The Umbrella Academy introduced viewers to the Hargreeves siblings and their powers – but there’s one member that remained a mystery. Number 6 aka Ben died years ago, and viewers only got to meet him through his brother, Klaus, who constantly summoned him. Although Klaus has the ability to conjure the dead, the reason behind his effortless communication with Ben might be that the latter isn’t really dead – or at least that’s what a fan theory suggests.
The Umbrella Academy is a superhero TV show based on the comic book series by Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá, and follows the dysfunctional family of adopted sibling superheroes, the Hargreeves. All these kids were born on the same day under very mysterious circumstances and were adopted by the equally mysterious Sir Reginald Hargreeves, who turned them into a superhero team called “the Umbrella Academy”. Each kid was given a number by Hargreeves, but they were eventually named by their robot nanny/mother: Luther, Diego, Allison, Klaus, Number Five, Ben, and Vanya.
From the very beginning, viewers learned that Ben died years ago, although exactly when and why is a mystery, even in the source material. Still, Ben was part of the story thanks to Klaus, who might be able to bring him back easier than anyone else not just because they were close but because Ben might not be really dead.
Umbrella Academy Theory: Ben Is Trapped In The In-Between
In both the comic book and the TV series, Klaus dies for a couple of minutes and has a “spiritual” experience in the afterlife, or more like an in-between space. There he comes across with his father, even though he wanted to see someone else. In the comics, when he comes back to life, Klaus tells Luther that it’s no problem when “children of this family die”, which made a Reddit user believe there’s more to that than what it seems. The theory says Ben isn’t really dead – he’s just stuck in the in-between and hasn’t been able to come back fully yet, as Klaus did.
Not being “completely” dead would also explain why Klaus can summon him so easily, even when he’s high and therefore his powers are not in the best conditions. The problem with this idea is that, if Ben is trapped in the in-between, Klaus would have probably seen him, unless their father had some influence in the “afterlife” too. If Ben is indeed trapped between planes, it would be much easier to bring him back in season 2. In the final episode of season 1, Klaus demonstrated how strong his powers are by physically manifesting Ben, who pretty much saved his siblings’ lives. If Klaus stays clean, he could be the one to fully bring back his brother – unless, of course, The Umbrella Academy season 2 goes back in time to before Ben’s death.