'Stranger Things' Season 3 Theories: Comic Book Cameo Teases a Dark Future

The Stranger Things kids are growing up, and that may mean big changes for at one major character. A recent cameo appearance in another comic suggests that fan-favorite character Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) might eventually turn into a villain the rest of the gang has to fight.

Possible spoilers for Stranger Things Season 3 below.

Dustin is included (but not named) in DC Comics’ Old Lady Harley #3 (spotted by 1428 Elm). He shows up as a villain wielding a baseball bat described as “that kid from that one show.” The baseball bat is definitely on brand, but does this mean Dustin will turn into a villain in Stranger Things? If you take a closer look at previous seasons it’s not that outlandish an idea.

When Eleven first shows up, Dustin is the least. More egregiously, he hides Dart, the Demo-Dog that eventually eats his cat. So what would it take to push this character over the edge into full-blown villainy?

As the show continues, it’s possible that some of the friendships we’ve seen in the first two seasons won’t be the same moving forward. That’s just part of life, though, not necessarily something that would cause a character to go evil.

“It’s really the final summer of their childhood,” creator Ross Duffer said in the Stranger Things: Worlds Turned Upside Down book (via Screen Rant). “They’re dealing with growing up, with these complicated new relationships. They’re starting to fall apart a little bit, and maybe they don’t love playing Dungeons & Dragons as much as they used to. Naturally, that’s going to generate conflict.”

That conflict could lead to Dustin making decisions that the others think are wrong. He might even wind up with his own storyline in Season 3.

That’s what redditor u/Late-For-Dinner suggests, responding to speculation that Dustin might really become a comic book villain. They think Mike and Eleven and Lucas and Max’s relationships could lead to them being ready to leave behind the game, whereas “Dustin might not be ready to move on just yet.”

Even if it’s plausible, Dustin’s appearance in Old Lady Harley #3 definitely shouldn’t be considered part of Stranger Things canon. More likely it’s just a pop culture reference for the sake of pop culture reference, but it’s still an interesting idea to consider. And with Stranger Things’s co-creators saying they’d like to keep the show going through Season 5, it’s not so farfetched to think we could eventually see Dustin (or some other character) turn evil.

Stranger Things Season 3 will be available July 4, 2019 on Netflix.

Related video: Stranger Things Teaser Reveals Season 3 Episode Titles