The Umbrella Academy: 10 Biggest Changes To The Comics

An adaptation of a comic book making changes to the source material? Surely not!

By Fergal Harte /

The Netflix adaptation of Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá's excellent Umbrella Academy series has been a delight so far, with the first season featuring some great writing and brilliant performances to match. Factor in some pretty slick special effects, that being something small-screen outings usually struggle with, and you're left with one of the most compelling comic book TV shows of the last few years.

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Though, while the show was very enjoyable, fans of the source material will be quick to point out that there are plenty of noticeable differences between both versions, much like any adaptation.

And while alterations to these elements may not have detracted from the objective quality of the show - with some of them even serving as improvements over the original or simply making more sense with it being a TV show as opposed to a comic book - they are changes nonetheless.

From the visual appearance of certain characters, to even the very nature of their powers and the world they live in, the Netflix series actually divested quite heavily from the original comic. Here are the biggest changes that Netflix made to the Umbrella Academy comic...

10. The Lack Of Abhijat

There are quite a few characters in both versions of the Umbrella Academy, but if you thought that there somehow weren't enough onscreen, then that may be because the TV show missed out one member entirely.

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Over the course of the comics, Abhijat has been a recurring - if not especially vocal - character, one who has been making regular appearances since the first issue, being the bodyguard of Reginald Hargreeves.

Though, despite being in such a position for so many years, the Academy do not value him nearly as much as Pogo or their mother, most likely due to his more quiet, subservient role in their lives compared to the other two.

This is most likely why the character was not included in the Netflix adaptation, as casting someone to simply stand in the corner of shots while wearing a fancy uniform would have probably been a bit of a waste of the show's budget.

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