Diksha Sundriyal
‘The Umbrella Academy’ is the story of a group of people who were born under mysterious circumstances with superpowers of equally strange origin. Based on the graphic novel of the same name, the Netflix show became an instant hit on its release. It was praised for its mind-bending plot twists and a fresh take on the time travel and superhero genre. Despite its twists and turns, it was the characters that resonated with the audience. The complicated dynamics of the family and the issue of being accepted and rejected by them are the focal points of every character in the show.
While every member of the Umbrella Academy feels out of place in their dysfunctional family, it is Seven who feels the most alienated. Over the course of the first two seasons, they are reunited with their siblings and develop a deep bond with some of them. However, it is in the third season that they fully come into their own. In the second episode of Season 3, when Diego calls them Vanya, they correct him and reveal that they’d like to be addressed as Viktor because that’s who they have always been. What does this mean for the character? Here’s what you should know about Viktor Hargreeves.
Is Viktor Hargreeves a Trans Man?
Yes, Viktor is a trans man in ‘The Umbrella Academy’. The on-screen transition came on the heels of actor Elliot Page’s real-life coming out as a trans man. The actor who portrays the extremely powerful apocalypse-inducing superhero in the show shared the news of their transition with the world through an Instagram post in December 2020.
This change marks an important development for Page’s character, who had been closed off and held back since the beginning. In the first season of the show, Seven (then called Vanya) was shut off by the rest of the Umbrella Academy after publishing a book about their personal experiences and revealing the secrets of the academy. This shunning from the family eventually results in Seven causing the apocalypse and the group traveling back in time to the 60s.
Entering a new timeline with no memories of their past, Vanya builds a new life for themselves. They meet Sissy and fall in love with her. It is with her that they feel fully accepted and loved. Their previous relationships, be it with their family or with their boyfriend, who turned out to be a psychopath, had been strained, to say the least. They always felt judged and a severe lack of understanding on everyone’s part before, as well as, after the truth about their powers was revealed. Being with Sissy made them feel loved and see themselves for who they truly are.
After averting the apocalypse, once again, in the second season, the Umbrella Academy jumps into time, once again. Vanya is forced to leave Sissy behind, knowing that they will never meet again. While being sad to lose the love of their life, Vanya realizes that it is time to come out of the box that they have been living in their entire life. They feel liberated enough to accept their reality and brave enough to share it with their family. They get a haircut and change their name to Viktor. While these might seem like small steps, they are actually very significant strides in the story of the character.
Feeling more comfortable in his skin, Viktor becomes more confident and even decides to take the reins of the group when it feels like no one is rising up to the occasion. Viktor’s revelation is received well, albeit a bit awkwardly by some. The entire family shows their love and support for him, which further adds to his joy. And in the end, that is what Viktor had always been looking for, being accepted by the family and finding a place of his own amongst them.
Read More: Why Did Vanya Become Viktor in The Umbrella Academy, Explained
