Here's What Happened to the Other 36 Babies in 'Umbrella Academy'

The premise of The Umbrella Academy is irresistibly convoluted. On a single day, 43 women give birth despite the fact that none of them are pregnant. Then, a mysterious rich dude purchases seven of those babies, “discovers” that they have superpowers, and trains them to fight crime as the Umbrella Academy (they even have matching tattoos).

Of course, this begs the question: What about the other 36 babies (presumably full-grown adults when Season 1 begins) that were born that day? Do they all have powers? If not, why? If so, why do we never hear about all the other superheroes (or villains) around the world? And will they show up in Umbrella Academy Season 2?

There’s no official answer from the comics, their creator, or the show itself. But I’ve got a few ideas about how those 36 other babies in Umbrella Academy could connect to the rest of the story and play a rule in future seasons.

Before diving in, there’s a couple of key plot points worth revisiting, both from the end of the show’s first season. The first reveals an important detail about all 43 of those Umbrella babies (as we’ll call them) and the second hints at an even great mystery: their origin.

Warning: Spoilers for Umbrella Academy Season 1 below.

What we (think we) know about the Umbrella babies

First, let’s talk about Vanya. When Umbrella Academy begins, we’re told she’s ordinary despite the fact that she was born through the same extraordinary circumstances as her superpowered siblings. This suggests that not all 43 babies have powers.

However, as we later learn, Vanya does have powers. They were so powerful that her adopted father Sir Reginald Hargreeves muted them intentionally using a combination of drugs and psychic power. This seems to confirm that all 43 Umbrella babies have powers, even the ones that Reginald never adopted.

The second detail, is Reginald himself. As we see in the final episode, he’s actually an alien (a detail that’s casually revealed earlier on in the original comics). Before leaving his home planet, however, we see Reginald pick up a glass jar full of golden dots of light and release them into the air where they quickly disperse and disappear. It’s an odd moment that’s never fully explained, but the answer seems obvious: Those dots of light became the Umbrella babies!

How else would Reginald know to look for them all over the world immediately after they were born? And how would he know that they’d grow up to develop superpowers? It only makes sense if he created them in the first place.

What does this means for the other 36 babies on The Umbrella Academy?

Well, for one thing it means they all have superpowers. However, without Reginald’s guidance they have never realized it. They clearly never got organized and formed their own superhero teams, since the Umbrella Academy seems to be a unique organization in this world.

Of course, Umbrella Academy ended with the total destruction of the planet. So it’s safe to say that any remaining Umbrella babies probably died. However, that doesn’t mean we won’t see them in Season 2. After all, Season 1 ends with the core group of heroes traveling back in time to avoid certain death. So it’s possible they could encounter some of their other siblings on future adventures through the past.

After all, if the Umbrella Academy couldn’t save the world even with Number 5’s help, maybe the only way to undo the apocalypse is to gather up the 36 remaining Umbrella babies for the ultimate team-up. If all 43 of them can’t do it, well, then we’re really screwed.

Umbrella Academy Season 1 is streaming now on Netflix.