The most formidable opponent Freddy Krueger Faced never made it to the big screen. To me, that simple fact says a lot, considering everyone Freddy had to fight against. Some like to give the honor of “Freddy's best enemy” to his first opponent, Nancy, but he killed her in Dream Warriors. I'm tempted to say Jason Voorhees, but Freddy isn't even Jason's best rival.
In my eyes, the toughest enemy Freddy Krueger ever had to face wasn't on the big screen, but in the comics – specifically A Nightmare on Elm Street, by Freddy Krueger by Steve Gerber, Rich Buckler, Tony DeZuniga, Alfredo Alcala and Janice Chiang. Surprisingly, this two-part series was released under the Marvel banner. Unfortunately, Freddy doesn't fight the Avengers, but he does fight a much more lethal threat to your well-being: a Dream-Stalker.
The gripping two-part series explains exactly what makes the Dream-Stalker concept so special in Nightmare tradition.
What happens in A Nightmare on Elm Street, by Freddy Krueger?
And what exactly is a Dream-Stalker?
The opening pages of this series take place in Springwood, with Freddy Krueger's face looming over the Hayes residence after Roger and Patti Hayes call an ambulance for their daughter, Allison. Young Allison Hayes was found in bed looking like she had been mutilated. She is rushed into emergency surgery, during which she is visited in her dreams by Freddy, who is determined to finish what he started before the events of the comic. However, Allison fights back by wrapping her own guts around Freddy's neck and electrocuting him, forcing him to retreat.
Meanwhile, Dr. Juliann Quinn, who is proficient in the study of dream psychology, struggles to escape Freddy Krueger. Coincidentally, Springwood Medical assigns it to Allison's case. Juliann assures Allison that her delusions about Freddy Krueger are real, although it is unclear at the moment why Krueger is targeting Allison. Readers learn that it is because Freddy is afraid of Allison and wants to get rid of her before she becomes a greater threat to him. Before that, however, Allison and Juliann are cornered together in the Dream World by Freddy.
What is Dream-Stalking in this Freddy Kreuger comic?
A phenomenon within the franchise
Freddy Krueger terrorizes the two women until Juliann is left alone in her basement. It looks like he'll finish the job until, somehow, Allison emerges from her furnace to fend off Freddy, engulfed in flames as if she were the reincarnation of the Human Torch. Not even Allison understands what she just did. When they wake up, Juliann prescribes the franchise-exclusive Hypnocil treatment to keep Allison awake while she investigates how Allison did what she did. That's when Juliann learns about chasing dreams.
An angry Dream-Stalker without control of her powers is still a danger to Freddy…
By comic book definition, Allison is a “accidental dream chaser“whose abilities do not compare to what Freddy is capable of. Instead, “an untrained dream chaser would be attracted to entities of power in the dream world without being able to differentiate the benign from the corrupt.” Due to the power they wield, it is extremely important for a Dream-stalker to understand their talents and their deadly implications. Allison later recalls her first encounter with Freddy, where his attacks passed through her, which confused and actually terrified Krueger.
Allison Hayes, the Dream-Stalker, should have fought Freddy Krueger on screen
Is it too late to introduce the Dream-Stalkers?
Freddy Krueger manages to kill Juliann, but all he manages to do is enrage Allison. An angry Dream-Stalker without control of her powers is still a danger to Freddy, as is evident in their fight, which for me is one of the best choreographed fights in the franchise, whether on screen or on panel. Allison's creativity is on display in this fightas she uses a blade built into her hand to fight Freddy, it explodes into a snake and creates a costume similar to Freddy's to fight fire with fire. Allison overwhelms Freddy, but she wakes up and is admitted to a psychiatric ward before she even tries to kill Freddy.
Their previous encounters show how Freddy always struggles to lay a finger on the Dream-Stalker. Freddy is very afraid of Allison because he has never met someone like this before. Freddy has never been afraid of anyone in the films (except maybe Jason) and this is a testament to the threat the Dream-Stalker poses to Freddy. Robert Englund retired from A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, and the comics were canceled before delving into the Dream-Stalker concept, but if given time, I think Dream-Stalkers could be Freddy Krueger biggest challenge.
A Nightmare on Elm Street, by Freddy Krueger is now available from Marvel Comics.