The Umbrella Academy saw the world end after a dangerous violin concert and pieces of the moon crashed onto Earth, and while it seems like it was inevitable, Luther could have prevented the apocalypse. Based on the comic book series of the same name by Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá, The Umbrella Academy was released on Netflix in February 2019 and was a big hit, becoming one of the streaming giant's top releases of the year. It’s not surprising, then, that the series was renewed for a second season a couple of months later.
The Umbrella Academy follows the dysfunctional family of adopted siblings, the Hargreeves. All of them were born on the same day and under the same mysterious circumstances, as none of their mothers was pregnant when the day began. Not long after, they were adopted by the equally mysterious billionaire Sir Reginald Hargreeves, who after the kids started to develop unique sets of superpowers, trained them and formed a superhero team called “the Umbrella Academy”. Reginald wasn’t a good father figure, and the children eventually went on their own ways – except for Luther, who remained loyal to his father.
Luther worked for Reginald until his death, which was the event that prompted the reunion of all members of the Umbrella Academy. When Reginald died, Luther was on the moon, conducting different experiments assigned by his father, and his work there could have helped the team’s efforts to prevent the apocalypse.
Umbrella Academy Theory: Luther Was Sent To The Moon To Stop The Apocalypse
Reginald Hargreeves had everything planned: he knew the apocalypse was coming, and the only way to stop it was by bringing the team together, and for that to happen, he had to die. His death also unveiled a number of secrets and lies, including the reason why he sent Luther to the moon. Luther discovered Reginald never read any of his reports, and concluded he was sent there because Reginald thought he wasn’t a good Number One, and lied by telling him his mission was to watch out for threats – but it might have not been a lie at all.
Compared to his siblings, Luther’s powers aren’t outstanding, possessing only super strength and enhanced durability, but he’s surely smart enough to perform basic tasks that could have helped prevent the end of the world. Vanya’s blast ended up hitting the moon, with pieces of it crashing onto Earth and thus killing everyone. Perhaps an important part of Reginald’s moon mission for Luther had to do with keeping an eye on any anomalies that could point to its destruction or that of Earth, or planting something that could counter the explosions, which Luther obviously didn’t do. With The Umbrella Academy season 2 taking the Hargreeves back in time, Luther could go back to the moon and do something to truly prevent the apocalypse this time, or he might simply realize that his time up there had a much bigger purpose than he thought.