The Umbrella Academy saw Vanya go through a major transformation when her powers were unleashed, and when they got out of control, they made her glow white – and here’s why. Based on the comic book series by Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá, The Umbrella Academy debuted on Netflix in February 2019 and was an instant success, surpassing one of the streaming giant’s most popular titles, so it’s not surprising that it was renewed for a second season a couple of weeks later. The Umbrella Academy season 2 arrived in July 2020, and fans are now waiting for the third season to drop.
The Umbrella Academy follows the Hargreeves, seven adopted siblings who along with other 36 babies were born on the same day, at the same time, and to women who weren’t pregnant when the day began. After hearing about this curious event, scientist and billionaire Sir Reginald Hargreeves set out to adopt as many of those babies as he could, but only got seven of them. As they began to develop unique superpowers, Reginald trained them and formed the team “The Umbrella Academy”, but as he wasn’t the best father, the Hargreeves ended up parting ways. The siblings reunited years later for Reginald’s funeral and to stop the apocalypse, which turned out to be triggered by their supposedly powerless sister Vanya (Elliot Page).
Vanya grew up believing she was the only one in the team without powers and as such was left behind by her siblings, but she found solace in playing the violin. During The Umbrella Academy season 1, it was revealed that Vanya is actually the most powerful and thus most dangerous one of the team, and as Reginald couldn’t find a way to help her control her powers, he began to medicate her and used her sister, Allison (Emmy Raver-Lampman), to make her believe she was ordinary. When she finally unleashed and embraced her true potential, Vanya went through a big transformation, not only on the inside but also physically, with her eyes and skin turning pale white, and she had a strange, white glow coming out of her.
Her transformation was completed when in season 1 her violin and suit also turned white, which is when her powers (and chaotic energy) reached their peak. In the comic books, Vanya is transformed into the White Violin, which turns her completely white and gives her body the appearance of a violin. However, in The Umbrella Academy season 2, the glow is less intense and her clothes weren’t white either, so the white glow was most likely the show’s way of representing the strength of her powers, as well as how little control she had over them, as it also turned her clothes and violin white. In season 2, Vanya had more control over what she can do, and this is shown through the intensity of the glow and how her clothes didn’t change at all.
It’s important to remember that even though Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy is based on the comic books, it’s not a carbon copy of them, and it has taken a lot of liberties in order to bring the characters and their powers to life in the most realistic way possible. This is why Vanya’s transformation into the white violin and how she displays her powers had to be represented differently than in the comics, and the best way to do so was through a white glow that changes its intensity depending on how much control Vanya has over her powers.
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