Luther Hargreeves is one of the least interesting members of the Umbrella Academy in the hit Netflix show. Well, at least he's not the most interesting at first glance. He's the stereotypical image of a team leader, with a hapless vibe surrounding his attempts to bring his group together. Diego has the rebel look to him, Klaus is the crazy one, and even Vanya, the "just ordinary" kid, ends up being a surprise powerhouse. Luther falls by the wayside in comparison to his other adoptive siblings.
However, Luther's purportedly mundane character holds a lot of potential when you look at how he is described in the comic books. If you're a fan of The Umbrella Academy on Netflix, then you should give Luther's comic book origins some attention. He's not such a boring character after all. Read on if you want to know the ten best facts about Luther Hargreeves.
10 He Is The Youngest Person To Go To Space
The Netflix version of The Umbrella Academy just states that Luther's superhero name is "Spaceboy" without any explanation as to why. The only time you see Luther in space in the show is during his time on the moon, and he's well into his adult years at that point. It makes no sense that he'd be called "Spaceboy" while in his youth then.
The comic books give more depth and understanding to that moniker. As a kid, Luther always wanted to go to space, so much so that he became the youngest astronaut shortly afterward. Hence, the name "Spaceboy."
9 His Hair Is Pure White
In the comic books, Luther Hargreeves has blinding white hair, as in Albus Dumbledore or Daenerys Targaryen kind of white. This actually helps him stand apart from the rest of his adoptive siblings. No one could mistake him for anyone else with hair that blinding.
Inexplicably, the Netflix version of The Umbrella Academy altered Luther's original appearance. True, the white-blond look might have come across as outlandish, but the whole premise of the show is outlandish. Luther's hair would have fit right in with the rest of the craziness of the story.
8 Number Five Is Luther's Twin Brother
Now, this little tidbit might get revealed in the next season of The Umbrella Academy. Until then, consider this a piece of future knowledge courtesy of the comic book series.
In one of the story arcs, Luther finds out that he is the twin brother of Number Five, the time-traveling old-man-in-a-kid-body member of the Academy. All of the members of the Umbrella Academy are the same age, given that they were born on the same day. But it is revealed that not only do Number One and Number Five share the same birthday, they also share the same mom.
7 He Is Extremely Durable
Often, in action and adventure movies, the main character will get tossed around like a ragdoll, but he will emerge from his experiences unscathed. Seriously, how many times have you seen this and thought to yourself, "No real human could survive that?" Well, in Luther Hargreeves' case, he totally could.
One of his special abilities is durability. He can withstand bodily impacts and abrasions more readily than the average human. So, for example, when that chandelier fell on top of him in the show, he survived thanks to his special trait of durable skin, bones, and muscles.
6 His Body Is Not An Earth Gorilla
A huge surprise on the show occurred when it was revealed that Luther's body was turned into the body of a gorilla. That's startling enough. Can you believe that the comic books upped the shock factor times ten? It wasn't just a regular, old ape body that Luther's head rests upon. Sir Reginald Hargreeves replaced Luther's original body with the body of a Martian Ape.
You read that right. A Martian Ape. This is not only astounding because Luther's head was sewn upon an ape instead of just being injected with ape-making serum. It's astounding because, in the comic version of The Umbrella Academy, there are gorillas on Mars.
5 He Is Super Strong
Luther's special abilities are not limited to tough skin: he is also incredibly strong. Even prior to having his head attached to a Martian Ape's body, Luther showcased amazing superhuman strength. His punches could send bad guys flying into the air. He could crash through the solid walls of buildings instead of using regular, ordinary doors.
We bet if he tried to pull off a superhero landing, he could do it and leave a crater on the ground while he's at it. The Netflix version of The Umbrella Academy definitely manages to demonstrate Luther's superior strength.
4 He Was Sir Reginald Hargreeves' Favorite Child
Sir Reginald Hargreeves kept extensive notes on the kids he adopted. At times, it seemed like they were more science experiments than adopted children to him. In some of the notes Reginald wrote about Luther Hargreeves specifically, Sir Reginald mentioned how he thought of Luther as his favorite. This puts a whole new spin on Luther's role as leader of the Academy.
However, in the show, you never really get the sense that Sir Reginald had any favorites among his children. He viewed them all with that same level of detachment. Maybe a future season will dive further into this subject matter.
3 He Lived On The Moon By Choice
One of the most tragic moments for Luther on the show was when he found out that his long mission to the moon did not matter. Sir Reginald Hargreeves sent him there just to keep him busy. So while Luther was under the impression he was assisting on a serious assignment, Sir Reginald was stuffing Luther's research under floorboards.
In the comic books, the situation was less dramatic. Luther lived on the moon by choice. After the Umbrella Academy fell apart, he decided to live up there full-time. The Netflix version of the series sure picked the more emotionally-damaging storyline.
2 Luther Views Himself As Too Ugly For The Rumor To Love
This particular fact is true in both the Netflix series and in the comic books. After his original body was damaged and he took on the form of an ape (Martian or otherwise), Luther thought of himself as disgusting. He considered himself a monster.
The crush he shared with his adoptive sister, Allison Hargreeves, was therefore doomed. He could in no way picture himself with her looking the way he did. In both versions, Luther took consolation in the fact that he was removed from her company by his time on the moon.
1 He Was Described As Ruthless And Inhuman
In the comics, Sir Reginald Hargreeves was super descriptive in his notes regarding his adopted children. When writing down observations about Luther, Sir Reginald described him as "ruthless" and "inhuman." This was part of what influenced Sir Reginald to name Luther the leader of the group and to look on him as his favorite.
This is a marked departure from the Luther we know in the Netflix series. In the show, Luther is perhaps one of the kinder members of the Academy—not as cruel as Diego and not as deranged as Klaus. His floundering attempts to keep the group together come across as wonderfully human.