The Umbrella Academy

 The Umbrella Academy is a television series, developed by Netflix, based on a comic book of the same name.  It has no doubt followed on the wake of the success of the Walking Dead series, as well as the plethora of comic hero movies.  It tells the story of a superhero family, fabricated by a father, Reginald Hargeaves, who adopts (more like purchases) seven children who were born on the same day, from mothers who had no symptoms of pregnancy beforehand.  The first season (of two so far) lays out the beginnings of this erstwhile family in sporadic flashbacks, focusing primarily on the training and their various exploits in foiling crimes.  It also depicts the reasons underlying the dysfunctionality of the children, as Reginald  gives them no emotional support at all, not even naming them - they are referred solely by numbers 1 through 7.  Only the father’s helper, a talking, erudite monkey named Pogo is at all sympathetic.  The family is later joined by a robotic female, whom the children adopt as ‘Mother’.

Perusing the internet, I noticed that the TV series was somewhat modified from the comic book, in ways that make it seem less comic-booky, which is a good thing.  Much of the violence, though prevalent enough even for those with more extreme taste for gory action, falls on the silly side.  The main plot of the series is driven by #5 (the only sibling without a self assigned name), who has returned from being trapped in an apocalyptic future to warn of the impending end of humanity.  The fact that #5 returns as a 13 year old boy, dressed in a school uniform blazer and shorts (which he never changes throughout), only adds to the surreality.  The two arch villains, Hazel and Cha-Cha, sent to assassinate #5 complement the tone, with their congenial and continual conflict with each other, and their penchant for wearing childish masks when spewing bullets in public.  Hazel is the more sympathetic character, always musing that he wants to retire from the assassin business, especially as he develops a romance with a donut shop waitress.  Cha-Cha is definitely more dedicated to her mission, with a vulgar tongue that provided the major turn-off (for me) in the series.

Of course, each of the Umbrella Academy kids has a backstory to explore.  Luther (#1) is just back from exile on the moon, having been inadvertently mutated into a half ape.  Diego (#2) is acting out his juvenile impulses as a solo vigilante crime fighter, equipped with his super knife throwing abilities.   Allison (#3) is a world famous actress, estranged from her ex-husband and daughter because she could not control her own power, the ability to compel actions by whispering a command prefaced by “I heard a rumour that…”.  Klaus (#4) is a prototypical addict, having never come to terms with his power to commune with the dead.  Ben (#6) is dead (of an unspecified reason and time) and can only be seen and communicate with Klaus, although he has aged along the rest).  Vanya (#7) seemingly has no powers, and was ostracized by the other kids as a result, which has caused a lack of confidence in herself and, no doubt, a buried anger at her other siblings.  This, obviously,  will become the major plot catalyst when her actual and superior powers emerge.

A couple of characters have been added to the series, basically  to add more coherence to the plot.  The mysterious Commision, which is responsible for maintaining the integrity of the timeline, is represented by the Handler, portrayed by a woman who wears ostentatious clothes and recruits #5 (in the future timeline) to be a company assassin.  Leonard Peabody / Harold Jenkins is the catalyst for Vanya’s realisation of her buried powers, by pretending to be a violin student in his Leonard assumed identity and coming into possession of Reginald’s notebook (courtesy of Klaus’ klepto-junkie act) which details how Vanya’s abilities were suppressed.  Harold Jenkins is primed for revenge against the family, having been rejected from joining the Academy by Reginald when he was an already obsessed child.  All of these plot maneuvers come to a head, as #5 and his siblings fight (more or less) to foil the apocalypse, even as they gradually realize that Vanya herself will be the cause.  Their inevitable failure (can you really avoid predestination?) is not the end, however, as #5 sends the family careening into the past to avoid the desolation, and of course, make season two possible!

The second season of Umbrella Academy is definitely a letdown compared to the first.  First, the Hargreaves all land in the past in separate times, though all in in Dallas in a year or two before Kennedy’s assassination.  So the first few episodes play out with each hero navigating this unforeseen past/present, with little connection to each other.  The Kennedy subplot also adds little, especially given that the target audience likely knows little about this historical event, and the show does nothing to add any explanation.  Second, the featured Commission assassins are a trio of Swedish brothers who say little and certainly add little of interest to the proceedings.  Third, the Academy siblings are again fighting to avoid another apocalypse, although this one is a really contrived nuclear war brought on by Vanya’s (of course) accidental enhancement to the Kennedy death.

Finally, there is an unanswered riddle that plagues this viewer.  Where is Reginald Hargreaves from exactly (another planet it seems) and what is he?  In the original flashback to his origin, both he and his lover seem human, but this is definitely overthrown in the conclusion to season two.