The Umbrella Academy
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It all starts with a mystery.
On October 1, 1989, 43 women around the world suddenly gave birth at the exact same time.
Until the moment they gave birth, none of those women had been pregnant.
These newborns are weird and inexplicable and special.
And thatsbeforeanyone discovers they have superpowers.
What kind of old weirdo would spend his life raising a bunch of kids to be superheroes?
By minute 4, weve jumped ahead 30 years, when the adopted children have grown into dysfunctional adults.
But wait, theres more!
His name is Pogo, and hes the best.
If it wasnt already clear: Yes,The Umbrella Academyis a lot to take in.
But once youve acclimated to the shows dizzying cast and heightened tone, it goes down pretty smoothly.
Hargreeves was a tough, often cruel patriarch who had no interest in being a dad.
Luther and Diego dont get along.
Allison is alternately irritated and amused by Klaus.
Lets start with the death of Hargreeves, which may or may not have been a murder.
Everyone except Pogo, the chimpanzee butler and maybe Luther seems to havesomekind of beef with him.
But before we get any resolution on the maybe-a-murder mystery, the vacant Hargreeves siblings reenter the story.
Isnt the extreme violence/ironically cheery counterpoint song thing a little played out?)
The immediate aftermath of the fight leads to problem number three.
Five goes to Vanyas apartment and tells her the truth about what he experienced in the future.
It was a desolate, bombed-out wasteland in which he was literally the only person left alive.
The apocalypse is coming, and he has no idea what will cause it.
All he knows is that its coming.
Its significant that, of all his siblings, Five chooses to confide in Vanya.
Five, for his part, says he trusts Vanya because shes so ordinary, which means shell listen.
But in her own way, maybe Vanyadoeshave a kind of superpower: a deep, unflappable inner strength.
How would you feel?
What would you say?
What would you do?
WhatIwould do is panic.
Maybe the world is in good hands after all.
The first two major arcs have been collected in two trade paperbacks subtitledApocalypse SuiteandDallas, respectively.
Why did Diego steal Hargreevess monocle and lie about it?
Is the childrens mother a robot or what?
Why were 43 children immaculately conceived on October 1, 1989 and what happened to the 36 wedontknow about?
Or a hint that Five cant be taken at his word?
Another conspiracy theory to kick around: Is Hargreeves actually dead?
Pogo: I hope you know your father loved you very much, in his own way.
Vanya: Well … thats kind of the problem, isnt it?
Lets take a moment to appreciate just how wellThe Umbrella Academywas cast.
Even Pogo, sitting alone and reading the paper, sways and taps his foot a bit.
Allison gets called away from the red carpet of a movie calledLove on Loan 3.
If you ask me: gross!
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