The Umbrella Academy: It’s raining superheros

About a year-and-a-half since Netflix announced it would be creating a live action series of the famed comic books, fans will finally get what they’ve been waiting for.

Set to air on February 15, The Umbrella Academy will be a timely breath of fresh air to a genre where DC and Marvel have for too long reigned supreme.

Adapted from Gerard Way’s (of My Chemical Romance) and illustrator Gabriel Bá’s Dark Horse comic series, The Umbrella Academy boasts a star-studded cast that includes, among others, Mary J Blige, Tom Hopper (Game of Thrones), Ellen Page (X-Men: Days of Futures Past), Robert Sheehan (Mortal Engines) and Kate Walsh (Grey’s Anatomy).

On Tuesday, Bá titillated fans by posting on his Twitter feed: “One month away! Who’s excited?” He also included a picture of himself and Way on set during filming and holding The Umbrella Academy clapboard.

The Umbrella Academy. Picture: Netflix

If the teaser trailers and reaction of fans are anything to go by, then the series could end up being yet another jewel in the Netflix crown. But what’s it about and can it stand up to the flurry of superhero series already saturating the streaming galaxy?

Cindy Holland, Netflix vice-president of original content, said in statement: “These aren’t the usual superheroes and this series will embrace the singular tone of the graphic novels – dark yet humorous, supernatural yet grounded in reality.”

Holland says what drew the streaming giant to The Umbrella Academy is that it’s “wholly unique, visual and stylised”.

It’s centred around 43 infants inexplicably born to random women who showed no signs of pregnancy the day before. Seven of the infants are adopted by Sir Reginald Hargreeves, a billionaire industrialist who creates The Umbrella Academy and prepares his children to save the world.

The Umbrella Academy. Picture: Netflix

With all the great ’80s music, fashion and hair that was de rigueur at that time, the series follows the antics of this dysfunctional family of superheroes as they work together to solve their father’s mysterious death while coming apart at the seams due to their divergent personalities and abilities.

Dark Horse Comics are no strangers to the world of screen and film. Its founder and publisher Mike Richardson began exploring the world of filmmaking decades ago and established his own filmmaking company, Dark Horse Entertainment, in 1992.

The brand’s first two major films The Mask (Jim Carrey and Cameron Diaz) and Timecop (Jean-Claude van Damme) were based on Richardson’s creations and did really well at the box office.

“We’re excited to see this world and introduce these unforgettable heroes to Netflix members around the globe,” said Holland about the release of The Umbrella Academy.

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