Rita Arya's Lila Pitts possesses a unique mimicry ability in The Umbrella Academy. How, exactly, does this incredibly useful superpower work?
WARNING: Spoilers ahead for The Umbrella Academy season 3
How do Lila Pitts' powers work in The Umbrella Academy, and what set of rules does her gift abide by? Ritu Arya's Lila Pitts debuted in The Umbrella Academy season 2 as the adopted daughter of the Commission's dastardly Handler. One of the 43 super-children created by Sir Reginald Hargreeves, Lila struck lucky by avoiding adoption. Less fortunately, Number Five killed her parents at the Handler's behest while working for the Commission. The youngster was adopted by the goldfish-guzzling Handler herself before growing into a formidable agent.
Lila's superpower is essentially power mimicry. In The Umbrella Academy season 3 alone, she copies Fei's crow power to steal a Commission briefcase from Hargreeves mansion, Viktor's sonic blasts to break down a door, Five's time travel to jump-start a broken briefcase, and Diego's knife-throwing to fight a guardian in Oblivion. Lila's mimicry is also instrumental when the Umbrellas and Sparrows team up to contain the kugelblitz, since she can copy-and-paste Viktor's vibrations. Though certainly useful to have around in a pinch, Lila's empath gift comes with inbuilt limits on how and when it can be utilized.
Related: Why Reginald Hargreeves Is Alive In Umbrella Academy Season 3
Lila needn't touch her target to steal their power, nor must she visually see them - the only requirement is proximity. The Umbrella Academy season 3 clearly demonstrates this rule when Lila mimics Fei from outside Hargreeves Mansion, then later when using Viktor's vibration to break out of the Hotel Oblivion broom closest after Diego locked her in. The Fei example also provides some idea of Lila's target range, since she borrows Sparrow Number Three's avian power from way up on the mansion's roof while Fei is walking around at ground level. Presumably, Lila can "sense" when a super-powered sibling is near to know whether a skill is ripe for the taking.
Another major advantage to Lila's mimicry is how she wields second-hand abilities as proficiently as, if not better than, the original owner. This is more evident in The Umbrella Academy season 2, where Lila not only rumors Allison without uttering "I heard a rumor" first (a trick Allison herself only unlocks in season 3), but also out-muscles Luther and instantly masters the sonic abilities Viktor infamously struggled to harness. Ms. Pitts possesses an instinctive affinity for tossing around superpowers, and though this might be an inherent attribute of her technique, highly advanced Commission training perhaps provided the discipline and control necessary to adopt stolen powers on the fly.
Lila's The Umbrella Academy superpower comes with just two drawbacks, but only one could seriously be considered an Achilles' Heel. Season 2's battle against the Umbrellas proves Lila can flick between superpowers rapidly if she's surrounded by multiple gifted characters, but she can only draw one power at a time. If Lila is using Luther's super-strength to hold back a punch, for example, she can't simultaneously fire off Viktor's sonic vibrations. The second drawback is that Lila's powers are frustratingly temporary. As soon as her super-abled target is out of range, Lila becomes totally powerless. Whereas every other sibling can always rely on their gifts, Lila needs another sibling to leech from - the only significant drawback to her mimicry. Sadly, it seems there'll be precious little mimicking of any kind in The Umbrella Academy season 4...
More: Umbrella Academy's Hotel Obsidian (& All Oblivion Changes) Explained
The Umbrella Academy season 3 is currently available on Netflix.
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