Murray Bauman

Character portrayed by: role yet to be taken. A main character in Stranger Things: The Fall of Hawkins.

## History

#### 1984

In 1984, Bauman, a former journalist for the Chicago Sun-Times, was hired by the Hollands to look into their daughter Barbara's disappearance the previous year. Bauman found indications that the events in Hawkins were a result of a "large-scale Russian invasion," based on his discovery of information about a mysterious girl with a shaved head. However, Jim Hopper, the chief of the Hawkins police, consistently rejected Bauman's attempts to persuade him of the conspiracy theory.

Nancy Wheeler, a friend of Barbara Holland, and Jonathan Byers visited Murray's home with the goal of exposing Hawkins Lab's role in the events of the previous year, including Barbara's disappearance. At Murray's place, Nancy and Jonathan informed Murray of the lab's involvement and Murray jokingly suggested that the two stop hiding their feelings for each other. However, Murray later assisted the pair in releasing tapes containing a statement from Hawkins Lab director, Dr. Sam Owens, who was unaware of the recording. The lab was compelled to admit to their participation in Barbara's death, but they portrayed it as a result of a chemical spill and convinced Nancy and Jonathan to endorse this cover-up story.

#### 1985

In July 1985, Chief Hopper and his friend Joyce Byers uncovered a Soviet operation at Hess Farm, capturing Russian scientist Dr. Alexei in the process. Needing assistance in translating Alexei's speech, Hopper and Joyce reluctantly sought help from Murray, the closest Russian speaker they knew. Through Dr. Alexei, they discovered that the Soviets had built a machine beneath Starcourt Mall capable of opening a gateway to the Upside Down. After Dr. Alexei was killed by a Russian assassin named Grigori, Murray aided in infiltrating the hidden base and helped Joyce and Hopper disable the gateway machine. However, they were shortly thereafter found by the U.S. Army, and while Joyce was safe, Hopper appeared to have died during a confrontation with Grigori.

#### 1986

Sometime after escaping the Hawkins Lab, Billy and Kali found themselves in need of a place to stay and a way to hide from any potential recognition. Fortunately, Jonathan Byers was there to offer them a solution. He suggested they stay with Murray, a friend of his he'd stayed before, who lived in Illinois. Despite some initial hesitation, Jonathan was able to convince Murray to take them in.

Upon their arrival, Billy, Kali, and Murray formed a small bond. Despite their vastly different personalities and backgrounds, they found common ground in their experiences and quickly became a small 'family'.

A few weeks later, Murray assisted Joyce in finding a note within an anonymous package that claimed Hopper was alive. Together, they embarked on a mission to free Hopper from a prison camp in Kamchatka where he had been captured by the Russians after closing the gate under Starcourt. Despite being misled by Yuri Ismaylov, they successfully rescued Hopper but their actions resulted in the accidental release of the Russian Demogorgon, leading to the death of most of the prison staff.

Despite their escape to Yuri Ismaylov's warehouse in Kyrzran, the group was prompted to return to the prison after they received information that Hopper and Joyce's children were in danger from a new evil force threatening Hawkins. With the aim of damaging the hive mind of the Upside Down, they sought to destroy the captured fragment of the Mind Flayer they had witnessed at the base. Upon their return to the prison, they discovered that the tanks holding the Mind Flayer and the frozen Demodogs had been shattered by gunfire, causing the Mind Flayer to reanimate the Demodogs. In their mission to defeat the creatures and protect their loved ones, Hopper, Joyce, and Murray engaged in a life-threatening battle against the Demodogs and the Russian Demogorgon. After a period of intense fighting, they were successful in defeating the monsters and were later rescued by Dmitri Antonov and Yuri, who took them back to America via helicopter.

## Personality and Traits

Murray is a quirky, but vigilant journalist for the *Chicago Sun-Times*. Although an investigative journalist, Murray was always ignored by others due to his eccentric behavior and strange reports in solving investigations. After being hired by the Holland family to investigate their daughter's disappearance, he started working as an investigator, following over 200 tips to try to discover Barbara Holland's whereabouts. While he was ignored by most people, he was sure that the Hawkins National Laboratory was somehow responsible for the abnormal events occurring in Hawkins and the death of Barbara and was committed to uncovering the truth. **He had a good ability to analyze a person's character and personality.** He recognized Jonathan and Nancy's feelings for each other and later made a similar deduction about Hopper and Joyce. His accurate psychoanalysis could make those he analyzed very uncomfortable.

Murray is also shown to be incredibly nonchalant and relaxed, as he casually waves and sips a drink at the people who actually despise him.

He was also shown to be very clever when he explained that the tape evidence provided by Nancy and Jonathan could easily be discredited, but a modified tape which was more believable to the public could expose the lab.

Despite his rough demeanor, Murray had a soft side to him, overcoming his hatred of Russians in bonding with the scientist Alexei, teaching him about American culture through cartoons, food, and carnival games. When Alexei was murdered before his eyes, he was left devastated, trying to grapple with the fact he had left him unprotected just to get a corn dog.

Murray is shown to have a high esteem because of his black-belt in karate.

## Skills

WIP

* **Great cook**:

## Relationships

### Familial

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WIP

### Non-Familial

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WIP