Netflix superhero series The Umbrella Academy, starring Ellen Page, puts dysfunctional spin on the genre
- Streaming giant takes on Marvel and DC Comics at the superhero game with The Umbrella Academy
- Mary J. Blige plays an assassin in the series, based on comics written by My Chemical Romance singer, that follows a messed-up family of superheroes
In the increasingly crowded marketplace for superhero content, originality is always welcome. A genre that has dominated Hollywood for almost two decades, it has become increasingly fertile ground for television networks too, whether it’s DC Comics-inspired shows such as Gotham, The Flash or Arrow, or Marvel’s Daredevil, Luke Cage or Jessica Jones.
So what happens when an outlier flies in to break up the Marvel-DC duopoly? With undeniably cool credentials, Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy could well be that show.
Published by Dark Horse Comics in 2007 and 2008, this Eisner Award-winning two-volume series was the brainchild of Gerard Way, the singer with band My Chemical Romance; the illustrations were by the Brazilian-born Gabriel Ba. Soon afterwards, a film version got under way, with screenwriter Mark Bomback (Die Hard 4.0) on script duty.
Not surprisingly, the proposed film adaptation then floundered in development limbo. A story of six siblings with superpowers who attempt to solve the death of their adoptive father; perhaps it was never quite right for the multiplexes. But it was the comic’s subversive nature that attracted Steve Blackman, the producer responsible for the first season’s 10 episodes. “I wanted to do the Wes Anderson version of these characters,” he says. “The Royal Tenenbaums.”
Citing Anderson’s Oscar-nominated 2001 masterpiece about a messy New York family seems apt. The Umbrella Academy may feature a looming apocalyptic threat to mankind, but the real fireworks take place in the family home – a hugely relatable theme.