The Séance (originally Number Four, legally Klaus Hargreeves) is a morbid and sarcastic member of the Umbrella Academy with godlike psychic abilities, including necromancy, telekinesis, possession, and immortality. One of the simultaneously born forty-three children, he could easily become an unstoppable force of nature to save humanity on a number of occasions, but his heavy drinking and drug usage make him much less powerful.
Biography[]
Early life and career[]
An infant Number Four with his adoptive siblings[1]
00.04, often called Number Four, was one of forty-three superpowered children born simultaneously circa 1953, and one of the seven adopted by eccentric scientist Sir Reginald Hargreeves, who gave them numerical designations instead of names and raised them from a special academy in the City with Mom, an android caregiver, and his chimpanzee associate Phinneus Pogo.
As the children displayed extraordinary abilities from birth, Hargreeves experimented on and trained them throughout their childhoods to become superheroes, intended to save Earth from an unspecified threat. Number Four developed powerful psychic abilities, including mediumship, telekinesis, and possession.[1] Seeing his potential, Hargreeves experimented on him more than the others, resulting in him developing a morbid and fretful temperament.[3]
The Umbrella Academy's first mission, battling the Eiffel Tower[1]
Ten years after their adoption, the children made their public debut as the Umbrella Academy, fighting the rampaging Eiffel Tower in Paris.[1] Despite missing Number Five, who had jumped to the future with his time travel abilities,[3] the team quickly became celebrities, and accumulated a wide rogues gallery of adversaries over the years, including the Lincoln Memorial statue,[4] Doctor Terminal,[5] the Murder Magician,[6] and many more.
As the children grew older, Mom chose to give them proper names, and Four became "Klaus Hargreeves".[3][5]
Klaus Hargreeves was one of the forty-three children born simultaneously in 1950 to unexpecting mothers. He was adopted by world-famous scientist and entrepreneur Sir Reginald Hargreeves, along with six other children, with the express intention of training them to save the world. Designated as "Number Four", he was raised in The Umbrella Academy by Hargreeves, where he was experimented on and trained for years.
He had a morbid and fretful temperament, and Sir Reginald found that he resembled an extra from an Ingmar Bergman film.[1]
As a boy, Klaus was sweet and vulnerable. However, Sir Reginald experimented on Klaus more than he did the other children. The experience changed him, causing him to become crueler in Vanya's opinion.[3]
The Umbrella Academy[]
Ten years after their adoption, the Umbrella Academy made their public debut to counter the threat posed by the Zombie-Robot Gustave Eiffel and the rampaging Eiffel Tower in Paris. Klaus was part of the team during the battle, and tried to use his abilities to contact an engineer in the spirit world to give them advice on how to stop the Eiffel Tower. The battle ended with the death of Eiffel and the launching of the Eiffel Tower into space. After the mission, Klaus joined the others having celebratory ice cream.[1]
Battling the White Violin[]
Meteor apocalypse timeline[]
Nuclear armageddon timeline[]
Following the death of Sir Reginald, Klaus returned to the Umbrella Academy. Meeting Luther and Allison outside, Klaus intended to try and contact the spirit of their father to complain about having his allowance cut off. Klaus was present for Number Five's explanations about how he managed to return from the future, and then attended Sir Reginald's funeral in the grounds of the Academy.[3]
The Kennedy assassination[]
Work with Payback[]
The Hotel Oblivion breakout[]
Powers and abilities[]
Powers[]
- Mediumship: Klaus is able to channel and communicate with the dead.[1] He can also channel this ability through others, such as Vivian Clarke.[7]
- Retroactive Immortality: Klaus can come back from death, due to God not liking him very much.
- Spirit Projection: Klaus is able to project his spirit, including through televisions.
- Possession: Klaus is able to possess the body of others temporarily.
- Telekinesis: Klaus has advanced telekinesis, able to lift at least 40,000 tons.
- Telepathy: Klaus appears to have at least limited telepathy.
Abilities[]
- Acting: Klaus is a talented actor.
- Polylingual: Klaus can speak fluent Vietnamese, and at least some French.
Weaknesses[]
- Footwear: Klaus's powers are heavily restricted when he wears shoes.
- Drugs: Klaus is addicted to drugs and alcohol, things that greatly limit his powers.
Appearances[]
| Appearances of the Séance |
|---|
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Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite #1
- ↑ The Umbrella Academy: Dallas #5
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite #2
- ↑ The Umbrella Academy: Dallas #1
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite #3
- ↑ ...But the Past Ain't Through With You
- ↑ You Look Like Death: Tales from the Umbrella Academy #2
| The Umbrella Academy Characters from the Dark Horse comics | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Umbrella Academy | Spaceboy • The Kraken • The Rumor • The Séance • Number Five • The Horror • The White Violin • Sir Reginald Hargreeves • Doctor Pogo • Abhijat | ||
| Sparrows | Mom • Number One • Carla | ||
| Temps Aeternalis | Carmichael • Hazel • Cha-Cha | ||
| Other villains | The Conductor • Murder Magician • Doctor Terminal • John Perseus X • Scientific Man • Vivian Clarke • The Shivers | ||