Sissy Cooper, played by Marin Ireland, is introduced in season two of the Netflix original series The Umbrella Academy (2019-2024).
Sissy Cooper first encounters Viktor Hargreeves in 1963 when she accidentally hits him with her car — though at this time, he’s still living as Vanya before his transition. Along with her charismatic salesman husband Carl, Sissy welcomes the disoriented time traveler into their Texas home. Viktor quickly becomes part of the family, helping with household chores and bonding with their non-verbal autistic son, Harlan. What begins as friendship between Sissy and Viktor gradually deepens into a passionate romance.
However, when Carl finds out about their relationship, he threatens to send Harlan away if Viktor doesn’t leave. So Vanya and Sissy decide to run away with Harlan, but Carl denounces them to the police after reading Sissy’s goodbye note, claiming that they’re kidnapping his son and that Viktor is a secret communist agent.
Their escape is cut short when police pull them over, and Viktor fails to take down a cop who knocks him out. He is then taken away for interrogation. As Sissy and Carl argue over Viktor’s alleged identity as a spy, Harlan — who shares a mysterious connection with Viktor — suddenly speaks Victor’s name as his first word and received his powers. The tensions escalate until Sissy points a gun at Carl who then grabs the rifle and sets it off accidentally at Harlan, but his new abilities instinctively rebound the bullet, striking Carl and killing him.
Ultimately, Viktor has to return to the future, being saved by his brothers and, in turn, saving Harlan by draining the powers he had transferred to him. Although their brief romance is short-lived, both their lives are changed for the better, with both learning to live truer to themselves. Sissy would die of cancer on the same day the Umbrella Academy children were born.
