It’s a kugelblitz!
The Umbrella Academy is Netflix's oddest take on the superhero genre to date. Based on the Dark Horse graphic novels written by Gerard Way and illustrated by Gabriel Bá, it considers a question rarely asked by comic book series about those who grow up with superpowers. Namely, how screwed up are these kids once they hit adulthood? The answer is very, according to The Umbrella Academy. The show features a set of superpowered people who have super emotional issues. But after two seasons, the Hargreeves siblings seem to have gotten their heads on straight. So how will The Umbrella Academy Season 3 screw them up this time?
When The Umbrella Academy debuted in 2019, it was just after Netflix officially canceled the last of its collaboration with Marvel TV. The proximity of Marvel's demise with Netflix to the Dark Horse Comics show's premiere drew inevitable comparisons. But it also felt like Netflix had made a choice: Why traffic in standard, middle-of-the-road superheroes when you could go super off-the-wall instead?
The audience seemed to agree. In April 2019, Netflix announced The Umbrella Academy drew in 45 million viewers in its first month. Season 2 seems to have also been just as popular, with Variety reporting it as the most-streamed series in August 2020. Independent research group Nielsen confirmed the series was the streamer's biggest show in August by an order of magnitude.
With Season 3 almost upon us in 2022, here's what we know about it so far:
The Umbrella Academy Season 3 Plot
Here’s Season 3’s official synopsis:
After putting a stop to 1963’s doomsday, the Umbrella Academy return home to the present, convinced they prevented the initial apocalypse and fixed this godforsaken timeline once and for all. But after a brief moment of celebration, they realize things aren’t exactly (okay, not at all) how they left them. Enter the Sparrow Academy. Smart, stylish, and about as warm as a sea of icebergs, the Sparrows immediately clash with the Umbrellas in a violent face-off that turns out to be the least of everyone’s concerns. Navigating challenges, losses, and surprises of their own – and dealing with an unidentified destructive entity wreaking havoc in the Universe (something they may have caused) — now all they need to do is convince Dad’s new and possibly better family to help them put right what their arrival made wrong. Will they find a way back to their pre-apocalyptic lives? Or is this new world about to reveal more than just a hiccup in the timeline?
The Umbrella Academy Season 3 Episode Titles
On June 8, 2021, as part of Netflix’s “Geeked Week,” series co-creator Steve Blackman revealed the complete list of episode titles:
- Episode 1: “Meet the Family”
- Episode 2: “World’s Biggest Ball of Twine”
- Episode 3: “Pocket Full of Lightning”
- Episode 4: “Kugelblitz”
- Episode 5: “Kindest Cut”
- Episode 6: “Marigold”
- Episode 7: “Auf Wiedersehen”
- Episode 8: “Wedding at the End of the World”
- Episode 9: “Six Bells”
- Episode 10: “Oblivion”
Some observations: Episode 4’s title, “Kugelblitz,” is a term in astrophysics that means “a radiation-formed black hole.” Episode 6’s title, “Marigold,” for those who haven’t read the comics, references the energy source that gave the siblings their powers. The finale title could reference another apocalypse, or Hotel Oblivion, which the siblings create as a prison for their enemies.
The Umbrella Academy Season 3 Premiere Date
As part of the SXSW panel on March 13, 2022, showrunner Steve Blackman officially revealed The Umbrella Academy Season 3’s premiere date. The teaser, which followed on Instagram, shows the Umbrellas versus the Sparrows, as both teams ready for the inevitable fight.
The Umbrella Academy Season 3 will arrive on Netflix will all episodes on Wednesday, June 22, 2022.
The Umbrella Academy Season 3 will arrive on Netflix will all episodes on Wednesday, June 22, 2022. Seasons 1 and 2 are streaming on Netflix.
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