Cloak And Dagger is the first Marvel Cinematic Universe television series to make it on to Freeform, a network aimed at emerging adults. It might not have as large of an audience as the Netflix series, but it’s certainly earned a loyal following amongst TV and comic book fans alike.
The series follows Tyrone Johnson (Aubrey Joseph) and Tandy Bowen (Olivia Holt) as they attempt to understand their super powers and help out their home town of New Orleans in the process. While his powers lean to the dark side of human nature, hers lean toward the light. The two create the perfect balance. They get help in their endeavors from an ally on the police force, Detective Brigid O’Reilly (Emma Lahana.)
The series is inspired by a comic book, and yes, it features super powers, but it’s also incredibly timely. The first season took on corruption in the police force while the second tackles missing women of color - and the lack of attention they receive. The social issues the writers enjoy highlighting appear obvious, but other items hide in the show.
We’ve looked out for comic book Easter eggs, pop culture references, and story points you might have missed. As a result, we’ve got 25 Hidden Details About Cloak And Dagger Only True Marvel Fans Noticed.
The First Time Ty And Tandy Use Their Powers
Tyrone and Tandy have no knowledge of their powers in the first episode. When the two meet at a party, touching hands results in a glowing Tandy and a shadowed Tyrone. That’s not, however, the first time their powers manifest.
Instead, eagle-eyed fans will spot the two unconsciously using their powers in the flashback sequence wherein fans see Tyrone saving Tandy during the infamous car accident. After the Roxxon energy blast hits them, Tandy glows enough for Tyrone to see her in the dark water. He also uses what becomes his teleportation power to put his hand through the roof of the car and pull her with him.
The Crick-Hits
Have you ever heard of the band the Crick-Hts? If you haven’t, don’t be discouraged. They appeared in a whopping two issues of Marvel comics, and not in the main timeline.
The Crick-Hits were a band that appeared in comics in 2009. They made their debut in Age Of The Sentry, which was actually stories told to Franklin Richards by his father in comic book form. Within the series the Crick-Hits made a few appearance as that universe’s version of the Beatles. A fan of the band, Tandy wore one of their tee shirts in the first episode.
Very Special Initials
The first episode reveals that Tandy’s job involves “finding rich kids and jacking them of their rich kid stuff.” The rich kid she targets takes her back to the house his uncle is letting him use, and there, we see sets of monogrammed towels.
Tandy takes one of those towels, but that isn’t the interesting part. Instead, it’s the initials on them. R. F. is a nod to the Marvel comic book character Richard Fisk. Richard Fisk was the son of Wilson Fisk in the comics, a character we’ve seen in the Netflix series Daredevil. He became a villain who went by the name of the Rose as he tried to eclipse his father.
An Important Tombstone
Cloak and Dagger show-runner Joe Pokaski isn’t shy about giving fans hints and Easter eggs. When the series premiered, he mentioned that names in the cemetery might give fans a few fun Easter eggs. There’s only one name that the audience can really make out when Ty and Tandy face off in front of a family tombstone.
The family name most prominent is that of Garth. That surname belonged to Simon Garth in the comics. Originally created in 1953 (before Marvel even became Marvel,) he was a wealthy businessman from New Orleans before becoming a zombie. His gardener took Garth's life, but unsatisfied, cursed him as well. It was his secretary who had him resurrected.
The Cumberbatch Too
When Tandy and her boyfriend head to a very special dry cleaners to set up a new identity for her, there’s a rich kid there getting some clothing cleaned. When he hands over his suit, he requests cleaning of the “Cumberbatch too."
The piece of clothing in question is a actually called a cummerbund. In formal wear, it’s the piece of a suit that goes around the waist. Cumberbatch is, of course, a reference to Benedict Cumberbatch, who plays Doctor Strange in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The Mantle Dolls
When viewers first see Tyrone’s figure being sculpted by a machine, it’s not clear why that’s the opening shot of each act in episode three. It’s also not clear why his figure is placed on a mantle with dolls from other eras.
By the end of the first season, you know that these dolls are actually various “divine pairings” throughout history. Evita tells some of their stories while leading Damballah tours. Her aunt recalls the rest throughout the season. It takes a long time for every pairing’s story to be revealed on the show, and some fans might have missed the initial hint at what was to come for Tandy and Ty.
True Believers And Skeptics
Episode three reveals that Evita isn’t just a smart girl with a bit of a wild streak who’s interested in Tyrone. She also works with her aunt and knows a whole lot about the city’s occult history. In fact, she leads Damballah (a powerful loa in vodou) tours.
When Tyrone meets up with her group, Evita welcomes the “true believers and skeptics” to the tour. Old school comic book fans know Stan Lee used the catchphrase "true believers." Lee often opened his editorials with the phrase while he was Editor-In-Chief of Marvel Comics. He also signed off with “excelsior,” though we haven’t seen that used in the series just yet.
Founded 1982
In episode four, Tyrone gets a little introduction to his own family history. His father is a member of the Redhawks AKA the New Orleans Indians. In real life, descendants of native New Orleans residents and people of color belong to the group. They have a huge presence during Mardis Gras celebrations and educate members of the community on their history.
In Cloak and Dagger, the chapter Ty is familiar with has a flag up that reveals they were founded in 1982. That’s a significant year because it’s also the year the characters Cloak and Dagger made their debut in a Spider-Man comic. Their own comic book series followed the next year.
Agent M
When shows have a heavy police (or government agent) presence, the audience gets to see a lot of files on cases and criminals. Sometimes, those files are made of nonsense in hopes that the audience isn’t looking too closely, but in the case of Cloak and Dagger, those files are made of Easter eggs.
A file examined in episode five sports a few names, one of which belongs to a real person. One of the names is Agent M. That name is actually the social media handle for Ryan Penagos, who has worked for Marvel, primarily on their website and twitter content, for years. He’s now Marvel’s VP of New Media.
Magic Is Just Science We Don’t Understand
Arthur C. Clarke once provided the world with an explanation for magical occurrences: it’s just science we don’t understand yet. The Marvel Cinematic Universe loves this explanation.
The phrase is used by Mina in episode six of Cloak and Dagger. It’s also, however, used by Jane Foster in the Thor movies when comparing the magic of Asgard to the science of Earth. Jemma Simmons also uses it to explain strange happenings in season one of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. The scientific women of the MCU are all about logical explanations for magic.
STANMAN
Specialty license plates can tell you a lot about a person. In episode six, the character Stan revealed his ego with a plate that said “STANMAN.” Of course, some fans think the plate might have a more special meaning.
Just like Stan Lee’s “true believers” appearing in another episode, this might be a nod to one of Marvel’s greatest real life heroes. Fans referenced Lee as Stan “The Man” Lee for many years. Perhaps this was another shoutout for the man responsible for bringing so many iconic heroes and villains to the page.
Mina’s Secret Ingredient
When audiences met Mina Hess, they saw what Tandy’s life could have been like if her father hadn’t become the Roxxon scapegoat. We also spent a lot of time learning about the relationship between Mina and her catatonic father whose mind was stuck in the Roxxon explosion.
His mind was stuck on the oil rig where the last cookie Mina gave him sat on his desk. She gave him one everyday to eat at work. Her secret ingredient? Cardamom, Cardamom happens to be a natural antidepressant, important for a woman who had Tandy take a little of her hope away, and for a man stuck in a depressing situation.
Bowen Family Memory Vs. Bowen Family Fear
When Tandy touches someone, she can see their deepest hopes. Sometimes though, she’s not entirely sure of what she’s seeing - especially if it involves her and Tyrone combining their powers.
When Tandy and Tyrone get inside Tandy’s mother’s head, they see her father striking her mother. While it could have been written off as a nightmare with what we know of Tyrone’s power, that’s not the case. Eagle-eyed viewers would have been able to see it was a memory when they noticed that the flashback sequence in episode eight - set around the same time - showed Tandy’s mother with a swollen eye.
Mina Smashes The Bee
When Tandy decides to get in Mina’s head, she doesn’t just view Mina’s hopes; she also takes a little bit of it away. That results in Mina’s optimism turning into something more akin to anger.
In episode nine, right after her experience with Tandy, Mina demonstrates the change in her by squashing a bee. That alone is alarming since Mina is such an advocate for increasing the bee population. It’s even more alarming when you notice that Mina does it with one of her science books - something she treasures.
Stan Lee’s Cameo
Marvel movies and TV series are known for one thing outside of being comic book inspired: cameos by Stan Lee. Though other nods occurred early in the first season of the show, he also got an artistic cameo in episode nine.
As Tandy wanders around the house of one of her marks, she passes by a display of pop art. The portrait repeated in the midst of the bright colors is that of Stan Lee.
Lee appeared as art in other projects as well. He was painted in graffiti for The Runaways in season two, and his portrait appeared in the animated movie Big Hero Six.
Emma Lahana Has No Lines In Episode Nine
When Emma Lahana first stepped onto the scene as Brigid O’Reilly, she didn’t have any lines. The writers gave her the same opportunity to show the audience what her character was feeling without saying a word in episode nine.
This would be less significant if her character was only in a scene or two, but that’s not the case. O’Reilly spends the episode in a state of despair after discovering the body of her boyfriend Fuchs. She also lashes out at the corrupt Connors, physically attacking him when he offers a toast to the slain officer.
Showrunner Joe Pokaski thought Lahana’s performance in the episode was a good indication of what she could do as Mayhem in season two.
Annex Building 616
In Marvel Comics, each universe has its own specific numeric label. The continuity that most of their stories fall into doesn’t have a label like Earth-1. Instead, it’s 616. As a result, that number gets a shout out in a lot of Marvel properties.
In the first season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., for example, Agent Coulson’s mobile unit was designated as S.H.I.E.L.D. 616. For Cloak and Dagger’s first season, the number was assigned to one of the annex buildings in an offhand comment.
The Cloak And Dagger Debut
The final episode of the first season also gave us another Easter egg in the form of a numeric sequence. This one is a little harder to spot.
When Tyrone starts shutting down valves on the rig, he passes by several columns. One of them has the number sequence 1 10 1983 painted on it. That sequence is significant because the first (1) issue of Cloak and Dagger’s solo series debuted in October (10) of the year 1983. The series didn’t last long, but the characters lived on long after their first series ended.
Both Leads Sing On The Soundtrack
Outside of their acting roles as aspiring superheroes, Olivia Holt and Aubrey Joseph are also both musicians. They also both had the chance to record music for the series.
Olivia Holt performed a cover of the STYX song “Come Sail Away” for the season one finale. Her version of the song plays at the end of the episode. Two other covers of the song actually featured earlier in the hour. She recorded it specifically for the show.
The show-runner approached Aubrey Joseph to perform a song for the show, but the actor didn’t get one recorded and ready until season two. His song, “Numb” appears in episode two. Joseph wrote the song himself.
Tyrone Uses Darkforce Against Connors
Everyone watching the season one finale knew that Tyrone used his powers against Connors in their final showdown. What they might not realize is just how this use of his powers alludes to his comic book backstory.
In the comics, Cloak’s abilities come from another dimension, specifically, the Dark Dimension. This same dimension is where Darkforce, an ability we’ve seen used by Whitney Frost in Agent Carter and Blackout in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., originates. When Tyrone used his power against Connors, the dark tendrils enveloped Connors before making him completely disappear. He hasn’t shown up again since, hinting that the Darkforce dimension still exists.