Dr. Martin Brenner is the overarching antagonist of Netflix's Stranger Things franchise.
He is the head scientist of Hawkins Laboratory who ran experiments on several children in order to fight against the Russians in the Cold War.
He was portrayed by Matthew Modine.
His Good Ranking[]
What Makes Him Admirable?[]
- He is extremely dedicated to protecting his country, which is what motivated him to use psychic children to fight the Cold War.
- While he was horribly abusive to them, he had a twisted love for his subjects and thought of them as his children, even One who had previously murdered his own family. He appeared to have a positive relationship with Ten and was upset over his death.
- He was slightly remorseful for how he treated One, as this is the reason why he started to search for the Upside Down.
- He wished Shepard good luck while exploring the Upside Down, and was genuinely devastated when he was killed by the Demogorgon.
- He teamed up with Sam Owens to help Eleven regain her psychic powers so she could fight off Vecna and save the world, succeding in doing so.
- When the military bunker he was keeping Eleven in fell under attack, he carried her out in an attempt to save her from Lt. Col. Sullivan and his men.
- In his dying moments, he removed Eleven's shock collar forever and admitted his twisted but genuine care for her.
- Despite the high admirable standards, Martin Brenner manages to stand out due to his efforts to protect Hawkins from the Soviet Union, his role in restoring Eleven's powers which allowed her to fight Vecna and later prevent him from merging the Abyss with the Earth, and removing Eleven's shock collar.
What Makes Him Inconsistent?[]
- He spends nearly all his screentime as a villain, having committed countless evil acts that he has not showed remorse over. He attempted to murder Patty Newby in order to psychologically torment Henry Creel and arranged for Eleven's biological father to be drafted into the Vietnam war to die. Despite having a twisted level of care for his subjects, he was still horribly abusive towards them, as shown when he electrocuted Two for bullying Eleven, even if he somewhat deserved it (though it's likely his fault Two acts the way he does in the first place.) When Eleven's mother tried to rescue her from the Hawkins Lab, he had her subjected into a catatonic state by having her endure an electroshock therapy session, leaving her in a fate worse than death.
- When Eleven attempts to leave with Dr. Owens after getting her powers back, he has Dr. Owens brutally beaten and handcuffed, threatening to kill him if Eleven does not comply with his actions.
- He is too extremely reckless, which is best showcased by him having Eleven search for One in the Upside Down (not knowing he had become an insane and genocidal monster), which allowed the Demogorgon to escape and go on a killing rampage throughout Hawkins, thus setting up the events of the series. He didn't let Eleven leave to save her friends from Vecna because he didn't think she was ready, which prevented her from helping her friends in time and resulted in the deaths of Eddie Munson, Jason Carver and 21 other people, the near death of Max Mayfield and the near destruction of Earth, all at the hands of Vecna.
- While he lay dying, he never apologized and showed any remorse for his actions and tried to convince Eleven that everything he did, he did for her, refusing to take any responsibility for the countless horrific acts he committed.
Trivia[]
- He is currently the only non-hero IA character from Stranger Things.
External Links[]
- Martin Brenner on the Villains Wiki
- Martin Brenner on the Inconsistently Heinous Wiki
- Martin Brenner on the Entertainingly Detestable Wiki
- Martin Brenner on the Stranger Things Wiki
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 Inconsistently Admirable
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Animated Features Anime Live-Action Features Animated Television Live-Action Television See Also | ||
 Inconsistently Admirable
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The Party Hawkins National Laboratory Hawkins Residents | ||