How Gerard Way (Sort Of) Makes A Cameo

The Umbrella Academy was created by Gerard Way and the My Chemical Romance singer has a cameo in the Netflix show, albeit without actually appearing.

Did you spot Gerard Way's unconventional cameo in The Umbrella Academy? Better known as the singer of recently reunited rock band, My Chemical Romance, Gerard Way was a comic book artist long before he was a platinum-selling musician, and he turned to art once again to pass long nights on tour with his band. It was these sessions that eventually gave rise to the Umbrella Academy comic series, which quickly attracted a cult following, but that cult has now gone mainstream thanks to Netflix's live-action adaptation of the Hargreeves' story.

The Umbrella Academy TV series was incredibly well-received and contained an array of clever Easter eggs that observant fans have since picked up on. Grace can be seen stitching a needlework that foreshadows the apocalyptic season finale, Number 5's wallpaper alludes to his future romantic relationship with a shop mannequin, and there are numerous hints that Klaus is growing in power with each episode. It's not unusual for comic creators to pop up in cameo roles when their characters transition to live-action (the legendary Stan Lee made a side-career out of it), but Gerard Way doesn't make a proper appearance in The Umbrella Academy's first season.

At least not in a conventional sense, anyway. In The Umbrella Academy's very first episode, "We Only See Each Other At Weddings And Funerals," Ellen Page's Vanya plucks her controversial tell-all autobiography off her adopted father's shelf, asking Pogo whether Reginald ever bothered to read it. As Number 7 handles the volume, the rear side contains the usual blurb and positive review quote, but the name attributed to the quote will be a familiar one to fans - the review has been written by one Gerard Way who, unsurprisingly, says he "couldn't put it down."

This inclusion is a brilliant but subtle reference to The Umbrella Academy's origins. Due to his fame as a singer as well as a comic book artist, it might've ruined the audience's suspension of disbelief somewhat to have a famous face turn up among the Hargreeves' siblings, even as a brief cameo. However, naming Gerard Way as the mysterious author whose review was printed on Vanya's book provides a way of nodding to the franchise's past without pausing the story for a potentially disruptive and jarring cameo.

It isn't just Gerard Way's name that sneaks into The Umbrella Academy, but his voice also, as the comic writer contributes several songs to the show's soundtrack. Even more exciting, these tracks are collaborations with My Chemical Romance guitarist, Ray Toro, and take the form of "Happy Together" towards the end of episode 5 and "Hazy Shade of Winter" in the season finale's closing credits. These songs, combined with the reference on Vanya's autobiography, give Gerard Way a fitting spiritual presence on The Umbrella Academy series, if not a physical one.

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The Umbrella Academy season 2 is expected to premiere in 2020 on Netflix.