Stranger Things' Resurfacing Spinoff Revisits The Alternate Hawkins Fans Deserved

Published Aug 10, 2026, 11:00 PM EDT An experienced Editor representing Canada via ScreenRant's Team Anime, J.R. has been reading manga since the first printing of Shonen Jump in North America. This passion drove him to write about anime, manga, and manhwa since 2022, having recently served as Lead Anime Editor for ComicBook.com. His favorite moments in media coverage include reviewing the series premieres of Zom 100 and Bleach: TYBW Part 2 back-to-back and briefly meeting Junji Ito at a VIZ gallery event in 2023. The original plot of Stranger Things is over, and while there are certainly different directions it could have followed production-wise and in terms of its writing, the good news is, there's still plenty to enjoy about the series. But even with numerous tie-in adventures, from video games to recent animated spinoffs, its most underrated project that's the most consistently overwritten by the main series is the Dark Horse comic series. Stranger Things had some truly special projects, with some stories coming out as recently as last year featuring beloved supporting characters. But others, like Stranger Things: SIX, introduced an alternate set of Hawkins Lab test subjects. While the news about this Stranger Things series reaching Webtoon isn't perhaps new, the stories it tells, particularly of those stuck at Hawkins Lab, paint a picture of just how exploitative the secret research facility truly was. It also introduces characters with far more dynamic backgrounds than the virtually unnamed test subjects killed by Henry Creel in season 4, coming from broken homes, or potentially from homes devastated by the abilities of the children brought under its fold. In the case of Stranger Things: SIX, it may have been more difficult to then incorporate into the streaming series, but it certainly enriched not just an untapped corner of the franchise, but made pre-existing stars all the more sinister. Stranger Things' Spinoff Focuses On What Brought The Test Subjects To Hawkins Lab Rather than focusing on Eleven or other established characters in what's aggressively been retconned as of Stranger Things season 4, SIX tells the story of the eponymous test subject, and whether being brought to Hawkins Lab actually changed her life at all. Brought to the lab in her late teens, the girl originally known as Francine is shown in this series with her parents increasingly aware of her raw talents for precognition. This includes early incidents like in 1970, where she prevented herself and her mother from getting into a fatal accident, or in 1974 through 1977 where her father, Roy, would try to exploit this talent to predict the winning lottery numbers, being furious if her predictions were off. Now with episode 11 of the Webtoon version of Stranger Things: SIX out, readers can see the psychic toll it had on her. Despite eventually getting enough winnings for her family to afford a better life, Francine's parents demanded more, prompting her to seek solace at her boyfriend, Ricky's place. However, with Ricky being revealed not just to be Hawkins Lab test subject #3, but a willing participant conditioned over years, it's all the more disappointing for Francine, now named Six, to see him there. Things only deteriorate further from here, before even mentioning stories of other named subjects in this series, like twins Jamie (Nine) and Marcy (9.5) being told in a later spinoff. From dark visions of what fans know well as the Upside Down, to more surreal dream sequences in the chapters ahead, Francine's gift will only grow, while painting a darker picture of Hawkins Lab than even what's already known, starting with one particular mainstay character from the Netflix series. Stranger Things: SIX Adds More Sinister Layers To One Classic Villain Before the psychological dread and supernatural terror that was Vecna, Stranger Things had a different brand of inhuman adversary in the form of Dr. Martin Brenner. The character's strong portrayal by Matthew Modine was deeply compelling, provided as a twisted father figure to the children at Hawkins Lab as they were subjected to MKUltra experiments to foster their psychic abilities. But Stranger Things: SIX adds more layers to this dynamic Brenner has with the subjects, such as the direct parallel drawn between him testing Francine's precognition, and the exploitation by Roy in the years before. What makes Brenner all the more sinister is that his manipulation, despite being fully self-serving, is presented to subjects like Francine as an opportunity to make their lives better. However, they would be hard-pressed to agree that their lives are better living at the lab in every case, beyond what brought Jamie and Marcy there in the first place. Brenner's "Papa" facade presented to the Hawkins Lab test subjects might have been easier to accept for the younger children, but in Francine's case, it's setting up plenty of resentment and ultimately a plan to escape, dead or alive. It's a compelling reimagining of the series first released in May 2019, now increasingly more accessible than ever. Stranger Things rereleases its Dark Horse Comics run every Thursday on the WEBTOON platform available for mobile app readers HERE.