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Stranger Things · Characters Ranked

Best Stranger Things Characters, Ranked by IQ Score

The Duffer Brothers' canonical Netflix 1980s-nostalgia genre exercise. The characters whose specific cognitive registers built the show, ranked.

Stranger Things scores 98/200 (Competent tier) — and the show's character density (rather than its plot ambition) is what gives it its enduring cultural reach. The Duffer Brothers' commitment to letting each Hawkins-kid character operate with their own specific cognitive register (Mike's leader-architecture, Dustin's enthusiastic-intelligence, Lucas's tactical-thinking, Will's spiritual-vulnerability, Eleven's psychic-cognition) is canonical YA-ensemble work.

Characters: Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) — the show's iconic psychic-protagonist. Hopper (David Harbour). Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder). Steve Harrington (Joe Keery) — the bully-turned-canonical-bestie. Robin (Maya Hawke) — Season 3 breakout. Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo). The ensemble anchors what's widely cited as Netflix's most-canonical original drama.

1 titles · ranked by IQ Score

  1. 1
    Stranger Things poster — IQ Score 98/200 — Passive tier

    Stranger Things

    Passive sci-fi, horror, drama

    A synthesis of 1980s horror and sci-fi tropes where Hawkins, Indiana becomes a staging ground for interdimensional incursion. Cognitive engagement from mystery-box plotting that rewards attention to detail. Educational e…

    98/200

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