Summary

• Unique powers in The Umbrella Academy kept the superhero genre fresh and fun.
• Some abilities were more useful than others, with powers evolving over the seasons.
• Assessing the Hargreeves siblings, Allison's persuasion was among the deadliest powers.

The wide variety The Umbrella Academy powers helped ensure that Netflix's take on the superhero genre felt fresh throughout all four seasons — however, certain abilities are definitely better than others. While The Umbrella Academy certainly isn't the first series to depict people with special abilities, not many have done it in such a fun manner. The various of the Academy all have some pretty cool powers, though some are definitely more useful, and there are also some that make life incredibly difficult for the character wielding them.

With The Umbrella Academy now concluded, it's possible to assess which of the Hargreeves siblings (or the other superpowered characters in the show) truly had the best ability. The powers in the show had evolved and changed as the story progressed, so while some seemed pretty tame during the first season, by the end of season 4 they were a force to be reckoned with. Not only did these ever-changing powers keep viewers on their toes, it also meant that every single one of The Umbrella Academy powers had the potential to become more than first appeared.

14 Jayme

Hallucinogenic Venom

Unfortunately, someone has to rank at the bottom of any ranked list of The Umbrella Academy powers, and it's Jayme (played by Cazzie David). Introduced in season 3 as a member of the Sparrow Academy, Jayme has the ability to spit venom at someone and cause them to hallucinate. While this could definitely be a useful power, it's still incredibly weak compared to many of the abilities other characters in the show possess.

Jayme only uses her hallucinogenic venom a couple of times during The Umbrella Academy season 3, but it works on powerful people like Diego and Five. However, it's just not as useful as the abilities of others and is rarely seen. Jayme does well as a fighter in other ways though, evidenced by how she survived against Ben on the verge of death. While her power could have evolved into something more, Jayme unfortunately perishes before the true extent of her abilities can be discovered.

13 Christopher

Cold & Fear Inducement

Like Jayme, Christopher Hargreeves is a member of the Sparrow Academy and featured prominently in The Umbrella Academy season 3. Easily the most mysterious character on the show, Christopher is the Sparrow Academy's Number Seven. They're not human and are actually just a sentient telekinetic cube who doesn't speak, but can be understood by their siblings (presumably through some manner or telepathic communication).

They are shown to be able to manipulate the temperature of a room to make it freezing, and they have the ability to induce fear into the minds of others.

For the most part, Christopher's powers aren't totally seen. They are shown to be able to manipulate the temperature of a room to make it freezing, and they have the ability to induce fear into the minds of others. Christopher's powers also allow them to control the Kugelblitz for a short time as well.

Like many Sparrow Academy , Christopher wasn't in the show long enough for the full extent of their abilities to be shown, but it's entirely possible they could have become one of the most powerful characters given time. Unfortunately, since they weren't around for that long and didn't show their abilities much, they still ranked fairly low by the time The Umbrella Academy concluded.

12 Marcus

Super Strength

Marcus Hargreeves (played by Justin Cornwell) is another member of The Sparrow Academy, and was only present in four episodes of The Umbrella Academy. He also has one of the more generic The Umbrella Academy powers, and unless his abilities radically shifted somehow he'd still be seen as one of the relatively weaker individuals in the wider universe of the show.

Technically, Marcus Hargreeves of the Sparrow Academy has the same power as his Umbrella Academy counterpart, Luther. They're both Number One on their respective teams, but Marcus comes across as someone who commands more respect and is a better leader. That being said, Marcus ranks a bit lower because his powers weren't seen all that much. He bested Luther in a short fight but otherwise was barely seen using his abilities as he was the first major victim of the Kugelblitz.

11 Luther

Super Strength

One of the first powers audiences witness in The Umbrella Academy are those of Luther Hargreeves (Tom Hopper). Luther, like Sparrow-academy counterpart Marcus Hargreeves, has super strength. However, Luther's abilities also come with a downside - his body is incredibly malformed, giving him an almost apelike appearance from the neck down. He may officially be Number One and technically the leader of the Umbrella Academy, but that doesn't mean Luther is all that interesting when assessing his powers alone.

Luther's position at the top of the team may seem understandable considering that his super strength is certainly something that is beneficial for a leader. Ultimately, though, Luther's powers are kind of bland. Characters with super strength have been littered all throughout history, so it's nothing new and there's not much special to it. The most interesting or unique aspect surrounding it is the fact that he became ape-like after an experiment by his father, and his coolest scene was likely when he stopped a missile with his back.

10 Alphonso

Damage Reflection

Luther isn't the only character whose powers in The Umbrella Academy cause unfortunate changes to their physical appearance, as Sparrow Academy member Alphonso Hargreeves (played by Jake Epstein) bears an ever-growing number of scars thanks to his unique abilities. In a lot of ways, being able to reflect any physical damage sounds like an ideal power. Alphonso has this skill, taking vicious strikes from Luther, Diego, and more but always being able to send it back to hurt them.

His ability causes him to be scarred and deformed, and it's also not a foolproof power.

Alphonso was even able to get sliced by a knife and have it impact Stan. However, there are drawbacks here. His ability causes him to be scarred and deformed, and it's also not a foolproof power. For example, Diego was able to hurt him during their fight and when Harlan attacked, and he was killed with no problem. Also, given Alphono's appearance, it's a power that definitely raises questions over his abilities being a worthwhile trade-off, as a normal life outside the Sparrow Academy would be incredibly difficult.

9 Fei

Crow Control

There are many unique powers in The Umbrella Academy, but one that stands out more than most is that of Fei Hargreeves (Britne Oldford). Fei's power is that she can control crows. Not all wildlife, or even birds in general, but specifically and exclusively crows. The ability to control crows is an odd superpower and not one that is seen often in the world of comic books. The most notable pop culture character who could do this was likely Bran Stark from Game of Thrones. However, Fei uses it often to her advantage.

Fei might be blind, but she can also use the crows she controls to see. In fact, Fei's crows are a huge part of the first few episodes as they fly around and spy on various people. It allows Fei to see more than anyone else on the team and would've been quite useful if she stuck around longer. Fei's abilities also could have become much more powerful in the right circumstances, since there doesn't seem to be a limit on the number of crows she could control. If she had access to hundreds, or even dozens, of them, she would almost certainly be a force to be reckoned with.

8 Ben

Eldritch Tentacles

Ben Hargreeves (Justin H. Min) was one of the most mysterious characters in The Umbrella Academy seasons 1 and 2, since he was dead and only Klaus could communicate with him. As the show progressed, it emerged that Ben's powers were the ability to sprout eldritch tentacles from his stomach. On paper, being able to have eldritch tentacles burst from one's body seems like it's not much of a superpower. It reads like it would be painful and isn't a stereotypically useful power. However, that's really what makes it work, as it's something totally unexpected and it's surprisingly violent.

It looks even cooler when Ben possessed Klaus and used it during the season 1 finale.

Ben is already dead when the series begins, so this isn't a power that is seen often. When he uses it as a kid, the results are effective and bloody. It looks even cooler when Ben possessed Klaus and used it during the season 1 finale. The best moment with it came during the opening of season 2, as a ghost Ben busted it out to help his siblings. The Sparrow Academy version of Ben also used it successfully, and it continued to be one of the most helpful Umbrella Academy powers right up until the end of season 4.

7 Sloane

Gravity Manipulation

The most likable member of the Sparrow Academy is Sloane, who is instantly not as hostile as her siblings. She is even the one to fall in love with Luther and try to bring the two families together. Her power is gravity manipulation, which is handy.

Although Sloane doesn't show off her skills often, she's impressive when she does. While fighting in the season 3 premiere, Sloane is able to hold off and get the upper hand on some of the strongest of the Umbrella Academy.

6 Lila

Power Mimicry

Lila Pitts (Ritu Arya) is the one character with superpowers who wasn't a member of the Umbrella Academy or the Sparrow Academy. In fact, viewers didn't know she had any abilities until the season 2 finale. It was then that she first showed off the same powers as Viktor. Following this, however, she also displayed similar powers to those of Allison, Number Five, and every other member of the academy.

It soon emerged that Lila's power in The Umbrella Academy is the ability to mimic those around her. While it's a phenomenal skill when fighting others with powers, if she's not around them, the ability is kind of useless. Lila became a valued member of the team in season 3 because when she's with other powered individuals, she's incredibly dangerous. Lila's powers also evolved significantly in The Umbrella Academy season 4, as she gained a an unmimicked ability of her own — shooting laser beams from her eyes.

5 Diego

Trajectory Manipulation

Like Lila, Diego (David Castañeda) also had powers that evolved between The Umbrella Academy season's 1 and 4, though this was less notable since, for all intents and purposes, he had the same abilities, they just got stronger. At least when it came to season 1, Diego was the character who exuded the highest coolness factor. He carried himself with a rugged antihero-like toughness, and was out to be a hero.

Diego's was certainly one of the best Umbrella Academy powers for viewers, as it lent itself incredibly well to gripping action sequences. For example, when the entire Umbrella Academy taking part in a huge fight during season 1, Diego was seen leaping off of a tank and changing the direction of various bullets being shot at him to go back at the shooters. At first, audiences only thought he could throw knives and have them curve to go wherever he wants. Now, he has branched out to use his trajectory manipulation to also stop bullets, which is always visually spectacular to witness.