Summary

• Luther's ape body return in season 4 creates a plot hole due to his previous backstory.
• Reginald's ape serum changed Luther's body, providing enhanced strength and resistance.
• Possible explanations for Luther's ape body return include marigold particles in the serum or multiversal chaos.

The Umbrella Academy season 3 ended on a major cliffhanger as Reginald’s (Colm Feore) custom-made timeline became a reality, and the Hargreeves found themselves in it completely powerless. The Umbrella Academy season 4 caught up with the Hargreeves six years later after they all parted ways and did their best to live normal lives, all of them with different degrees of success.

Although the Hargreeves kept in touch, they didn’t team up in those six years until they were brought together one more time for a final mission. The Hargreeves had to find a young woman named Jennifer (Victoria Sawal), but for that, they needed their powers back. The Hargreeves used a jar of marigolds given to them in a box with other objects to regain their powers, but this came with a twist. All the Hargreeves’ powers were upgraded, but all this left a huge plot hole regarding Luther and his body.

Luther's Ape Body Shouldn't Return In The Umbrella Academy Season 4, Right?

Luther’s Ape Body Wasn’t Created By The Marigold

What changed in Luther after regaining his powers was his body, as he had his ape torso again – the thing is that he wasn’t born with it.

Although they agreed not to use the marigolds to regain their powers, Ben (Justin H. Mion) served marigolds into everyone’s shot glasses and made them drink the particles without them knowing. The following day, all of them (except Klaus, who didn’t take the shot as he had been sober for years) woke up feeling sick but had their powers back, with a couple of upgrades. Lila, for example, in addition to her power of mirroring others’ superpowers now had laser eyes as well, and Allison’s (Emmy Raver-Lampman) rumor power no longer required that she say anything.

Luther’s powers didn’t change much from the ones he had in the previous seasons, as he regained his super strength and an unbelievable level of physical resistance as he was able to take many, many bullets while shielding his siblings. What changed in Luther after regaining his powers was his body, as he had his ape torso again – the thing is that he wasn’t born with it and, instead, it was the result of Reginald saving his life. When the Umbrellas parted ways, Luther was the only one who remained loyal to Reginald.

Luther continued going on missions, and one went horribly, leaving him severely injured and agonizing. To save him, Reginald used an ape serum that healed Luther and saved his life, but it left him with an ape-like torso. Luther, then, shouldn’t have regained his ape torso after taking the second dose of marigolds in The Umbrella Academy season 4, and instead, he should have kept his normal body.

Sir Reginald's Ape Serum Made Luther Even Stronger

Luther’s Ape Body Saved His Life

Luther’s ape torso also amplified his superhuman strength as well as his resistance.

Luther’s “natural” power was super strength, and he didn’t have to be muscular to use that power, as even as a kid he was already incredibly strong. However, his life-saving transformation not only had an impact on his self-esteem and confidence but also on his superpower. Luther’s ape torso also amplified his superhuman strength as well as his resistance, being able to shrug off most physical impacts during combat and more. At the beginning of The Umbrella Academy season 2, Hazel took Five to the end of the world in 1963, where Luther was shown surviving a direct blast from a bazooka.

His ape torso and how it enhanced his powers granted by the marigold is what allowed Luther to take all those bullets during the massive fight in the town where Jennifer was hidden. Without his ape torso, it’s unlikely Luther would have been able to shield Viktor, Allison, and Five, though it’s important to note that, despite his strength and resistance, Luther could still be injured.

Possible Reasons Luther's Ape Body Might Return

Luther’s Season 4 Plot Hole Can Be Solved

It could be possible that the ape serum also had some marigold particles in it.

The Umbrella Academy season 4 didn’t address this plot hole nor explain the return of Luther’s ape torso and the new powers they all got – but the show also didn’t go into the specifics of the serum Reginald used to save Luther. When Klaus was shot in season 4, the marigolds were used to heal him, so it could be possible that the ape serum also had some marigold particles in it to ensure Luther would survive and heal quickly. If true, it would make a lot more sense that the marigold dose in season 4 gave him his ape torso back.

Another possibility is that Luther’s ape torso was the result of the multiversal chaos in The Umbrella Academy season 4. It was revealed that other timelines were bleeding into the one in season 4, which is why the Keepers had all the evidence to prove their point about the multiverse and the broken timelines. This could have resulted in Luther’s ape torso being restored, as his variants in other timelines also had it.