Stranger Things characters: Which Marvel heroes would they be?

With Avengers: Endgame and Stranger Things 3 on the way, now seems like the perfect time to pair the Stranger Things characters with their Marvel counterparts.

Stranger Things brings the 80s nostalgia in every episode. With a third season on the way and Avengers: Endgame blowing up in theaters soon, there are a lot of fun things on the way.

Comics were certainly prevalent in the 80s and it’s time to have some fun and pair up the Stranger Things characters with their Marvel counterparts.

The Kids

Eleven: Scarlet Witch

This pairing came to mind immediately. It makes sense that Eleven would be Scarlet Witch. Both are strong characters who can manipulate objects at their will. Maybe Eleven should dress up as Scarlet Witch when Halloween rolls around again (even though season 3 takes place over the summer). The similarities were just too strong to ignore here. They don’t have the same origin story, but both of their “fathers” are pretty evil men.

Dustin: The Hulk

Back when the second season dropped, Mark Ruffalo made an appearance on Good Morning America with some of the cast members of Stranger Things. You could see some resemblance between Gaten and Mark with their curly, messy hair.

You don’t have to be jacked in order to turn into the Hulk. Mark Ruffalo is a normal-sized guy as Bruce Banner. He just happens to turn large and green. Dustin and Bruce both have neediness to them that makes them pretty awkward around the ladies. While Bruce tried to have a romance with Natasha, things didn’t go as planned for them. Meanwhile, Dustin was by himself at the school dance until Nancy did him a solid and danced with him.

Max: Black Widow

Black Widow has a particular skill set and some flashy moves that come with it. The same could be said of Max, who the guys notice because of her video game and skateboarding skills. They’re instantly infatuated with her (except for Mike really) and in the end, Lucas gets the girl.

While Black Widow is flying solo, neither of these ladies needs a guy to tell them what to do. They can each take care of themselves and it shows with their personalities. They also aren’t afraid to tackle things head-on, which includes going up against the big villains of their respective universes.

Lucas: War Machine

Lucas walks around wearing a camouflage bandana on his head as the gang dives head first into the chaos that ensues in Hawkins. I really feel like his personality falls in line with what we see from Rhodey in the Marvel movies. He has some snark to him but wants to do what’s right, no matter the cost.

In Captain America: Civil War, Rhodey pays the price and has to go through a lengthy rehab in order to walk again. Hopefully, Lucas won’t suffer a similar fate in Stranger Things 3, but he’s pretty resilient even when he’s scared. You can even think of his relationship with his sister as one that’s similar to Rhodey and Tony’s relationship. Tony is like a brother to him and also happens to greatly annoy him.

Mike: Spider-Man

I struggled a little with figuring out a good counterpart for Mike. He starts to feel like an outsider when Max comes around and his friends want to include her. While her goal was never to replace Eleven, Mike felt threatened by her. Even though Peter Parker doesn’t feel threatened by anyone’s presence, he is a bit on the outside looking in.

When Peter pops up in Avengers: Infinity War, Tony wants him to just go home. He doesn’t listen, of course, because he can be a bit stubborn, especially when he thinks he can help people. That stubbornness and outsider vibe are what ultimately led me to this comparison. Not to mention that both characters are a bit awkward and they could certainly nerd out together.

Will: Hawkeye

Since Will wasn’t around much in the first season, it felt right to think of him as Clint, who wasn’t around in Avengers: Infinity War. We have an idea of where he was but don’t know the exact details. That’s exactly how it felt when we knew that Will was in the Upside Down. There’s a general understanding of it, but we don’t really know what it’s like until he gets back.

Hawkeye is certainly going to return because having him disappear and get no closure with the character is something that Marvel just wouldn’t do. Stranger Things did the same with Will. In the second season, he was back and while there were still weird things going on, we at least saw more of his story and will get even more of it this summer.