One of the best modern superhero shows ended last year after four seasons, and it’s the perfect replacement forThe Boysas it nears its end. The rise of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the DC Extended Universe (and now the DC Universe) made way for other, darker superhero stories in both film and TV.
One of the most successful and popular modern superhero shows is Prime Video’sThe Boys, based on the comic book of the same name by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson.The Boyspremiered in 2019 and has stood out for the themes addressed in it, its graphic violence, and dark sense of humor.
At the time of writing,The Boysis preparing for its fifth and final season, and though it already has a couple of spinoffs, it’s going to leave a void that will be hard to fill. However,the perfect replacement forThe Boysalready exists over at Netflix, and it’s also a dark superhero story that ended in 2024 after four seasons.
The Umbrella Academy Is Another Dark Superhero Story
The Umbrella Academy Covered Serious Topics
In 2019,The Umbrella Academywas released on Netflix. Developed by Steve Blackman,The Umbrella Academyfollowed the title team of superheroes formed by seven adopted siblings. On October 1st, 1989, 43 women around the world who weren’t pregnant when the day began gave birth at the same time. Of course, this event attracted a lot of attention worldwide.
After learning about these strange births, eccentric scientist and billionaireSir Reginald Hargreeves (Colm Feore) set out to adopt as many of those children as he could. Reginald adopted seven of them, and as they all had unique superpowers, he trained them and formed the superhero team The Umbrella Academy, sending them on different missions since they were kids.
However, asReginald wasn’t a good father,the Hargreeves children parted ways as years went by, starting with Five (Aidan Gallagher), who used his time travel and teleportation powers and jumped too far into the future, getting trapped in a post-apocalyptic future. The rest of the Hargreeves left one by one years later, with only Luther (Tom Hopper) staying with Reginald.
Luther continued to go on missions until he almost died during one, with Reginald saving him with a serum that gave him the torso of an ape, after which Reginald sent him to the moon.The show kicked off with Reginald’s death, which brought the Hargreeves back together for his funeral, after which Five surprisingly returned after years of being missing.
The darkness ofThe Umbrella Academyisn’t in the team trying to stop the end of the world, but in the topics it covered.
Five returned to warn his siblings about the apocalypse and with hopes that they could prevent it, and so the show saw the Hargreeves trying to leave the past behind and save the world. The darkness ofThe Umbrella Academyisn’t in the team trying to stop the end of the world, but in the topics it covered throughout its four seasons.
The Umbrella Academycovered generational trauma, abandonment, mental health, substance-use disorder, and identity (in different ways), with each of the Hargreeves dealing with deep trauma and personal issues. Even thoughThe Umbrella Academyhad a good dose of comedy, its serious topics further helped ground the show in reality.
The Umbrella Academy Is Also Based On Comic Books
The Umbrella Academy Comic Books Are Very Different
Just asThe Boysis based on comic books, so isThe Umbrella Academy. Created by Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá, the first volume ofThe Umbrella Academy,Apocalypse Suite, was released between September 2007 and February 2008. Volume 2,Dallas, was released between November 2008 and April 2009, followed byHotel Oblivionbetween October 2018 and June 2019.
Volume 4: Plan Bwas released on Jul 26, 2025, and it served as the main storyline for the show’s third season, with elements fromHotel Oblivion.The Umbrella Academyalso has spinoffs, one-shots, and short stories, butthe style of the comic books is very different from that of the show, as the latter is a lot more grounded and realistic.
The Umbrella Academy Is A Different Take On Superheroes In The Real World
Two Different Superhero Worlds
BothThe BoysandThe Umbrella Academyare a look at what the world would be like if superheroes were real, as both aimed for as much realism as possible. However, they have different perspectives and ways of exploring a world with superheroes.In the world ofThe Boys, superheroes work for a powerful company and are treated as heroes and celebrities.
However, because of this,the Supes abuse their powers and care more about personal gainthan helping the world, leading to the formation of a team of vigilantes that go against them.The Umbrella Academy, on the other hand, is more personal.
The Umbrella Academy focused more on their personal issues and journeys and how being superheroes affected them over the years.
The 43 marigold children were the only superpowered people, and though the Hargreeves kids were celebrities too at some point, the show focused more on their personal issues and journeys and how being superheroes affected them over the years.Both deal with dark and serious topics, but they do so in different ways.
The Umbrella Academy & The Boys Complement Each Other
They Offer Different Perspectives On A World With Superheroes
Despite their different takes on modern superheroes,The BoysandThe Umbrella Academycomplement each other.The Boysfocused on the media and corporations, and the influence these have on society, though all these were explored through superheroes with different personalities and mentalities, and the vigilantes going against them.
The Umbrella Academywas more personal, focusing more on the trauma and strugglesof each member and their dynamics and relationships. Surely,The Umbrella Academyalso showed how these affected their surroundings and the way they save the world, but the show gave a more personal and deeper look at superheroes, whileThe Boysis more about their impact, thus complementing each other.
The Umbrella Academy Ended After Four Seasons
The Umbrella Academyended in 2024 after four seasons, and, unfortunately, the final season wasn’t the best. With just six seasons,The Umbrella Academyseason 4 rushed to answer as many questions left by the previous seasons as it could, but it failed to properly explore those answers and, ultimately, left more questions.
However, despite its weak and divisive ending,The Umbrella Academyis still worth checking out for its unique look at a world with superheroes, with as much realism as possible but without losing the essence of its source material.The Umbrella Academyalso has relatable, charming, and fun characters that make the stories a lot more engaging and entertaining.
The Umbrella Academybalances drama, action, suspense, and comedy quite well and gave its characters the development they deserved (though some of them took some steps backward in the final season), and it earned its spot among the best modern superhero TV shows.
