Who is Harlan Cooper in The Umbrella Academy?

The Umbrella Academy has been away from Netflix for the past couple of years but the wait is now over as season three has made its debut. Fans have already been scratching their heads following the first few episodes due to the presence of a mysterious older man. While he may not initially seem familiar, Harlan Cooper has been in The Umbrella Academy before.



WARNING: This article contains spoilers from The Umbrella Academy. Who is Harlan Cooper in The Umbrella Academy? In the third episode of The Umbrella Academy season three, the Sparrows turn up at the hotel, ready to fight to the death with the Umbrella Academy siblings. For a moment, it looks as if they are going to succeed but out of nowhere, the unknown older man (played by Timm Zemanek) arrives and hits the Sparrows with a blast of energy that appears similar to Viktor Hargreeves' (Elliot Page) own powers. Thanks to the helper, the Umbrella Academy members are saved and some of the Sparrows are killed in the fierce battle. It is only afterwards that the man's identity is revealed to Viktor and Netflix subscribers. READ MORE: Eamonn Holmes in candid admission over family concerns

The man is none other than Harlan Cooper, the little boy in season two who Viktor bonded with when they were in the 1960s. As fans will remember, Viktor was taken into the Cooper house by Sissy (Marin Ireland) and Carl (Stephen Bogaert) after the former accidentally ran them over. Harlan was their non-verbal autistic child who grew close to Viktor while they were staying at the Cooper House. However, Harlan's life was in danger when he ran from the farmhouse and found himself drowning in the lake.

Viktor used their abilities to part the water and rescue Harlan but he is no longer breathing. They use CPR and when mouth to mouth is provided, some glowing particles are seen exchanged from Viktor to Harlan before the child comes around. It was due to this encounter that Harlan developed some strange abilities that he wasn't able to control. Thankfully, Viktor is able to take back the energy they gave and it is believed Harlan has returned to an ordinary child. DON'T MISS...

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In the last moment though when Harlan is in the car with his mum, driving towards their new life, it is discovered this isn't quite the case. He is seen telekinetically floating a toy above his hand so the Umbrella Academy may have helped to tone down his powers, they did not rid the boy of them altogether. Season two saw the gang travel to the 1960s with series three now set in the present day. This explains why Harlan is now an old man rather than a youngster when fans first saw him.