Most Annoying on ‘The Umbrella Academy:’ Luther or Vanya?

The Umbrella Academy hit small screens everywhere on February 15, 2019. Opening to strong critic and audience reviews alike, the show quickly developed a devout fanbase with viewers jumping to express their love – and disdain – for various members constituting the Hargreeves family.

Tasked with preventing the apocalypse after their dad mysteriously dies, seven siblings – all previously adopted by a now-deceased billionaire industrialist – must overcome their childhood traumas, join forces, and face reality. Or, more appropriately, face the fact that the reality they know may soon cease to be.

While there are many superhero siblings in the Hargreeves soiree worthy of praise – Klaus, Allison, Number Five, etc. – there are also a few in the mix who fans cannot stand. If you take to reading various forums and digital publications, you will find that fans tend to agree on one thing: Vanya and Luther (played by Ellen Page and Tom Hopper respectively) are the most annoying characters on the show. So, let’s analyze both, and try to determine which is more obnoxious.

Why fans of ‘The Umbrella Academy’ cannot stand Luther

Luther Hargreeves plays the only sibling who remained loyal to his father until death did them part. He, in the very first episode, assumes that one of his siblings murdered their father. When it came to making a good first impression, Luther missed the boat. As a matter of fact, he got on the wrong boat and continued sailing into risky waters (in terms of fan love).

From the get-go, Luther attempts to be the leader. However, though he may be “number one,” fans argue that he retains no leadership ability and – struggling to live up to the unreal expectations that his father placed on him – can never seem to put his own biases aside to do what leaders do best: heed the wise advice of those reporting to them. This, out of all Luther’s negative qualities, adds most to his “annoying” factor, as it is put on full display every other episode.

Luther also took a bit of hate when he locked up Vanya, which, if you think about it, could have been the very reason she lost her cool and catalyzed the apocalypse. If we’ve learned anything from years of superhero sagas, it’s always a genius idea to lock up the most powerful person. They definitely won’t escape and proceed to wreak havoc.

Imprisoning Vanya depicted Luther as utterly heartless and naive, as he followed in the footsteps of the very man who left him and all of his siblings traumatized.

Why fans of ‘The Umbrella Academy’ find Vanya annoying, and a bit unrealistic

Vanya grows up to be an emotionally detached loner who quickly falls for a deceptive manipulator…all because her sibling yelled at her to get out of her room? While the father tortured her by locking her up (a facet that cannot be denied), the show seems to fixate on Vanya’s turmoil resulting from her familial relationships. However, the question is: was her depression tied to being left out, or related to being ordinary?

Fans argue that too much emphasis on the latter makes the character feel unrealistic, as most of the world’s population is just ordinary. On the contrary, too much focus on being left out makes it seem like Vanya became volatile as a result of natural sibling rivalry, which also feels like a stretch.

Putting her familial treatment and torture aside, Vanya also lashes out at Allison for using her power to erase Vanya’s knowledge regarding her own. This scene feels completely unfair, as Allison was just a kid doing what her father said to do. No child would have denied these orders (especially with a father like Hargreeves).

Fans of the series also argue that Vanya grows to be a self-absorbed character, according to one Reddit user, and is overly focused on her emotional hardships when the fate of humankind is at stake.

Is Luther more obnoxious than Vanya, or does Vanya’s self-absorbed nature take the gold?

Luther was sent to the moon for no reason. Vanya was left out of family bonding, trapped in a basement, and lied to her entire life. Taking backstories into account, Luther seems to possess less foundation for being the way he is; thus, when push comes to shove, Luther has to be deemed worse, and more annoying, than Vanya.