Stranger Things 4: What is The Hellfire Club?

The first episode of Stranger Things 4 is called “Chapter One: The Hellfire Club.” What is the Hellfire Club? X-Men fans have a pretty good idea.

At the end of Stranger Things Day 2019, the Stranger Things writers shared the title of the first episode of Stranger Things 4. The episode is titled “Chapter One: The Hellfire Club.”

Now, fans around the world are speculating about what The Hellfire Club is and what it could mean for Stranger Things 4.

It’s awesome that we even get a glimpse at something coming in Stranger Things 4 this early. The cast and crew don’t even start filming until January 2020. So, thank you to Netflix, Stranger Things, the Duffer Brothers, and the Stranger Things Writers for making this possible!

So, what is The Hellfire Club? Of course, we don’t know exactly what it means in terms of the show and new season, but if it sounds familiar to you, it’s because it is.

The Hellfire Club is a reference to Marvel’s X-Men. In the comics, they are a secret society that is at odds with the X-Men. While the duel between the X-Men and these villains continues throughout various issues and stories, it’s the Dark Phoenix run in the 1980s that many people associate that the group with.

Interestingly, this isn’t the first time X-Men has played a major part in Stranger Things either. In the very first episode, there’s a reference to Uncanny X-Men No. 134, which is part of the Dark Phoenix story and prominently features members of the Hellfire Club, including Mastermind, Black King, Donald Pierce, and more.

It’s also the issue when Jean Grey fully embraces the Phoenix and becomes the Dark Phoenix, betraying her fellow X-Men, basically. There’s a lot more going on here, but that’s for another time.

There’s also a very popular Stranger Things theory about Jean Grey, the Dark Phoenix, and Eleven that popped up immediately after the first season. This has been well-documented in the past, so there’s no need to spoil anything for those who haven’t read about it, assuming it’s true.

There are a number of ways the Hellfire Club and its origins and stories could factor into the series, and I don’t think it will be exactly as simple as some might think. Unfortunately, now we have to wait a long time until we find out what’s going on.

Are the writers trying to throw fans off the scent by playing into the fan theory? Or, was that fan theory actually correct all along?

We don’t know yet, and we likely won’t find out until we start seeing teasers, trailers and interviews with the creative team and cast.

We’ll let you know more about the new season of the Netflix original series, the Hellfire Club and anything else related to the series when we find out!