In 1984, when Eleven revealed herself to be alive, Dustin embraced her, revealing that they've reminisced her and talked about her almost everyday. Eleven was even surprised that Dustin had teeth which Dustin proudly showed them off to her. Dustin, Steve, and Robin approach Lucas's younger sister, Erica and ask her if she can crawl through the mall's air duct to get into the secret room. Though Erica assured the group she can fit through the vent, Dustin sides with Steve and Robin as they offer Erica dozens of Scoops Ahoy ice cream treats in exchange for her cooperation. As Steve goes to get more fudge for Erica, Dustin and Robin debriefed Erica on the plan to have her sneak into the mall's secret room while assuring there would not be any booby traps and the Russian guards will not be guarding the room by the time she breaks in. Dustin even tried to convince Erica to do this assignment for America's behalf, but in the end, Erica only agreed to help, in exchange for a free lifetime supply of Scoops Ahoy ice cream which Dustin, Robin, and Steve accepted. As his friend's older sister, 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.' No, Mike, you give me a break! All three of you were being a bunch of little assholes! I was the only reasonable one." As they rode their bikes home, Dustin informed Mike through his Supercom that Max was indeed "MADMAX," but Mike was not interested. He then decided to invite Max into the Party, despite Lucas's worries over Mike not liking the idea, but Dustin insisted as they are allowed to take new members into their Party if they want to. After saying saying good night to Lucas, Dustin arrives home, but is unable to notice or hear the sound of a strange creature inside his outdoor trashcan.

Expert Inventor: Dustin was able to craft many impressive items which successfully worked and proved his skill as great inventor. In 1984, when Dustin, along with Lucas, invited Max Mayfield into the Party without informing Mike first, Mike was upset, but showed no hostility towards Dustin. While they had an argument over the situation regarding Dart, their friendship never turned bad as he directly headed to Mike's house to warn him about its danger and also searched for him with the group during the Demodogs' invasion. Dustin also supported Mike's plan to distract the Demodogs from El and Hopper by burning the tunnels of the Upside Down, proving that they still endanger themselves to protect their friends. A month later, at the Snow Ball, Dustin still remained on good terms with Mike, who playfully teased his hairstyle. Did you seriously not hear ANYTHING I said?" He stared into Steve's eyes. He knew the answer, he just wanted to embarrass him. Steve shook his head, knowing that Dustin would go on until he actually listened. On October 29, Dustin, Lucas, Mike, and Will went to the Palace arcade. After losing a game of Dragon's Lair,

Hal Hinson of The Washington Post gave it a positive review, and wrote: "Instead of the usual coming-of-age coarseness, this celebration of kid power is a rather tame affair. It's sweet, likable and even vaguely hip." [5] When the elevator reached the surface, Dustin, Erica, Robin, and Steve exited out of the elevator, only to find two Russians guards approaching them and armed with guns. This caused Dustin, Erica, Robin, and Steve to retreat into the mall and hide in the movie theater. Once getting Steve and Robin to sit in some seats, Dustin and Erica grabbed their seats to lay low.

In Season 3, Dustin became the second member of the Party to kill an enemy, after Eleven who had made several kills in the past two seasons.

Dustin was born on May 29, 1971, to Mr. and Claudia Henderson. By around 1980, the Henderson family arrived in Hawkins, Indiana, where Dustin met Lucas, Mike, and Will when he arrived at their school in fourth grade, growing a strong bond with them and becoming best friends. They would often gather at Mike's house to play Dungeons & Dragons. The four boys had a great relationship with their science teacher Mr. Clarke, and they were members in the AV Club he ran. In addition, they would take part in the annual science fair, winning almost every year.