WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for October Faction Season 1, streaming now on Netflix.
As with many comic book adaptations, Netflix's October Faction doesn't stick to the source material writer Steve Niles and artist Damien Worm put out for IDW Publishing. In fact, a lot of liberties have been taken to create a much more expanded universe for Netflix as the series branches out into something more than just a family hunting monsters to make cash, as they were in the initial 18-issue run.
This story, which is from showrunner Damian Kindler, connect the hunters to a larger global mission with a lot more politics and red tape involved. With that in mind, let's look at some of the big changes made for the 10 episodes comprising Season 1.
PRESIDIO'S EXISTENCE
In the show, Presidio is the sinister government agency the Allen family is working for. It existed before America officially became a country and has now expanded all across the world, kind of like the Men in Black. Except they hunt creatures of the night and deal with supernatural problems, not aliens. Samuel Allen's sons, Seth and Fred, worked for them, with Fred marrying Deloris, making them the most elite agents in the business.
In the comics, Presidio doesn't exist, and the Allen family are just hunting to make a living. As the series progresses, they're struggling to make ends meet. Fred teaches at a local university in New York while Deloris does odd jobs, hunting when the opportunity arises. There's no fancy globe-trotting job either, as they stick to the locale for their kills, which usually come hunting them and their kids.
ALICE'S MISSION
In the show, Alice Harlow (Maxim Roy) is the mom of the twins Fred and Deloris stole, Viv and Geoff, and she wages war on Presidio to get them back. She also wants to resurrect the warlocks the agency killed off in a genocidal act decades before.
There's no Alice in the books, however, nor is there a Harlow commune where innocent monsters were slaughtered. The kids were found by Fred and his partner Lucas during a raid, and the former decided to raise them after killing the vamps and werewolves holding them. We never found out who their mom was. However, Lucas was a werewolf too, and Fred tried hard to find a mystical cure for his cancer, but this was left out the series as well.
THE FAMILY DYNAMIC
The Allens more or less have a happy dynamic until it's revealed Alice really mothered the kids in the first place. Of course, there are also several issues Fred has with his parents, Samuel and Maggie (who were both Presidio) and his brother Seth, whom the vampire Moshe killed, which drove Fred to become a hunter. Also, the kids don't become aware of their parents being hunters until the Alice drama plays off.
This doesn't happen in the books as Fred is the only Allen from his bloodline involved in a self-contained story about an old hunter trying to stave off retirement and poverty. As for Deloris, admittedly, she is accused of cheating on him, whereas in the series, Fred is the one who cheats with a Presidio exec, Hannah, for a reason we never find out. Also, the comics give the family a maid called Saunders while several ghosts live in the house, both of which don't happen in the show. In the comics, the kids know about hunting from the start and train on a consistent basis. They're also white, as well as Deloris.
DANTE AKA ROBOT FACE
In the show, Dante is a prisoner, whom Samuel brought home and used warlock magic on. This was to bring Seth's soul back, but while it was successful, it damaged his face and Samuel worked on cybernetic replacements to create this Robot Face.
The comics have a different Dante, as that Robot Face was found by Fred as a test subject for a sick group of scientists. Fred killed these "parents" and their robot siblings, though he locked Robot Face away out of pity. Deloris freed him, and he eventually joined the family after initially trying to get revenge on them.
THE PHIL DRAMA
In the show, Geoff strikes up a gay romance with a football player, Phil, from school. Phil, an Indian kid, was closeted and bullied Geoff, but eventually, amid all the teen drama, they become a couple. Phil finds out in the finale Geoff's family has a dark side.
In the comics, Phil, Geoff and Viv are all white (as there's not that many people of color in the comics apart from Lucas), but there also isn't as much drama between Phil and Geoff. They don't bully each other that often, but Geoff's secret comes to haunt Phil after they hook up. Vampires attacked and turned Phil, which leads to Geoff keeping him in his room in a coffin. Also, Phil killed a few people in a car accident in the books and is haunted by them, while in the series, his unrequited love died and haunted him following a car crash early on.
OTHER NOTABLE CHANGES
The town's Sheriff Gina and her partner, Moshe, are all new faces as well as they're not in the book. The TV series omits key villains, though, such as the warlock Merle, and his demonic family. The Erl-King is another villain left out, as well as Erik the Ghoul.
The Goat Man isn't in the show either, as not much is pulled from the sequel comics, Deadly Season and Supernatural Dreams. This is where Geoff perfected his teleportation skills while Viv honed her pyrokinesis. It's worth noting, in the show, their powers are weaker: Geoff can just tell the truth, while Viv can only summon the dead and see the future. In addition, both can use telekinesis a bit like Alice. A second season does leave room for these aspects to enter the fray, though.
Created by Damian Kindler, The October Faction is produced by High Park Entertainment and IDW Entertainment. The ten-episode first season stars Tamara Taylor, J.C. Mackenzie, Aurora Burghart, Gabriel Darku, Wendy Crewson, Megan Follows and Stephen McHattie. Season 1 is currently available on Netflix.