Ben Hargreeves has some of the strangest powers out of everyone in The Umbrella Academy, but how exactly do they work? Adapted from Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá’s comic series, Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy follows seven children, all born at the same time, who are adopted by the mysterious Reginald Hargreeves, a cold and uncaring father who raises the children to hone their extraordinary powers and eventually become superheroes. After scattering to the wind, the siblings reunite and eventually band together to stop the apocalypse. When they fail, an attempt at time travel deposits the Hargreeves siblings in 1963 with, ultimately, the same goal: stopping a new apocalypse, which they seem to have brought with them.
Ben, called Number Six by his father, is also known in the comic series as “The Horror.” Though he died on a mission when he was only sixteen, Ben remains throughout both seasons of The Umbrella Academy as a ghost that only Klaus can see, thanks to his ability to communicate with the dead. As a ghost, Ben has few chances to use his powers given that he has no physical form, but the show does give us a few glimpses into what he can do, as do the original comics.
Ben’s power is his ability to release tentacles from his lower abdomen which he can control and use to fight enemies. Ben releases the tentacles after lifting his shirt, revealing that they emerge approximately from his stomach, and it is implied that these tentacles come from another dimension. It’s a reasonable explanation considering they’re far too large for Ben to simply hide in his body cavity on a regular basis. In the comic series’ arc Hotel Oblivion, Ben appears to Klaus, encouraging him, much like his Netflix counterpart, to get clean. Though dressed in the superhero uniform he wore as a young man, Ben has a large hole in his abdomen where the tentacles once were. It seems that Ben’s powers leave him after his death in the comics, whereas they remain accessible to him in the Netflix series.
As a young boy, Ben is reluctant to use his powers due to their gruesome nature. After his siblings urge him to deal with several bank robbers inside a vault, he emerges visibly shaken and drenched in blood, giving audiences a clue to what earned Ben the nickname “The Horror” in the comics. Later, when he is an adult (and a ghost), Ben is only able to use his tentacle powers through Klaus, who, with great effort, is able to manifest him physically, allowing Ben to kill several agents from The Commission, a time-controlling organization hellbent on stopping The Umbrella Academy and ensuring the apocalypse happens. Without Ben’s incredible powers, the Hargreeves siblings would likely have died in the 2019 apocalypse, along with the rest of the world.
Ben’s powers differ in a few ways in the comics and the Netflix show, but ultimately manifest as the interdimensional tentacles fans know and love. In the comics, Ben doesn’t seem to employ his powers violently, instead using his tentacles to restrain enemies or catch falling people and objects. In the Netflix show, Ben also gains the power of possession when he becomes a ghost, and while he spends some time in Klaus’s body, he more notably possesses Vanya and helps her to control her powers, stopping the 1963 apocalypse. Though they change slightly depending on the source material, Ben’s powers are key to The Umbrella Academy’s survival, even in death.