The Umbrella Academy; Netflix’s brand new super adaptation
More stories from Braelynn Anthony
On December 8th Netflix released a brand-new trailer for their new original series, The Umbrella Academy. The series is adapted from the comic series of the same name and centers around a dysfunctional family of superheroes that each carry of boatload of baggage. The show stars Ellen Page, Tom Hopper, Emmy Raver-Lampman, and Mary J. Blige just to name a few. But with the new show, many do not fully know of its origins.
The Umbrella Academy was written by former My Chemical Romance front man, Gerard Way and Illustrated by Gabriel Bá and published by Dark Horse Comics. The initial limited series, titled Apocalypse Suite, was released in the period between September 19, 2007 and February 20, 2008. The series is set in an alternate universe in which the 35th president, John F. Kennedy was not assassinated and centers around a “dysfunctional family of superheroes.”
The family comes together in the wake of their adoptive father, Sir Reginald Hargreeves’, passing. And begin working together once again in order to try and save the world from an oncoming apocalypse. The family comprises of Luther, Diego, Allison, Klaus, Number Five, Ben, and Vanya Hargreeves. Each having their own super ability’s spanning from peering into the future to being able to being able to manipulate reality itself. Save for Vanya who is seemingly completely normal with no powers.
As of now two series of the comics have been finished, while a third is currently being released issue by issue. While initially it was set to have a film, it was shifted into becoming a Netflix original series and was officially announced on July 7th, 2017 with Steve Blackman as it’s show-runner and Gerard Way as an executive producer.
The series is set to premiere on February 15th, 2019 and it’s quite exciting to see a new comic adaptation that’s not something Marvel or DC. It’s a breath of fresh air amongst all the other adaptations that have dominated both the big and small screen. As a big fan of the Umbrella Academy, I am certainly excited to see how the series turns out.
