Could The Umbrella Academy's latest apocalypse be caused by the Ben Hargreeves Sparrow Academy variant? None of the Hargreeves siblings would claim to have experienced an ideal childhood, but of all Sir Reginald's young charges, Ben has most cause for complaint. Sending children to fight crime and trounce supervillains was always going to be risky and, sure enough, Ben Hargreeves died, leaving the team forever broken. Though the exact circumstances surrounding Ben's demise remain obscured, The Umbrella Academy has made clear that his superhero activities were somehow to blame.
Fortunately (depending on your perspective), Ben Hargreeves had a brother who communes with the dead, allowing his ghost to cling onto the group and, once Klaus sobered up, even be perceived physically. Though Ben enjoyed a semi-existence through Klaus, he died a second death in The Umbrella Academy season 2, finally moving into the afterlife to prevent Vanya accidentally triggering an apocalypse in 1960s Dallas. Just as Ben seemed gone for good, The Umbrella Academy revealed his alternate self - the arrogant (but alive) leader of the Sparrow Academy.
The Umbrella Academy season 3 contains no shortage of potential future apocalypses - the violent collision of temporal changes, Christopher the weird floating cube, Sir Reginald's "interests" on the dark side of the moon... But despite mass destruction lurking around every corner, the Sparrow Academy's Ben Hargreeves is the most likely (and the most heartbreaking) apocalypse-bringer of The Umbrella Academy season 3.
Every Season Of Umbrella Academy Has An Apocalypse
The end of the world is a running theme in Gerard Way's The Umbrella Academy comic, and the Netflix adaptation is no different. In The Umbrella Academy season 1, Five returns from the future to warn his siblings of an impending cataclysm, then sets about desperately trying to prevent the destruction he glimpsed. Five learns that his own sister, Vanya, is responsible - manipulated by the twisted Leonard Peabody, who unleashes the latent sonic power Sir Reginald chemically suppressed for most of Vanya's life. Though the Umbrella Academy's interference switches up a few details, Vanya still triggers the apocalypse by giving a moon-shattering violin performance. Even now, it's not clear whether this outcome has been completely averted, as when the Hargreeves siblings return to the present day after their 1960s detour, they find Earth intact... but in a totally changed timeline.
The Umbrella Academy season 2's apocalypse happens in November 1963 as a direct result of the Hargreeves kids being where they shouldn't. With tensions already sky high between the USA and Russia, an amnesia-stricken Vanya falls in love with a woman called Sissy Cooper. Naturally, Mr. Cooper isn't pleased, and reports Vanya to the FBI as a Russian spy. Though she isn't a secret Soviet, Vanya is a superhero from the future possessing uncontrollable sonic powers, and the FBI's brutal interrogation reactivates her inner White Violin, bringing 2019's apocalypse into 1963. This is where Ben's ghost saves the day, but celebrations are cut short by another potential apocalypse. Vanya accidentally shared her abilities with Sissy's son Harlan, and he would've imploded had the Umbrella Academy not provided a reassuring voice.
Given how often the world seems to end in The Umbrella Academy, it seems inevitable that season 3 will include another apocalypse in some shape or form... but would it really be fair to make Vanya the root cause once again?
Season 3 Ben Has More Dangerous Powers
The seismic potential of Vanya's power is obvious, but what about the other Umbrella Academy heroes? Diego probably isn't ending the world with knife-throwing tricks any time soon, and Luther can't wrestle Earth into oblivion. Allison and Klaus might cause global catastrophe with rumors and conjuring if they tried real hard, while Five could end the world by changing history. Of all the Umbrella Academy members, however, it's Ben who possesses the most dangerous, potentially apocalyptic powers - arguably even more so than Vanya.
Ben summons inter-dimensional beings through a portal in his stomach. As a child, this usually meant producing massive, flailing navel tentacles that killed anything in sight, but just like Vanya, there's a risk his ability could spiral out of control. How much input does Ben have in deciding what monsters emanate from his gut? Blue tentacles are fine, but what's to stop something bigger crawling out? For all we know, that could be how Ben died in The Umbrella Academy's past.
The final moments of The Umbrella Academy season 2 introduce Sparrow Academy Ben - an alternate who survived into adulthood. Sparrow Ben would've had more time to nurture his powers and grow stronger, so it's logical to assume this variant is even more formidable - especially since the Sparrow team all appear far more diligent and hard-working compared to Sir Reginald's dysfunctional originals. Which mighty dimensional creatures has The Umbrella Academy's season 3 Ben learned to summon over the years? Those blue tentacles could look puny next to whatever beasts the Sparrow Academy's leader pulls out from his belly.
Sparrow Ben Doesn't Know He Died In Umbrella Academy's Alternate Timeline
The Sparrows might be jerks, but they hardly give the impression of outright villains. Even if Ben has enough power to bring about the apocalypse in The Umbrella Academy season 3, he has no motivation to do so... yet. It's only a matter of time until Ben learns the fate of his alternate self, and hearing about how your parallel died horribly (probably in a hail on blood and disembodied limbs) is always a tough pill to swallow. Does the revelation mess with Sparrow Ben's head? Maybe he becomes paranoid that the Sparrow universe will try killing him to course-correct, then treats friend and foe alike as a potential grim reaper. Or will Ben arrogantly start to believe cheating death once has made him completely invincible, sparking a reckless ego-driven rampage throughout The Umbrella Academy season 3?
Every previous apocalypse in The Umbrella Academy required an emotional trigger, whether that be Vanya's traumatic past catching up with her, or the sudden rush of memories she endured in season 2. Sparrow Ben might look as cool as an inter-dimensional cucumber, but learning how his parallel self died could easily push him to the brink. Losing his mental balance would inevitably mean Sparrow Academy Ben losing control of his stomach servants too. Maybe the old gods inside him begin taking control, opening Ben's portal without permission and exploiting him as a means of invading our dimension.
Ben Could Be The Villain Of Umbrella Academy Season 3
With good ol' Herb leading the Temps Commission, there's no obvious villain for The Umbrella Academy season 3, and though many believe the Sparrows will all become enemies of the Umbrellas... could both teams unite against Ben as a common enemy?
Ben may not intentionally break bad in The Umbrella Academy season 3. News of his alternate self's grisly demise might decay his mental state, allowing a beast from another dimension to possess Ben's physical body. As the villain prepares to unleash his minions on an unsuspecting 21st century, and Umbrella and Sparrow Academies must put their considerable differences aside to stop him - even if that means killing Ben to close the portal. The Umbrella kids would face the heartbreaking emotional dilemma of killing the very person they've all spent years mourning.
Or maybe The Umbrella Academy season 3's Ben knows exactly what he's doing on the dark side. Haunted by the death of his other self and faced with being wiped from history completely when the Umbrella Academy fix history, a bitter Ben Hargreeves might declare that if the Sparrow Academy's timeline can't exist, no version can, attempting an apocalypse using those unpredictable inter-dimensional abilities. There's a heart-wrenching comparison in season 2's Ben giving his life to save the world, but Sparrow Ben refusing to. But if the Umbrella Academy can talk Ben down without killing him, they might finally get closure on how their version died.