Sneak Peek at Cloak & Dagger, Coming to Freeform This Summer!

January 23, 2018

Young Adult narratives have shown to be another sub-genre hit for Marvel Entertainment with the success of Runaways on Hulu. Freeform hopes to emulate that success with this Summer’s upcoming Cloak & Dagger. Created in 1982 by Writer Bill Mantlo and debuting in Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man, the two were a walking allegory on the dangers of drug use, and other issues facing the youth of the day. Actual teen runaways Tyrone Johnson and Tandy Bowen develop special abilities after being injected against their will, with a synthetic form of Heroin. The duo later dedicate their gifts to stamping out the inner city drug trade entirely, as well as assisting other teen-aged transients. In this series preview, we see the two meeting for the first time.

Given the comic’s heavy focus on teenage drug use, as well as some rather question power mechanics involving Tyrone and his “hunger,” there will likely be minor changes as with all such television projects. Though primarily used as “street-level” characters, Cloak & Dagger have had their day in the spotlight as well, playing parts in the original Infinity Gauntlet crossover and Secret Wars II. The characters are notable for their guest appearances, though again usually involving younger heroes, like Power Pack for example. The early 2000’s also saw a renewed interest in the characters after a memorable story arc in Runaways, written at the time by Brian K. Vaughan. Could there be a small screen crossover in the works?

Cloak & Dagger debuts on June 7^th on Freeform, and stars Aubrey Joseph (The Night Of, Run All Night) Olivia Holt (Kickin’ It, Dog With a Blog) J.D. Evermore (True Detective, Dallas Buyer’s Club) Gloria Reuben (Mr. Robot, Falling Skies) James Saito (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Deuce) Miles Mussenden (Queen Sugar, Army Wives) and Andrea Roth (13 Reasons Why, Rescue Me)