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This article is about Diego Hargreeves from the Netflix series. You may be looking for the Kraken from the Dark Horse comics.

"Everyone changes the world. Everyone. And it’s scary, but that’s kinda the deal."
—Diego Hargreeves[src]

Diego Hargreeves (originally Number Two) was a stubborn, aggressive, and self-critical member of the Umbrella Academy, and one of the superpowered children conceived by the Marigolds. He was a vital part of the team on their apocalypse-preventing missions through time, and possessed the ability to manipulate the trajectory of projectiles in midair, with his primary weapon being throwing knives.

As the only Academy member to become an independent vigilante following the team's initial disbanding, Diego was constantly trying to live up to the impossible standards of his father, whom he resented. He eventually met and fell in love with Lila Pitts, who joined the team and allowed Diego to emotionally grow in ways he couldn't previously.

Biography[]

Childhood[]

Diego was born in northern Mexico on October 1, 1989. His mother, Elena,[2] was one of 43 women to give birth on that day with no signs of pregnancy at the start of the day. Diego, along with six other children, and was adopted by Sir Reginald Hargreeves and raised as part of the Umbrella Academy.[1]

Diego always liked knives and preferred them over guns, as a child he used to be a trouble maker with Klaus Hargreeves. As adults, the two recall how Klaus tripped wearing Grace's high heels, thus breaking his jaw and as a result he couldn't speak for 8 "glorious weeks." They used to huff paint fumes in the academy. Diego also told Klaus licking a 9 volt battery would give him pubes when they were 8 years old. Ben Hargreeves reprogrammed Allison Hargreeves's Teddy Bear with Diego being complicit; when Diego meets the ghost of his deceased brother in Klaus body claiming he is Ben, Diego thinks Klaus is high but Ben proves it by saying the phrase "Luther sniffs dad's underwear".

Diego had the closest relationship with "mom" who helped him with his stutter. Diego developed a fear of needles that carried on until adulthood possibly after frequently being tested by Sir Reginald or Pogo, their caretaker. Not even Grace could help him with his fear of needles when Pogo was tattooing an umbrella on his wrist, as Grace attempted to comfort him but he pushed her away.

Leaving the Umbrella Academy[]

Diego left the academy as soon as he turned 18 years old and instead joined the police academy where he likely met then girlfriend Eudora Patch. Diego was kicked out of the police academy and later became a vigilante which put him at odds with Patch, then a detective, who was still going by the rules. Their relationship was said to be brief and ended for unknown reasons, although they remained friends.

Reginald's death[]

On March 21st 2019, Diego saves a family from a home invasion. At the end of the operation, Diego sees on the family's TV that his adoptive father, Reginald Hargreeves, died. Diego then decides to go home. There, he finds his adoptive mother Grace with Reginald's monocle and takes it from her, fearing that his siblings might blame her for Reginald's death. Allison arrives after him and some time after, followed by the arrival of Viktor. Diego asks why Viktor came because he doesn't belong there after betraying them by telling all their secrets in his book, but Allison defends their brother and takes the opportunity to mock Diego's outfit. Diego answers that at least, he's wearing black contrary to Allison who wears a blue shirt. Later, when sitting in the living room, Diego hears music and starts dancing in secret. But the dancing session stops when a lightning storm strike outside. Heading into the courtyard, he and his siblings watch as Number Five re-appears through a temporal anomaly after 17 years of disappearance.

At Reginald's funeral, Diego reminds the family of what a terrible father Sir Reginald was; Allison calls him out for this and he responds by saying he is not Diego he is number two as their father couldn't be bothered to give them real names and had Grace give them names. Diego continues by saying the world is a better place without their father in it. Luther tells Diego to stop and Diego reminds him how Reginald sent him to the moon because he couldn't stand the sight of him. This leads Luther to start a fight with Diego, Diego dodges his punch and instead Luther accidentally destroys Ben's statue. Diego pulls out one of his knives and cuts Luther. Diego realizes he has gone too far and is called out by Viktor telling him he never knows when to stop, which causes Diego to sarcastically asks him if now he has material for the sequel of his book. Diego then escorts a disoriented Grace who is malfunctioning.

Allison and Luther think it's time to shut down Grace, Diego disagrees claiming Grace has real feelings, Klaus and Viktor agree with Diego.

Diego and Viktor discuss how all these sweet words Grace told them as children were hers or programmed by Reginald, Diego believes Grace has evolved and these were really her words, mostly because their father only cared about himself.

Diego still questions Grace in private about it and tells her he understands if she wanted to hurt Reginald as he was horrible to her too, Grace defends him saying he was a great man which angers Diego and he tells her she has to feel something, to no avail.

However after they are attacked by two masked killers and Grace says she didn't hear anything and is sewing her own hand, a heartbroken Diego who struggles to talk because of his stuttering mercy kills Grace.

Diego seeks comfort in Patch, who is sorry to hear about his mother, Diego also tells her about the people that attacked them. After Klaus is kidnapped by the masked killers Patch gets involved and finds a lead that can help Diego find his brother, however Diego isn't responding to her calls, Patch goes alone to save Klaus and is shot in the back by Chacha one of the masked killers dying instantly, Diego arrives late and cries when he finds Patch's body, he is blamed and arrested for her murder.

Diego manages to get out of jail but is still hellbent on revenge, Klaus tags along with Diego and they bond over their losses, Klaus tells him about his boyfriend Dave that died, Diego tells him he's lucky, at least he can still see people when they die. Diego urges his brother to sober up, Klaus listens and tells him to tie him up which confuses Diego, Klaus tells him there's no other way for him to get sober so Diego ties him up.

Diego returns to the house to find Grace "alive" again, Pogo restored her, Diego takes her out for a walk as she was never allowed outside the house. Diego tells Grace she can do whatever she wants to do. They go for a walk and Grace admits to Diego she and Pogo have been lying to all of them back but before she can finish this day is erased by Five. Making Diego forget their conversation and that Grace was alive, while Grace tends Five's wounds Diego tells Allison it's surreal that Grace is back.

Diego finds Hazel talking to Five and brutally attacks him thinking he killed Patch but it was his partner Chacha, Five knocks out Diego to break up the fight and tells him he needs to clear his brother's name, Hazel is retiring from the commission and gladly helps double crossing Chacha. Diego wakes up confused, Five asks him what he liked about Patch, Diego only mentions physical attributes so Five asks him something less shallow he liked about her, Diego mentions Patch was a good person that saw the good in people (hinting at himself too) regardless of all the corruption she saw, Five tells Diego that then she wouldn't want him killing people to avenge her.

Meanwhile Viktor discovers his powers and almost kills Allison in the process cutting her throat, Allison needs blood and Diego offers himself to do it since Luther can't as he has Pogo's DNA, however he passes out as soon as Grace pulls out the needle, Pogo tells her to stick him while he is passed out. Allison recovers, although she can't speak she agrees with Diego and Klaus that they can't keep Viktor locked up writing it in paper. However Luther ignores them saying this is the best they can do.

Viktor breaks out using his powers and almost kills Diego and Klaus, he destroys the house but Klaus saves him, or so he believes, Diego tries to go after Grace who waves and blows a kiss at them as the house completely falls apart, Klaus stops Diego telling him she's gone. They discuss what to do to stop Viktor, there Diego learns it was Ben's ghost that saved him, not Klaus. Five suggests killing Viktor, Diego disagrees saying he's their family but Five says it's one life over billions and Viktor will end the world.

Diego encounters Chacha and they have a brutal showdown, Diego bests her and Chacha tells him to finish her for Patch, a tearful Diego spares her following Five's advice.

The brothers are almost killed by Viktor but successfully stop Viktor with Allison's help, they all hold hands and time travel together right before the world ends. The time travel isn't entirely successful as they all land alone in different years through the 60s, Diego helps a woman from a thief and then sees President John F. Kennedy still alive talking in an old television screen.

Relationship with Lila[]

Main article: Diego and Lila

In Dallas, 1963. Diego became obsessed with preventing the assassination of JFK, and was institutionalized at the Holbrook Sanitarium as a result, he explains his doctor his father is a villain and references Luke Skywalker but nobody understands the joke as the Star Wars movies hadn't been released yet.

In the institution, Diego meets Lila Pitts, a fellow patient at the institution, and the two became friends and plotted an escape together. Five foiled the plan on numeorous occassions, but the two were eventually able to escape and reunite with Number Five on the outside; it is here that Lila became privy to the mystery behind the Umbrella Academy and their plans to save the world.

Diego was betrayed by Lila, however, when he found out that she had been planted into Diego's life by the Handler, and was actually aligned with the Temps Commission. Diego told Lila that the two are done with each other, unable to accept his rejection Lila drugged him and brought him into the Commission to work for them, introducing him to her mother The Handler as her boyfriend much to his dismay.

Saving the timeline[]

Inside the Commission, Diego became fascinated when he learned of the Infinite Switchboard, a room where the Commission oversaw the entire timeline. He found out that Viktor was the trigger for the apocalypse in 1963, and further realised that Viktor "is the bomb, and will always be the bomb". He escaped the Commission with the help of Herb, and revealed to Five and the other members of the Umbrella Academy the details of the apocalypse.

Diego and the other members of the Umbrella Academy were able to manage the threat of Viktor and, along with Ben, were able to prevent the apocalypse. They were, however, faced with the issue of Harlan Cooper, and Diego accompanied the rest of the Academy to the Cooper farm where they tried to save Harlan.

They were able to save Harlan but were forced to fight off the Handler and the other agents of the Commission. They were successful, Lila feeling betrayed by Diego and being manipulated by the Handler turns against him and tries to kill his family, although Five was her main target since he killed her birth parents, Diego explains to Lila the Handler stole her because of her powers and ordered Five to kill her parents, Diego is able to convince Lila that the Academy can be her family, however before Lila can accept the Handler appears and kills Diego and his siblings, she tries to manipulate Lila again but she can't forgive her for killing Diego so the Handler kills her too. Five however was still breathing and was able to go minutes back in time before the shooting and the Handler is killed by one of the Swedes instead, a confused Lila steals their briefcase and Diego protects her from Luther letting her escape, he explains Luther he did it because he loved Lila.[4]

Lila follows Diego to 2019 and tells him they have a 12 year old son named Stanley, Diego is skeptical and Lila is cold towards Diego and tells him there's nothing between them anymore besides Stanley, she leaves with Five to fix the new timeline problems which upsets Diego, however he starts looking after Stanley and attempts to help a grief and anger fueled Allison after her daughter Claire was erased from the timeline. Diego offers Allison to get into a fight with local racists to blow off some steam reminiscent of his old days as a vigilante, Allison jokes that he was a bargain Batman but agrees. Luther sees both injured and disagrees with Diego's unethical therapy, Diego underestimates the situation and brushes it off thinking Allison will get better.

Diego's bond with Stanley quickly grows strong after he accidentally killed Klaus but he comes back to life minutes later.

Lila is impressed by Diego as a father despite the Klaus incident, they start flirting and reconcile until she reveals Stanley is not really their child when he goes missing, she borrowed him from her roommate, straining their relationship again. Diego is focused on finding Stanley and loses two of his fingers in the process, Stanley returns safe and sound until the kugelblitz swallows him instantly killing him.

Almost at the same time Diego loses a new version of Grace whom he still referred to as "mom" when she doesn't recognize him and tries to kill him, Five kills her to protect him and Luther.

Diego appears to be in a good mood to celebrate the supposed disappearance of the kugelblitz with the family but doesn't want to hear from Lila anymore even when she reveals she's pregnant. Lila insists explaining the reason she lied about Stanley is because she was scared to tell him she was pregnant and she doesn't believe she will be a good mother but she still wants to have a family with him, Diego asks her for time to think about it. The two continue arguing but truly love each other so they reconcile once more before the world ends, Diego still has hope they can somehow save the world and be a happy family together with the baby, Lila continues doubting herself as a mother but Diego assures her she will be a good mom.

Diego and the family witness Allison and Viktor having a heated argument that quickly becomes a physical fight and he calls out Allison defending Viktor. Diego is visibly disappointed and understands he underestimated Allison's grief.

It's revealed in the season finale Reginald only adopted them to use their powers to start a machine to reset the universe to get his deceased wife, Abigail Hargreeves back, he almost kills Diego and the family until Allison kills Hargreeves to save them. Allison was secretly working with him to get Claire and Raymond back, Allison betrays the family again and starts the machine thus reseting the universe. Stepping out of the hotel Diego's fingers have grown back but neither he or his siblings have powers anymore. Diego asks what should they do, Lila suggests they should just live their lives without their powers now, Diego holds her hand and they walk away together.

Personality[]

Diego is a sweet but 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 had a sibling rivalry with his brother Luther, over being number one. He has a deep emotional connection to his animatronic "mother", more so than his siblings. As such, he is fiercely protective of her even going so as to throw evidence away that could possibly implicate her in his father's death. Diego meets a human Grace in 1963, he is shocked but happy to see she used to be real, however with his obsession with saving president Kennedy he sees Grace again and warns her about Reginald plotting to kill the president, initially Grace thinks it's nonsense but then grows suspicious of "Reggie". Despite his tough exterior Diego has shown to be very caring about his family, especially Klaus whom he was close to when they were children, Diego urges Klaus to stop doing drugs and alcohol. Diego also seemed to be close with Ben before he died. Throughout the seasons Diego becomes more mature and no longer fights with Luther, he also grows to be supportive of Viktor whom he used to mistreat in the past, especially when he comes out as transgender. By season 3 Diego shows a deep care and affection for all his siblings, even Allison. Diego grew to love Stanley as his son very quickly but Lila lied to him about being his son to test his fatherhood skills since she is actually pregnant.

Diego is considered by many to be unintelligent. Diego often shows moments of ignorance (such as calling the Hadron Collider "Hard-On") and frequently makes reckless (if not outright foolish) choices. However, he often shows a surprising degree of insight.

Powers and Abilities[]

After inadvertently consuming Marigold after Ben spiked his drink, Diego regained his ability to mimic the powers of Trajectory Manipulation.[7][8]

Powers[]

  • Trajectory Manipulation: Diego had the ability to curve or even stop the trajectory of anything he throws, usually one or both of his dual knives, as well as other things in motion such as Soviet or Commission bullets.[citation needed] In the second season, he shows that he is able to manipulate the trajectory of bullets that are being shot at him.[citation needed] At the end of the third season, which saw the universe reset, he was surprised to discover he no longer possessed his powers, as did the rest of the Academy.

Abilities[]

  • Master Knife-Thrower: Diego is extremely adept at throwing knives, his weapon of choice. Also shown to be quite accurate on his enemies.[citation needed]
  • Master Martial Artist: Diego possesses extensive physical and combative ability, with him being skilled athlete and martial artist.[citation needed]
  • Staff Proficiency: Diego is skilled with using a staff when fighting his opponents.[citation needed]
  • Skilled Lockpicker: Diego is very skilled at lockpicking.[citation needed]
  • Multilingualism: While Diego generally speaks English, he has displayed fluency in Spanish and is likely proficient in other languages.[citation needed]

Relationships[]

See also: Diego and Eudora, Diego and Luther, and Diego and Lila

Differences between Comics[]

  • In the show, Diego has power to manipulate trajectory, while in the comics, Diego can hold his breath for an unlimited time.
  • Diego's appearance also differs from his comic book counterpart. Diego is brown and has brown hair and eyes, while in the comics, Diego has blonde hair and lighter skin color.

Trivia[]

  • Diego is scared of needles.[9]

Appearances[]

Appearances of Diego Hargreeves

Gallery[]

Concept Art[]

Promotional Images[]

Season 1[]

Season 2[]

Season 3[]

Season 4[]

Other[]

References[]

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