Allison Hargreeves

"I heard a rumor..."

—Allison Hargreeves^[src]

Allison Hargreeves is one of the forty-three children born on the same day in 1989, to a mother without any previous signs of pregnancy. She was one of seven adopted as a baby by Sir Reginald Hargreeves who's intention was training them to save the world. Ranked by their individual usefulness, Allison was Hargreeves' Number Three with the ability to influence events by prefacing any statement with "I heard a rumor." Allison is played by Emmy Raver-Lampman in the Netflix adaptation of The Umbrella Academy.

BiographyEdit

As a child, she was used by her father for her powers. He forced her to use her ability to make Vanya forget she also had powers and placed a psychological block on her mind that made her believe she was only normal. This is a major plot point in the series. She had a romantic relationship with Luther throughout her life, beginning at young age, but continuing after they met again at Reginald Hargreeves's funeral (Episode 1).

Prior to the series, she married Patrick, on whom it is implied she used her powers to initiate their relationship: 'I heard a rumor that you love me'. She has a daughter named Claire with Patrick.

Her marriage broke down after Patrick witnessed Allison using her powers on their daughter, after which he gained full custody of Claire. In this way especially it is clear that Allison began abusing her powers for personal gain and ease of life, her awareness of which acts as a motivator for her behaviour, particularly towards Vanya, throughout the season.

PersonalityEdit

Allison is a determined woman with a kind heart and strong values. She has displayed her kind-heartedness on many occasions, particularly with her sister Vanya. She welcomed Vanya home, despite the book she wrote and even stated that she was glad Vanya had come.

Allison is also a very emotional woman, often being driven out of her feelings instead of rationalizing, such as when she went to confront Harold Jenkins on her own. She can also have the tendency to have outbursts at those who catch her in a bad mood. However, she is not completely hysterical, as she does give thought to her actions and reflects heavily, most notably on the use of her power. After being caught using it on her daughter and losing custody, she seemed to swear off using it, refusing to do it even during a confrontation with Cha-Cha, a highly skilled assassin.

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, even when her life is endangered. As seen where she shed tears when Vanya began to lose control, begging her not to make her use her power.

Despite everything, Allison has a deep love for her siblings. She goes especially out of her way to show love toward Vanya, seemingly as a way to make up for the cruel way she treated her as a child. She even forgives Vanya instantly after she almost kills her, and smiles warmly at her during her concert.

Powers and AbilitiesEdit

• Mental Manipulation: By prefacing a statement with "I heard a rumor," Allison can compel people do whatever she desires. Although she initially abused her power by using it for personal gain, her ex-husband, Patrick caught her using the ability on her daughter, Claire and she realized her use had been exploitative and stopped using it unless she had to. However, in order for her power to have effect she must be close enough to a subject that they can hear her.

RelationshipsEdit

Patrick and ClaireEdit

Allison was married to Patrick, and they have a daughter named Claire. After Patrick witnessed Allison using her power on Claire, he filed for divorce. Patrick received full custody of Claire.

It was later revealed that Allison had used her powers on Patrick to start their relationship, hinting that he may have not had any actual romantic feelings for her.

Luther HargreevesEdit

As well as being adopted siblings, there is also a strongly-implied romantic attraction between Luther and Alison Hargreeves, who are portrayed as childhood sweethearts who never got over one another.

Differences Between ComicsEdit

• In the show, Allison's powers can influence peoples thoughts, feelings and actions and thus chooses to (unlike the comics) become an actor. In the comics, she can slightly alter reality; when she visits a store that's out of a desired item, she uses her powers and it appears.
• The show depicts Allison's romance with Luther as a long-standing legitimate attraction, while the comic implies she is using her powers to manipulate Luther in order to cope with her divorce. Contrary to the comics, she is portrayed in the show as much more compassionate and far less deliberately manipulative.
• Alison's appearance also differs from her comic book counterpart who has lighter skin and shoulder-length purple hair.

GalleryEdit

ReferencesEdit