MCR frontman’s “The Umbrella Academy” premiers on Netflix

“If you’re raised to believe if nothing about you is special, if the benchmark is extraordinary, what do you do if you’re not?” asked Vanya Hargreeves.

Netflix’s new show, “The Umbrella Academy,” tells the story of a dysfunctional family of superheroes uniting together to save the Earth.

It was based on the comic series, “The Umbrella Academy,” by Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá. The comics began in 2007, and are still ongoing with more issues to come.

Way stated in an interview that the main characters of the comics were inspired by himself and his fellow My Chemical Romance (MCR) bandmates, making it easier to connect with the characters bringing a whole new dimension of depth. Fans of MCR who have been following the comics for a while and were ecstatic to see it finally come to life.

The show begins in the year 1989; 43 babies were born on the same day, but none of the women who gave birth were pregnant the day before. All of the babies were born with a different superpower such as super-strength, altering reality, and time travel.

Sir Reginald Hargreeves, a billionaire, adopted seven of the children and trained them to become superheroes who would protect the world if there was any danger, creating the Umbrella Academy. The seventh adopted sibling, Vanya Hargreeves, was the only one without power.  All the other siblings, excluding Vanya, were thrown under the spotlight at a young age when Hargreeves revealed the Umbrella Academy to the world. When their brother Ben dies, the Umbrella Academy disbands and everyone goes their own separate ways.

Flash forward to present day, everyone receives a call that their father has died and reunites at their old house.

The fifth sibling, Five, has the ability to time travel and sees a global apocalypse coming in eight days. He unites the members of the Umbrella Academy together to help stop it from occurring.

That isn’t the only obstacle they face; a pair of assassins chase the Umbrella Academy constantly throughout most of the season, attempting to capture Five and prevent the siblings from stopping the apocalypse.

Some parts of the show were different from the original comics, but all the actors did an amazing job understanding and portraying their characters. The balance of humor and suspense in the show made it worthwhile. The season ended with a cliffhanger, leaving fans anxious for more. A second season hasn’t officially been confirmed by Netflix, but I’ll be looking forward to it if it does happen.

“The Umbrella Academy” is a show worth watching if you like superheroes and a good mystery.