Tyrone Johnson (Cloak) and Tandy Bowen (Dagger) are characters that were created by Bill Mantlo and Ed Hannigan. The duo first appeared in Spectacular Spider-Man issue #64 released in 1982 by Marvel Comics.Following several Spider-Man series appearances, the creators gave the duo of their own four-issue limited series in October 1983. Due to the limited series’ success, Marvel Comics was prompted to launch a bi-monthly ongoing series of Cloak and Dagger in 1985. In the comic series, costumed villains rarely appeared, for it focused on Cloak and Dagger’s quest for the complete termination of drug trades.
Following issue #11, the bi-monthly titles Cloak and Dagger and Doctor Strange were combined by Marvel in a monthly revival of the Strange Tales. Subsequently, in 1988, Cloak and Dagger appeared in the Marvel Graphic issue #34, written by Mantlo before leaving the series. During this time, Stranger Tales already had nineteen issues when Marvel decided to split Dr. Strange and Cloak and Dagger back to their separate bi-monthly series.Aside from that, the duo kept making appearances as guest stars in series, including Runaways and the Spider-Man Maximum Carnage. They also starred in their own adventure series in an anthology title such as the Marvel Comics Presents.
In addition, Cloak had made a solo appearance in the miniseries’ House of M’ as a member of an underground human resistance movement. However, it was unknown whether Dagger existed in the altered reality of the ‘House of M’ since there was no mention of her during the storyline.At the San Diego Comic-Con 2008, it was announced that the duo would re-appear in their five-part miniseries, written by Valerie D’Orazio.
Tyrone Johnson
Raised in the poor area of southern Boston, Tyrone Johnson was a good student. Despite having a chronic stutter, Johnson was helped by his best friend, Billy. At the age of seventeen, Johnson and Billy witnessed the shooting and local store robbery. The thieves fled after killing the store clerk. Fearing that they might be suspected of the crime, Billy ran as well. However, when a policeman came and ordered Billy to stop, the stuttering Johnson couldn’t pronounce his best friend’s innocence. The police shot Billy dead, and Johnson felt responsible for his friend’s death. Following the incident, Johnson then left New York.
On his arrival at the Manhattan Port Authority Bus Terminal,a penniless Johnson thought of robbing Tandy Bowen, a wealthy girl that ran away from home. However, Johnson did the opposite after another thief stole her bag first. He impulsively tackled the thief and returned Bowen’s bag. The two then became friends.
Tandy Bowen
Tandy Bowen was born in a wealthy suburb of Cleveland. Living a wealthy life, she desired nothing but love. Her dad, Nathan Tyler, left his family in order to seek spiritual enlightenment in India. At the same time, her mother, Melissa, is a successful model who neglected Tandy in favor of her career. Tandy coped up by dancing with her friend Mary Gregory, who wished to become a successful actress. However, when her mother married Phillip Carlisle, Tandy ran away to New York at the age of sixteen.
Minutes after she arrived in the Big Apple, her bag was stolen. Her fellow runaway, Tyrone Johnson, had retrieved her bag after tackling the thief. The two became friends instantly. At that time, Bowen and Johnson were offered shelter by strange men. Unfortunately, those men were members of the Magia criminal gang. The two were taken to Ellis Island against their will to become a part of the experimentation conducted by a chemist named Simon Marshall. Luckily, through their unique body chemistry, Bowen and Johnson survived the experiment.
Superpowers and Abilities
As they escaped from the Maggia criminal gang, Johnson was engulfed in darkness. He suffered from a strange hunger, which was only eased with Bowen’s presence. On the other hand, Bowen began to illuminate a brilliant light. After declaring their war on drug crime, the two then called themselves Cloak and Dagger.
Dagger’s Light
Dagger produces psionic energy that she can release in the form of six-inch-long, light knives, fired from her fingers. These knives transfer some of the life energy of the victim to Dagger. Depending on the light knives’ strength, these knives can stun, paralyze, or slay. Although it is more difficult to create, Dagger can generate knives that project, instead of stealing light.Dagger’s light can also protect others in the darkness of Cloak.
Usually, the light knives don’t affect soulless creatures, but Dagger’s powers have evolved over the years. The light knives can now pursue a target. It can even look for the specific individuals whose location is unknown to Dagger. However, the light knives lose their power the farther they travel.
Cloak’s Darkness
Tyrone Johnson acquired the dark form of the fictional demon character called D’Spayre. This dark form gave him the ability to create a field of view in the Dark Force Dimension and to send people into the dimension. Aside from that, Cloak also gained the power of intangibility and teleportation. People surrounded by Cloak’s darkness feel numbing cold and fearful visions of their own greatest fears and nightmares. Extended exposure to Cloak’s darkness can drive people crazy.
Cloak and Dagger TV Series
Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger, is a superhero television series created by Joe Pokaski for Freeform. This series was based on the Marvel Comics characters, Cloak and Dagger, created by Bill Mantlo and Ed Hannigan. Cloak and Dagger series is produced by ABC Signature Studios, along with Marvel Television and Wandering Rocks Productions. The cast includes Olivia Holt as Tandy/ Dagger and Aubrey Joseph as Tyrone Johnson / Cloak, the two teenagers who acquired superpowers and form a partnership. Holt and Joseph were part of the series in January 2018, along with Gloria Reuben, Andrea Roth, Carl Lundstedt, J. D. Evermore, and Jaime Zevallos.
In the series, two teenagers named Tandy Bowen and Tyrone Johnson have acquired superpowers after an event that revolved around the Roxxon Gulf Platform’s collapse. As their friendship continues to unfold, the two soon realized that their powers work best when they are together. The duo, using their superpowers, then began a quest to save the world.