References In Stranger Things Only True Fans Understood

"Stranger Things" has been a hodgepodge of cultural references since the very first episode, and the show has only continued to supply fans with Easter eggs and winks to various bits of pop culture throughout its run as a Netflix Original hit series. The Duffer Brothers' love of sci-fi and horror classics shines through in every single episode of the show, and fans who pay close attention are bound to notice movie references galore. 

To celebrate the show's successful pop culture pastiche style, here's a list of references that only true "Stranger Things" fans will get. Spoilers ahead!

There are a ton of '80s movie influences in "Stranger Things 2," but "Aliens" is the film that really connects the strongest.

We'll start with Paul Reiser as Dr. Owens, delivering a performance in which nearly every moment is a reference, callback, or direct subversion of his role in "Aliens" (and one moment referencing "Diner"). Like Burke in "Aliens," Owens seems perpetually sketchy, constantly avoiding the responsibility for his own actions, while positioning himself as the only sane voice in a sea of madness. He even watches a crew of heavily armed mercenaries on camera as they invade a labyrinthine series of corridors in order to fight multiple versions of the creatures that appeared in the original — exactly like Burke in "Aliens."

Speaking of "Aliens, do we even need to mention the visual similarity of Eleven's curly black hair in Season 2? Ripley's not the only black-haired protagonist battling monsters like the one that almost killed her before, and who nonetheless descends an industrial elevator prepared to battle a massive mother creature that's trying to kill the only people she loves.

To say the Duffer Brothers are indebted to Steven Spielberg is putting it lightly — there's a metric ton of Spielberg references in both seasons of the show, but especially "Jurassic Park" during "The Mind Flayer," in which Joyce, Will, Mike, Hopper, and Bob try to escape the facility. The Demodogs almost move like Velociraptors, and Bob's quest to reboot the system without getting eaten has some painful familiarity for Samuel L. Jackson's character Ray Arnold in "Jurassic Park." Plus, Steve's solo faceoff against a Demidog in an earlier episode, only to be immediately surprised by another one to his side, is as blatant a "Clever girl" reference as you can get.

To jump from dinosaurs to aliens (lower-case "a" this time), there's another direct swipe of a classic Spielberg movie as Will steps outside the Arcade to look directly at the Mind Flayer in the Upside Down, a direct reference to a famous shot from "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." Oh, and one more: "Poltergeist" (although technically directed by Tobe Hooper with input by Steven Spielberg) has a few more references in the new season. Eleven enters the Upside Down by listening to static on the television — a nod to poor Carol Anne — while Joyce presses her face up against the TV while trying to figure out what happened to her son on Halloween.

Video games play a big role in the lives of the "Stranger Things" kids, but the games they play have an even bigger impact on the story at large. For example, in Episode 1, Dustin and Lucas play "Dragon's Lair," but Dustin can't beat Lucas' high score. The scene ends with Lucas telling Dustin, "You'll get there someday. But until then, Princess Daphne is still mine." Lucas and Dustin eventually end up competing over the affections of new girl Max — who eventually ends up with Lucas, not Dustin, mirroring the video game competition. 

Another of the kids' favorites is "Dig Dug," a classic game about a player navigating strange, unexplained tunnels as he's menaced by mysterious monsters. Hopper definitely seems like the "Dig Dug" man when he goes in to investigate the Mind Flayer's root tunnels, but the parallels don't stop there. Hopper actually fails to clear out the hub in the tunnels, and has to be rescued by Joyce, Will, and Bob. It's only when Steve and the kids venture into the tunnels that they're able to complete the mission. Attentive viewers wouldn't have been surprised, though... That's the group that includes Max, the current high score record holder of "Dig Dug."

Like the boys in Season 1 of "Stranger Things," Max's personality is shaped by the pop culture she enjoys, but it also reflects her own character. Her name on the arcade high scores say MADMAX, which is an obvious reference to George Miller's series of films. The arcade manager even nicknames her "Road Warrior," which is the sequel to "Mad Max," a film so named for a character in a sequel herself. The parallels get more blatant from there — notice how often she's in a speeding car racing down the road as it's driven by a giggling sociopath?

One more for good measure: Max, Lucas, Dustin, and Steve build a tricked out school bus out of junkyard materials, which is a pretty Mad Max thing to do. And, hey, is Steve pouring "Guzz-oline" on the meat to trap the Demidogs?

By the way, for anyone thinking it's a stretch to connect "The Invisibles" with "Stranger Things," take a look at the graffiti in the above picture. King Mob is the leader of "The Invisibles," while O'Bedlam is a homeless shaman that affects events behind the scenes, and teaches a wayward youth the true meaning of family and how to harness their inner power. Kali ends up a little bit O'Bedlam and a little bit Yoda in "The Empire Strikes Back" when she teaches Eleven to harness her powers.

"The Lost Sister" has more in common with "The Invisibles" than codenames and visual references, however — the overall goals of Kali's group line up perfectly with the Invisibles. Both are punk outcasts fighting against the Man (in "Stranger Things," this is perfectly epitomized by a suspicious cop with a note-perfect '70s mustache, along with all those pesky government spooks) by committing crimes and using mind-bending psychic powers. More than that, Eleven's entrance into the group mirrors the POV character from the first volume of "The Invisibles," Jack Frost. Both are struggling against the expectations of their parent figures, thrust into a confusing war, and leave the group confused and seemingly distant. Still, in the comics, Jack Frost eventually comes back, so if the parallels continue, we should expect to see Kali and her punk warriors in future seasons.

While "Stranger Things" has always dabbled in horror tropes, Season 2 had a haunted truckful. For starters, Will's horrific possession by the Mind Flayer ends with a ear-splitting shriek straight out of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers." Even while Will's possessed, the horror doesn't stop with blatant references to "The Exorcist" as Joyce tries to rid her son of the otherworldly sickness. It even involves a black-veined child grabbing someone by the throat, which has become as inextricable from possession movies as black contact lenses and garbled Latin. There's also a more subtle reference to "The Thing" when Will first wakes up after being possessed by the Mind Flayer — the camera lingers in front of and behind him like he's an object impersonating a person, rather than the character we've grown to love. Though the show's other reference to "The Thing" was one of the details "Stranger Things" got wrong about the '80s, this scene was still a striking moment.

On the slasher side of things, there is a "Nightmare on Elm Street" reference when Eleven first pierces her way through the stretchy elastic barrier between the real and the dream-like reality of the Upside Down — although the familiar scene is subverted when it's Eleven that bursts through, rather than the burned visage of Freddy. In "Trick or Treat, Freak," Max even jumps out at the boys while wearing a Michael Myers mask from "Halloween," a movie about a babysitter stalked by a remorseless killer — Steve should be so lucky as to fight one human killer rather than a pack of Demodogs.

In Season 3's first episode, the Hawkins crew has Steve sneak them into the movies for free. The movie in question is shown to be 1985's "Day of the Dead," the third film in George A. Romero's legendary zombie series. As opposed to its predecessor, 1978's "Dawn of the Dead," the third film's survivors operate within an abandoned underground bunker. This stands in contrast to the second film's location: an abandoned but still functional shopping mall.

Beyond being just a fun visual addition, the choice of the film actually relates back to the season's eventual plotline. For starters, the citizens of Hawkins get taken over by the Mind Flayer and become similar to zombies in their behaviors. Additionally, there is the matter of the Russian base that Dustin, Robin, Steve, and Erica infiltrate partway through the season. With this setting being attached to the Starcourt Mall, it's hard not to see the parallels to both of Romero's films.

Given its setting in the 1980s, "Stranger Things" has seen fit to reference social issues relevant to the decade. Season 3 most definitely capitalizes on the Cold War conflict of the 1980s. At the beginning of the season. Dustin, trying to contact his summer camp girlfriend Suzie, intercepts a Russian transmission. This eventually leads to him and Steve, with Robin and Lucas' sister Erica in tow, making a discovery: the presence of Russian soldiers and scientists running a secret lab underneath the newly-built Starcourt Mall.

Of course, a ragtag group of youths dealing with a Russian threat is right out of the 1984 action film "Red Dawn." One other reference to Cold War-era cinema arrived most recently in Season 4 through the character of Erica, who wears a U.S. Flag as a cape. This definitely evokes shades of "Rocky IV," the goofiest entry of the "Rocky" series which sees Rocky fight the Soviet Union's Ivan Drago. At the conclusion of that film, Rocky is adorned with an American flag following his victory (as if his red, white, and blue trunks weren't enough). These cute little nods only serve to further intensify the flavor of the pop culture reference milkshake that serves as the lifeblood of "Stranger Things."

"Stranger Things," given its episodic nature, has always shared similarities with the vast world of comic book media. From its cliffhanger endings to the evil otherworldly entities it uses as villains, all the show is missing is a big splash page. One comic series that the show has many overlapping elements with is X-Men, especially through Eleven's superpowers. Eleven's abilities — telekinesis, entering people's minds, and even levitation — have always evoked shades of Jean Grey.

Jean was first introduced in the inaugural issue of "The X-Men" back in 1963, a far cry from the character she'd eventually grow into. Her most noteworthy storyline is the "Dark Phoenix Saga," concerning a destructive cosmic entity that Jean shares a connection with and is often taken over by. The "Dark Phoenix Saga" is also where the recurring threat of the Hellfire Club makes its debut. This is the exact same name used by the "Dungeons & Dragons" club led by Eddie Munson in Season 4. There is also the way that Eleven is able to ping pong through different people's heads, much like Charles Xavier and his Cerebro machine.

Ever since Season 1, "Stranger Things" has had an affinity for calling back to the hit fantasy role-playing game "Dungeons & Dragons." Originally released in 1974, "Dungeons & Dragons" — also known as "D&D" — has been a staple of the RPG genre for decades. The Duffer Brothers clearly have an appreciation for the fantasy tabletop classic, having mined specific terminology from it. In Season 1, the first threat of the Upside Down unleashed on Hawkins is an inhuman creature the boys eventually dub a Demogorgon. This name is mined directly from "D&D," with the boys even facing off against it during their actual game.

Additionally, Season 4's main protagonist Vecna also has ties to "D&D," with his name originating there as well. In addition to those recurring names, the show also evokes "D&D" through its presentation and themes as well. Every season thus far has seen the group breaking off into small parties, much like a "D&D" session, and going on an adventure.

The introduction of Vecna in Season 4 brings with it a slew of references to supernatural horror, including "Hellraiser." While Vecna is undoubtedly influenced by Elm Street's resident dream walker Freddy Krueger, he also shares similarities with another horror icon: the antagonist of the legendarily horrific "Hellraiser" franchise and everyone's favorite cenobite, Pinhead. When Henry Creel (also known as 001) is thrust into the Upside Down by Eleven, he is mutated. This inter-dimensional transport results in his hair being burned off and his skin being charred with a sickening grayish tone. This is very similar to when Pinhead is first corrupted by the Lament Configuration, which horrifically transforms him into a cenobite.

There's also the language that Vecna uses before his three major kills throughout the 4th season. Despite carrying out a sickening, bone-crunching murder Vecna uses a very passive tone like he is sending his victims somewhere better. This is not too dissimilar from the language Pinhead employs when someone opens the Lament Configuration.

The spread of misinformation is sadly not a concept exclusive to the here and now, as it's been an issue for decades. Throughout Season 4, especially in the latter half, audiences are reminded of an unfortunate cultural development of the decade: the Satanic Panic that gripped the nation back in the '80s and has never truly gone away. The movement was a multifaceted issue that ultimately saw various moral outrage groups link various media back to satanism. This included various Saturday morning cartoons, comic books, and even tabletop role-playing games — most notably "Dungeon & Dragons."

This real-life development makes itself known in a big bad way, most notably through Eddie Munson and the Hellfire Club. Early on, when Dustin and Mike seek a recruit for Hellfire's "D&D" campaign, some turn them down due to the game's satanic associations. Dustin and Mike of course dispute this, but one of their attempted recruits notes that "60 Minutes begs to differ." Then later on in the season, Jason Carver — Chrissy's boyfriend — uses the verbiage and propaganda associated with the panic to elicit supporters at a town meeting.