The Reason So Many Fans Hate Luther On The Umbrella Academy

It would seem that The Umbrella Academy's Number 1 is hardly that among the Netflix show's increasingly rabid fanbase.

Some of the biggest fans of the series' inaugural season believe that muscle-bound moon man Luther Hargreeves — the group's de facto leader — is not just unworthy of that Number 1 title, but may be directly responsible for the apocalyptic events of the season 1 finale. For that matter, he may be even more responsible than his wildly unstable sister, who ultimately brought on the end of days. 

As a brief refresher, Luther's sister Vanya (Ellen Page) is of the adoptive sort, and the pair are two of seven children born under peculiar circumstances and possessed of extraordinary abilities who found a new home with billionaire industrialist Sir Reginald Hargreeves (Colm Feore). Said children were assembled under the same roof in hopes of developing and harnessing their abilities, and molding them into a crime fighting super group. Dubbed "The Umbrella Academy" by their adoptive father, and under the leadership of Luther's Number 1, that's exactly what the Hargreeves kids became — all except Vanya, who was deemed ordinary and was not allowed to go on missions. 

Following the tragic losses of their brothers Ben and Number 5, the children decided to go their separate ways, leaving Luther (Tom Hopper) on his own to carry the superhero load until his own tragic turn leads to a years-long sojourn on the Moon. When the death of Sir Reginald ultimately gets the super-gang back together, matters quickly spin out of control as a rapidly approaching apocalyptic event spurns the adult Hargreeves clan back into action, with the emergence of Vanya's untapped and unstable powers eventually serving as the impetus for the end times.

Luther takes point in saving the world from obliteration, but spoiler alert: the gang do not succeed in stopping the apocalypse. Point of fact, they barely escape with their own lives, and Luther's highly questionable leadership is what has so many fans of The Umbrella Academy throwing shade his way. So, exactly how is Luther to blame for the apocalypse?

First and foremost, Luther's failure comes down to a matter of blind hubris. Deemed Number 1 at an early age, Luther clearly relished his role as the unquestioned leader of the pack. When the adult Hargreeves have their reunion, he's often callously dismissive of his family's input, with his romantic feelings for Allison (Emmy Raver-Lampton) and his bitter rivalry with Diego (David Castañeda) often blurring his judgement. Luther's feelings for Allison in particular key his most vital misstep after it becomes clear that not only does Vanya have powers, but she may in fact be the most powerful of the Hargreeves kids.

That fact becomes clear in the wake of her near-fatal attack on Allison, an attack that prompts Luther to take the dramatic step of locking Vanya away in a cell. He does so even as his family members beg him to let her out, and try to find a way to help Vanya control her potentially world-ending powers. Luther refuses to listen to reason, and insists Vanya remain caged until... well, he literally had no plan after that. Of course, as Vanya's powers are directly tied to her emotional state, you can imagine what being locked up does to her psyche. It does, in fact, prove to be the straw that breaks her, and that tragic break sets her on a path of destruction. 

With Vanya's power's running amok in the harrowing final moments of season 1, The Hargreeves still have a shot at pulling their sister (and therefore the world) back from the brink. The initial plan involves Allison trying to talk Vanya down on her own — a plan that Luther shockingly undermines when he decides Allison will make the perfect distraction for a brute force attack. Again, hubris does not prevail, and Luther's tragic underestimation of Vanya's power is what finally dooms mankind to the darkest of fates.