The Umbrella Academy TV Show: 7 Things Netflix Must Get Right

The Umbrella Academy is one of the most interesting comic book series of the 21st century. Written by Gerard Way (the lead singer of My Chemical Romance) and drawn by Gabriel Bá (known most notably for his work with his twin brother, Fábio Moon), the series won the 2008 Eisner Award for Best Finite Series/Limited Series. Grant Morrison and Neil Gaiman respectively wrote the introductions to the two volumes that came out - now that's recognition.

While beloved by critics and fans alike, the comic series was not as popular as it rightfully deserved. This is hopefully about to change, as it was announced this week that a live action series based on the comic books will come to Netflix in 2018.

Taking into account successful comic book adaptations like Jessica Jones or Daredevil, Netflix seems like the perfect home for Way and Bá's two-part family saga. While it's possible that the failure that was Iron Fist was just an exception to the rule, it's still necessary to remind everybody what made the comic book series so great, and what things should be preserved to retain that high level when adapting it to the screen.

As is the case with most successful comic books, both parts of Umbrella Academy are ready movie/series scripts that shouldn't need much work when adapting them for the screen. The story of the first part is as follows:

Suddenly, without a warning, 43 children are born by random women showing no previous signs of pregnancy. A renowned scientist adopts seven of them, as only that many of them survive. He then disappears to train the children in order to save the world. It turns out that (presumably - a minor spoiler) six of these children have supernatural powers. When their father dies, they come together to stop the apocalypse that's about to occur.

The main plot is strong and greatly written. There are a lot of side-characters, side-villains and side-plots, since seven different characters make for seven different stories that interlace at the most crucial moments. This description applies to both parts of Umbrella Academy, the second of which involves the murder of JFK and an incredibly intelligent Shubunkin goldfish.