The Umbrella Academy is described as a "dysfunctional family of superheroes" and it starts of when 43 superpowered infants are inexplicably born to random, unconnected women who showed no signs of pregnancy. Sir Reginald Hargreeves, a wealthy inventor, tried to get as many of the babies as he could - he got seven. He adopts the children and prepares them to save the world as The Umbrella Academy.
The Umbrella Academy - Origins
The Umbrella Academy is an American comic book series created and written by Gerard Way and illustrated by Gabriel Bá. The first six-issue limited series, The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite, was released by Dark Horse Comics, between September 14, 2007, and February 20, 2008. It won the 2008 Eisner Award for Best Finite Series/Limited Series. A second series, The Umbrella Academy: Dallas, followed in 2008. The first issue of a third series, The Umbrella Academy: Hotel Oblivion, was released on October 3, 2018. A proposed fourth series is in development. On February 15, 2019 a television adaptation premiered on Netflix.
The Umbrella Academy Characters
In the comics, The Academy is led by The Monocle (Sir Reginald Hargreeves), an alien disguised as a wealthy entrepreneur and world-renowned scientist. He purchases 7 of the 43 babies born that day who become the members of The Umbrella Academy, including Spaceboy (Luther Hargreeves), The Kraken (Diego Hargreeves), The Rumor (Allison Hargreeves), The Séance (Klaus Hargreeves), The Boy (Number Five), The Horror (Ben Hargreeves), and The White Violin (Vanya Hargreeves). [n.1]
The Netflix Series might have alluded to Reginald Hargreeves being an alien, but I'm not 100% sure about the scene where he leaves his wife (?) and journey's to New York and Buys an umbrella factory.
Each of the seven children were given a number by their father, ranking them in order of their abilities and usefulness.
Number One / Luther Hargreeves (Spaceboy) - He is the leader of The Umbrealla Academy and he has super-strength. We first encounter Luther in the series as he watches the sunset on his Moon Base. He is the only one left who has the superhero complex and thinks his father sent him on a mission to the moon.
Number Two / Diego Hargreeves (The Kraken) - In the comic and the series, he is shown as having exceptional knife skills and if always going against Luther. We see him in the series listening in to police dispatches and acts like a vigilante to save people.
Number Three / Allison Hargreeves (The Rumor) - She has the ability to rewrite reality just by saying "I heard a rumor..". She is divorced from her husband after she used her power on her daughter Claire. She also tries to be the sister that she wasn't to Vanya while they were growing up.
Number Four / Klaus Hargreeves (the Séance) - We first see him getting released from rehab but getting his drug fix right after he gets out. He has the power to levitate (not shown on the series yet) and contact the dead, but it only works when he is sober. He is by far my most favorite character out of the bunch.
Number Five - The only character who doesn't have a given name he has the ability to teleport. Five disappeared when he is 13 years old when he time traveled to the future. He has been missing for the better part of 30 years but when he gets back to his family he goe back to his body when he was 13.
Number Six / Ben Hargreeves (The Horrow) - We don't know much about Ben except for the fact that he could unleash monsters. It is indicated that he died young and has been following Klaus all through out the series.
Number Seven / Vanya Hargreeves (The White Violin) - Vanya grew up thinking she didn't have any powers and was the only Hargreeve who was ordinary. She if further cast out from her family when she wrote a book that detailed her life and the Academy. Since about the 4th episode, I knew that she would be the cause of the Apocalypse.
The Umbrella Academy - The Netflix Series
The Netflix Original story closely follows The Umbrella Academy Volume 1: Apocalypse Suite, where the adult Hargreeves children are reunited when their father dies. The series was developed by Steve Blackman and Jeremy Slater. The cast features Ellen Page (Vanya), Tom Hopper (Luther), David Castañeda (Diego), Emmy Raver-Lampman (Allison), Robert Sheehan (Klaus), Aidan Gallagher (Numbe Five) and Mary J. Blige (Cha-Cha).
Review
The Umbrella Academy has taken the idea of these superheroes and reimagined them as dysfunctional adults, still running away from the shadow of their father and what made them the Umbrella Academy. It's all so fresh because the super heroes we normally watch haven't gone over the edge yet. Not as bad as the Hargreeves have anyway.
This series is deliciously good, very odd, and yet touching at the same time.
The treatment of the story showing flashbacks of the characters show how they ended up becoming who they were in the present. A lot of them had the same demons - their father. But behind the guilt, narcissism, anger, and the need for therapy, we see that they have such a relatable human side. Luther still craved for his fathers approval, Diego's love for Mom, Allison's frustrations as a mother, Klaus learning to love, Number Five doing everything he can to save his family, and Vanya's craving for acceptance and the blindness to the family who is trying to save her.
As I mentioned above, my favorite character is Klaus. He's the only one who felt the most real to me. Like his pain goes beyond having daddy issues. He's funny in one scene and then hear wrenching in another. The other actors played their role well and I'm hoping for more character development in the next seasons.
The 10 episodes of the first season of The Umbrella Academy was a roller coaster of crazy and I loved it. This series is well worth your time and a definite must watch.
Have you seen The Umbrella Academy? What did you think of the show? If you haven't see it yet, were you intrigued by the small spoilers? Don't forget to share your thoughts below!
