Upon their formation, the purpose of the Umbrella Academy has always been to fight crime and protect people from the dangers of evil. Their powers are mighty, ranging from super strength to object manipulation and time travel. However, being a hero isn’t an easy job. This is something the Umbrella Academy has learned the hard way.
Let’s just say that the titular group of The Umbrella Academy are not as cohesive as the Avengers. Quite often, the members of this super family make mistakes that come back to haunt them as they are constantly running from an impending doom. While they mean well (most of the time), it seems as if they mess up frequently, and often have to repair the damage.
10 Locking Up Viktor Led To The Apocalypse
While Viktor is the cause of the apocalypse in season one, it’s hard to blame him for the destruction of the moon and the end of the world. Allison was forced to rumor him into thinking he had no powers when they were kids. Then, he couldn’t control his powers after being brainwashed by Leonard.
Allison tries to calm Viktor down after revealing the truth, but finds her throat slit when she attempts to use her powers. The resulting incident prompts the family to lock up Viktor, which leads to the eventual apocalypse. Surely they would change history if given the chance.
9 Changing History When Given The Chance
After realizing they’ve lost, Five sends the family back in time, which is their only chance at saving the world. He accidentally drops them all in Dallas during the 1960s, and they’re spread across a few years. Now separated, the heroes adapt and attempt to live their own lives.
Like most things, this doesn’t work out for the heroes. They bring the apocalypse back with them, and end up doing more bad than good to those who already lived during that time. While they form relationships with people, none of these work out. Trying to change history was definitely a mistake, and it had long-lasting consequences.
8 Klaus Fighting On The Front Lines Of Vietnam
After accidentally time traveling to 1968, Klaus found himself on the front lines of Vietnam and joined the war effort. He met a soldier named Dave, and they fell in love. However, Dave would end up dying in Klaus’ arms, one of the many casualties of the unjust war.
Unsurprisingly, this was very traumatic for Klaus. He turns back to drug use and begins to experience some strong emotions. Some say it’s better to have loved and lost, but for the Umbrella Academy, it seems that love always leads to loss. Klaus’ 10-month stint in Vietnam was troubling for him, and these horrific memories stayed with him.
7 The Sad Death Of Pogo
Pogo was a wonderful chimpanzee and friend to the Umbrella Academy, assisting Reginald and helping to train the kids. However, after revealing to Viktor that he knew about Viktor’s powers all along, Viktor sends him flying into the moose head above the mantle, which kills him.
While there were more cataclysmic circumstances happening at the time, Pogo’s death certainly hit hard for the family, as no amount of time travel could bring back their Pogo. They were forced to leave him in their past by heading back in time to save the future.
6 Adopting The Umbrellas In The First Place
Somebody had to assemble the Umbrellas, and that somebody was their father, Reginald Hargreeves. The team never really goes the way he plans. When he sees what they’ve become after a visit in 1963, he decides he’s had enough before it’s even really begun.
In an attempt to change the future and accomplish his goal, Reginald ends up adopting seven other children instead, creating the Sparrow Academy. In this new timeline, the Umbrella Academy simply never existed and to Reginald, this is for the best. While he can try to pretend that the Umbrella Academy never existed, assembling this superhero team will always haunt him.
5 Luther Trusting His Father
Clearly, the Umbrella Academy can’t trust Reginald to have their back, and Luther learns this the hard way. After an accident forces Reginald to give Luther a serum that makes him develop ape-like features, he sends Luther to the moon for four years to study and send back reports. However, this was just Reginald’s way of getting rid of him.
Once Luther learns the truth about his father, he is rightfully distraught. Because he felt so betrayed, Luther has a hard time trusting people ever since. He’s held onto these feelings throughout the rest of The Umbrella Academy.
4 Klaus Making The Same Mistake By Trusting Reginald
The Umbrella Academy’s Reginald Hargreeves is a bad person. Luther isn’t the only one who gets betrayed by him. After helping him get off his medication in season three, Klaus goes on a trip with Reginald so that he can learn the true extent of his powers. In return, Klaus helps Reginald make amends with his children.
All goes according to plan until Reginald leaves Klaus, who ends up stuck in the White Buffalo suite. This dooms Klaus to the Kugelblitz and spells the end of the universe.
3 The Impossible Choice Between Allison’s Husband And Her Daughter
Allison didn’t have much of a choice when she left her daughter Claire behind to travel back in time. The world was ending, and this was the only way to stop it. Stuck here, Allison meets Ray, and they fall deeply in love. Despite dealing with the atrocities of segregation in the 1960s, they repeatedly show that they support each other.
After stopping the apocalypse and defeating the Commission, Allison makes the difficult decision to leave Ray behind and be with her daughter again. However, the timeline has changed and her daughter no longer exists. With no Ray or Claire, Allison devolves into a bitter and angry character.
2 Viktor Giving Harlan His Powers
Fans have to feel bad for Viktor because he always makes mistakes, even when he thinks he’s doing the right thing. With Harlan drowning, Viktor uses his powers to save Harlan and revive him. It’s during this moment that Viktor ends up giving Harlan part of his powers.
This gives Harlan a lifetime of struggle, and he tracks down Viktor as an older man. Viktor successfully takes Harlan’s powers back, but not before learning that he was accidentally responsible for killing all of the Umbrella Academy’s mothers. Allison kills him, thus ending the tragedy of Harlan’s life. If only he hadn’t had those powers in the first place.
1 The Death Of Ben
Perhaps the biggest mistake that haunts the Umbrella Academy, Ben died during a mission that fans have yet to learn more about. This mission took place before the events of Umbrella Academy. Ben’s death was tragic enough to break up the group for good, and everyone went their separate ways.
The rest of the team has made plenty of mistakes over the years, but they still have never been able to pick up the pieces of their family after losing one of their own. Even though Ben helps to save the world by calming down Viktor and finally moving onto the afterlife, one can only wonder what would’ve been if they all stayed together.