The Umbrella Academyis a unique take on the superhero genre that combines the traditional elements of comic book action with an in-depth exploration of family trauma. Its central characters are the Hargreeves family, each of whom sports a signature superpower to add something unique to the team. Diego, also known as Number 2, has undergone some interesting changes from the source material.
The Umbrella Academytreats itssuperpowers a bit differentlythan the average entry in the genre. Each family member’s superpower reflects their unique reaction to their disastrous upbringing. This means that Diego’s power is more than the way he handles physical combat, it’s also the way he interacts with the world around him.
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What are Diego’s powers inThe Umbrella Academy?
Diego Hargreeves has the power to manipulate the trajectory of moving objects with his mind. It’s best described as an extremely specific form of telekinesis. He can’t use his power to pick things up or make himself levitate, it only works on objects that are in motion when he exerts his will upon them.In the early episodes, the script describes Diego’s gift as the ability to curve the things he throws. He primarily uses this power to curve his throwing knives, allowing them an impossible degree of accuracy. Gradually, over the following seasons, Diego’s powers expand to allow for more interesting feats.
The first moment Diego’s power takes on a new dimension comes in the second season premiere. In the first moments of the second season, Five experiences a dark glimpse into the moments before the Hargreeves' family’s second apocalypse. This sequence depicts theUmbrella Academy at its best. Luther tanks a rocket launcher blast, Allison kills three men with a sentence, and Klaus summons an army of ghosts. Diego’s elevated iteration is surrounded by armed soviets, and he leaps into the air as they open fire. He’s able to redirect dozens of bullets that rapidly approach his body and accurately send them back toward his foes. He uses a similar technique to stop a wall of bullets in the finale. It’s clear that Diego can manipulate the arc of almost any moving object, which would allow him to be an extremely effective assassin.
Diego is clearly inspired by characters like Batman. Ostensibly, he’d be much more effective if he used guns instead of knives. He could act as a sniper, easily defeating foes before they even know he’s there. However, Diego doesn’t like guns and insists on meeting his enemies head-on. Even as a child, he admonishes a bank robber for carrying a firearm.Just like Batman, he hates gunsand loves throwing sharp objects. This fits his personality, as he’s the only member of the team that remains an edgy vigilante after the Academy falls apart. His power isn’t particularly flashy, and he often resorts to fighting hand-to-hand, making him the closest member of the team to the kind of street-level hero he was partially based on. However, this version of Diego differsgreatly from the source material.
Why is Diego called The Kraken inThe Umbrella Academy?
Fans of the Netflix series who haven’t read the comic book might know that in addition to a number and a name, each member of the family has a superhero name. Diego’s is “The Kraken,” which seems completely unrelated to his gimmick. It seems like a better namefor Diego’s brother Ben, but it fits the comic book iteration of the character better. In the comics, Diego’s power is the ability to hold his breath indefinitely. He can survive underwater without issue, allowing him a variety of unexpected strategies. His comic counterpart still throws knives as his primary method of combat, so the show simply elevated that trait to a full superpower. The show hasn’t put Diego in an underwater scene, so he could potentially have both powers, but, likely, he can’t hold his breath quite as well as he used to.
Diego’s power could make him an incredibly threatening figure. With a firearm, he could be one of the most effective assassins known to mankind. With some dedication, he could develop the ability to manipulate much larger objects. He could be a one-man military, capable of redirecting intercontinental ballistic missiles and changing the flow of global conflicts with his mind. However, like the rest of the Hargreeves family, Diego never reached his potential. As it stands, he’s the most capable hand-to-hand threat on the team anda perfectly proficient vigilante. Diego’s Batman routine slows down after he meets his new girlfriend and settles down, often leaving him a bit less useful than he was back in season one. He can change the arc of any object in motion, but his character arc has changed him just as much. We’ll have to see what Number 2 is capable of whenTheUmbrella Academyreturns for season four.
