The Umbrella Academy features prominent LGBTQ+ characters, including Viktor Hargreeves's transgender journey and Klaus Hargreeves's pansexuality. The show handles these identities with sensitivity, depicting characters with dignity, complexity, and agency. Their queer identities are affirmed and supported by the narrative and other characters, contributing to a largely positive portrayal.

The Umbrella Academy portrays Viktor Hargreeves's transgender identity in Season 3 with significant positivity. His coming out is met with immediate family support and is depicted as a natural, affirming development for the character, enhancing his authenticity and agency without being a source of conflict or ridicule.

The show features female characters who are highly skilled in physical combat. Cha-Cha, a trained assassin, consistently defeats male opponents in close-quarters fights using martial arts. Lila Pitts, also a formidable fighter, demonstrates superior hand-to-hand combat skills against male characters like Diego.

The character Cha-Cha, who is male in the comic source material, is portrayed as female in the show. Additionally, the character Vanya, established as female in the comics, transitions to male (Viktor) within the series.

The character Allison Hargreeves, who is visually depicted as white in the original comic book series, is portrayed by a Black actress in the television adaptation.