'Cloak and Dagger': Cool Marvel Teens You Didn't Know You Needed

Freeform and Marvel are bringing the beloved Cloak and Dagger to their first live-action television series. And while long-time fans of the superhero duo seem beyond excited for what looks to be a slightly altered origin story for Ty Johnson (Aubrey Joseph) and Tandy Bowen (Olivia Holt), casual Marvel fans might be a little confused. So, here’s everything you need to know about Cloak and Dagger.

Keep in mind that things will probably end up being a little different in Freeform’s show compared to Ty and Tandy’s origin story in Marvel’s comics. But in the comics, this is how their story goes:

Ty and Tandy originate from two very different worlds. They met as New York City-dwelling runaways and hit it off immediately, but their pasts really imply they should have never met in the first place. Ty made his way to NYC from Boston after his stutter prevented him from stopping the police from shooting his best friend, who was mistakenly accused of robbing a store. Meanwhile, the privileged Tandy ran away to NYC after feeling ignored by her millionaire, supermodel mom. So, again, they come from two very different worlds. But that doesn’t mean they weren’t destined to cross paths.

At least, that’s what it feels like, especially in Marvel’s comics.

See, Ty comes across Tandy on the street and while contemplating stealing her purse, some other asshole comes along and takes it. Ty ends up helping Tandy get her purse back and, after having dinner together, they become instant best friends. So, when Tandy naively accepts an invitation from some shady men for shelter, Ty, the less trusting of the two, goes along with her. He thinks something might be up with these men and, lo and behold, he turns out to be right.

These men kidnap Tandy and Ty and deliver them to Simon Marshall, a chemist testing out a new synthetic heroin on runaway teens they think no one will miss. The two survive the usually lethal injection and, after a daring escape, discover that the drug has brought out their latent mutant abilities. (But, it’s doubtful the Freeform show will acknowledge their mutant-ness, as the X-Men, and other “mutants,” are off-limits due to complicated film company contracts.)

Ty and Tandy are transformed into Cloak and Dagger, respectively, their mutant abilities perfectly contrasted while forming the ideal symbiotic relationship.

Tandy’s powers manifest in the form of light and, specifically, the Lightforce. She can produce “daggers” of light to pierce others, purge people of addiction, and act as a beacon to project light. Dagger’s abilities are the only thing that keeps Tyrone’s powers from going out of control, as he was more cursed than gifted in his abilities. Tyrone got the short end of the stick, becoming a conduit for the Darkforce, which forces him to absorb the life forces of other beings, but which also gives him teleporting abilities, control over Darkforce energy, and general intangibility.

The Darkforce holding onto Ty tends to be satiated by Tandy’s light, and as long as they stay near each other, the Darkforce stays at bay. Fortunately for humanity at large, Tandy and Ty are very much in love and rarely leave each other’s side.

The teen lovebirds team up to protect other young people from going through what they did, becoming the ultimate crime-fighting duo. And while Ty’s Cloak tends to be a little more unforgiving and ruthless in his approach to crime fighting, Tandy’s Dagger reigns him in more often than not. They compliment and challenge each other, never letting others get in the way of their relationship.

One more thing: Cloak and Dagger are members of the Runaways, who will be getting their own television show on Hulu. And while it seems unlikely Freeform and Hulu will collaborate to get the band back together, there might be acknowledgment of each other in both series.

Cloak and Dagger premieres on Freeform sometime in 2018.