Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger could resolve a major dropped plot thread from Agent Carter Season 2. In the comics, the character of Cloak is traditionally associated with an interdimensional energy known as the Darkforce. The Darkforce has already been seen in the MCU; it was introduced back in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 1, in the episode “The Only Light in the Darkness,” and was further developed in the second season of Agent Carter.
The first two episodes of Cloak & Dagger have introduced the titular heroes, giving Tandy and Tyrone a first taste of their as-yet-unexplained powers. The teenagers appear to have gained their abilities after an explosion at a Roxxon drilling platform, which led to the release of an unknown energy wave. Speaking to Nerdist, showrunner Joe Pokaski teased that the explosion of this oil rig will be explored in Rpisode 7. He hinted that Roxxon is “digging for something that may or may not be oil.”
It’s actually possible that Roxxon is attempting to harness the power of the Darkforce - and that everything went catastrophically wrong. If that’s the case, the MCU origin of Cloak and Dagger is actually subtly tied to Agent Carter Season 2.
What is the Darkforce?
The MCU has reinvented the Darkforce, sometimes known as Zero Matter, as a transdimensional element that seems to mutate anyone it comes into contact with. In a behind-the-scenes featurette for Agent Carter Season 2, Dr. Clifford Johnson - one of Marvel’s science consultants - suggested that the MCU version of the Darkforce is “not really a force, or an energy, it’s more of a material - a kind of matter that’s in an extreme phase of matter.” Marvel designed a containment unit inspired by plasma containment devices in the real world, that use magnetic fields to manipulate the electrical charge of the plasma.
The precise origins of the Darkforce are uncertain. In the MCU, the phenomenon was first encountered on the battlefields of Europe during the Second World War, and may be associated with Hydra experiments. A company called Isodyne then observed a Darkforce phenomena as a result of an atomic bomb test in the ’40s, and attempted to reproduce this in order to tap into it as a new energy source. Peggy Carter shut them down.
Roxxon Could Be Experimenting With The Darkforce
According to throwaway dialogue in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 4, Isodyne was later purchased by Roxxon. There have already been subtle hints that Roxxon continued to experiment with the Darkforce. But is it possible that’s what they’re doing in Louisiana?
The first episode of Cloak & Dagger opened with a flashback scene to the day Tandy and Tyrone presumably gained their abilities. Tandy’s father was attempting to stop Roxxon shutting down a mysterious drilling project, warning that switching off the machinery would cause the rig to collapse - and then explode. Roxxon ignored his advice, but he proved prescient.
These events fit perfectly with the idea Roxxon was attempting to tap into the Darkforce. In Agent Carter, accessing the Darkforce involved creating a strange dimensional fissure. When one of these opened, there was initially a vacuum effect, drawing all surrounding matter into itself; this would then be followed by a release of energy. That kind of vacuum effect would explain why the rig collapsed; presumably, Roxxon’s machines were keeping this force in check, and switching them off caused a catastrophe. There’s then a release of energy into the water - and, crucially, Tandy and Tyrone were both in the water at that second, and were exposed to this energy burst. Everything matches up with a Darkforce experiment of some kind.
Nothing is ever forgotten in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In this case, it looks as though Roxxon wasn’t the only subtle link between Cloak & Dagger and the rest of the MCU; the series may well actually be predicated on the idea of experiments with the Darkforce, a power that we’ve seen unleashed before.
More: Cloak & Dagger: Every Update You Need To Know
Cloak and Dagger continues on Freeform on Thursday, June 14.
