Teenagers connected through a shared childhood tragedy who acquire superpowers of darkness and light though the Roxxon Corporation before becoming romantically involved with one another, the characters were introduced in Cloak & Dagger (2018–2019).

In the first season of Cloak & Dagger, set in New Orleans, Louisiana, teenagers Tyrone "Ty" Johnson and Tandy Bowen, connected through a shared childhood tragedy and respectively coming from backgrounds of wealth and poverty, acquire superpowers after a life-changing event revolving around the collapse of the Roxxon Gulf Platform.

[3] In the second season, Cloak and Dagger work to solve the abductions of women run by Andre Deschaine while facing Brigid O'Reilly's vigilante half Mayhem.

"[2] After the first-season finale, Pokaski expanded, saying he would "love" to have Cloak and Dagger appear in the MCU films "as utility players the way they are in comics", but conceded "there are a lot of legal hurdles and corporate barriers to doing that".

The series, which would be set in post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans, would follow Tyrone Johnson / Cloak and Tandy Bowen / Dagger as the two "find each other and realize that their powers both complement and complicate their lives",[8] and written by Joe Pokaski.

[3] Gina Prince-Bythewood, the director of the first episode, called the casting process "really, really tough ... it was three days before we were supposed to leave [to begin filming] and we didn't find [actors for Cloak and Dagger].

[16] Early reactions to the Cloak & Dagger series premiere "First Light" from its screening at South by Southwest 2018 were largely positive, with praise going to Joseph and Holt's performances.

"[1] In his review of the first four episodes of the first season, Daniel Fienberg of The Hollywood Reporter felt that he "found [him]self enjoying quite a bit thanks to the solid introductions to the human side of its characters".

[12] Reviewing the first two episodes, IGN's Joi Childs lauded Joseph and Holt's performances for "[t]ackling a variety of relatable subjects while embracing the thrill of discovering new powers [and] deliver[ing] an emotionally honest and surprisingly resonant premiere", concluding that "thanks to the drama, effects, mystery and chemistry between the main protagonists, the premiere builds a solid foundation for Marvel's newest series.

"[19] For io9, Charles Pulliam-Moore noted the series as "[not] exactly a show for die-hard comic book purists looking for a live-action translation of the superheroes they love, but that ultimately works out in its favor because that's not what it's trying to be.