With its quirky characters, gratuitous violence and witty humor, the Umbrella Academy quickly became one of my favorite shows of all time.

I got so into the show, I watched the first season 3 times. Now second season is about to start, and to commemorate it, I baked delicious sugar cookies and decorated them inspired by each one of the characters from the show.

You can find my favorite sugar cookie recipe here, and you can know all about how I cut cookies in any shape here.

Based on the comics created by Gerard Way (from My Chemical Romance fame) and illustrated by Gabriel Bá, this Netflix original series tells the story seven super powered children, adopted by an eccentric billionaire, who creates the Umbrella Academy and prepares them to save the world. But, things don’t go according to plan, between dad’s poor skills as a parent and the death of one of the children, family drama got to be too much, they disband and each went their separate way. There is until dad died under mysterious circumstances, they all came back for the funeral and now they have to work together to solve a mystery surrounding his death. But the estranged family once again begins to come apart due to their divergent personalities and abilities, not to mention the imminent threat of a global apocalypse.

Number 1: Luther

Luther was the only member of the Academy who did not leave, and continued to serve his dad. Sent on a mission to stop a biochemical threat, Luther is critically injured and his father is forced to use a serum to save his life. The serum gives Luther an ape-like physiology, greatly increasing his muscle mass and strength. In an effort to give him focus, his father sends him to live on the moon to watch out for threats.

Number 2: Diego

Diego is a rebellious, impulsive and brash individual with a tendency to show off. However, beneath his confident, cocky behavior lies a deeply insecure individual who desperately wants to prove himself. He has an inferiority complex towards his brother Luther. He has a deep emotional connection to his animatronic “mother”, more so than his siblings as she was the only one to express care towards him as an individual and helped him overcome his stutter.

Number 3: Allison

With the ability to influence people’s minds by prefacing any statement with “I heard a rumor”, Alison is a determined woman with a kind heart and strong values. Allison seemed to abuse her power of suggestion in her childhood and as a young adult, using it to advance her career, manipulate those around her, and even force someone to love her. This shows a deep insecurity in her, and her actions seem to haunt her consistently, causing her to act impulsively to avoid thinking about her regrets. She is strongly against using her power now, even when her life is endangered.

Number 4: Klaus

With the ability to speak to the dead, Klaus is a fun-loving person who enjoys a hedonistic lifestyle, and has rebelled against his father by refusing to be the hero he wanted him to be. As an unreliable, unrepentant drug addict, his opinion is often dismissed by his siblings. However, he is shown to have a deeper insight than assumed, and has even shown to be a voice of reason to his family’s impulsive decisions. It is revealed that the primary reason for his addiction is because powers cause him to be plagued by horrific, frightening visions of dead people who constantly call out to him. The drugs and alcohol are the only things that are able to subdue his powers and make the visions stop. He is very sarcastic, making jokes to deal with his trauma, much to the annoyance of those around him.

Number 5: Five

His ability is space-time manipulation. It allows him to travel through space and time and teleport objects without physical contact. At age 13, Number Five became trapped in the apocalyptic future for more than 60 years. When he found a way back, his body regressed to that of his 13-year-old self, while his mind stayed the same. As a result, he has the personality of a 60-year-old and is frustrated at being trapped in the body of a child. He is shown to have a genius intellect, often dismissing others, including his family, as stupid or inferior, and expressing disinterest in their personal affairs. He is also shown to be sarcastic, pragmatic and a ruthless killer.

Number 6: Ben

Ben possesses the ability to summon eldritch creatures through a portal to another dimension located in his body. In 2006, Ben died while on a mission, suffering a terrible fate. A statue of him was erected in the courtyard of the Umbrella Academy. However, Ben was not entirely gone. Klaus’ power to communicate with the dead allowed him to see and talk to Ben when he was sober. Klaus does not tell his siblings he talks with Ben.

Number 7: Vanya

Unlike her six adoptive siblings, Vanya seemingly has no superpowers. She had a talent for violin, and when she was an adult wrote an autobiography about her life as the ordinary member of The Umbrella Academy. When her father dies and she is forced to be reunited with her estranged family, things start to change.

Hazel and Cha-Cha

Time travel assassins Hazel and Cha-Cha are employees of an organization called The Commission. Their mission is to prevent Number Five from stopping the apocalypse.

Cha-Cha is a highly dangerous hitman, she is shown to have incredible strength and stamina, as well as having a high level of physical durability. She is a devoted employee and while she is also exasperated by the company’s constant cost cutting budgets, it has not wavered her loyalty to the organisation unlike her partner Hazel. 

During the course of their mission, Hazel falls in love with Agnes Rofa and grows increasingly disillusioned with his job. The overworked, underappreciated, and enthusiastic Hazel starts to dream more and more of a simpler life.

Grace

When Vanya was young, she had multiple nannies that she killed with her powers when they pressured her into doing something that she didn’t enjoy. Frustrated by the amount of nannies Vanya killed, Sir Reginald Hargreeves made Grace to be the perfect housewife and mother to the children of the Umbrella Academy. The children are very fond of Grace, referring to her as “Mom” through the series.