Is there such a thing as too many comic-book-to-screen adaptations? Of course, if you are looking at the myriad offerings Marvel and DC have been releasing for the past decade or so. Whether on film or television, most of these stories have become horribly clichéd, and sometimes even fail to make sense. Big budget special effects, same old action choreography, chase scenes- all of these can only carry the experience so far, because by now we have probably seen it all. Albeit, The Umbrella Academy does feature some classic comic book tropes, but it wraps it up with wonderful storytelling, chockfull of fresh new outlooks, and some of the most memorable characters you will encounter on television.
The Gist of it
Well, you have a wealthy genius, Sir Reginald Hargreeves (like Professor Xavier, only this one is ill-tempered and Machiavellian), who adopts seven children that have miraculously been born without being sired on the same day in different parts of the world. The children all have special abilities (just like the X-Men, and they live in a mansion too), and Hargreeves trains them to become crime fighters. He calls them The Umbrella Academy. Eventually they grow up, grow apart, and go their separate ways. Until a death in the family reunites them (similar to the Watchmen comics), and they soon realize that something mysterious is afoot.
What to look forward to
The Umbrella Academy in essence is a family drama, only the stakes are often astronomical, and the characters have superpowers. It delivers a fair amount of action and visuals, with a story driven by questions that will keep the audience’s interest piqued. The outlandish sense of humour works great for the series, and you see it in the dialogue, the settings, and the exceptionally strange characters and the peculiar things that they do. The story is well-written and has some brilliant plot twists, ones you can probably only associate with the unusual characters. The characters alone carry the series a long way as they are anything but the stereotypical two-dimensional superheroes that Marvel and DC deliver. And if you thought the soundtrack to Dark was good, The Umbrella Academy features a list of music that is far more rich. It also has top-notch production value, but that is a given at this point with the more popular Netflix shows.
What will frustrate you
Though there is little to complain about in this series, the one thing that you will probably dislike is that most of the problems the characters face are created by themselves. They miss chances at every corner to solve an issue very easily, and they end up doing something that prolongs their miseries. Considering how they are products of a grossly dysfunctional family, and how they have all had an unhealthy upbringing, it makes sense in a way, but still gets a little frustrating after a while. Of course, the writers are fully aware of this, as you will see some of the characters themselves getting frustrated with these things, and sometimes they acknowledge and learn from their stupid mistakes. Sometimes.
In a nutshell
In recent years the best superhero stories on screen are not coming from either Marvel or mainstream DC. You have HBO’s Watchmen, which was an exceptionally good series. It took elements from the original DC comic book and created a whole new story, introduced new characters, and it featured a timely commentary on socioeconomic issues. In many ways, the same applies to Amazon Prime Video’s The Boys (from DC’s Wildstorm, written by Garth Ennis), where the story deals with both the abuse of power, and the dangers of unfettered capitalism. Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy (the comic book was written by Gerard Way and published by Dark Horse) fits right there with the two. Apart from a story that is both fascinating and fun, it also offers insights into the human psyche, and new ways to look at events around us. Season two is out on Netflix. Go on a binge.
Nafis Khalid is a journalism graduate from Southern Illinois University and an aspiring screenwriter
