Cloak and Dagger origin

[Paul Bourcier]

I picked up CLOAK AND DAGGER v4 #1 this week and noticed a flashback page to their origin. I decided to see where it fit in to already published material and noticed that the MCP is missing a couple of graphic novels and other miscellaneous scenes from Cloak and Dagger's origin. Here's what I came up with, based on some old notes of mine. I haven't rechecked the graphic novels, so I'd be interested to see what folks think of this proposed revision to Cloak's and Dagger's early chronlogies.

CLOAK:
C&D3 19 (8:1, 8:3)-FB
C&D3 19 (9:3-9:7)-FB

DAGGER:
C&D3 19 (8:4, 8:6)-FB
C&D3 19 (9:1-9:2)-FB

Followed by, for both CLOAK AND DAGGER:
C&D3 19 (10)
MARVEL GRAPHIC NOVEL: PREDATOR AND PREY (20:2)-FB
MARVEL GRAPHIC NOVEL: SHELTER FROM THE STORM (13:1-13:2)-FB
C&D2 1 (14:2)-FB
C&D3 19 (11:1-11:3)-FB
MARVEL GRAPHIC NOVEL: PREDATOR AND PREY (20:3)-FB-BTS
MARVEL GRAPHIC NOVEL: SHELTER FROM THE STORM (13:3)-FB-BTS
C&D2 2 (6:3)-FB
DARK REIGN: MR. NEGATIVE #3 (13:2)-FB
PPTSS 64 (15:3-15:5)-FB
C&D3 19 (11:4)-FB
C&D2 2 (6:4)-FB
C&D2 1 (14:3)-FB ~ MARVEL GRAPHIC NOVEL: SHELTER FROM THE STORM (13:4)-FB
MARVEL GRAPHIC NOVEL: PREDATOR AND PREY (20:4)-FB
PPTSS 64 (16:2)-FB
C&D2 1 (14:4)-FB
MARVEL GRAPHIC NOVEL: PREDATOR AND PREY (20:5)-FB
PPTSS 64 (16:3-16:4)-FB
C&D3 19 (12:1)-FB
PPTSS 64 (17:1-17:2)-FB
DARK REIGN: MR. NEGATIVE #3 (13:4-13:5)-FB
PPTSS 64 (17:3)-FB
C&D2 2 (6:5)-FB
C&D3 19 (12:2)-FB
MARVEL GRAPHIC NOVEL: PREDATOR AND PREY (20:6-21:2)-FB
C&D3 19 (12:3-12:5)-FB
MARVEL GRAPHIC NOVEL: PREDATOR AND PREY (21:3)-FB
C&D3 19 (12:6-13:1)-FB
C&D4 1-FB
C&D3 19 (13:2-13:4)-FB
MARVEL GRAPHIC NOVEL: PREDATOR AND PREY (21:4-21:5)-FB
C&D3 19 (13:5-14:1)-FB
C&D2 2 (6:6-6:8)-FB
MARVEL GRAPHIC NOVEL: PREDATOR AND PREY (21:6)-FB

[Chris McCarver]

Paul, I was wondering, as someone who has the C&D miniseries from '83... is there any reason the flashbacks from C&D 4 aren't listed in Ty and Tandy's listings pre-PPTSS 64? That was sort of touted as their then-definitive origin story back then; was it rendered apocryphal at some point?

[Paul Bourcier]

Good question, Chris. I do not have the first cloak & Dagger series, which explains why no material from that series is in my analysis. And because I don't have those issues, I can't check to see why any flashback material from C&D 4 is not included in the MCP listing. Guys, was C&D 4-FB intentionally left out or is it an oversight? If the latter, how would it fit into the chronology I outlined?

[Chris McCarver]

Just dug up my copy of C&D 4. Figured I'd put up an analysis of sorts:

C&D 4 (5:1-5-7)-FB
Pre-origin flash-back, probably within a few months. In Shaker Heights, Ohio, Tandy Bowen is on the phone at her dance class begging her self-absorbed mother to see her perform the lead in Swan Lake. Her mother, busy with a modeling shoot, blows her off. Tandy angrily hangs up.

C&D 4 (6:1-6:6)-FB
Tandy displays her dancing prowess in response to her instructor quipping that her mother's money can't buy her talent, then leaves the classroom.

C&D 4 (7:1-7:8)-FB
Outside the school, Tandy accepts a ride home from classmate Rob Daltry, despite wanting nothing to do with his lecherous advances.

C&D 4 (8:1-8:11)-FB
Storming into her palatial mansion home, Tandy's stepfather Phil asks if he can come to see Tandy perform Swan Lake, displaying some actual sincerity, but Tandy blows him off with a parting shot about her mother and her biological father.

C&D 4 (9:1-9:9)-FB
Later that night, Tandy goes into her kitchen to find Rob there, having a snack. Though as initially irritated with him as before, she finally breaks down and confides in him, albeit still wary of his intentions.

C&D 4 (9:10)-FB
Three weeks later (as stated in captions), Tandy boards a bus for New York City shortly after Rob leaves for college.

C&D 4 (10:2-11:12)-FB
Flashback to South Boston, Mass. While Tyrone Johnson plays basketball with friends, one of his teachers discusses his speech impediment with his parents, expressing her concern not for his education but for his future. Back on the court, Ty's friends ask about his basketball skills, but his stammer prevents him from answering and he walks off. Billy, Ty's best friend, consoles him in the locker room, assuring him the two's friendship will see them through anything.

C&D 4 (12:1-12:8)-FB
While Ty and Billy window shop at an athletic shoe store, a pair of armed thieves run out of the store, shooting and killing the owner on the way. Billy begins to run, and an arriving police officer mistakes him for one of the thieves.

C&D 4 (13:1-13:12)-FB
Ty tries to tell the cop Billy wasn't involved, but his stammer keeps him from getting the words out. Despite Ty's efforts, the cop shoots and kills Billy.

C&D 4 (13:13)-FB
An indeterminate time afterwards (though likely at around the same time Tandy boards her bus), Ty boards a bus for New York City.

C&D 4 (14:1-22:9)-FB
Ty and Tandy arrive in New York at the same time, just in time for Ty to tackle a street hoodlum who stole Tandy's purse. Tandy offers to buy Ty a burger as thanks, and the two commiserate over dinner at a nearby diner. Two henchmen of drug chemist Simon Marshall approach Ty and Tandy, offering them a "place to stay." Ty is reluctant, sensing the two are trouble, but Tandy accepts their invitation. The two are taken to a pier and forced onto a boat bound for Ellis Island. Ty is knocked unconscious by one of their captors, fearing he could cause trouble. Ty and Tandy are deposited in a room with other runaways, then later, as were the others, brought before Marshall to be injected with an experimental heroin substitute. As the other runaways succumb to the drug's lethal effects, Ty breaks Tandy and himself out of their prison and escape to the river, dodging their captor's gunshots. Marshall's thugs cease pursuit, thinking the cold water will kill them before they reach Manhattan Island. Ty begins manifesting a darkness field around him, illuminated only by a bright light being emanated by Tandy. The two make it to shore and take refuge in an alley. Tandy continues to glow, and Ty is horrified to see that his body has become nothing but cold, dark shadow. He wraps himself in yards of thrown-away blue-with-black-stripes fabric (which will become his cloak) to combat the cold and his horror at what he has become. Marshall's chickenhawks locate the pair, who have fully manifested their powers and make short work of them. Ty's stammer is gone, and the two begin to absorb what they've become.

[Paul Bourcier]

Thanks for the run-down on C&D 4, Chris. Here are my notes. The bottom line is that someone with all the comics would have to go panel by panel to determine new material from rehashed material and come up with revised chronologies. even the scenes noted as repeated below may carry new info.

C&D 4 (5:1-5-7)-FB
Pre-origin flash-back, probably within a few months. In Shaker Heights, Ohio, Tandy Bowen is on the phone at her dance class begging her self-absorbed mother to see her perform the lead in Swan Lake. Her mother, busy with a modeling shoot, blows her off. Tandy angrily hangs up.
This scene is repeated in C&D3 19 (8:4)-FB.

C&D 4 (6:1-6:6)-FB
Tandy displays her dancing prowess in response to her instructor quipping that her mother's money can't buy her talent, then leaves the classroom.
This scene is repeated in C&D3 19 (8:6)-FB.

C&D 4 (7:1-7:8)-FB
Outside the school, Tandy accepts a ride home from classmate Rob Daltry, despite wanting nothing to do with his lecherous advances.

C&D 4 (8:1-8:11)-FB
Storming into her palatial mansion home, Tandy's stepfather Phil asks if he can come to see Tandy perform Swan Lake, displaying some actual sincerity, but Tandy blows him off with a parting shot about her mother and her biological father.
This scene is repeated in C&D3 19 (9:1-9:2)-FB and ST2 2 (4:3)-FB.

C&D 4 (9:1-9:9)-FB
Later that night, Tandy goes into her kitchen to find Rob there, having a snack. Though as initially irritated with him as before, she finally breaks down and confides in him, albeit still wary of his intentions.

C&D 4 (9:10)-FB
Three weeks later (as stated in captions), Tandy boards a bus for New York City shortly after Rob leaves for college.
This scene may be repeated in ST2 2 (4:4)-FB, showing Tandy walking with a suitcase.

C&D 4 (10:2-11:12)-FB
Flashback to South Boston, Mass. While Tyrone Johnson plays basketball with friends, one of his teachers discusses his speech impediment with his parents, expressing her concern not for his education but for his future. Back on the court, Ty's friends ask about his basketball, but his stammer prevents him from answering and he walks off. Billy, Ty's best friend, consoles him in the locker room, assuring him the two's friendship will see them through anything.
The basketball scene may be repeated in C&D3 19 (8:1)-FB.

C&D 4 (12:1-12:8)-FB
While Ty and Billy window shop at an athletic shoe store, a pair of armed thieves run out of the store, shooting and killing the owner on the way. Billy begins to run, and an arriving police officer mistakes him for one of the thieves.
This scene is repeated in C&D3 19 (8:3)-FB.

C&D 4 (13:1-13:12)-FB
Ty tries to tell the cop Billy wasn't involved, but his stammer keeps him from getting the words out. Despite Ty's efforts, the cop shoots and kills Billy.
This scene is repeated in C&D3 19 (9:3-9:7)-FB.

C&D 4 (13:13)-FB
An indeterminate time afterwards (though likely at around the same time Tandy boards her bus), Ty boards a bus for New York City.

C&D 4 (14:1-22:9)-FB
Ty and Tandy arrive in New York at the same time, just in time for Ty to tackle a street hoodlum who stole Tandy's purse. Tandy offers to buy Ty a burger as thanks, and the two commiserate over dinner at a nearby diner. Two henchmen of drug chemist Simon Marshall approach Ty and Tandy, offering them a "place to stay." Ty is reluctant, sensing the two are trouble, but Tandy accepts their invitation. The two are taken to a pier and forced onto a boat bound for Ellis Island. Ty is knocked unconscious by one of their captors, fearing he could cause trouble. Ty and Tandy are deposited in a room with other runaways, then later, as were the others, brought before Marshall to be injected with an experimental heroin substitute. As the other runaways succumb to the drug's lethal effects, Ty breaks Tandy and himself out of their prison and escape to the river, dodging their captor's gunshots. Marshall's thugs cease pursuit, thinking the cold water will kill them before they reach Manhattan Island. Ty begins manifesting a darkness field around him, illuminated only by a bright light being emanated by Tandy. The two make it to shore and take refuge in an alley. Tandy continues to glow, and Ty is horrified to see that his body has become nothing but cold, dark shadow. He wraps himself in yards of thrown-away blue-with-black-stripes fabric (which will become his cloak) to combat the cold and his horror at what he has become. Marshall's chickenhawks locate the pair, who have fully manifested their powers and make short work of them. Ty's stammer is gone, and the two begin to absorb what they've become.
This segment may have to be broke into smaller segments to incorporate any new elements that might exist in all those other flashback scenes I noted.