What grade is Nancy Wheeler in season 4

Nancy Wheeler, portrayed by Natalia Dyer, is a main character in Stranger Things. Nancy is a young adult and an aspiring journalist, and an ally to "The Party". She is the older sister of Mike Wheeler, the former girlfriend of Steve Harrington, and the current girlfriend of Jonathan Byers.

In the fall of 1983, Nancy was a straightforward teenager with a straightforward life, unsure whether to prioritise spending time with her best friend Barbara Holland, or with her new boyfriend, Steve Harrington. However, everything changed when Barb vanished without a trace, prompting Nancy to team up with loner Jonathan Byers, whose younger brother Will had also vanished. Slowly, the two put together the pieces of the puzzle, and realised a monster from another dimension had kidnapped Barb and Will. While Will was lucky enough to escape the creature's full wrath, Nancy was horrified to learn that Barb had been killed, making her more determined than ever to defeat the creature. Nancy and Jonathan set up a booby-trap at the Byers house, and with the unlikely last-minute assistance of Steve, helped to gravely wound the creature.

In the fall of 1984, Nancy's struggle to grieve Barb created a rift between her and Steve, leading her to drunkenly confess that she didn't love him anymore. Seeking revenge on the people responsible for unleashing the creature that killed Barbara, she once again teamed up with Jonathan and a journalist named Murray Bauman to expose Hawkins Lab. In the process, she and Jonathan grew closer together, eventually succumbing to their feelings and becoming romantically involved. Returning to Hawkins, Nancy and Jonathan learned that another entity from the alternate dimension had possessed Will; Nancy assisted Jonathan and his mother in exorcising the creature from Will's body. A month later, Nancy and Murray's expose succeeded in shutting down Hawkins Lab, with Barb's death attributed to a 'gas leak'. Nancy attended Barb's funeral, and broke up with Steve to be with Jonathan.

By the summer of 1985, Nancy and Jonathan became interns for the Hawkins Post, where Nancy was frequently disrespected by her older male colleagues. Working late one night, she answered a call about diseased rats in the town and secretly investigated with Jonathan.[1] This eventually caused the pair to be fired, creating a rift between Nancy and Jonathan. But after receiving some encouragement from her mother, Nancy picked the story back up and discovered that the rats were linked to the same entity that possessed Will. After reconciling, Nancy and Jonathan joined forces with Nancy's younger brother and his friends in once again defeating what the kids called "The Mind Flayer". Three months later, the Byers family moved out of Hawkins after being relocated to California by the authorities; Nancy and Jonathan tearfully parted ways, though remaining committed to staying together.

In the spring of 1986, Nancy became a reporter and editor for the Hawkins High newspaper, The Weekly Streak. Despite Nancy and Jonathan's enduring love for each other, neither of them could get away to meet up for spring break.[2] When a high school student named Chrissy Cunningham was mysteriously murdered, Nancy sought to investigate her death with her classmate, Fred Benson. However, after Fred was killed, Nancy met up with Steve, Dustin, Max, and Robin and learned an entity called "Vecna" was responsible for killing Chrissy and Fred. While investigating, Nancy would find a connection between Vecna and the deaths of the Creel family in the 1950s with Robin whom she began striking a friendship with. When Vecna trapped Nancy in his mind, she discovered Vecna's true identity as Henry Creel and One, the first child test subject of Hawkins Lab, along with his plans to open gates across Hawkins in order to release the Upside Down's monsters. After Vecna willingly let Nancy go, she informed her friends on her discoveries and they came up with a plan to kill Vecna. Unfortunately, Nancy, Steve, and Robin only managed to wound Vecna severely and weren't able to prevent four gates from opening across Hawkins.

Two days later, Nancy reunited with Jonathan and though they were happy to see each other, Nancy was sure their relationship did not had any problems while unaware Jonathan was lying to her about his acceptance letters for college. After reuniting with Joyce and Jim Hopper who was revealed to be alive due to spending months in a Russian prison, Nancy and Jonathan, along with their friends, witnessed the Upside Down beginning to merge into Hawkins, fulfilling Vecna's plan.

History

• Main article: Nancy Wheeler/History

Personality

Nancy is hyper-intelligent and studious, having a high GPA and studying vigorously for tests. However, after entering a relationship with Steve she became more rebellious, lying and participating in activities she most likely wouldn't have done otherwise. While her actions were being influenced by her new “friends”, she still remained kind, sympathetic, and studious. Her genius-level of intellect led to finding the truth behind Barb’s disappearance even though she still felt guilty.

She was also shown to have a tremendous amount of bravery, resolve, and conviction, going to great lengths for those she cared for. When she was looking for the missing Barb, she boldly entered a portal to another dimension in an attempt to save her friend. Later, determined to kill the Monster, she willingly used her and Jonathan's blood to lure it out.

In 1984, after the death of her best friend, Nancy still carried a tremendous amount of guilt and even blamed herself for causing Barb's demise. Nancy barely revealed her sadness and guilt to anyone but Steve and Jonathan. However, after getting intoxicated at a Halloween party, Nancy vented her sadness, anger, and guilt out on Steve which caused her to reveal that she no longer loved him. Although Nancy had no memory of her drunken state the following day, she felt guilty for saying those harsh words to Steve and wondered if she actually meant what she said. After keeping the truth behind Barb's death for a year, Nancy decided to avenge her friend by exposing Hawkins Lab where Barb was finally given a funeral, along with Barb's parents finally getting closure.

When Nancy started working at the Hawkins Post, she strove to work hard and do her best. However, surrounded by misogynistic co-workers, Nancy was belittled and mocked despite her treating her co-workers kindly. Because of the ridicule she received from her co-workers, Nancy was determined to receive the approval and recognition from her co-workers by going through such lengths to be treated equally and respectfully. Nancy's determination to gain her co-workers' respect led her to making decisions without thinking thoroughly; this, in turn, resulted in her and Jonathan getting fired and put a strain on their relationship. After a talk with her mother, Nancy overcame the cruelty she endured from the journalists at the Hawkins Post and reconciled with Jonathan.

In 1986, Nancy continued pursuing journalism by working for her school's newspaper. However, she struggled with inner frustration over her relationship with Jonathan as he had moved away to California and barely kept in touch with her where neither of them decided to visit each other during spring break. Nancy even showed annoyance when someone spoke about her relationship with Jonathan and insisted everything was fine between the two of them. When she reunited with Jonathan, Nancy was happy to see him, but denied that there were problems in their relationship. Once fellow student Chrissy Cunningham was mysteriously murdered, Nancy sought to investigate and unlike her former co-workers from the Hawkins Post, she approached individuals kindly and sought only to write truthful stories, instead of gossip. As Nancy investigated and searched for Vecna with the Party, her guilt and trauma over Barb's death began to resurface which Vecna used to torment Nancy when he enthralled her under a curse. Yet, despite being traumatized by her encounter with Vecna who also showed her visions of her family dying, Nancy's will did not break as she grew determined to kill Vecna.

Abilities

• Skilled Detective: Like her namesake, Nancy is a skilled detective. Upon seeing Jonathan's photos of Barb, she quickly deduced he was the last person to see her alive and sought his help in finding her.
• Skilled Marksman: Nancy demonstrated proficiency with firearms such as a shotgun and handgun. She landed a few good shots on the Mind Flayer with Hopper's shotgun while protecting the kids from the creature, then later shot at Billy with a stolen Russian handgun, albeit with little success.
• Improvised Weapon Proficiency: She is also capable of utilizing objects for improvised weaponry. As she used a fire extinguisher to brutally swing at flayed Bruce first in the face which shattered his teeth, uppercuts his nose, before finally bashing him with a strike hard enough in killing him.

Relationships

Familial

Nancy and Mike were hinted to have been closer when they were younger; Nancy would dress up for some of Mike's early D&D campaigns. However, the two drifted apart, likely due to the age gap between them and the fact that they attended different schools. Nancy was often dismissive of her brother, calling him "gross" and a "douche bag", and in turn Mike was dismissive of her relationship with Steve Harrington​. However, when Mike briefly went missing and was in danger, Nancy was genuinely worried about him. After he was found and brought to safety, Nancy rushed over to give him a hug. They then agreed to stop lying to each other and to always tell the truth. However, this was short-lived, as both siblings immediately started lying to each other again. Despite this, however, Mike and Nancy are still shown to care for each other, even though they get on each other's nerves.

In 1985, Nancy's relationship with her brother seemed to have improved greatly after all they have been through for the past two years. When Nancy urged Mike to open the door, Mike did so as he could tell in her voice that something was wrong. The two worked together with their friends in investigating the Flayed and the Mind Flayer's plot. Mike even came to Nancy's aid when she was being attacked by a monster at the Hawkins Memorial Hospital. As they waited for Eleven to find the Flayed, Nancy was shocked to hear that Eleven broke up with Mike and criticized him for controlling Eleven, stating that Eleven is her own person capable of making her own choices. However, when Mike admitted that he's afraid of losing Eleven and that he truly loves her, Nancy is surprised to hear this. Later, when the Mind Flayer attacks Hopper's cabin, Nancy does everything to protect her brother and his friends. Nancy continues to help and protect Mike before the Mind Flayer is killed at Starcourt Mall. Three months later, Nancy and Mike share their sadness together as they watch the Byers family and Eleven leave Hawkins.

In 1986, Mike, now a freshman, carpools with Nancy to Hawkins High. The last day before Spring Break, she barges into Mike's room and yells at him he has thirty seconds to get ready and pesters him to leave as he grabs Pop Tarts for breakfast. Later in the day, Mike storms into the school's newspaper room where Nancy is and asks if she would like to join the school's D&D club, Hellfire. Nancy glares at Mike in annoyance as he's embarrassed her in front of her newspaper peers. Due to Mike being in California, Nancy doesn't have immediate contact with Mike once Vecna's killings begin, and it proves to be frustrating when the Byers' house phone keeps going dead. When Vecna possesses Nancy and gave her visions of the future, she is horrified to see visions of creatures from the Upside Down killing Mike and is visibly torn up about it. Knowing her brother and family are in danger, she opts to go back to the Upside Down to kill Vecna. At the War Zone, when Jason asks Nancy if Mike is with her, Nancy keeps her cool and protects her brother, lying that he isn't in Hellfire and doesn't know what Jason is talking about. Two days after Vecna's disappearance, Mike arrives to Hawkins alongside the Byers and Argyle. Nancy tags along with the California crew to repair Hopper's cabin and jokes the cabin's condition is better than Mike's bedroom.

Nancy seemed to have a good but sometimes strained relationship with her mother. Nancy believed her parents never loved each other and only married each other because her mom was young and her dad had a good job. She also disobeyed and lied to her mother, telling Karen that she and Barbara were going to help look for Will Byers, when they were in fact going to a party at Steve Harrington's house. When Barbara was found missing and Nancy grew concerned for her, Nancy confessed her worries to her mother. She later admitted to having slept with Steve after being questioned by the police. Seeing their house being searched by government agents, Nancy became concerned for her mom and dad.

A year later, Nancy's relationship with her mom seemed to have improved a little; but Nancy still lied to her when she told her mom that she was going to sleep over at a friend's house, and was really planning to expose Hawkins Lab with Jonathan Byers.

After getting fired from The Hawkins Post in 1985, Nancy turned to her mother for comfort and advise. Karen agreed with her daughter that her co-workers were jerks but assured her that it didn't matter as Nancy was and would always be a fighter. When her mother lamented not knowing where her daughter got her fighting spirit, Nancy in turn assured her that she got her mother's spirit. Touched, Karen encouraged Nancy to finish her story if she still believed in it, and Nancy, feeling emotional at her mother's support, gave her mother a hug.

In 1986, when Vecna possessed Nancy and gave her visions of the future, she is horrified to see visions of creatures from the Upside Down killing her mom and is visibly torn up about it. Knowing her mom and family are in danger, she opts to go back to the Upside Down to kill Vecna.

Nancy and her father did not appear to have a strong relationship. Nancy believed her parents never loved each other as her mom was young and her dad had a good job. However, when her house was being searched by government agents, Nancy was concerned for her mom and dad. In 1986, when Vecna possessed Nancy and gave her visions of the future, she did not see any creatures from the Upside Down attacking her dad, meaning Nancy doesn't share a close relationship with her father.

Holly is Nancy's baby sister. Though they don't have much interaction, Nancy does care about Holly. In 1986, when Vecna possessed Nancy and gave her visions of the future, she is horrified to see visions of creatures from the Upside Down killing Holly and is visibly torn up about it. Knowing her sister and family are in danger, she opts to go back to the Upside Down to kill Vecna.

Non-Familial

Barbara "Barb" Holland was Nancy's best friend. They did everything together, going clothes shopping when Nancy started dating Steve Harrington. However, when Nancy started dating him, Barb became concerned for Nancy as Steve and his friends started to influence her. When Barb told Nancy she wasn't being herself, Nancy told Barb to go home, inadvertently hurting Barb's feelings. Later, when Nancy realized Barb was missing, she became concerned, teaming up with Jonathan Byers to look for her, while distancing herself from Steve. When Eleven used her powers to look for Barb and Will, she found Barb's corpse and sadly told Nancy that Barb was dead, devastating Nancy.

A year later, Nancy was still shown to carry guilt and deep remorse for Barb while eating dinner with Barb's parents. Eventually, Nancy decided to avenge Barb's death by exposing Hawkins Lab. With Jonathan's help, she delivered a recording of Dr. Owens's confession to Murray Bauman and offered an explanation for Barb's death -- chemical exposure -- as a way to keep the truth of the Upside Down a secret. With part of the truth exposed, Hawkins Lab shut down and Barb was finally given a funeral which Nancy attended with Barb's parents.

Despite having somewhat avenged the death of her best friend, Nancy continued to carry grief and guilt towards having left Barb vulnerable to the Demogorgon for the next two years, which was first shown when flashbacks of Barb's last moments of life flooded through Nancy's head when she was watching news of Chrissy Cunningham. Her fellow journalist, Fred Benson even resembled Barb and when he was killed, Nancy was devastated. When Vecna briefly pulled Nancy into his "curse," she was brought to the Upside Down version of the Harringtons' pool and showing Barb's lifeless and decomposing body following her death. Vecna proceeded to taunt Nancy, reprimanding her for leaving Barbara alone to be killed and eventually forgetting about her. Instead of killing her like he did with his previous victims, the creature showed Nancy through visions that he planned to burn Hawkins to the ground and asked her to deliver his message to Eleven before freeing her from the trance.

Steve and Nancy first began seeing each other shortly sometime around 1983. While Nancy initially believed that Steve wasn’t serious about their relationship, this turned out to not be the case. In truth, Steve really loved Nancy, claiming she was “not like other girls”. After having sex at the party held at Steve’s house, they officially entered a relationship. However, when Nancy became distant due to the disappearance of her friend Barb, Steve grew worried. When he visited her house to check on her, he witnessed Nancy and Jonathan together in her room, making him believe she was cheating. When Nancy confronted him, Steve gave her a chance to explain herself, though, due to the extraordinary nature of the events, she was unable to. After realizing his mistakes, he went to the Byers’ house in order to apologize. There, he unexpectedly helped Nancy and Jonathan fight the Demogorgon. A month after these events, Steve and Nancy had gotten back together.

The two had dated for nearly a year when their relationship was once again put in jeopardy; no longer being able to bear the guilt of Barb’s death, Nancy told Steve they should tell the Hollands the truth. Steve rejected this idea, reminding her that doing so would put them and their families in danger. At a Halloween party, Nancy became intoxicated, leading her to reveal that she did not have feelings for him, which emotionally crushes Steve. When Nancy confronts Steve the following day, she has no memory of her drunken state and tries to reassure Steve what she said wasn't true. Steve tries to get Nancy to prove by telling him she truly loves him, but Nancy couldn't find the words to say it, leading the two to break up. When Nancy recounts her drunken state with Jonathan, she feels guilty for hurting Steve's feelings and wonders if she really meant what she said to him. When Nancy meets with Steve again, she thanks him for watching over the kids and Steve tells her that she should be with Jonathan, having come to accept her love towards Jonathan. Nancy tried to apologize to Steve for hurting his feelings, but Steve just calmly brushed it off.

In 1986, Nancy and Steve begin working together, alongside members of The Party, to investigate the murders around Hawkins. With Johnathan in California, romantic tension seemingly began building between Nancy and Steve once again. Not only do the pair show interest in one another at several points, but Steve recounted a dream he once had to Nancy; He would've liked to have six or seven children to pack into an RV and go on a road trip around America with Nancy by his side. Steve himself also pondered if their relationship would've worked out had Steve been given a wake-up call by another girl prior to meeting Nancy. Later on, after Johnathan jokingly made a dig at Steve's maturity, Nancy pointed out Steve has actually grown a lot. The fondness Nancy appears to show for Steve seems to worry Johnathan.

Nancy and Jonathan spoke to each other when Will went missing, with Nancy reassuring him that Will's going to be fine. Prior to this, it seems the two rarely interacted, mostly because Johnathan avoided talking to people. When she finds out that Jonathan took pictures of Nancy and her friends at Steve's party, she did not show resentment towards him and later asks for his help when her friend, Barb goes missing which he accepted. They form a bond over their mutual goal of finding their brother and friend respectively and become close. After discovering Barbara had been killed, Nancy was comforted by Jonathan and the two worked together in trying to kill the Demogorgon. A month later, after Will's rescue, Nancy gave Jonathan a Christmas present and reassured him it didn't matter that he got her anything for Christmas before she gave him a kiss on the cheek.

In 1984, Nancy continues to have a bond with Jonathan as she invited him to Tina's Halloween Party. After Nancy got drunk and hurt Steve's feelings, Jonathan took Nancy home and Nancy, in a drunken state, reached out to Jonathan before passing out. When Nancy found out Jonathan took her home after the party, Nancy spoke to Jonathan about this. When Nancy decided to expose Hawkins Lab, she was helped by Jonathan in presenting the evidence to investigator Murray Bauman and the two give into the sexual tension after being pressured by Murray and ultimately kiss (and are hinted at doing more). They later work together in burning the Mind Flayer out of Will. While at the Snow Ball a month later, Nancy and Jonathan started a relationship.

In 1985, Nancy and Jonathan are shown to have become an official couple, sleeping together at Jonathan's house one day. The two also work together at the Hawkins Post. Whenever Nancy was abused and humiliated by the male employees, she was always comforted by Jonathan. When Nancy picked up a story from Doris Driscoll, she grabbed Jonathan along to investigate and present the story to the Post. However, after the story was rejected which left Nancy cruelly insulted, she ignored Jonathan's attempts to comfort her. Nancy eventually decided to get more evidence of the story and convinced a reluctant Jonathan to come with her where they discovered Mrs. Driscoll consuming fertilizer. This lead to them getting fired from the Post and straining their relationship, with Jonathan angry over losing his means to support his family and Nancy accusing Jonathan of being like her abusers. Nevertheless, Nancy later revealed to her mom that she felt guilty for causing Jonathan to lose his job as she wasn't thinking about him, but only herself. When Nancy discovered that the Mind Flayer returned due to possessing Mrs. Driscoll, Nancy immediately called Jonathan, informed him of the predicament, and rushed to work with the kids on stopping the Mind Flayer. Later, while going to get Mrs. Driscoll at the Hawkins Memorial Hospital so she can lead them to the Mind Flayer's hideout, Nancy reconciled with Jonathan. When they were attacked by a Flayed Tom and Bruce, Nancy and Jonathan did their best to protect each other. After Nancy was saved from the hospital monster, Nancy was checked upon by a relieved Jonathan. Once the Mind Flayer's plot was unraveled, Nancy and Jonathan worked together in protecting the children from the Mind Flayer's avatar until its defeat. Three months later, Nancy sadly said goodbye to Jonathan, sharing a kiss and embrace with him before he left Hawkins with his family.

By 1986, Nancy and Johnathan's relationship has become somewhat strained. The two of them are now thousands of miles apart and Nancy would not be visiting the Byers' residence for Spring Break alongside Mike, which only causes further tension. Though she planned to attend college with Jonathan, Nancy would often express her frustrations over her relationship with Jonathan with those closest to her such as Fred Benson and Robin Buckley, but remained positive that she and Jonathan would work things out between them. When Nancy and Jonathan reunite, they lovingly embrace and apologize to one another, both of them explaining valid reasons for their absence and silence. However while rebuilding Hopper’s cabin, Jonathan was worried for his relationship with Nancy due to her fondness with Steve and how he matured as a person. When asking if they were okay, Nancy insisted with their relationship saying “yes” while being unaware that Jonathan was lying to her about his college acceptance letters.

In 1983, Nancy and Robin interact briefly at the movie theater where Nancy is on a date with Steve. Nancy is unaware of the close relationship of Robin once shared with her Barbara Holland and how poorly thinks of her, due Nancy being Barbara's best friend. Due to being upset over Barbara's disappearance, Nancy is consoled by Robin and explains to her why she is upset over Barbara's disappearance.

In July of 1985, Nancy meets with Robin again, and not remembering who she is, Nancy questions who her and Robin introduces herself. When the Mind Flayer invades the Starcourt Mall, Nancy tells Steve and Robin to get into the station wagon after totaling the Todd-Father. The two assist the gang in defeating the Mind Flayer using Lucas' fireworks.

In the spring of 1986, after discovering and informing Nancy of an entity called Vecna who was murdering young teenagers around Hawkins, Robin joined Nancy in investigating Victor Creel at the Hawkins Public Library as she could not drive the kids to see Ms. Kelley, due to not having a driver's license. As they did their research, Robin unintentionally began to annoy Nancy and made her feel awkward when she told her that she was not dating Steve, due being aware of the former's relationship with him. However, Robin was able to find key information on the murders on the Creel family possibly being connected to Vecna through archived tabloids, which started to change Nancy's opinion on Robin.

Later, Nancy and Robin hatch a plan to pose as psychology students in order to sneak into Pennhurst Asylum to speak to Victor Creel. Nancy had Robin dress her clothes, much to her dismay, but became impressed when Robin successfully convinced Dr. Anthony Hatch to let them speak to Creel. They then discover Creel's backstory and realize that music is the key to saving someone from Vecna's clutches. When the Hawkins gang goes to investigate the Creel house in person, Nancy chooses Robin to be her partner in searching the house for clues.

While going to meet Eddie with supplies at Skull Rock, Nancy and Robin walk alongside each other in the woods. They discuss Nancy's relationships with Jonathan and Steve, Robin stating that she "wants happiness for her friends". Nancy asks if that makes them friends officially, and Robin agrees, thereby cementing their bond.

When Nancy jumps into Lover's Lake after Steve is pulled down into Water Gate, Robin pleads with her not to go. Inevitably, Nancy jumps in and Robin jumps in after her. Once they are inside the Upside Down, Nancy and Robin battle two Demobats together. When one of them grabs Nancy, Robin pulls it off of her, thus saving her life. When the trio of Robin, Steve, and Nancy return to the Upside Down, Nancy is concerned that Robin will accidentally step on the vines. She tells Steve as much. When they reach the Upside Down version of the Creel house and see that it is riddled with vines, Robin becomes scared and holds Nancy's hand. Nancy reassures her, saying "It's okay. You got this." Nancy and Robin would go to temporarily defeat Vecna before they managed to escape from the Upside Down together.

Nancy only has occasional interactions with Dustin. The first exchange we see them having is when Dustin offers Nancy a slice of pizza while she is on the phone, only for her to slam the door in his face. Dustin claims that Nancy "used to be cool."

On December 15, 1984, at the Snow Ball, after seeing Dustin being rejected and ridiculed by girls, Nancy takes pity on him and brings him to dance with her, attracting the attention of the girls who rejected him. Nancy tells Dustin that he is her favorite out of all of her brother's friends. She also tells him that girls at his age are 'dumb', but he'll "drive them nuts" in a few years. They share a touching moment together, having a friendly slow dance.

In 1985, Nancy came to Dustin's rescue before he, Steve, Robin Buckley, and Erica Sinclair were killed by Russian soldiers. They then worked together, along with their friends, in defeating the Mind Flayer's avatar.

In 1986, Nancy met up with Dustin again where he, along with Steve, Robin, and Max Mayfield, informed of an entity from the Upside Down known as Vecna was responsible for committing a murder spree in Hawkins. They, along with their friends, worked together in investigating and trying to search for Vecna. After Nancy, Steve, Robin, and Eddie get trapped in the Upside Down due to entering a gate at Lover's Lake, the four older teens manage to communicate with Dustin, Lucas, and Erica through Holly's Lite Brite and the kids were able to rescue them from the Upside Down.

After discovering Vecna's true identity and plans, Nancy and Dustin worked out a plan to kill Vecna. They, along with Steve, Robin, and Eddie entered the Upside Down where Dustin and Eddie distracted the Demobats while Nancy, Steve, and Robin snuck into the Creel House to kill Vecna as he invaded Max's mind. After temporarily defeating Vecna, Nancy and Dustin were able to escape from the Upside Down.

In 1984, Nancy and Max first met when they both arrived at Hawkins National Laboratory as Nancy and Jonathan arrived to look for their brothers while Max arrived to help Dustin, Lucas, and Steve catch D'Artagnan. The became allies as they helped their friends work together in freeing Will Byers from the Mind Flayer and closing the Gate.

In 1985, Nancy and Max met up again as they along with Mike, Will, Jonathan, Lucas, and Eleven searched for the Flayed. When Max and Mike argued about Eleven's independence, Nancy sided with Max and agreed with her on Eleven on being her own person. Later, when the Mind Flayer's avatar attacked the Party, Nancy protected Max and her friends. While hiding out at Starcourt Mall, Nancy assured Max who noticed her loading shotgun, was going to use it to defend herself and the others as Max worried that Nancy was going to kill Billy Hargrove. Three months later, after the death of the Mind Flayer's avatar, Nancy and Max both helped Eleven and the Byers family move out of Hawkins, looking sad as they watched them leave.

In 1986, Nancy was kept at a distance by Max due to still grieving over Billy's death, but she did keep in touch with her as Nancy knew Max now lived at Forest Hills Trailer Park. After Fred Benson's death, Nancy reunited with Max who informed her of the murder spree was being committed by an entity known as Vecna. When Nancy found out Max was in danger, she was eager to save her and insisted that Steve should be the one to look after her. Even after saving Max from Vecna, Nancy did show concern for Max's safety and comforted her over her encounter with Vecna. When Nancy noticed a drawing Max made resembled the Creel House, they along with their friends went there to investigate. Later, Nancy, along with Steve, Robin, and Eddie, was rescued from the Upside Down by Max. After discovering Vecna's true identity and motives, Nancy allowed Max to use herself as bait to distract Vecna while Nancy, Steve, and Robin snuck into the Creel House to kill him. After managing to severely injure Vecna, Nancy was upset to discover Max was clinically dead as Vecna's clock chimed before she brought back to life by Eleven.

In 1983, Nancy first met Eleven after Chief Jim Hopper rescued her, Mike, and their friends from the Department of Energy agents. Nancy was surprised to see Eleven wearing one of her dresses and was even surprised to learn Mike was hiding Eleven in their home as she was helping him search for Will, due to possessing psychic powers as she was a test subject. Nancy asked Eleven if she could find her friend, Barbara and as Eleven did so, she sadly confirmed Barbara was dead, devastating Nancy.

In 1984, Nancy met with Eleven again after she saved her and the group from Demodogs. Then, by 1985, Nancy and Eleven became close as they worked together with their friends in searching for the Flayed. When arriving at the hospital to have Doris Driscoll lead them to the Flayed, Eleven saved Nancy before she was killed by a monster, created from the remains of Bruce Lowe and Tom Holloway. Later, as Eleven attempted to use her powers to search for the Flayed, Nancy was surprised to hear that Eleven broke up with Mike, but chastised her brother for not letting Eleven be more independent, showing Nancy's care towards her. When the Mind Flayer's avatar attacked Eleven, Nancy used her gun to shoot the monster in an attempt to save her. She later helped Eleven tend to her wounds and saves her from the Mind Flayer's avatar, using Lucas's fireworks. Three months later, Nancy helped Eleven move out of Hawkins with the Byers family, looking sad to see her leave,

In 1986, Nancy and Eleven have not interacted due to Eleven now living in California. When Nancy discovered Vecna to be One, the first test subject of Hawkins Lab, Nancy was ordered by Vecna to send Eleven a message as he knew of her acquaintance with her before he released Nancy from his curse. Two days later, after temporarily defeating Vecna, Nancy reunited with Eleven and worked with her to help rebuild her cabin before they witnessed the Upside Down beginning to merge into Hawkins.

In 1984, a year after Barbara's death, Nancy decided to meet Murray Bauman, who was hired by Barbara's parents to investigate her disappearance, and confess that Hawkins Lab was responsible for the death of her friends. Although Murray believed Nancy everything about the lab and the Upside Down, he told her that her evidence could easily be destroyed or brushed off by the public. So, they worked together in making the evidence sound like that Barbara was killed by a chemical spill caused by the lab. Afterwards, Murray was able to notice Nancy's feelings for Jonathan and encouraged her to embrace them. Nancy thanked Murray for his help and he returned the gesture, telling her not to seek him out again.

However, in 1985, Nancy was shown to still be on good terms with Murray, as he gave her and Jonathan the keys to his house so they and the kids can be safe from the Mind Flayer.

In 1985, Nancy started working for Tom Holloway at the Hawkins Post. However, Tom treated her with disdain as she was a female, wanting to be a journalist, despite her being the same age as his daughter Heather. Nancy treated Tom with respect and tried to earn his approval despite his and the rest of the male employees' constant abuse. When Nancy picked up Mrs. Driscoll's rat story and presented it to Tom, he dismissed it and ordered Nancy to not pursue it. However, Nancy, still wanting to be treated with respect by her co-workers, disobeyed Tom's orders and went to look for evidence, only to find Mrs. Driscoll eat fertilizer after she became possessed by the Mind Flayer. When confronted by Tom in his office, Nancy tried to settle an argument, only for Tom to fire both her and Jonathan. When Nancy learned of Heather's predicament at the hands of Billy Hargrove, Nancy drove Jonathan and the kids to the Holloway house to check on both Tom and Heather and investigate. When confronted by a possessed Tom at the hospital, Nancy actually tried reasoning with Tom as she knew, despite his previous animosity, he was only trying to kill her because of the Mind Flayer's influence.

Nancy and Bruce Lowe became co-workers after Nancy started working for the Hawkins Post in 1985. However, Bruce made fun of Nancy because of her gender and wanting to be a journalist; thus was her main tormentor at the Post with Bruce mocking and calling Nancy, "Nancy Drew." After Nancy discovered a mystery of "diseased rats," Bruce pranked Nancy with a toy rat, pushing Nancy over the edge to get some evidence so she can be treated with respect. However, after finding Mrs. Driscoll eating fertilizer, Bruce mocked Nancy before she was fired by Tom Holloway. At the Hawkins Memorial Hospital, Nancy and Jonathan were confronted by both a possessed Tom and Bruce who attempted to kill both Nancy and Jonathan. Bruce showed a strong desire to kill Nancy as he pursued and confronted her at the hospital. However, Nancy was able to outsmart Bruce by attacking him with a fire extinguisher. She tells Bruce to "go to hell," revealing her hatred for him, before killing him. After Bruce's corpse melted and merged with Tom's, forming a monster, it nearly killed Nancy until Eleven saved her.

Appearances

Comics

Video games

Family tree

note: family trees are only visible on desktop.

Ted Wheeler

Karen Wheeler

Nancy Wheeler

Mike Wheeler

Holly Wheeler

Memorable Quotes

• "It's not like that..."/"It wasn't like that..."
• "My mom was young. My dad was older, but he had a cushy job, money, came from a good family. So they bought a nice house at the end of the culdesac and started their nuclear family." — On her parents' marriage.
• "I wanna finish what we started. I want to kill it."
• "Girls this age are dumb."[3]
• "You're pretending like everything's okay, you know, like, like we didn't kill Barb. Like it's great, like we're in love and we're partying, yeah let's party, party, we're partying. This, this bullshit." - On her and Steve's relationship[4]

Gallery

Trivia

• Her character and namesake appears to be derived from Nancy Thompson, the main character in the 1984 film, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and its third installment, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987). Like Nancy Wheeler, Nancy Thompson is a stereotypical popular girl whose life is changed when her best friend is murdered by a supernatural monster, and is forced to join her fellow teenagers in defeating the demon.
• The original Montauk script had Nancy dealing with a traumatic experience, where she was sexually assaulted by Steve. This was changed due to Joe Keery's charming personality contradicting Steve's original evil nature.
• In the original pilot script for The Vanishing of Will Byers, Nancy was the first character to use the word "Fuck" during the Wheeler dinner argument. This was changed, and the use of "Fuck" was instead given to Will Byers.
• Prior to about 1979, Nancy used to cosplay for Mike's old D&D campaigns.
• The pink dress Eleven wears throughout the first season originally belonged to Nancy.
• In the Hawkins Middle School Yearbook/Hawkins High School Yearbook, her Career Goal is Journalist.
• By the third season, Nancy has obtained her driver's license, with Karen buying a new car for her.
• Nancy's nickname throughout the third season, "Nancy Drew," is the name of a girl detective in a series of books of the same name written by Carolyn Keene.
• Throughout the series, Nancy's hair is shown to get more and more frizzier and "80's-like", particularly in the third and fourth seasons.
• Nancy appears as a playable character alongside Steve Harrington in a chapter for Dead by Daylight, which was released in September 2019.
• In 1986, Nancy has a poster of Tom Cruise in her bedroom, which she claims to be old. In the first season, set in 1983, she and Steve had a brief discussion about Cruise’s breakout film “Risky Business.”

References

1. ↑ Natalia Dyer as Nancy Wheeler
2. ↑ Natalia Dyer as Nancy Wheeler
3. ↑ The Gate
4. ↑ Trick or Treat, Freak

What grade are the Stranger Things characters in season 4?

Is Nancy Wheeler still in high school?

Is Nancy a senior in Stranger Things?

How old is Nancy Wheeler?