The Umbrella Academy: The best comic book Adaptation on TV? Proves they don’t need Marvel prog

Steve Blackman and Jeremy Slater’s Netflix’s live-action adaptation of Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá’s The Umbrella Academy is a fabulous blend of genius storytelling, mixing the original comic’s genuine oddness, which felt refreshing back in 2007 when Dark Horse first began publishing the series, and the kind of formulaic TV storytelling that’s come to define most of the streaming platform’s superhero-focused content.

And viewers are immediately immersed in this strange world and establishes that it is playing by its own rules.

It’s not always clear what those rules are, but it doesn’t matter because the journey is so bonkers and splendidly funny.

ABOVE: Dysfunctional family dinners are always a hoot.

PLOT:

The series, which runs for 10 episodes, is not an origin story — although origins are important. The members of The Umbrella Academy are all grown up now, after a childhood spent in the limelight. One day in 1989, 43 babies were born to mothers who were not pregnant the day before.

Seven of them were purchased by an eccentric billionaire, Sir Reginald Hargreeves (Colm Feore), who trained them up as The Umbrella Academy to be crime fighters — and perhaps something more.

Over the years, most of the seven left the academy and struck out on their own (major daddy issues being at the core of it all),

Now 30 years old, they have grown somewhat estranged as life has taken them farther from their superhero pasts. Luther, the only one who stayed loyal to Reginald, moved to the moon on a special mission from his father.

Diego washed out as a cop and became a vigilante instead. Allison is a celebrity who has lost her daughter in a custody battle with her husband. Klaus has been in and out of rehab (though he’s still in touch with Ben’s ghost). And Vanya, who ended up airing all the family’s secrets in an explosive autobiography, is now a violin teacher and third chair in a local orchestra.

The series kicks off with the death of Reginald Hargreeves, which brings the remaining siblings together for his funeral. His longtime man-servant Pogo, (and a character who’s analogous to Batman’s Alfred, even though he’s a genius-level chimpanzee) welcomes the grieving clan back to the family compound and robot mum in-toll.

And sure enough, everyone is forced to come together.

But in this case, that just so happens to coincide with an impending apocalypse — it’s unclear who’s behind this doomsday or why it’s happening, but the only thing that can stop it is the Umbrella Academy.

The Umbrella Academy is a show that wants to keep you on your toes while it pulls you into a new live-action world of superheroes, and populated by a complicated cast of characters whose shared histories have turned them into a dysfunctional family of sorts.

Living in the spotlight and under the tutelage of a loving, but sometimes cruel father figure understandably forces each of the siblings to attempt to cope by carving out new identities for themselves in their adulthood, and by the time we meet them, they’ve all gone their separate ways, in an attempt to leave their old lives behind.

Drifting back into far-too-short flashbacks, we’re given a few glimpses of each sibling during the episodes, as kids (moments where you see the beginnings of the people they were destined to become).

ABOVE: CLASS OF HERO’S

The many strengths of the show are the writers understanding the importance of a good montage. And, backed-up by a killer soundtrack, helping our flawed hero’s stand out and immediately recognizable. You’ll hear Radiohead, Morcheeba, Nina Simone, and The Hollies. There’s an introductory dance sequence set to Tiffany’s “I Think We’re Alone Now.”

And what are the numbers for?

Oh, their father ranked them in order of their usefulness to him, of course, and had no time for names! (Names came later, at random, when the siblings are older).

THE PLAYERS:

There’s Number 1 / Luther aka Spaceboy (Tom Hopper), who has been on the moon for the past 4 years and possesses super strength and a hairy back (flashback needed to understand why?)

Number 2 / Diego (David Castañeda), a Batman-like vigilante who is talented with knives (faints at injections).

Number 3 / Allison (Emmy Raver-Lampman), a celebrity who can change reality by speaking “rumours” out loud (cool, but wonders why she doesn’t do it more often, then the big reveal, you find out exactly why?)

Number 4 / Klaus (Robert Sheehan), a junkie who can commune with the dead — when he’s sober (and his brother too!)

Number 5 / No Other Name (Aidan Gallagher), a 13-year old who time-travelled to the future where he was trapped for 50 years and has returned to the present in his childhood body (killer as well).

Number 6 / Ben (Ethan Hwang) was killed in an unnamed event before the series begins and hangs about as a spirit with Klaus.

Number 7 / Vanya (Ellen Page), a violinist with no superpowers, (with a seriously creepy new boyfriend) considered a dud who was never allowed to join in with the rest of her siblings’ training (da, da, da will be the strongest of the family by the end of the show).

The Umbrella Academy is quick, quirky, and light, although there are real stakes and consequences that play out over the course of the season.

POSITIVES:

There is a high body count in the series, starting from the very beginning, but the show is never dark or dour. A thrilling soundtrack and some cool use of musical numbers when the body count begins to rise, and some equally touching family moments which will get you to use a tissue!

The interactions among the group are always a delight, especially when the charmingly sarcastic Klaus is around (Sheehan gives a really sweet and vulnerable performance here, think Misfits days! and one that is full of comedic physicality), and the series expertly makes us invested in how these relationships develop or breakdown after so many years apart. The characters are flawed like rough diamonds in a South African mine, and over time will rise to be the polished gem of a team.

NEGATIVES:

Not a lot, really, except, after watching the show, you may notice a common thread which is that nearly all of them have some mysterious secret that needs to be unpacked as slowly and painfully as possible.

BAD GUYS:

Number 5, is being hunted down by a mysterious pair of assassins. The show’s action sequences, particularly a skirmish in a doughnut shop, a clothing department store and a bowling alley are spiffy, choreographed to dazzle the viewer (and they sure do!). Blige’s Cha Cha and her partner Hazel (Cameron Britton) get in on the fun too, donning DeadMau5-ish heads and rat-tat-tatting machine guns til anything, and more precisely, the siblings of The Umbrella Academy.  Both give excellent performances as down-right-dirty killers, and each gives off strong Fargo villain vibes.

And there’s also another formidable foe able to jump in and out of any time period she deems fit to mess with.

ABOVE: EVERYONE WAITED UNTIL HE’D EMPTIED ALL OF THE PEPPER ONTO THE GROUND, REALISING TO LATE, SOMEONE HAD MOVED HIS DINNER PLATE.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

By the end of the season, you get a full grasp of where they’re going with it and how each of the characters plays a key role as well as their abilities and powers.

The production design, for one thing, is incredible. The Umbrella Academy has the playful kitschiness of Wes Anderson and the playful absurdity of a Tim Burton film.

This Netflix’s Series s Refreshing and Wonderfully Bonkers. And here’s hoping for an outrageous second season of super-powered chaos from the dysfunctional family. Come on, Netflix’s, please pick up a second season of The Umbrella Academy, we dare you!

5/5 stars