credit: Netflix
Umbrella Academy has been one of the shows on Netflix with combinations of the superhero, time travel, and science fiction genres that made it instantly one of the most favored Netflix originals. It is based on an original graphic novel that probably helped a lot too. Although The Umbrella Academy graphic novels and the Netflix series have had different elements from one another and some elements that were the same, the general adventures that the Umbrella Academy characters have to get through and the enemies they have to face are often a shock to those that even read the novels. Such elements include the Hargreeves sibling’s abilities, the Hotel Oblivion, Viktor Hargreeves, and many more, such as Number Five and his real name. Below, we’ve detailed some elements that separate the graphic novel from the Netflix series, especially The Umbrella Academy Number Five and his real name, or lack thereof.
credit: Netflix
Umbrella Academy
The Umbrella Academy started as a graphic novel by Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba in 2007 with the release of the first 6 issue series of The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite. Since the release of the first limited series, Umbrella Academy has released a total of three Volumes in the Umbrella Academy series. Still, as of right now, the television show has also premiered three seasons. Still, the most recent season of The Umbrella Academy was entirely original, as Volume 4 of The Umbrella Academy, The Sparrow Academy, has yet to be written or released. Various other changes in The Umbrella Academy comic compared to The Umbrella Academy on Netflix, such as the general plots of each season and how they arrived. In The Umbrella Academy on Netflix, the Hargreeves siblings are most against their mistakes. At the same time, in the comics, they often come against actual enemies that cause their problems or apocalypses. Villains such as The Conductor appear in the Netflix adaptation but without the need to pull Vanya into his scheme to play a literal “world-ending song” like in the comics.
Umbrella Academy on Netflix
As the Umbrella Academy novels did so well upon their initial release, Netflix acquired the rights to make the show much sooner than most companies acquired the rights to books, especially unfinished sagas and volumes. Still, Netflix and their adaptation of The Umbrella Academy have had several elements that have separated the two from each other, such as the identity change for Viktor Hargreeves, portrayed by Elliot Page, change in abilities for several members of The Umbrella Academy, and even the questions behind literally everything surrounding Number Five. Outside of The Umbrella Academy doing its own thing to be original compared to the comics, they have kept most of the mainline information with more minor changes that don’t change the overall end or events but more of how they’re arrived at. Most recently, Netflix renewed The Umbrella Academy for a fourth and final season, unfortunately, but as the show has exceeded the original storyline, it’s slightly an expected outcome. While the comic book fans may have hoped that The Umbrella Academy would unveil the real name of Number Five, that has yet to happen.
credit: Netflix
Number Five of The Umbrella Academy
Number Five has been possibly one of the most exciting characters from The Umbrella Academy for several reasons, as the mysteries surrounding the character are more profound than most of the show itself, and he’s been a pretty important character in the background and the foreground with his time traveling issues, abilities, and experiences. Not only has Number Five become the oldest member of The Umbrella Academy siblings, as they were all born at the exact same time around the world, but he also lost a limb only to gain it back with the loss of his powers at the end of the Season 3 of The Umbrella Academy on Netflix. However, the most long-standing question regarding the character of Number Five has come in the form of his name, or lack thereof, as he’s strictly been referred to as such by himself, Reginald Hargreeves, his siblings, and the Commission as simply that. While the characters separated at the end of Season 3, the post-credits scene with Ben has finally been explained by Steve Blackman.
credit: Netflix
The Umbrella Academy Number Five Real Name
On top of Number Five being practically nameless, he has also strictly appeared as a 13-year-old boy, which has come at a price with his abilities. At the age of thirteen, Number Five traveled into the far future. Number Five survived for decades before establishing a way back with The Commission’s technology, against their permission and immediate knowledge, to warn his siblings of the apocalypse he witnessed destroyed the world. While Number Five did indeed age while gone for decades, his return to the proper time reset his body to its 13-year-old form. In the Umbrella Academy comics, the name of Number Five has only been closely noted as his alter-ego name, The Boy, outside of Number Five. It had been so long since he was referred to as anything other than The Boy and Number Five that he and his siblings had simply forgotten his real name. While Netflix may have renewed The Umbrella Academy for the final run with Season 4, we could undoubtedly get a spinoff with Number 5.