Mike Wheeler

Michael “Mike” Wheeler is a major character in the first and second seasons of Stranger Things. He is portrayed by Finn Wolfhard.

When his friend, Will Byers, mysteriously went missing, he and his other friends, Lucas and Dustin, made it their mission to find him. However, while searching for Will, they stumbled upon the escaped Eleven instead. Mike soon discovered that she knew something about Will's disappearance, enlisting her help in finding him. During their time together, Mike and Eleven formed a strong attachment to one another. While happy that Will had returned home safely, he was greatly devastated by Eleven's sacrifice to defeat the Monster.

Background
Mike was part of the [family|Wheeler family], living in [|Hawkins], [|Indiana] with his mother [Wheeler|Karen], his father [Wheeler|Ted], and his two sisters [Wheeler|Nancy] and [Wheeler|Holly]. Nancy suspected their parents never truly loved one another, and that they married solely to have a "perfect nuclear family".

Mike was best friends with [Sinclair|Lucas Sinclair] and [Byers|Will Byers] from a young age. In grade four, [Henderson|Dustin Henderson] arrived at their school and joined their friend group. They would often gather at Mike's house to play [& Dragons|Dungeons & Dragons]; this hobby was developed as early as 1979. The four boys had a great relationship with their science teacher [Clarke|Mr. Clarke], and they were members in the [Club|AV Club] he ran. They would take part in the [Middle science fair|annual science fair], winning almost every year.

Season One
On the evening of November 6th, 1983, Lucas, Dustin, Mike, and Will played Dungeons & Dragons in Mike's basement. Mike, acting as Dungeon Master, summoned a [|Demogorgon], which ultimately defeated Will's character. While they looked for missing die, Karen insisted it was time for his friends to leave; shortly after this, Dustin, Lucas, and Will cycled home.The next day, Will did not show up to [Middle School|school], which perplexed Mike, Lucas and Dustin. As they played with Mr Clarke's newly delivered [ham shack|Heathkit], they were summoned by Principal [Coleman|Coleman] to talk with Chief [Hopper|Hopper], who confirmed to the boys that Will was missing. He asked the boys about Will's way home the previous night, and they told him Will had took [|the road where Cornwallis and Kerley met.] The boys casually referred to this road and the surrounding forestry as Mirkwood.

The boys investigated their friend's disappearance that evening, searching through Mirkwood where they accidentally encountered the escaped [|Eleven.] After some argument amongst themselves, the boys allowed her to stay in Mike's basement, making a pillow fort for her to sleep in.

Mike skipped school the next day to accommodate El. She recognized Will from a photograph and suggested to Mike that [National Laboratory|bad people] were looking for her. After school, Dustin and Lucas came to Mike's house, discussing Eleven and what could have happened to Will. Lucas said that they should tell Karen about Eleven, but El used her telekinesis to prevent him from opening the door to leave. Later that evening, El attempted to explain Will's situation; she flipped their Dungeons & Dragons board upside down, on top of which she placed Will's player piece and then the Demogorgon piece. This gave Mike, Lucas, and Dustin a vital clue as they continued to theorize about what happened to Will.Mike, Lucas, Dustin, and El commenced "Operation [|Mirkwood]", where El led them through the woods to find evidence relating to Will. They eventually arrived outside the Byers household, where El said Will was hiding. This statement confused the three boys. After seeing police cars race by, they followed in pursuit on their bikes. They saw [body of Will Byers|what appeared to be Will's corpse] being dragged out of the local [|quarry]; this lead the boys to feel distraught and angry with Eleven, who they believed was lying.Back at his house, Mike grieved the loss of his friend. El tampered with his radio to project the sound of Will quietly singing, showing Mike that he was still alive. The next day, Mike showed this to Dustin and Lucas, who wondered if Will had become a ghost. After further discussion the boys decided to bring El to their school so she could use the Heathkit to communicate with Will, which was much more powerful than the boy's portable radios.

After dressing Eleven in a pink dress and blonde wig, the boys brought her to the Middle School. Mr. Clarke told the group that they had to attend an assembly for Will's death before they could use the radio. During the assembly, the bully [|Troy] made crude jokes about Will, which angered Mike and lead him to confront him after the assembly. Troy attempted to hit Mike, but Eleven froze him in place and made him urinate on himself using biokinesis, much to the amusement of the boys and their classmates. They continued to the Heathkit. With El tapping into the device, they overheard Will talking to [Byers|his mother] through a [|temporary portal] to the Upside Down - however the radio overheated and caught on fire. After returning to Mike's basement, the boys theorized that Will was stuck in the Vale of Shadows, a "dark echo" dimension of death and decay, which El labeled the [Down|Upside Down].

At [of Will Byers|Will's funeral], the boys discussed the possibility of alternate dimensions with Mr. Clarke. He described scientific ideas and concepts, utilizing the metaphor of the flea and the acrobat. He mentioned that a [|gate between dimensions would] have adverse affects on the electromagnetic field in their dimension. Later that day, Dustin experimented with a compass, noticing that the needle did not point towards true north, and the boys guessed that there must be a gate nearby influencing the electromagnetic field, like Mr. Clarke had said.The group followed their compasses, believing if they went 'North', they would be lead to the Gate. However, Eleven was manipulating the compasses for the boys' safety because she considered it too dangerous to enter the Upside Down. When the boys realized that El had been doing this, they argued about her; Mike was more sympathetic and trusted her, while Lucas was critical of her help. The two boys ended up fighting; Eleven used her powers to push Lucas off Mike and into the air, injuring him. This angered Mike and left El upset, who vanished from the scene. A rift grew between Lucas and the two other boys, who continued to argue about Eleven. Mike and Dustin went in search of El, while Lucas attempted to once again find the Gate.

While Mike and Dustin searched for El, they were ambushed by the revenge-seeking Troy and his friend [|James], who brandished knives. They were chased to the cliffside overlooking the quarry. Troy threatened Mike, telling him he would cut out Dustin's teeth unless Mike jumped from the cliff. Mike decided to jump, but as he did, Eleven returned and intervened. Using her telekinesis, she levitated Mike back to the cliffside, before injuring the bullies, who fled in terror. El, Dustin and Mike reconciled before returning to Mike's.

The three returned to Mike's house, but they had to leave quickly when Lucas informed them over radio that the 'bad men' where coming. The four reunited as they cycled away, evading Dr. [Brenner|Martin Brenner] and the agents of the [National Laboratory|Hawkins National Laboratory]. The group hid from agents in an abandoned bus in a deserted field. Chief [Hopper|Hopper] found them, taking them to the Byers household to meet with Joyce, [Byers|Jonathan Byers] and Nancy. Together they broke into the middle school, creating a makeshift [deprivation tank|sensory deprivation tank] which El could use to enhance her psychic abilities. They learned that Will was alive, barely surviving in the Upside Down.

While Hopper and Joyce infiltrated the laboratory and Nancy and Jonathan set a trap for the Monster, the four remained at the school. Mike talked to El about their future life together. He invited El to be his date to the [Ball|"Snow Ball" school dance]. El accepted, and they shared a kiss.As part of an "agreement" with Dr. Brenner to gain passage through the Gate, Hopper revealed El and the boys' location to laboratory officials. Agents broke into the school, capturing El and the boys. Eleven killed most of the agents, using biokinesis to crush their brains, however, this "drained" her of energy and strength, causing her to collapse. Without her protection they were recaptured; but the Monster, attracted by pools of blood spilling from dead bodies, burst through the school wall via a temporary portal. The surviving agents were understandably distracted, releasing El and the boys, and they ran in panic to Mr Clarke's classroom. The Monster broke in, almost killing them. El intervened, using biokinesis to pin the Monster against a wall, while also immobilizing Mike to prevent his intervention. El looked back at her friends, telling Mike goodbye before turning to face the Monster. She used her last remaining power to disintegrate the Monster, making herself also disappear in the process. Mike was left in tears as the boys frantically looked for her in the classroom.

Mike, Dustin, and Lucas were the first visitors aside from Jonathan and Joyce to see Will in the hospital. They caught up with Will, telling him about the events which transpired in his absence.

One month later, on Christmas day, the four boys once again played Dungeons & Dragons. This time, Mike summoned the Thessalhydra, but his friends' characters triumphed over the enemy. As Will was picked up by his brother Jonathan and Lucas and Dustin play-fought, Mike looked back longingly at Eleven's old pillow fort, which he had kept in perfect condition in her memory.