It is often seen with superpowered characters that their unique abilities and skillsets tend to be a reflection of their psychological make-up. The misfits of the Hargreeves family in Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy are no exception, as the secrets to their personal demons, insecurities, and mental shackles are hidden behind their diverse and deadly powers. Before the fourth and final season drops, let us take a look at all the superpowers each of the major characters of The Umbrella Academy possess to get better acquainted with the characters in the process.Â
Spoilers Ahead
Number One: Luther Aka Spaceboy
Luther’s superhuman physical strength makes him exceptional among his adopted siblings, something that becomes apparent simply through his large stature. Being the physically strongest member of the team, and also due to his unwavering loyalty to their father figure, Reginald Hargreeves, Luther was given the number one spot on the team—and he was deemed to be the leader. However, his intellectual acumen is inversely proportional to his physical strength, and more often than not, Luther acts like a gullible simpleton and is not fit to lead his siblings in the least. Luther’s strength aids him in defending his family and perfectly complements his mild mannered, naive demeanor. Despite having super strength and endurance, Luther is not completely invincible, which is shown in the first season when he got fatally injured while handling a biochemical threat. Reginald had used an experimental serum to save Luther’s life, which gave him ape-like physiology and enhanced his already superhuman physical attributes. However, in the climactic moment of the third season, after Allison restarted reality, like all the other Hargreeves siblings, Luther is revealed to have lost his powers and reverted into a regular human being.
Number Two: Diego Aka Kraken
Diego’s power of bending the trajectory of projectiles according to his will is more offensive in nature, which reflects his short-tempered, volatile, and often aggressive mindset. In many aspects, Diego is a foil to Luther, so it is understandable that Luther’s protective tendencies contrast his younger brother’s killer instincts. Growing up, Diego did better adopting into the superhero gig as he was motivated by the heroic ideals and chose to become a crimefighting vigilante, where his unique powers came in handy. Using his weapon of choice, a set of throwing knives, to move according to his will, Diego has time and again proven to be a formidable warrior. He is also an expert in martial arts and hand-to-hand combat, as seen in his numerous exploits through three seasons. Consider Diego a nerfed version of iconic telekinesis-powered characters like Magneto or Jean Grey.
Number Three: Allison Aka Rumor
Allison Hargreeves’ powers are quite possibly the most dangerous among all the Hargreeves siblings, as she can manipulate anyone’s mind using a common command saying that she has heard a rumour about something and make them follow her directives. Allison’s need for control and desire to have the perfect life is a reflection of her mental manipulation powers. The mind manipulation powers go beyond external actions and can mess up someone’s sense of identity as well, as she is shown to have made Viktor forget about his powers during childhood. Having a power that can, in its worst potential exploitation, end the world itself, Allison had unabashedly abused her abilities for selfish gains early in her life, and karma bit her back later on as she lost her family twice while traveling to the past and alternate reality scenarios. However, it remains unknown whether, in the recreated reality, Allison has retained her powers or lost them like her siblings. Allison’s powers are similar to the Purple Man, aka Zebediah Killgrave, from Marvel Comics.
Number Four: Klaus Aka Séance
The forever chill, happy go lucky Klaus has the ability to communicate with the spirits, and as seen in the third season, he is even able to conquer death by gaining a form of immortality—thanks to his lifelong association with the undead. Additionally, Klaus is able to conjure spirits and ghosts if he is in the right state of his mind, and is a frequent traveler to the afterlife. Consider him a living version of DC’s Deadman, but with more of an eccentric personality.
Number Five
The most intriguing character, and the only one with the wits and tactical prowess to be given the position of leader among the Hargreeves siblings, is Number Five, who has the ability to travel through the spacetime continuum seamlessly. However, Number Five lacks proper control over this extremely powerful ability, which results in him getting trapped in the past, remaining forever stuck in his teenager body, and later on getting stranded in the 60s with all his siblings. Five can also teleport various distances, and his abilities allow him to not only move himself but bring others along as well. Five’s powers make him the most notorious assassin in the Temps’ Commission, and we can compare him with a version of speedsters like Flash or Reverse Flash from DC comics—minus the superspeed aspect that is, adding with Nightcrawler’s teleportation abilities.
Number Six: Ben Aka Horror
Ben’s grotesque ability to produce Eldritch tentacles from his body through a portal connected with his stomach is as gruesome to look at as it sounds. Ben’s tentacles have devastating potential, but he chooses not to rely on them too much simply because of how terrifying their usage looks like. Ben’s powers might be linked with whatever hellhole Reginald Hargreeves belongs from, and it is hinted that his powers will play a crucial role in the final season of The Umbrella Academy. After losing his life, Ben remained attached to Klaus in his spirit form and was able to occasionally possess others as well. Ben’s tentacle abilities are seen replicated in the fourth season of The Boys, when Billy Butcher unleashes a tentacled monstrosity from his chest to reveal his newfound powers.Â
Number Seven: Viktor Aka White Violin
Viktor Hargreeves is without a doubt the strongest character of the series, and he possesses a host of superpowers to back the claim. Aside from potentially being a living nuclear fusion bomb, thanks to his uncontrollable energy-unleashing powers, Viktor has telekinesis, sonokinesis abilities, and limited reality and matter manipulation powers as well. His powers were strong and unstable enough to prompt Reginald Hargreeves to manipulate Viktor using Allison’s mind control and convince him into believing that he didn’t have any powers. Viktor can unwittingly share his powers with others as well, as in the second season he transfers some of his energy-based abilities into Harlan’s body, resulting in a new catastrophe later in the third season. Despite being the strongest, Viktor’s depressed, diffident mindset never lets him unlock his true potential, which, in a roundabout way, is probably for the best anyway given he almost caused doomsday events twice. Captain Atom from DC comics seems to be an ideal counterpart and possible inspiration for the character.
Lila Potts
Similar to the Hargreeves siblings, Lila was one of the 43 superpowered children, and she has the ability of mimicking others powers—similar to the Marvel characters like Protégé and Mimic, though she cannot copy multiple powers at once, and her proficiency at using others powers can be lacking in comparison to the original users.
Reginald Hargreeves
Lastly, the cunning, devious patriarch of the Hargreeves family, Sir Reginald Hargreeves, possesses certain unknown superhuman abilities thanks to his extraterrestrial identity. His alien biology hidden inside the appearance of an elderly human being hides his strong serrated arm protrusion, which he uses to kill Luther in the third season, and in the second season Reginald orchestrated the massacre of Majestic 12 with his unique alien physiology as well. In the upcoming fourth season, hopefully the series will finally reveal the details about Reginald’s origin, the alien species he belongs to, and the origin of the superpowered children as well.
