Season 3 of Netflix’sThe Umbrella Academypremiered in June of 2022 to much critical acclaim. The superhero series that deftly weaves family drama with universe-ending stakes is once again arefreshing twist on an overpopulated genre. There’s a lot to love aboutthe Umbrella Academy’s seven membersand their Sparrow Academy counterparts make for the perfect foils.
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As with most superhero content these days,The Umbrella Academystarted out as a comic book series. While the overall arcs of each season adhere more or less to the story of the comics, the writers still like to hide references to the source material in the background of their show. Here are some of the many comic Easter eggs that casual viewers may have overlooked in Season 3 ofThe Umbrella Academy.
9Mr. Pennycrumb Finally Appears
Fans have been wondering for years if and when Mr. Pennycrumb would make an appearance in the Netflix series. In the comics, this lovable dog followed the time-traveling Five around the post-apocalyptic world in which he’d become trapped after his attempt to teleport through time went awry.
In Season 3, the front desk clerk at the Hotel Obsidian has a pet dog and this dog is Mr. Pennycrumb. While his role in the series is not nearly as relevant as it is in the comics (Mr. Pennycrumb is, sadly, the first victim claimed by the Kugelblitz), it’s still nice to see him get his moment to shine in the live-action adaptation.
8Diego’s Missing Eye
Diego is probably the character who underwent the biggest visual change between the comics and the Netflix series. For one, he’s no longer blonde. He doesn’t wear a shirt with a skull on it either and he also has both of his eyes. Conversely, one of comic Diego’s defining features was his missing right eye. Season 3 pays homage to that character design a couple of times during the course of its ten episodes.
First, when Viktor is flipping through a history book upon his return to the present, he finds a paragraph about the Kennedy Six, a reference to the Umbrella Academy’s hand inensuring that JFK was assassinatedin the 60s in order for them to save the world. Next to that article, there is an image of Diego, and he’s wearing an eye patch. Later, in episode 6, when Diego’s surrogate son Stan is vaporized by the Kugelblitz, he drops a slushie on the ground and the cup features a drawing of comic Diego, complete with a missing right eye.
7The Jennifer Non-Incident?
In episode 7, Viktor returned to his old room at the Umbrella/Sparrow Academy, only in this timeline it is actually Ben’s room. In it, there are nearly a dozen sketches of a woman named Jennifer. In both the comics and the series, the original Ben, who grew up a member of the Umbrella Academy, is frequently said to have died during something called “The Jennifer Incident.”
The events of Ben’s death are never explained further in either medium. In this new timeline, Ben is still alive, meaning that whatever the incident was didn’t happen to this version of him. However, these drawings suggest thatthe relationship between Ben and Jenniferextends far beyond just being the cause of his death.
6The Mothers Of Agony
When Five encounters a future version of himself at the Commission’s destroyed headquarters after traveling to a post-Kugelblitz future, he notices an unusual tattoo on his future self’s chest. When future-Five dies, his younger counterpart decides that he’s going to take that particular piece of tattooed skin for himself. He latershows it to his brother Klaus,who identifies the tattoo as the work of a biker gang called the Mothers of Agony.
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In the comics, Klaus and the Mothers of Agony have a much more involved relationship. Specifically, they ply Klaus with psychedelic drugs, and, in exchange, Klaus uses his powers to provide the gang with psychic favors. The fact that the live-action Klaus recognizes the gang’s tattoo suggests that he may have already lived that part of his life, although the show never specifically addresses it.
5Klaus Goes Barefoot
Another visual nod to the comics, in Season 2 of the show Klaus levitates off the ground with the help of Ben’s ghost to help win over his eventual wealthy cult members. Jumping ahead to Season 3, Klaus is wandering the halls of the Hotel Obsidian without shoes all the time.
In the comics, Klaus' power to levitate is not contingent upon the help of his dead brother’s ghost. It’s just one ofthe many abilities that Klaus has. As such, comic book Klaus has no real need for shoes and forgoes wearing them. This costume choice made in the Netflix series is a subtle nod to Klaus' comic book counterpart.
4The Televator
In the comics, one of Sir Reginald Hargreeves' greatest inventions is the Televator. Essentially, it’s an elevator that can teleport those inside it from one location to another (teleporter + elevator = Televator).Umbrella AcademySeason 3 actually features two references to the Televator.
First, there is a poster advertising the Televator in the basement of the Sparrow Academy. The second (far more significant) reference occurs at the very end of the season. When the team manages to escape from the Hotel Oblivion, they appear in a courtyardafter emerging from an elevator. One of the uses of the Televator in the comics is to travel to and from the Hotel Oblivion, and the events of the finale suggest that it exists in the live-action universe as well.
3The Cockroach Infestation At The Hotel Oblivion
Whenever any member of the Umbrella Academy ends up traveling to the Hotel Oblivion, they inevitably encounter cockroaches. Lila crushes one under her boot, but several more appear throughout the season. By the end, it is revealed that the cockroaches are a part of the Guardians: giant beings who stalk the halls of the Hotel Oblivion preventing intruders from accessing its secrets.
In the comic version of the Hotel Oblivion, cockroaches play a very different role. The hotel in the comics is actually a prison built to house super-villains. One of them, known as Dr. Terminal, eats cockroaches. Not by choice necessarily, his condition forces him to consume living food, and cockroaches are the most prevalent form of living thing in that Hotel.
2Comic-Accurate Hairstyles
While there are many visual discrepancies between the comic versions of the Umbrella Academy members and those that appear in the Netflix series, a couple of the live-action characters underwent some visual changes that bring them much closer to their graphic novel counterparts. Most notably, both Alison and Viktor changed their hairstyles in the newest season.
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While Alison’s hair isn’t light purple, it was cut down to shoulder-length like her comic book depiction. Meanwhile, Viktor’s transition in the show brought with it a change in hairstyle. Viktor’s current appearance is far more in line with the look of The White Violin in the comics.
1Sloane’s Choice Of Reading Material
When the character of Sloane is introduced as a member of the Sparrow Academy, she is seen reading a book when the Umbrella Academy appears unexpectedly in her house. Her choice of book is a nod to the comic’s original creator.
Specifically, Sloane is reading a book called “The Jetset Life.” The creator of theUmbrella Academycomics, Gerard Way, was once the frontman of the band My Chemical Romance, who released a song titled “The Jetset Way Is Gonna Kill You.” It could also be foreshadowing, as it remains unclear if Sloane survived the events of the season, but it’s still a fun nod to the original story’s creators either way.
The Umbrella Academyseason 3 premiered on Netflix on June 22nd, 2022.
