So it’s pretty obvious that the Umbrella Academy is a deconstruction of the teenage superhero team. One of the core ideas is that the kids from the team would grow up to be total misfits. The series itself does pay homage to storylines like Titans Hunt and the Dark Phoenix saga. “But who is each Umbrella academy’s Teen Titans or X-men counterpart?” asked nobody. Well, I’m here to answer that. Also, these are only guesses at best. I have no way to contact Gerard Way, Gabriel Ba or Steve Blackman.
Reginald Hargreeves is Professor X
Lets start off with the most obvious. He’s the leader of the group who doesn’t go into the field. He’s there to teach them how to use their powers. He does share some ideas with the Chief of the Doom Patrol and, with him being the abusive father figure, he has a touch of Deathstroke. But Deathstroke (or Slade to some of you) is The Teen Titan’s archenemy, not their team leader.
Luther is Cyclops
Sure, he may share some visual similarities to Beast or Colossus, but he is Cyclops. The handpicked leader of the team because he can’t think for himself. This was an issue Cyclops faced in the comics after the Phoenix saga and it’s Luther’s main struggle through the series.
Klaus is Beast Boy
Not taken seriously by the rest of the team, fully of witty remarks and an obsession with fame. Sure, Klaus shares a lot with Gerard Way’s mentor Grant Morrison, who always seems to be 3 fanboys away from forming a cult. But Morrison is a real person, not a superhero.
Alison is Psylocke
This one is probably my biggest stretch because the girl of the group is often involved in a love triangle. But Psylocke was a model, has some mind control and that’s enough for me. Ok, her powers are more similar to the Scarlet Witch or Raven but neither of them are as glamorous as the fashion model turned ninja assassin.
Diego is Speedy
Diego sucks. I can’t avoid it, but he takes himself too seriously and has a massive hero complex. Speedy has similar problems, like how he can’t stand Beast Boy. Diego thinks he’s Wolverine, with his constant questioning of commands, but Speedy did this as well. Speedy, of course, tried to rebrand as Arsenal and we all laughed at his stupid hat and attempts to be cool.
Grace is Moira McTaggert
Obviously, really. Professor X’s non-powered love interest is the team’s surrogate robot-mother. Gen 13 had a robot maid called Anna but that’s a more obscure series than Teen Titans or the X-men so it’s not a common calling point.
Ben is Jericho
Ok, having an abusive father isn’t something special in this team. But, like Jericho, Ben can only communicate by possessing others bodies.
Vanya is Jean Grey
The weakest member, patronised and abused by the team, that turns into the strongest. That is unless you forgot that Jean Grey turned evil and ate a sun in their most famous storyline after being abused by the Hellfire club.
Five is Wolverine
The team’s grumpy man of mystery, for fuck’s sake neither of them have a first name. They’re both “the best at what they do and what they do isn’t very nice”. Both are the most competent members of the team and have a history of being used as a secret weapon by a shady hidden cabal.
Also, how funny is it that the coolest character has been devolved into a 12 year old kid.
