** This article contains spoilers about Season 4 of Stranger Things. If you haven’t watched the show yet, bookmark this article for later! We wouldn’t want to ruin the surprise. **
Eddie Munson was one of the most beloved characters in Stranger Things Season 4. The edgy rocker and D&D player of Hawkins High School brought a breeze of fresh air into an otherwise classic high school. His death in the final episode of Stranger Things Season 4 was as metal as he was, but it wasn’t as much of a surprise if you took a better look at his tattoos.
Eddie wears several tattoos on his sleeves. He even talks about them to Chrissy in the first episode, back when everything was peaceful at Hawkins and everyone still got their eyeballs.
Paying more attention to Eddie’s tattoos reveals his ultimate fate, from his fight against the Demobats to his Master of Puppets performance – and even Vecna’s real role in the Upside Down.
Bats frighten Batman, but Eddie is a fighter
Throughout the season, Eddie keeps on saying that he is a coward. When there is danger, like with Chrissy, he runs. But not for his last fight. In the final episode of Season 4, Eddie rides a bike to lead the Demobats away from Nancy, Robin, and Steve who are on their way to kill Vecna. Eddie eventually stops running and faces the bats in an epic fight that leads to his tragic death.
His death to the fangs of bats was hinted at by one of his tattoos. On his right arm, just below his elbow, Eddie has a tattoo showing several bats flying. While this tattoo may not be surprising for a metal head like Eddie, it was also a discreet way of forecasting how he would die.
The most metal concert in the history of the world
On his right arm, Eddie wears a tattoo depicting a hand playing with a puppet. We see it pretty clearly when Eddie plays Dungeon & Dragons with the Hellfire Club, as it is right in the middle of his forearm.
This puppeteer tattoo is a reference to the “most metal concert in the history of the world” that happens in Season 4’s finale. Eddie climbs to the roof of his RV, plugs his guitar, and plays Metallica’s Master of Puppets to lead the Demobats away from his friends.
A puppet master controlling the Upside Down
The master of puppets tattoo also hints at another major reveal from Stranger Things Season 4’s finale. After several seasons with the Demogorgons and Mind Flayer, we learn that Vecna is the mind behind all the bad guys from the Upside Down. He is the master of puppets, controlling the dark forces of that scary world.
If Eddie’s ultimate sacrifice shocked some fans, others may have seen it coming. Eddie joins the list of cool characters that died in the same season they first appeared, alongside Barb from Season 1, Bob Newby from Season 2, and Dr. Alexei from Season 3.
