at Hopper's Cabin, when the Mind Flayer grabbed Eleven by her leg, Lucas managed to save her by chopping off the Mind Flayer's tentacle with an axe. After retreating to Bradley's Big Buy, while taking care of Eleven, Lucas decided to steal some fireworks to help Eleven fight against the Mind Flayer's proxy. Lucas's decision proves to be good when he again manages to save Eleven by throwing the exploding fireworks at the Mind Flayer. After the Mind Flayer's defeat, three months later, Eleven said goodbye to Lucas as she left Hawkins with the Byers family.
In 1986, when learning from Sam Owens of a new evil threatening Hawkins, Eleven became concerned about Lucas and decided to go to the Nina Project to regain her powers and save him. Once she successfully regained her powers, El entered the Void to check on Lucas and the rest of her friends to see how they were doing. When hearing Lucas and her friends planning to kill Vecna, Eleven grew fearful of their safety and decided to return to Hawkins to save Lucas and the others. Yet, after making a sensory deprivation tank at Surfer Boy Pizza, El found Lucas and Max in the Void getting Vecna's attention, and helped Lucas protect Max. However, when Max succumbed to her injuries, Eleven spiritually cried with Lucas as they grieved over their friend. After resurrecting Max by restarting her heart and arriving at the Hawkins Memorial Hospital, El reunited with and embraced Lucas while apologizing for not being there. As they looked over a comatose Max, El asked Lucas if she'll wake up, to which Lucas replied that the doctors don't know while remarking her survival as a miracle.
Dustin Henderson
| “ | Teeth. You have teeth.
— El to Dustin after reuniting with him in The Gate |
” |
Dustin's initial attitude toward Eleven lay somewhere between Mike's open-mindedness and Lucas's skepticism. He became considerably kinder to her after discovering she had “superpowers”, although he retained a degree of indifference towards her. After an incident with Lucas, he was quick to call her out on a questionable use of her power, though he later admitted that it was “awesome.” While it is unclear if he saw her as a member of their “party” at that point, he did assist Mike in looking for Eleven after she had ran away. After Eleven saved him and Mike from bullies, he proudly declared that she was their friend and thoroughly cared about her from that point on.
In 1984, when Eleven revealed herself to be alive, she embraced Dustin and Lucas. Dustin revealed to her that they've reminisced her and talked about her almost everyday. Eleven was even surprised that Dustin had teeth which Dustin proudly showed them off to her.
In 1985, Eleven used her powers to make Dustin's toys move to lure Dustin to a spot where she and the others welcome him back from Camp Know Where. When Dustin revealed he got a girlfriend, El was shocked and went with him to help build Cerebro so he can contact his girlfriend Suzie. However, Eleven decided to leave on the journey to the top of Weathertop so she can spend romantic time with Mike, leaving Dustin upset. Later, after Dustin managed to get a short transmission to Mike, El used her powers to locate him at Starcourt Mall and comes to his rescue by stopping some Russians from killing him. After she saved Dustin, she happily shared a hug with him. When Eleven's leg wound began pulsating, El was helped by Dustin. After the fight against the Mind Flayer, Eleven said good-bye to Dustin before leaving Hawkins with the Byers family.
In 1986, when learning from Dr. Sam Owens of a new evil threatening Hawkins, Eleven became concerned about Dustin and decided to go to the Nina Project to regain her powers and save him. Once she successfully regained her powers, El entered the Void to check on Dustin and the rest of her friends to see how they were doing. When hearing Dustin and her friends planning to kill Vecna, Eleven grew fearful of their safety and decided to return to Hawkins to save Dustin and the others. After temporarily defeating Vecna by battling him in Max's mind, El returned to Hawkins and reunited with Dustin, sharing a warm embrace with him.
Max Mayfield
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In 1984, Max was originally only told of El through Mike as a girl in the Party that "moved away". When Eleven saw Mike smiling at Max skateboarding, she jealously used her powers to cause Max to fall onto the ground. When Eleven revealed that she was alive to her friends, Max was shocked that was the boys told her was true. Max approached Eleven and introduced herself, saying she had heard a lot about and her and gesturing for a handshake. Eleven, however, coldly brushed her aside, much to Max's confusion. This didn't stop Max from assisting in defeating the Mind Flayer, and they later attend the Snow Ball together.
In 1985, Max and El are initially on neutral terms, both now being members of the Party. Unlike Will, Max originally defends Mike and El's relationship, calling it "romantic". However, when El approaches Max at her house about Mike ditching her, Max interprets this as Mike lying to El to hang out with Lucas. She tells El to ignore Mike's attempts to contact him and if he doesn't explain himself, to "dump his ass". To cheer her up, Max takes El to the Starcourt Mall. Though El is initially hesitant since going to a public place was against her father's rules, Max comforted her and told her that nothing would happen since she had super powers. The girls soon grew close to one another throughout the day, trying on clothes, taking photos, pranking bullies, and getting ice cream. Max encouraged El to find herself without her father or Mike's approval, and El began to copy Max, repeating many of her sayings. The girls find Mike, Lucas, and Will at the mall as well. Max defends her letting El to be in public, saying she has found her "new style". Hanging out with Max has influenced El incredibly, as she confronts Mike lying to her and eventually "dumping his ass", much to Mike and Max's shock. As the girls leave on a bus, they high-five one another while giggling. That night, Max slept over at El's cabin and introduced her to teen magazines, while also comforting her over her breakup with Mike. The two used El's powers to spy on the boys, and soon create a boardgame off of it. El asked if it's against the rules, but Max tells her that "[they] make [their] own rules". The game was cut short when the girls spy on Billy and discover him doing something to a screaming girl. Though Max was initially dismissive and believed Billy is just doing something sexual with a girl (as as she describes to El as "happy screams"), the two eventually realize that Billy had been possessed by the Mind Flayer. Letting bygones be bygones, the girls reunited with the boys to help defeat the Mind Flayer. While Max cleaned up El's neck after she has been choked by Billy, Max asked her if it hurts. El said it only hurts when she talks, causing Max to joke that she was lucky that she was not Mike because "she'd be in constant pain", causing El to laugh. When arguing with Mike, Max told him that El was her own person fully capable of making her own decisions, and Mike should trust her since El has saved the world twice. When El was infected by the Mind Flayer, Max led the group to help clean her wound. At the Starcourt, she and Mike helped a wounded El around the mall and when attempting to escape Billy, but she (along with Mike) were knocked out by her stepbrother. After witnessing Billy's gruesome death, a grief-stricken Max sobbed in El's arms as she comforted her. Three months later, Max and El tearfully hugged one another as El left with the Byers, moving to California.
In 1986, when learning from Sam Owens of a new evil threatening Hawkins, Eleven became concerned about Max and decided to go to the Nina Project to regain her powers and save her. Once she successfully regained her powers, El entered the Void to check on Max and the rest of her friends to see how they were doing. However, when El heard heard Max deciding to use herself as bait so their friends could kill Vecna, risking her life and a gate being opened to the Upside Down in the process, El grew fearful of her safety and decided to return to Hawkins while begging Dr. Owens to send his agents to protect Max. After escaping from NINA, El came up with a plan to protect Max by "piggybacking" into Max's mind since Vecna would be there as well. Inside, El located Max in a memory of the Snow Ball, launching Vecna into the school bleachers before he could kill Max. El ran to Max and asked if she was, while Max confusingly asked El was she's real as she examined her face. El held Max's hand and confirmed that she's real. Max asked how it was possible, causing El to simply say, "I piggybacked from a pizza dough freezer", further confusing Max. Their conversation was interrupted when Vecna emerged from the bleachers. El instructed Max to stay back as she approached Vecna, threatening to kill him again if he ever to touched Max again. Unfortunately, Vecna gained the upper-hand in the battle between Eleven where Max attempted to help by running to Vecna with a wooden stake, but Vecna incapacitated her and knocked her out unconscious.
Vecna transported the girls to his mindscape and tied El down so she is forced to watch him kill Max. El soon broke free through Mike's motivation and forced Vecna away before he can fully kill Max. Once Vecna and his mindscape vanish, El was left to watch in horror as Max succumbed to her injuries, her eyes bloodied and three of her limbs snapped in half. El, alongside Lucas, was left sobbing hysterically as Max died. After the Upside Down's gates open, El sat in silence before deciding she was not going to let Max stay dead. Breathing slowly, El used her telekinesis to restart Max's heart, with memories of the past summer they spent together further motivating her. Two days later, El returned to Hawkins and visited a now comatose Max in the hospital. Despite being informed by Lucas that the doctors do not know if Max will wake or not, El took Max's hand and told her she was right here with her. El then attempted to locate Max in the Void, screaming her name, but could not find her anywhere, leaving El saddened.
Benny Hammond
Benny was the first person Eleven encountered after escaping the lab. During their short time together, Benny treated her kindly and cared about her well being, a stark contrast to her treatment at the lab. Fearing that she was a victim of abuse, he called Social Services hoping to help her. Unfortunately, this good deed would lead to his death at the hands of DOE agent Connie Frazier. Eleven later killed Connie and other agents in order to defend herself and her friends; whether intentional or not, she avenged Benny with this action.
Nancy Wheeler
In 1983, Eleven first saw Nancy in a photograph and thought she was pretty. Eleven later officially met Nancy after Chief Jim Hopper rescued her, Mike, and their friends from the Department of Energy agents. Eleven was confused when Nancy asked her if she was wearing her dress, but when she asked her if she could find her friend, Barbara and as Eleven did so, she sadly confirmed Barbara was dead, devastating Nancy.
In 1984, Eleven met up with Nancy again after she saved her and the group from Demodogs. Then, by 1985, Eleven and Nancy became close as they worked together with their friends in searching for the Flayed. When arriving at the hospital to have Doris Driscoll lead them to the Flayed, Eleven saved Nancy before she was killed by a monster, created from the remains of Bruce Lowe and Tom Holloway. When the Mind Flayer's avatar attacked Eleven, she was saved when Nancy used her gun to shoot the monster in an attempt to save her. Eleven had her wounds tended by Nancy before she saved her again from the Mind Flayer's avatar Three months later, Eleven said goodbye to Nancy before she moved out of Hawkins with the Byers family.
In 1986, after regaining her powers, Eleven spied on Nancy and the rest of her friends to check on them. When Nancy and her friends decided to kill Vecna, Eleven grew fearful of their safety and decided to return to Hawkins to save Nancy and the others. Two days later, after temporarily defeating Vecna, Eleven reunited with Nancy and worked with her to help rebuild Hopper's Cabin before they witnessed the Upside Down beginning to merge into Hawkins.
Argyle
After moving to Lenora Hills, California, Eleven met Argyle after he struck a friendship with her adoptive brother, Jothan. Eleven referred to Argyle in her letters to Mike as "Jonathan's funny friend" whose hair was longer than hers, but she was cordial to him. When picking up Mike, El, and Will from Rink-O-Mania after El had hit Angela in the face with a roller skate, Argyle and Jonathan (while high from smoking weed) attempted to comfort her, saying Angela would be fine, but they only made it worse by joking about it. After regaining her powers, Eleven met with Argyle again as he had arrived with Mike, Will, and Jonathan to come to her rescue. After escaping from Lt. Colonel Jack Sullivan, Eleven was aided by Argyle in building a sensory deprivation tank for her to use so she could battle Vecna and save her friends in Hawkins. Argyle also provided pizza for Eleven and Mike, which she enjoyed. As Eleven fought Vecna, she was watched over by Argyle and after she temporarily defeated Vecna, they traveled back to Hawkins together.
Troy Walsh & James Dante
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When Eleven saw Troy and James bullying her friends, she instantly disliked them. After Mike stood up to Troy for insulting Will, she used her powers to make Troy urinate in front of his classmates, humiliating him. When Troy sought revenge and threatened to hurt Mike and Dustin, she used her abilities once again to push James to the ground and breaks Troy's right arm. The two boys fled in terror. Although they clearly did not like Eleven, they had gained a newfound respect for - and fear of - her and her friends.
Angela
After moving to California with the Byers family, Eleven attended school at Lenora Hills High School where Angela, her boyfriend Jake, and their friends began to bully her. Though Eleven did her best to ignore Angela and her friends, she was often hurt by their cruelty. When Angela and her friends destroyed her history project that she based on Hopper, Eleven who lost a moment of clarity tried to use her powers against Angela, only to remember she still didn't have them as she ended embarrassing herself. When Ms. Gracey comforted her and asked if someone destroyed her project, Eleven lied and did not tell on Angela, but Ms. Gracey was able to see what really happened and escorted Angela to the principal's office as punishment for bullying Eleven and destroying her project.
When Mike came to California for spring break, Eleven lied to him, saying she was friends with Angela. Unfortunately, while at Rink-O-Mania, Eleven was confronted by Angela who wanted revenge as she blamed her for getting her in trouble. After Eleven was humiliated in front of the entire rink by Angela and her friends, Eleven angrily confronted Angela and asked her to apologize while confirming to Mike that they were truly friends. When Angela refused to apologize and instead mocked her of Hopper's supposed death, Eleven lost control of her rage and angrily struck Angela in the face with a roller skate. However, upon seeing how badly she injured Angela, Eleven felt incredibly guilty while presumably making Angela decide not to bully her ever again.
Vecna
During her childhood, Eleven was a target of bullying from her fellow test subjects and was always comforted by an orderly, who reassured her that she was the most powerful of all of Martin Brenner's experiments. He gave her the advice of using her darker memories to enhance her powers, which allowed her to defeat bully Two in a contest. The orderly warned Eleven that Two and his friends would try to kill her and Brenner would allow that to happen before instructing her to meet him in the basement. When she joined him, he revealed an escape through a drain pipe before convincing her to remove a device from his neck that tracked his movements.
Unbeknownst to Eleven, removing this device also restored the telekinetic powers of the orderly, who revealed himself to be One, the very first subject of the lab. One revealed his true identity as Henry Creel and explained his origins, remorselessly admitted murdering his own mother and sister and allowed his father to take the blame for their murders. He insisted that humanity was a special kind of plague that must be eradicated and the rules that society followed were not correct. When he attempted to convince her to join him in his quest of reshaping the Earth, she refused, leading to a telekinetic duel between the two. Even though One initally gained the upperhand, Eleven tapped into her happiest memory and broke free from One's grasp. Pinning Henry to a wall, Eleven slowly began to desintegrate his body and apparently killed him, not knowing that she actually sent him to a parallel dimension. This event caused Eleven to fall into a coma due to overexerting her powers, causing her memories of this day and of One to be erased.
Nearly ten years later, One, also known by the Party as Vecna, began to murder several teenagers throughout Hawkins with the goal of creating gates to the Upside Down and merge the dimension with Hawkins. When Eleven went through a program organized by Dr. Brenner to regain her powers, she regained her memories of her interactions and battle against One. Once she regained her powers, she confronted him in Max's mind but as Brenner feared, her power was no match against her predecessor's. Before Vecna could kill Max, Eleven tried to sympathize with him, informing him of Brenner's death and telling him that the only "monster" between them was him. However, Vecna dismissed Eleven's theory and assured her it was himself who chose the dark path that he took before revealing that he was the Mind Flayer's master and therefore the responsible for all of the disasters in Hawkins at the hands of the creatures of the Upside Down. Eleven tried to convince Vecna that he has time to end everything that he had been planning but he rejected her and remained adamant in destroying humanity and creating a much more beautiful world.
When Vecna was about to execute Max, Eleven, whose confidence was restored by the speech from her boyfriend Mike, broke free from her restraints and managed to throw Vecna away from Max just before he could deliver the final blow. Having been pinned to a pillar, Vecna told Eleven that she and her friends could not stop the inevitable and the beginning of the end was about to begin, meaning they have lost the war. However, Eleven told him that he is the one who has lost. Their conversation was interrupted by Steve, Robin and Nancy, who throw Molotov Cocktails at Vecna's true body in the Upside Down Creel House attic, causing him and his mindscape to disappear around Eleven. Once Vecna was apparently killed, Max ultimately died from her broken limbs, leaving Eleven devastated. Nto willing to let her best friend go, Eleven resurrected Max by using her telekinesis to restart her heart. Unfortunately, this was too late as Max's technical death allowed the final gate to be created and all four curse gates were merged with one another, just as Vecna intended.
Two days later, Eleven returned to Hawkins along with Mike, Will and Jonathan and tried to find Max's mind while she was comatose, only to find emptiness. After she was reunited with her adoptive father Hopper, who was being held captive in Russia, Eleven, Hopper and their allies witnessed white particles descending from the sky. Walking to nearby hill, they all witnessed dark clouds and red lightning rumbling above them, which allowed Eleven to realize Vecna was still alive and she looked more determined than ever to kill him to put an end to his reign of terror once and for all.