John Alex Nunnery
Freshman Reporter
“The Umbrella Academy” is the newly released show by Steve Blackman and Jeremy Slater. It is based on the comic series under the same name written by Gerard Way. It is a new take on the classic superhero team dynamic.
The show centers around seven “gifted” children who were born under impossible circumstances on Oct. 1, 1989, and were subsequentially adopted by Sir Reginald Hargreeves (Colm Feore). Sir Reginald numbers the children in place of giving them a name and trains them into a group of young superheroes and eventually, after years of mistreatment, they all separate.
The bulk of the story takes place years after their superhero days are over, leaving only the dysfunctional adults behind to pick up the pieces after Sir Reginald’s death. They witness the return of their long-missing brother, Number 5 (Aidan Gallagher). He warns of an upcoming apocalypse to come in eight days that he witnessed when time traveling to the future.
“The Umbrella Academy” starts off strong with an interesting premise. In a time where superhero media has enveloped the market and many people are beginning to feel fatigued from the classic Marvel formula, it stands out. The main protagonists are all broken people who have suffered in some capacity because of their upbringing as supers. The characters of Klause Hargreeves, Number 4, (Robert Sheehan) and Vanya Hargreeves, Number 7, (Ellen Page) demonstrate this perfectly. Klause is addicted to drugs as a way to nullify his powers after years of being abused with them. Vanya was the only child of the group apparently not born with a special power and became a lonely outcast who never felt wanted.
“The Umbrella Academy” has some excellent performances throughout the show. There is not one actor who poorly portrayed their character. However, the editing was inconsistent throughout the show. Many cuts were badly made, and the story sometimes gets convoluted with trying to keep up with so many side plots.
“The Umbrella Academy” is worth a watch if you are a fan of Netflix’s other comic adaptions or you are looking for something fun to binge-watch over the summer.