You ever play a game and realize halfway through that the guy you're controlling isn't actually the guy you thought he was? It’s a trip. When we first stepped into the shoes of Henry Stein back in 2017, the setup felt like classic horror tropes 101. An old animator returns to his abandoned studio after thirty years because a creepy letter from his ex-partner, Joey Drew, told him to.
Simple, right? Not even close.
Honestly, the deeper you go into the lore of Bendy and the Ink Machine Henry becomes less of a hero and more of a tragic, ink-stained puzzle piece. Most players think they're playing as a retired old man taking a stroll down a very dangerous memory lane. But if you’ve kept up with the franchise into Bendy and the Dark Revival, you know that the "Henry" we spent five chapters with is basically a ghost in a machine.
The Identity Crisis Nobody Saw Coming
Let’s talk about the big elephant in the room: Henry Stein isn’t actually Henry Stein.
Okay, that sounds like a riddle, but it's the fundamental truth of the series. The real Henry Stein left Joey Drew Studios in 1930. He went home to his wife, Linda, and presumably lived a relatively normal life far away from demonic ink blotches. He was the talent—the guy who actually drew Bendy—while Joey was the "man of ideas" (and by ideas, we mean a massive ego and a lack of technical skill).
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The character we control in the first game is a "Cycle" version of Henry. Joey Drew, fueled by decades of bitterness because Henry "abandoned" him, used the Ink Machine to create an ink replica of his old friend.
Why? Pure, unadulterated spite.
Joey couldn't torture the real Henry, so he built a fake one just to trap him in an endless loop of horror. Think about that for a second. Every time you died in the game, every time you restarted a chapter, it wasn't just a game mechanic. It was the literal "Cycle" resetting. This version of Henry is a prisoner in a sepia-toned hellscape designed by a man who couldn't let go of a 30-year-old grudge.
Why Henry Stein is Basically the Ub Iwerks of Gaming
If you’re an animation nerd, the parallels here are wild. Henry is very clearly based on Ub Iwerks, the real-life animator who co-created Mickey Mouse with Walt Disney. Just like Henry, Ub was the one with the actual drawing chops, and just like Henry, he eventually left the studio because of creative friction and Disney’s controlling nature.
In the game, Henry is the "creator" in every sense that matters. He gave Bendy his soul before Joey tried to give him a literal one.
What Henry actually did at the studio:
- Co-founded Joey Drew Studios in 1929.
- Designed the original "pie-cut" eye look for Bendy.
- Created Boris the Wolf.
- Designed Alice Angel (though she didn't debut until after he quit).
He was the backbone of the company. When he left, the "magic" started to rot. Joey tried to replace Henry's talent with occultism and a giant, leaking machine, and we all saw how well that turned out.
The Mystery of the Voice and the Face
For years, we didn't even know what Henry looked like. He was just a floating pair of hands holding a gent pipe or an axe. This was a deliberate choice by theMeatly (the creator of the game and, interestingly, the voice of Henry). By keeping him faceless, the game made us feel like we were Henry, which made the eventual reveal of his true nature hit way harder.
In Bendy and the Dark Revival, we finally see him. He looks tired. He looks like a man who has lived through a thousand lifetimes of the same five chapters.
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It's actually kind of heartbreaking. When you encounter him in the later games, he's not the wide-eyed protagonist anymore. He’s a veteran of the ink. He remembers things. He tells Audrey (the protagonist of the sequel) that he sees the "End Reel" in his mind every single day.
Imagine having the memory of every single time you’ve been chased by the Ink Demon burned into your brain. That’s Henry’s reality. He’s the only one who truly understands that they are all just living out a script written by a dead man.
The "Man of Ideas" vs. The Creator
The relationship between Joey and Henry is the dark heart of the whole story. Joey’s audio logs are filled with this weird, obsessive "all take and no give" energy. He speaks about Henry with a mix of reverence and absolute hatred.
There’s a popular theory among the hardcore fandom that Joey’s obsession with Henry was more than just business. Whether it was a twisted friendship or something more complex, Joey felt entitled to Henry’s life. When Henry chose his wife Linda over the studio, Joey saw it as a betrayal.
The Ink Machine wasn't just meant to bring cartoons to life. It was Joey’s way of playing God and forcing his "best friend" to stay with him forever. It’s a possessiveness that transcends reality.
Henry’s Survival Guide: How He Kept Going
If you're looking for actionable insights on how to view Henry's journey, you have to look at his persistence. In the game, Henry is soft-spoken. He doesn't scream much. He just... does the work.
- Environmental Awareness: Henry’s greatest tool wasn't the axe; it was the "Seeing Tool." He learned to see the hidden messages left by others (and possibly past versions of himself) on the walls.
- Punctuality as a Defense: There’s a weird bit of lore where Henry mentions he’s "always on time." In a world where time is a looping circle, that’s almost a superpower.
- Creative Respite: Even in the middle of a nightmare, Henry finds desks to draw at. It’s his way of reclaiming his identity from the ink.
What’s Next for Henry?
With the announcement of Bendy: The Cage and the ongoing expansion of the "Bendy-verse," Henry’s story isn't actually over. We know he’s still "in the pit." While Audrey managed to merge with the Ink Demon and change the world, Henry remains a pivotal figure in the resistance against the Keepers and the lingering shadows of Joey's legacy.
He is the "wandering sheep" Sammy Lawrence used to rave about, but he’s stopped being a sacrifice. He’s become a legend within the ink realm itself.
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To really understand the lore, you should go back and listen to the "Man of Ideas" audio log in Chapter 3. It's the moment where the mask slips, and you realize Henry wasn't just an employee—he was the one who saw through Joey's nonsense from day one.
Your Next Steps:
- Replay Chapter 5: Look closely at the "throne room" scene. Now that you know Henry is an ink clone, the dialogue about "the end" takes on a much more sinister meaning.
- Check the Archives: If you have Dark Revival, go to the Archives and read the character bio for Henry. It confirms his status as an "Ink Replica" once and for all.
- Watch the Ending of the original game again: Notice the transition from Joey's apartment to the studio. That’s the moment the "real" world ends and the Cycle begins.