The Umbrella Academy Comic Book Moment You Never Noticed In The Show
As with most adaptations, there's a lot from the Umbrella Academy comics that didn't make it into Netflix's TV series. Perhaps the most noteworthy is the very first public outing of the Hargreeves kids. In the first issue of the comic, the Umbrella Academy is introduced to the world when they do battle with none other than the Eiffel Tower.
A mere ten years after the mysterious same-day, same-circumstances births of 43 children and Sir Reginald "The Monocle" Hargreeves' adoption of seven of them, people begin suddenly and inexplicably falling from the famous Parisian landmark. It turns out that the Eiffel Tower itself is throwing people off, and the Monocle's team of super-powered ten-year-olds show up to save the day. The tower turns out to be under the control of its creator Gustave Eiffel, who has lived beyond his death as a zombie-robot. Diego Hargreeves kills Eiffel (again) with a thrown knife, and the Eiffel Tower takes off into space.
Gabriel Bá/Dark Horse Comics
The whole adventure is much sillier than much of the family drama and apocalyptic events that follow, so it's not hard to understand why this adventure wasn't shown in the first episode of the TV series. These kinds of tonal shifts are easier to pull off in comic books, after all, where they've always been part of the medium. Still, even though we don't see this battle on the show, those who were paying attention can tell that it did happen in that version of the story.
Hints of the past
In the first episode of The Umbrella Academy, the fittingly titled "We Only See Each Other at Weddings and Funerals," the adult Hargreeves siblings arrive at their family mansion after the death of Sir Reginald (Colm Feore). Klaus (Robert Sheehan) and Allison (Emmy Raver-Lampman) both find themselves in his office — Allison in search of clues about his death, and Klaus looking for valuable things to pawn. If you look in the background as Allison finds Klaus hiding under their father's desk, you'll spot on the mantle a framed newspaper clipping.
You might have to squint to make it out, but the newspaper features a photo of the Eiffel Tower next to the headline "Eiffel Power." If you haven't read the comic, you'd never guess, but if you have, it's clear that this has to be an article about the day the Eiffel Tower went berserk, and the consequent public debut of the Umbrella Academy. After all, what better news story for Reginald Hargreeves to have framed in his office?
Even though we don't get to see that adventure, it's cool to know that it happened. Plus, it's always possible that there will be flashback to it down the road. Now that the show has established itself for two seasons and will soon start production on a third season, it's easier to do weirder stuff than would have felt safe in the first few episodes.