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In the last episode of The Umbrella Academy Season 2, Luther

is shot and killed by simple gunfire.

However, in the first episode, in the fight just before the apocalypse, he is seen taking a tank grenade directly in the back and is completely unharmed. Is there any logic to this?

Also, in the fight above, Allison confronts two enemy soldiers and says something like "I heard a rumour that I blew your mind", upon which their heads explode. I know that in the comics she is able to alter reality with her rumours, but in the TV show it is my understanding that her powers are limited to mind control. Am I wrong here?

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The evidence shows that Luther's back is invulnerable BUT his arms and head are not.

Here is a Luther survey, TV show evidence only:

  1. (s01.e03) Knife wound to forearm in fight with Diego. Luther sustains a cut, our first glimpse of apeness.

    Luther stands in a dark room, his top is ripped on the left arm near the elbow revealing a cut

  2. (s01.e03) Luther under chandelier. Chandelier falls entirely on his back and he just gets up. This freaks out Hazel.

  3. (s02.e01) Apocalypse scene. Luther takes the tank shell to the back and flexes, apparently feeling the explosion, but unharmed.

    Luther stands topless in the middle of a ruined street, his arms outstretched and screaming; his back is on fire

  4. (s02.e01) First boxing scene. Luther takes many punches to his front, but they appear to do minimal damage to the torso. Right hook bloodies his mouth.

  5. (s02.e03) Second boxing scene. Luther throws the fight. Knocked out, presumably from the uppercut to the jaw. Next day (e04) has facial bruising and scabs.

  6. (s02.e09) Luther and two Fives. Five kicks Luther in the crotch, who reacts as any (human) man would.

  7. (s02.e10) Lila throws Luther through a wall head-first. Clearly dazed upon bellyflopping to the ground.

  8. (s02.e10) Luther is shot. The first shot hits Luther in the head.

    Shot 1: Blood spray from back of head. Whips his head back.

    Shot 2: upper arm. Blood sprays forward.

    Luther’s head whips backwards with blood spraying from the back of it

The evidence shows his back is invulnerable, BUT his arms, although also affected by the ape-serum, can be pierced. I suggest that Luther's arms are less vulnerable than his head, because the Handler's bullet passes through (impales) his head but not his arm. (i.e. The blood exits the back of the head, but the front of the arm.)

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  • I understand what you are saying, but the difference between his front and back would be so great that it would make no sense at all. From being harmed by a knife in the front, to taking no damage at all from a tank shell in the back. Especially since his front torso also seem to be as ape-like as his back. I would maybe accept it if it was only his head that was vulnerable, although in your screenshot above the back of his head (which is not ape-like) had clearly been hit by the grenade, doing no apparent harm. To me, it seems that the writers simply jumped the shark with the tank grenade.
    – pajevic
    Commented Aug 12, 2020 at 12:39
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    Good point, especially since the back of his head suffers the exit-wound from the bullet.
    – eyesplice17
    Commented Aug 12, 2020 at 15:39
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Not wrong, I had been asking this exact same question as I progressed through the season too. I think what is happening is that some progressed with their abilities whilst others didn't. Like we can see with Diego only dodging the bullets physically in the first episode, whilst in the last episode he's seen being able to literally halt and redirect the bullets. Seeing as they were in the same point in the timeline, perhaps (and this is a reach) they had gone through different experiences which activated different potentials of their powers.

To answer a question on further "proof" of this occurring.

Vanya shows significant ability to control her power at a small scale in the episode where meeting Hargreeves. Diego had only been shown to be able to dodge and redirect relatively sizeable objects. My assumption is that they had to be pushed to unlock these abilities. I imagine that Alison would have had several alternate stresses without her family around during the Civil Rights movement so that may have unlocked the ability for her rumours to be taken literally. As the new TL meant she missed some key moments, she might not have unlocked them.

I can't explain Luther's mishap with the Rocket other than to say it might be to do with surface area.

But essentially, no there's no real definitive proof, I can just theorise

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    Just a few more fights for Ruby and Luther would have gotten the XP to level up and unlock his bulletproof ability. ;)
    – starpilotsix
    Commented Aug 16, 2020 at 10:32

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