The most dysfunctional Super Hero Family delivers a POWERFUL first season

Time is a bi-ch, love can make people do the craziest things and you never give up on family, no matter what.

Despite my varied taste in music, I have always been an emo kid by heart (Paramore is my favorite band) which is why I have always been familiar with My Chemical Romance (I even have their “May Death Never Stop You”, The Greatest Hits on CD) and while I am familiar with the music of Gerard Way, I have no clue whatsoever of his comic book “The Umbrella Academy” which is why I was both glad and excited to learn that Netflix has acquired the rights to it and is coming out with a series, with Gerard Way and artist Gabriel Ba as producers.

So I really can’t compare the comic book from the series nor can I provide inputs of changes they’ve made – just a little disclosure but I can say that I really, really enjoyed the series. I actually even enjoyed it more than Season 2 of The Punisher (which was the most recent super hero series I saw). I enjoyed it so much, I binge watched it in a weekend, even if I was also taking care of Luke. I was given early access to the series, which is why I am able to review it before it comes out.

In its own unique setting, in the series there are no cellphones, no social media, no computers (research was done in libraries, people called each other on rotary dial phones and payphones, the aesthetic is a bit Lemony Snicket’s books but not quite.

Forty three babies are born to mothers, who were otherwise not pregnant when the day began. Eccentric billionaire Reginald Hargreeves (Colm Feore) tries to acquire these children, he is able to adopt seven of them.

He then sets about the task of training his “children” as a some sort of super hero team, ala X-Men, their school uniform reminiscent of Anime school boys and girls (who you know, are also super heroes/heroines on the side) but as the story unfolds, these seven children are anything but.

This is because Reginald Hargreeves is cold and uncaring and only interested in results, the children all grow up with their own issues and all have some sort of deep seated anger, and resentment with their father, who did not even bother to give them names and instead called them by numbers.

“Mom” or Grace (Jordan Claire Robbins) is a robot who was created to help care for the children, she was modeled after a Stepford Wife and was one who gave the children their names.

Number One or Luther Hargreeves (Tom Hopper) is super powerful and is the only one among the siblings who is too eager to please their father. He is probably my least favorite.

He comes out as naive and his design and costume is just silly but that “Dancing in the moonlight” sequence and the “Telephone Booth” scene redeems him.

Number Two – Diego Hargreeves (David Castañeda) can throw knives and hit their target (even if it defies physics) is a bitter vigilante who runs around the city, trying to solve crimes, reliving the glory days of The Umbrella Academy. He hates that Luther is the leader and loathes their Father, he has a special place in his heart for their Mom (even if she is a robot).

Number Three – Allison Hargreeves (Emmy Ramper-Lampman) is a famous celebrity. She can alter reality by saying the phrase “I heard a rumor-” and whatever follows becomes true. I thought that hers were the powers that I wanted to have (you can basically get everything and anything you wish for) but as we find out in the series, there is a price to pay and you know the saying “Be careful what you wish for”

Number Four – Klaus Hargreeves (Robert Sheehan) is my favorite among the siblings, which is an unusual choice for me. I just think he’s funny and he cracks me up. He can conjure the dead and grew up a drug addict. Gee I wonder why?

Number Five – is the only one who does not have a name (Aidan Gallagher) can travel through space and time. Unfortunately he has not yet mastered his skills, as a teenager he travels to the future and sees the end of the world. He returns to the present, as an old man trapped in his teenage body (something about time travelling and getting the computations wrong) to try and save the world from the apocalypse, now whether that is with his siblings, who are now emotionally damaged adults is something left to be seen.

Number Six – Ben Hargreeves (Ethan Hwang) can summon monsters from another dimension through his body. There is only a statue of him left to honor his memory, he was killed in one of their missions.

Number Seven – Vanya Hargreeves (Ellen Paige) unlike her siblings, has no powers and growing up has been left out on their trainings and missions. She plays the violin.

The Academy is long gone and the children have all parted ways, they come back together after the death of their father, which is how the first episode begins.

Forget everything that you know about superhero families. This one, is the most dysfunctional of all. The series delivers on a style that is uniquely theirs. The time and effort given for each character back story and development is so impressive you just want to coddle each one, because they’re just so screwed up!

You really feel as if the cast spent an unconventional and traumatic childhood growing up.

Those wounds that never heal and come up the surface like an ugly monster rearing its ugly head, are the only ones that can hurt so much because, you are family and nothing hurts more than an unplanned family reunion with siblings you don’t want to see or have anything to do with.

Aside from all the family drama, healing old wounds and mending relationships, the siblings also have to deal with the quickly approaching Apocalypse. You know, all in the day.

I did not expect “The Umbrella Academy” to make me cry so much, but it did, heart hurting, eyes stinging and tears falling. So yes, it checks on the emotional box, the action sequences are impressive and the story itself just wow, there a couple of times when I let out very loud gasps and shouts. Yup, lots of shocking twists.

Thumbs up for the choice in music used in the series, well, what do you expect from My Chemical Romance’s Gerard Way? He even covered Simon & Garfunkel’s “Hazy Shade of Winter” for the series’ trailer. Music also plays as a big factor in giving the series its quirky themes. A remarkable example of this, is when after the death of their father, the siblings, all alone, each in a room in the unique Hargrvees mansion dance to Tiffany’s “I think we’re along now” (you know, the kind of dance, you only do, when you are alone), the camera then pans out to a view of the mansion, as if it was a doll house.

Bay City Roller’s “Saturday Night” also serves as a fun song while a bowling alley, where the siblings are holding a meeting gets shot up. Queen’s “Don’t stop me now” is also aptly used in a Department Store shoot out (yup, lots of shoot outs in this series).

Oh, did I mention that Mary J. Blige kicks ass as a suit wearing Time Assassin in this one?

9/10 for me. “The Umbrella Academy” streams on Netflix on Feb. 15.