Being a comic book adaptation, many fans expected Netflix’s Umbrella Academy to be filled to the brim with all sorts of comic book easter eggs either alluding to the comics they’re based on or the industry as a whole. And while the whole of the first season of The Umbrella Academy feels awfully reminiscent of The Dark Phoenix Saga, beyond that, most fans had a hard time identifying many easter eggs.
While it’s certainly true that the producers saw fit to hide the few easter eggs rather well, there are some that may have had fans of the comics left wondering just what exactly was going on. Or gone over audiences heads entirely. To that end, let’s get into some of the easter eggs some fans may have missed on their initial viewing.
Updated August 7th, 2020 by Darby Harn: Umbrella Academy just finished its staggering second season on Netflix, and there are many, many more easter eggs to be found. References abound to the original comic books the series is based on, as well as classic films and historical events. Finding them can sometimes be a chore, given everything going on in the series, so here are a few of the best easter eggs to be found in the second season of Umbrella Academy.
60s Movies
The team travels back to the 1960s to avert the end of the world (which was pretty well ended in the finale of season one). Each of the members of the Academy arrive at slightly different points though, and the show uses a great frame of reference to illustrate what year they're in: the marquee of a movie theater. Different movies are playing at different times: Curse of the Undead (Klaus and Ben); The Curse of the Werewolf (Allison); and Kiss of the Vampire (both Vanya and Five).
Carmichael
The second episode of the second season introduces a character with a direct link back to the comics: Carmichael. In the show, this strange but fascinating character with a goldfish in a fishbowl for a head is the leader of The Commission. In the comic books, Carmichael is the head of the Temps Aeternalis. The Commission conspires to kill President Kennedy, ultimately coercing a pair of the Umbrella Academy into helping them and setting off a nuclear war. Oops.
Don't Go Chasing Waterfalls
In the same episode, Klaus is apprehended in Dallas and meets one of the followers of the cult he started while stuck in San Francisco in the early 60s. While stuck together, his former follower asks for some advice, and Klaus gives them some pretty awesome words to live by - and ones that hadn't been invented yet. Klaus tells him “Don’t go chasing waterfalls. Stick to the rivers and the lakes that you’re used to.” Music fans will recognize this lyric from TLC’s 1995 hit song “Waterfalls.”
Nothing Ever Ends
Episode 3, "The Swedish Job," features a nod to another great comic book. A random man walks the streets of Dallas wearing a sign that says 'The End is Nigh,' and he looks very much the same as a man in the landmark comic book series Watchmen.
No doubt this is a direct reference to the 80s classic, named one of Time Magazine's 100 greatest novels. Watchmen also dealt directly with concerns over nuclear war and ended with a similarly dystopian scene (though nowhere near as disastrous).
Destiny's Children
Another hilarious and solid reference to 90s music comes when fans find out the name of Klaus' cult. Clearly he has an affinity for pop music from the era because he named his followers Destiny's Children. After the expert TLC shoutout, this is no doubt a reference to Destiny's Child. The trio ruled the world in the late 90s and early 2000s before Beyonce went solo (continuing to dominate the world). Hopefully, season three has more Klaus/90s music references for fans to unlock.
Gerard’s Blurb
Very early in the season (episode one to be precise), we see Vanya wander through the house she grew up in. She walks over to the library and picks up the book of hers that she had given to her father wondering aloud to Pogo if Hargreeves ever bothered to even open it. He had not. But you know who did? Vanya’s real Daddy and author of The Umbrella Academy comics, Gerard Way.
While we may never know what exactly resides in the pages, by Gerard’s account it’s “An incredible read… A revealing look into the amazing life of Vanya Hargreeves and the life she has lived. I couldn’t put it down! ” High praise coming from either the man who created Vanya or the lead singer of My Chemical Romance in her universe (Maybe?). I wonder where in his career he finds himself during the events of the first season.
Eiffel Tower Newspaper Clipping
This is another one from way back in episode one. When we meet Klaus for the first time, riffling through the desk of his deceased adoptive father, Reginald Hargreeves; if you look very carefully, you can see on the mantle behind his desk there is a framed newspaper clipping. This newspaper clipping clearly mentions the Eiffel Tower, but what is it referencing?
Fans of the comics are already aware, but some new fans may not have caught on. This newspaper clipping refers to an incident in Paris that the Umbrella Academy was dispatched to clean up. This incident involved a mechanically controlled Eiffel Tower, with Gustave Eiffel himself behind the wheel. While his tower may be a marvel to look at, his intentions were not so marvelous, and so the Umbrella Academy shut him down.
“In all regards, Sir Reginald Hargreeves made me what I am today.”
When Pogo and the members of the Umbrella Academy finally get around to having the funeral for Hargreeves, Pogo says, “In all regards, Sir Reginald Hargreeves made me what I am today.” While fans of the comic may know exactly what Pogo is referring to, new fans that have only begun watching the series may be left in the dark.
In the comics, among Hargreeves’ many admirable advances of humankind, or perhaps adjacent to it, is the advancement of all Chimp-kind as well. So, when Pogo says that Hargreeves made him what he is today, he’s not only referring to the intelligence Hargreeves granted him, but all other Chimpanzees right along with him. Apparently, you can avoid a Planet Of The Apes-type situation if have an alien broker peace.
MCR Music Video-Inspired Open
This Easter Egg is a little more hidden as it is hidden not only in the series but behind the author of the comics and his work with his band My Chemical Romance. As the third episode begins we see Vanya at rehearsals. The camera then pans away, out the window and as it begins to rain we see a group of citizens all open their black umbrellas, excluding only the blue umbrella with the title card on it.
This is a shot that fans of My Chemical Romance may find incredibly familiar. For anyone who still doesn’t know what I’m referring to, just watch the video for “Helena” and pay close attention as the pallbearers begin descending the front steps of the church. You just might see a frame or two that you recognize.
Diego “The Kraken” Hargreeves
While the Netflix series does manage to toss around some of the Umbrella Academy member code names from the comics, like when Allison’s daughter calls Luther ‘Spaceboy’ or when they refer to Allison as Rumor, for the most part, the codenames get left behind in the comics. Diego’s codename, “The Kraken”, makes a lot of sense when you take in to account that he can hold his breath for any amount of time, but for a series with a very distinct lack of water scenes, The Kraken may as well have just stayed on the bench.
However, when we get a peek of Diego’s room in the back of the gym, we get a quick flash of an old boxing flyer with “Diego ‘The Kraken’ Hargreeves” strung across the top of it.
Temps Aeternalis Gas Masks
It seems like everything that made Temps Aeternalis, the temporal repair agency known as “The Commission” in the Netflix series, has been stripped away and turned into something far tamer. However, something that hasn’t changed is the red masks worn by the infantry of “The Commission” as it’s called in the Netflix show.
It’s important (or at least fun) to note that these red gas masks may as well be the red shirts from Star Trek. The one constant when these unfortunately rouge-masked fellows hit the panel is that a whole lot more red in about to color the panel. This red just happens to come from inside their bodies as opposed to being worn on their heads.
Number Five’s Temporal Stalker(?)
This one makes this list because of how many people are just simply unaware of what to do with this information. There is a woman throughout the course of the series that approaches members of the Umbrella Academy no less than four times. She is there when they stop the bank robbery as children.
She’s there when Klaus activates the suitcase on the bus and at the rave. And she even shows up and the bowling alley to ask if Number Five might have a little more fun playing with her son and his birthday guests. It’s possible that production simply thought she had an interesting look, but the way they make a point to show her many times, covering many years, always interacting with the Umbrella Academy has many thinking there may be a little more to her than we’ve been led to believe.