‘Umbrella Academy’ Characters’ Power Rankings Are in Question

One superhero show not related to Marvel has become a huge hit for Netflix. The Umbrella Academy has a unique concept straight from its comic book origins where the superheroes are related to each other.

Then again, these are siblings only via adoption “thanks” to Sir Reginald Hargreeves. Forty-three different women gave birth to these kids with unusual powers they only discover when older.

Now solving their adopted father’s death, The Umbrella Academy has some intrigue in each of them being given a number by their late father. Fans are still trying to crack the code on what those numbers mean.

New theories suggest maybe it has something to do with power levels, if not everyone thinking so.

The odd theory related to ‘The Umbrella Academy’ character numbers

On Reddit, a lot of interesting discussions are going on about what those numbers for each kid mean. They were provided by Hargreeves, if each child ultimately having real names.

Everyone knows them as Luther, Diego, Allison, Klaus, Five, Ben, and Vanya, respectively. Only Five is the one who once had a name, yet forgotten by the other kids due to it barely being spoken.

With Five’s ability to time-travel, he was gone for quite a while anyway as he lived in the future. Some might say he has the most significant powers considering he’s powerful enough to travel far into the future and then back to his 13-year-old self in the past.

Not all fans of the show agree on who has the most power, though. In the above Reddit thread, a few people have an interesting theory on why the children are numbered. It also has a bit of a disturbing streak to it, something the show never shies away from anyway.

From the outset, it appears some fans think the numbers are based merely on the order of when the children were adopted. Others think it has to do with the numerical degree on how easily they could be manipulated by their father.

Is there an undercurrent of parental abuse on ‘The Umbrella Academy’?

The above theory comes from a Reddit user who said: “I brought this up to my friend the other day. The closer to number 1 they were, the easier Reginald manipulated them. Obviously Luther was always ready to prove his worth to him from day one but I think Diego has too much of a relationship with mom for him to be number 1.”

If looking at how the kids operate on a psychological level, this theory does seem to line up. Perhaps this is a surprise still coming in the series, something that would give a wild twist on what the kids thought of their adoptive father.

One thing for sure is the most independent of all the kids is Vanya who had a lot of problems living within the family, eventually becoming separated from them. Her relationship with her father was also terrible, including Hargreeves telling her she had no powers when she did.

Eventually, she learned she was able to absorb and manipulate sounds (as just starters), hence her fascination with playing a violin.

Since she was not obedient to Hargreeves, the #7 designation has a more haunting realization.

What about the other children numbers?

Said another Reddit user with another number theory: “Weren’t they given numbers as infants? I don’t think Hargreeves knew the extent of their powers at that point. Although it’s possible since he does have some way of knowing future events.

Maybe he knew one of the kids would cause the apocalypse, and he ranked them from least likely to most likely.”

As an additional plausible theory, the obedience idea may hold water as time goes on considering Hargreeves used his kids for his own personal scientific interests.

According to Screen Rant, the most horrific is Luther (#1) who ended up becoming part ape due to a gorilla serum his father used on him.

All the other kids might be a little more questionable on how powerful they really are. The middle-numbered kids, for instance, are the ones speaking with the dead, including #6 (Ben) being a ghost since the beginning of the show.

If the obedience number theory holds up, it may bring a whole new perspective on superheroes being victims of parental abuse, something Marvel has never tackled thus far.