Warning: Contains spoilers for The Umbrella Academy season 3.
In The Umbrella Academy season 3, Alphonso Hargreeves’ (Jake Epstein) powers appear to be having a residual effect on his face. All of the adopted Hargreeves of the Sparrow Academy display unique abilities, but Alphonso’s powers may be the strangest in Umbrella Academy. His powers are to reflect damage onto his opponents; whatever injuries he sustains from someone rebound upon them. Despite deflecting damage, he still has a heavily deformed face, even being referred to as the “blob.” Some scenes in The Umbrella Academy season 3 hint that his powers might not be as effective as they seem.
The Umbrella Academy season 3 introduces the Sparrow Academy, the counterparts to the Umbrella Academy. They are built up to be the superior Hargreeves team, a seed planted by Reginald Hargreeves. Alphonso is the Sparrows’ Number Four and seems to be one of the morally corrupt members of the group. Many Hargreevees children have a rocky relationship with Reginald, but Alphonso appears to despise him. Alphonso’s ability reflects his personality, deflecting his own pain to dish it on others.
Alphonso’s powers, referred to as Empathetic Masochism, are first seen in the opening fight between the Umbrellas and the Sparrow Academy. He dares Allison to punch him, and she gladly obliges, but the punch has a recoil effect and damages Allison instead. It would seem with a power like this, he would be unmarked, but that is not the case. A flashback scene in the dojo shows that his face was less disfigured in the past, hinting that his powers must have some effect on him. Whether it’s through having sustained repeated injuries to his face or simply that his powers have changed his face in some other manner over time, The Umbrella Academy season 3 indicates Alphonso wasn’t born this way.
It could be that he is not impervious to damage but that his powers have a cumulative effect. Over time as he takes damage, the wear and tear start to show on his body. Also, his ability isn’t automatic. As shown in his fight with Diego, he can definitely take damage over time as not all of Diego’s blows recoil. Likewise, the Umbrella Academy’s Viktor blasted the Sparrows, including Alphonso, and did not take any damage. This alludes to Alphonso having to focus on activating his ability. This is further shown in instances where he is either unconscious or tired, causing him to be susceptible to damage. If this is the case, his seemingly melted face could be the combination of his powers’ toll and damage taken from enemies.
The Umbrella Academy season 3 never thoroughly explains why Alphonso’s facial appearance seems to be deteriorating, but context clues throughout seem to piece some of it together. On the surface, his powers seem as if they would make him almost invincible, but it is clear that they come with some serious repercussions. His Number Four ranking within the Sparrow Academy appears to be a genuine assessment as he ranks in the middle on a power scale.
The Umbrella Academy season 3 is now streaming on Netflix.
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