Klaus From The Umbrella Academy Is More Powerful Than You Realize

You really don't want to mess with someone who can speak to the dead. 

When The Umbrella Academy came to Netflix as a television series after years of languishing in film development hell at Universal Pictures, fans hailed it as a faithful adaptation of the comic book series of the same name. The show closely follows the comic book's dark aesthetic about a "dysfunctional family of superheroes," and though it wasn't perfect (the series' pacing can be quite glacial at times), Netflix picked it back up for a second season. As is the case with the vast majority of adaptations, changes were made in the transition from the page to the screen. While there were various alterations made to fit the series' narrative, The Umbrella Academy's biggest change involves nerfing Klaus Hargreeves — a.k.a Number Four, a.k.a. The Séance.

Played by Robert Sheehan, Klaus is a flamboyant drug addict with the ability to communicate with the deceased and temporarily make them corporeal again. It should go without saying that this power takes a great toll on Klaus' psyche over the years, and his inability to properly deal with the voices of the dead constantly reaching out to him has completely shaped his personality. (You know a character has a fractured mental state when they get the words "hello" and "goodbye" tattooed on the palms of their hands.) 

In order to bring Klaus to the more structured medium of television, the Umbrella Academy production team decided to tone down a few of the things involving Klaus in the comic books.

In the comics, when corporate assassins Hazel and Cha-Cha kidnap Klaus, something they also do in the television show, they actually murder him. The dastardly duo put a bullet in his head — but, Klaus being Klaus, he's sent to purgatory after being rejected from both Heaven and Hell. And, comic books being what they are, The Umbrella Academy sees Klaus hopping the metaphorical fence to escape from purgatory, then throwing his spirit into Cha-Cha's body in order to exact revenge on the pair of hitmen who killed him.

This is just one of many crazy things Klaus does in the comics — which include resurrecting himself from the dead, waking up his abducted sibling via telepathy, using his powers to prevent the Moon from destroying Earth, and time-traveling to the Vietnam war and fathering a child. Basically, Klaus is more powerful than you may have realized — the true deus ex machina of the Umbrella Academy comics. Perhaps some of more adventurous moments involving Klaus' power set will appear on season 2 of the Netflix series.

The second season of The Umbrella Academy is currently in production. We'll keep you up to date on all new developments as they come to light.