A guide to Vanya's Powers in The Umbrella Academy
16 February 2019, 12:36
A guide to Vanya Hargreeves' powers. Though she believes she is "ordinary" most of her life, Vanya, played by Ellen Page, wields more powers than she or her siblings could have ever thought. Number 7's journey eventually leads her on the path to becoming The White Violin.
What are Vanya's powers? In Netflix's The Umbrella Academy the Hargreeves siblings each have super human abilities that make them unique. Klaus can conjure the dead, Number 5 can time jump, and Allison has powers of persuasion. Though there are seven siblings, Vanya, (aka number 7, played by the talented Ellen Page) believes she is the only sibling without super human abilities. Thus, she grows up thinking she is "just ordinary." This has a profound impact on her life.
However, there is more to Vanya than meets the eye and, soon, she learns that she is just as strong–if not stronger than her siblings. So, what exactly are Vanya's powers?
Warning: Spoilers head.
What are Vanya's powers?
Vanya's powers are tied to her emotions. As Leonard Peabody (aka Howard Jenkins) explains, when she feels strong emotions the sounds around her are "somehow converted into energy". This results in Vanya being able to channel the elements (water, air).
When Vanya becomes angry, for example, the wind blows heavily, it rains hard, or objects around her are damaged.
When Vanya and Leonard encounter those guys in the parking lot, Vanya gets scared and upset. It quickly begins to rain and she is able to manipulate the water around her in order to hurt the men and save Leonard.
Similarly, when Leonard begins to "train" Vanya on using her powers, the wind blows heavily as the sound around her becomes energy. The strong emotions she feels when Leonard hugs her even cause a tree branch to fall, nearly crushing her and Leonard.
Later, Vanya's powers develop further as she is able to harness the sound of her violin into energy that she can use to cause destruction.
Why doesn't Vanya have her powers as a child?
When Vanya is a child, Reginald Hargeeves tests her powers and decides that they are too strong. Because Vanya's powers are tied to her emotions, he sees them as too unstable and unpredictable for a child to wield. This leads him to isolate Vanya and even give her mood stabilisers to control her emotions.
When Vanya is 4 years old, we see their mom give her a pill before saying "you have to take your medicine. It will help calm your nerves." This is, of course, her way of saying that the pill will dull her emotions, rendering her harmless.
Reginald Hargreeves also makes sure that Vanya doesn't know she has any powers. He does this by forcing Allison to say "I heard a rumour you think you're just ordinary". This leads Vanya to feel isolated from her siblings and she develops a true belief that she is "just ordinary".
How does Vanya become The White Violin?
After Vanya attacks Allison, she is overcome with regret and despair. Later, Vanya has a confrontation with Leonard and she kills him with her powers, before going back to The Academy to ask for forgiveness.
When she arrives at The Academy, Luther manages to imprison her, which causes her emotions to go haywire. She frees herself and goes on a rampage, destroying The Academy and killing Pogo.
She can throw objects and people around with the wave of her hand (or bow) and destroy buildings with a mere thought. She is extremely powerful as The White Violin. During her performance at the Icarus theatre Vanya's clothes and violin turn white as the strength of her performance reaches its apex and she turns fully into The White Violin.
We don't see it coming when The White Violin causes the apocalypse and puts the whole world in danger.
