The Umbrella Academy franchise (as fans of the books or Netflix series well know) chronicles the adventures and the struggles of Sir Reginald Hargreeves’ adopted children: Luther, Diego, Allison, Klaus, Ben and Viktor.
At the insistence of their father, these children formed a crime-fighting superhero team called The Umbrella Academy. But the team didn’t last, and readers and viewers were initially ushered into their world after The Umbrella Academy’s dissolution and the siblings’ estrangement, which left plenty of story untold.
This prequel aims to explore some of that story. Told from different perspectives each chapter, the book immediately immerses you into the world of the Umbrella Academy: the disappointed looks from Sir Hargreeves, the sibling quarrels and, of course, the siblings’ desire for something more.
The six, still together, decide to sneak out of their mansion to a fraternity party in some attempt to be normal. And “normal” means that they won’t be using their powers.
Easier said than done.
Perhaps uncoincidentally, the children find themselves in the middle of a superpowered army in the making. Their ringleader? The only person that made one of the children feel like he finally belonged.
They don’t get to be normal, but maybe that’s alright if they still were able to see what they really want outside of the Umbrella Academy—who they are apart from their father’s predetermined plans for them.
Yep, their lives have always been about actions. Consequences. Powers. Questions. Missions.
Their life has been a mission. The mission for tonight? Be normal… but also save the world.
