My Small Problem With the "Umbrella Academy"

Fan art from the comics. 
Credits to Alfret. 

Greetings everyone! For today's post, as you can see, I will be discussing some elements about "The Umbrella Academy", a series of comics written by Gerard Way and illustrated by Gabriel Bá. 

Before I write anything else, I just want to make something clear: I love "The Umbrella Academy" and its Netflix adaptation. I just have some opinions that might be unpopular about it, but that doesn't mean I hate it. With that said, let's begin! 

If you haven't read the comics or seen the series, here is a quick synopsis. WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD.  

One normal day, 43 women around the world became pregnant and immediately gave birth at the same time. These 43 babies were each born with special powers. A rich, eccentric man named Reginald Hargreeves found and adopted (more likely bought) 7 of these children. He gave each of them a number for a name, which represented how valuable they were to him according to their powers; also, these numbers represented the order they were born. Six of the children were trained and formed the Umbrella Academy, a superhero group; the last child, a girl, was lead to believe from birth that she was powerless. 

When the children grew up, the group split after the death of #6. Several years after this event, the Umbrella Academy came together again after the death of their "father" Reginald Hargreeves. From there the story continues, with the adventure and danger rising every time. This isn't your typical superhero story: it's extremely gory, dark, with deep psychological themes, and heroes who are not very good people, to say the least. Which is why I love this story so much! 

Now, before I go into what I don't like, I'd like to briefly share what I do like. First, the artwork in the comics. This story is beautiful not only in the written content, but also in the drawings that represent the story and characters. Gabriel Bá did an amazing job drawing these characters, and everything looks so gorgeous! 

Second, I adore the characters. Each of the members of the Umbrella Academy has some serious, unsolved issues since childhood. They were psychologically and sometimes physically abused by their "father" since the beginning, as he looked at them as mere objects. They were never treated as human beings, nor did they grew up feeling loved or welcomed. Therefore, we have a group of very unstable adults who as I mentioned are not very good people. They are: 

#1 Luther Hargreeves, Spaceboy 

Left comic. Right Netflix. 
Credits to C.B.F.

A ruthless leader, Spaceboy's head is attached to a gorilla's body, as a result of an accident that nearly cost his life- long story. His powers include super strength and high resistance. 

#2 Diego Hargreeves, The Kraken

Credits to C.B.F.

The Kraken is not the best following orders, specially coming from his brother. His ability is holding his breath for countless hours, and is also very good at throwing knives- he never fails. 

#3 Allison Hargreeves, The Rumor 

Credits to C.B.F.

Narcissistic, manipulative, and in full control. Allison has the power to alter reality by speaking lies. By the saying the phrase "I heard a rumor..." and adding what she wants to happen, her lies will become real. 

#4 Klaus Hargreeves, The Seance 

Credits to C.B.F.

An emo in the comics, a flamboyant self-destructive man in the series. Klaus can communicate with the dead, use his body as a conduit for them, and as long as he's barefoot he can fly and move objects with his mind. 

#5 The Boy 

Credits to C.B.F. 

He was never given a proper name, having run away from home before that. The Boy is able to control time, allowing him to teleport and time travel. Extremely smart and extremely sadistic.  

#6 Ben Hargreeves, The Horror 

Credits to C.B.F. 

Poor Ben... His power was the ability to summon giant, monstrous tentacles from his chest. He's dead by the beginning of the series. 

#7 Vanya Hargreeves, The White Violin 

Credits to C.B.F. 

She's the most powerful and dangerous of the Academy. At first she thought she had no powers, as her "father" led her to believe so. He sensed the danger and tried to stop it, in the worst way possible; he caused Vanya years of self-doubt, isolation, low self-esteem, and pain. Vanya's power is transforming music into power waves, which are quite destructive. 

__________________________________________________________________________

Now, the Netflix adaptation is pretty great as well. It has some awesome special effects, the music is perfect, and the cast does a terrific job portraying the psychological issues of their characters. I would definitely recommend it if you love the superhero genre. 

But... there is one thing I don't like from the series. This section will also be full of SPOILERS! 

My problem with "The Umbrella Academy" in Netflix is pretty simple: they messed up the powers of three of its members. They changed them, making some of them only a shadow of what they really are. To be more specific: 

1- Klaus as I already mentioned above, has some very strong psychic abilities, from telekinesis and mediumship to flying. But in the Netflix series, his powers are rendered to merely speaking with the dead and giving them to ability to touch again... that's it. You're telling me that one of the most powerful members of the Academy is left as the weakest for no apparent reason? I have no problem whatsoever in his personality change, but why did they have to change his powers? WHY????

2- Allison is also very powerful in the comics. Do you know how much that woman could do with the proper lies? She can alter reality itself; it has a limit, of course, but that doesn't make her any less powerful. She could say "I heard a rumor that your car exploded" and it would immediately happen. In the series, her powers are limited to just mind control; for example "I heard a rumor that you shot your friend in the foot". Yes, it's still powerful and cool, but I feel like her true potential was too limited and therefore wasted. 

3- Last but not least, Vanya. Her powers in the comics come solely from music. As she plays her violin she turns those musical notes into destructive blasts of power- pretty cool if you ask me. In the series, she's the contrary to her siblings: while Klaus and Allison are underdeveloped, Vanya is overpowered. The source of her power in the series comes from any kind of sound, while also giving her power to fly and control the weather to an extent- she even has some telekinesis! Those three added powers have zero relation to her music abilities, and take the meaning of her name (White Violin) away. I see absolutely no reason why she was rewritten this way. It was too much for me. Sorry not sorry. 

Now, does this mean I hate the Netflix adaptation? No way! I like it a lot actually. I recommend it to a lot of people including my students, some which are very hooked on the series. But I really wish those things I explained had been done the same as in the comics. Yes, I completely understand that in the adaptations of the source material to the screen, some things are going to change; I know this, I'm not stupid. But I strongly believe that are some elements that should remain the same. I do not appreciate how Allison's and Klaus' powers were so undeveloped and wasted, seeing as they had so much potential, and Vanya's powers being so over-the-top. 

I'm still going to watch the series, and I'm waiting patiently for its third season, because even if I have my issues, it's still awesome. You do not have to agree with me, this was just my opinion. I also feel this way with the powers of Scarlet Witch in the MCU, as they very underdeveloped as well. But what's done is done I guess.                                          

                          *unsatisfied mumbling* 

Wishing you all a happy week, and please stay safe out there. 

P.S The comic was better.