The time has come, my Netflix friends, to welcome back one of our favorite shows later this month: Stranger Things.
Earlier on this year, we compiled a list of Stranger Things merchandise to tide us over. Little did we know, the time would be upon us sooner than we thought.
Because of the fab exclusive Stranger Things pops that have been released lately, we figured, well, why not share our faves?
So we are!
1. Will You or Won’t You Get to the Upside Down?
Source: amazon.comJoyce, Joyce! We've found him! He's here! Eleven isn't him like I suspected when she first turned up because You Never Know!
He's a little, how can I put it, worse for wear, but because of that he also gets to be a Think Geek exclusive Stranger Things pop. Not everybody gets that honor. I'm hoping we get to know more about Will in Season 2. I mean, why is Brenner only going after kids with dark hair and dark eyes? Is he starting a Eurovision band? What's the deal, yo??
Get the Upside Down Will pop vinyl on amazon.com
2. Eleven Has Been Experimented On So Much, She’s Probably in the X-Men by Now
Source: amazon.comI'm not 100% sure, but I think that Eleven has the most Stranger Things pops out of all of the characters. She deserves them too, she's the star of the show and has so many great, epic looks. Eleven with a bloody nose, Eleven with Eggos, Eleven in her wig; the possibilities just never end and this brand new one of her in her nightgown with the electrodes attached to her is cool as ice, baby.
Get the limited edition exclusive Eleven with electrodes pop on amazon.com
3. One Thing is For Certain, Cops Sure Love Donuts
Source: popinabox.usWhether it be Hopper or Harry and Coop from Twin Peaks, donuts are part of the job. If you couldn't combat small-town crime with doughy balls of sugary goodness and a damn fine coffee, what else could you do? Eat apples? Nonsense! That's for teachers. This Stranger Things pop has two variants of Hopper. One has his hat and the other, one in six ordered, will be the one without. Which one will you get? Why not find out? (Also, if you love Twin Peaks, you'll LOVE this Twin Peaks merchandise.)
Get the Hopper with donut pop on popinabox.us
4. Lucas Always Knows When Stuff is About to Go Down
Source: amazon.comHe's the cool guy that seems to be the most logical of the group. Every group of friends in a Stephen King-influenced creation needs one and Lucas is totally glad to take the reins on that one. Was he mean to Eleven? Yeah, but rightfully. Will disappeared and then suddenly there's this weird chick that's taken his place and her nose keeps bleeding and she really likes Eggos. He's just being wary, which is pretty sensible when kids of all ages are being snatched from right under everyone's noses. May we all be a little Lucas sometimes. (I don't mean George, that's reserved for Star Wars pops).
Get this Lucas from Stranger Things pop on amazon.com
5. Joyce and Those Christmas Lights Are Star Crossed Lovers
Source: amazon.comJoyce Byers can generally be found having a panic attack, screaming for Will, or clutching things to her chest. Maybe even a combination of all three. If there was a blog on Tumblr about her, I'd put good money on it being a collection of her doing just that. Joyce likes the finer things in life: Xanax, string lights, and wallpaper in a typically 80s pattern that looks crazy from a point in time where our walls are mostly white. It was the return of Winona Ryder and I've always loved her (Beetlejuice! Edward Scissorhands! ...Mermaids!) so I'll always be thankful to Stranger Things for that. And Funko, for this line of Stranger Things pops.
Get the Joyce and her lights Stranger Things pop on amazon.com
6. Stranger Things Pops Don’t Come Any Greater Than Bloody Steve
Source: amazon.comThe jock is never a good guy. Steve did kind of end up redeeming himself, but when you're the king of a high school, if you think about all the flicks from the 80s and 90s, you have to be something of a dick. It's how the hierarchy of late 20th century high school on film works. It's been that way since Johnny Depp in Carrie (yep!) or maybe even before. When you look at it that way, Steve is simply doing what his friends want him to do, and this exclusive SDCC Stranger Things pop release is maybe one of my favorites. (Spoiler: it is).
Get the SDCC Exclusive Steve pop on amazon.com
7. Dustin Doesn’t NEED Google Maps
Source: amazon.comI see your point, it was the 80s and not many people had cordless phones let alone smartphones that could connect you to the entire world. But even if the 80s did have all those things, Dustin wouldn't need it because he's got all the orienteering skills you could possibly need if you just trust him. Everyone fell in love with Dustin in the first season. Heck, he was almost my Halloween costume last year! He's the kid who delivers all the comic relief in times when some hella messed up stuff is going on. Come to think of it, we could use more Dustins in the world today.
Get the Dustin from Stranger Things pop vinyl on amazon.com
8. Nancy’s Got a Gun…
Source: amazon.comShe's also the kind of girl who'll grow up to be a fan of Jon Bon Jovi, I can just feel it. Nancy started off as being my least favorite character trope. She was the goodie-two-shoes big sister of Mike, one of the main group, and she was the smart, straight A, popular girl in school. We've seen it so many times over the years and I'm a little bored of it, HOWEVER, during the middle of the season to the end, she got fantastic, and Nancy and her baseball bat are my OTP.
Get this Nancy from Stranger Things pop figure on amazon.com
9. Keep Your Keys Safe With Your Favorite Character
Source: Think GeekThere is a number of Stranger Things pop keychains you can get, but I used a sample picture of one that included Barb because -- as evidenced by the inclusion of this Where's Barb? book, Barb pin, and Be a Barb shirt -- I don't know if you got the memo but I LOVE BARB. I SAID IT. THERE. There was an outpouring last year of people who loved her. For a character that was literally on the show for five minutes, she gained a following that no other character has since Hodor. May she always serve as a reminder to Nancy that she ditched her for a boy. Oh, so yeah, you can also get Eleven, Dustin, and the Demogorgon.
Get any one of these badass Stranger Things key chains on thinkgeek.com
10. Even Though He’s Creepy, You’ve Got to Commend Jonathan For Not Caring
Source: amazon.comI guess we're supposed to see Jonathan as the opposite to Steve. In ways, it's spot on. He's nice to Nancy, he's not a jock, he doesn't bathe, but I think taking photographs of somebody secretly is kind of skeezy, don't you? Why did nobody but Steve mention how weird it was that he was there doing that? So, yeah, he's the outcast that we're supposed to identify and ship Nancy with but I can't seem to get over that teensy little speedbump. (I still like the Stranger Things pop version of him, though. Shh).
Get funko's Jonathan and his camera pop on amazon.com
11. Can the Demogorgon Keep His Mouth Shut For Once?
Source: amazon.comWhat a pretty little flower. I wonder what this bulb will look like when it opens up. (She says, being sucked into the abyss of the Demogorgon's multiple mouths). He sort of looks like he could be a Predator action figure in this variant of his Stranger Things pop, and I'm not minding it. The lead up to the reveal of the Demogorgon reminded me of the same one we had in J. J. Abrams' Cloverfield (which is an impeccable movie), only we actually got to see it. (Eventually). Personally, I think he just needs a friend. It must be so lonely down there. Just him and Barb.
Get the Variant Demogorgon Pop on amazon.com
12. Should Mike Stay or Should He Go?
Source: amazon.comBeep beep, Mikey. Oh, wait, wrong movie/TV show/franchise. The same decade if we're taking the timeline of the new IT movie into account, at least? Mike and his fateful walkie talkie stole the show alongside Lucas, Dustin, and Eleven in trying to find out what happened to Will. I'll never forget the creepy voice coming through it when all they wanted to do was play Dungeons and Dragons and pretend they didn't all have a crush on Barb. Hard, I know, but they can wear these Barb earrings in the meantime if they want her that badly.
Get Mike with walkie talkie pop on amazon.com
