Freeform is the place to be this summer for ongoing comic book action with Marvel's Cloak and Dagger. The freshman series follows Tandy and Tyrone as they discover their own superpowers and begin to embrace their destinies as the heroes Dagger and Cloak, respectively. Viewers have gotten nods to other Marvel TV projects like Luke Cage and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. that plenty of people noticed, but apparently Cloak and Dagger may have introduced a major comic villain without causing much of a stir. Legendary Cloak and Dagger villain Mister Jip might have turned up already, according to showrunner Joe Pokaski. Here's how he puts it:
You didn't see him in episode six? It's possible you did. I'm not spoiling anything, I'm not committing to anything. But you should go back and look carefully at the scene where Tyrone goes into Kev's dream and [sees] that kid with the backpack's fears. I have a feeling if we're lucky enough to have a season two, a lot your favorites will be making appearances.
Well, if Cloak and Dagger doesn't get renewed for Season 2, that tease is just mean! Joe Pokaski's hint in his chat with Syfy Wire that Mister Jip has already appeared on the show certainly points toward more superpowered and supernatural characters in a second season. If Mister Jip did indeed show up in Episode 6, he popped up in appropriately scary sequence that saw Tyrone take a nightmarish trip into somebody's dream. The scene itself was largely dark and frenetic, so it's no surprise that fans didn't all spot Mister Jip on initial viewing.
Mister Jip would be a notable addition to Cloak and Dagger for multiple reasons, not the least of which is that he's almost exclusively a villain to Cloak and Dagger in Marvel Comics lore. An evil sorcerer with such a grotesque appearance that he's frightening even without demonstrating his powers, Mister Jip put the comics characters through hell on more than one occasion, even bringing in a couple of minions whose powers very nearly match those of Cloak and Dagger.
Assuming Tandy and Tyrone are able to close (or at least mostly close) the Roxxon mystery in Season 1, the door could be wide open for Mister Jip to debut in Season 2, should Freeform give the renewal order. Non-superpowered villains have worked just fine in the first season as the two heroes figure out their powers and get to know each other, but a second season of Cloak and Dagger with their powers vs. non-superpowered opponents might not work.
Cloak and Dagger vs. Mister Jip could be the ideal way to advance the story in a way that makes sense for newcomers as well as to longtime fans who know the characters from the pages of the comics. We'll have to wait and see. At this point, there's no guarantee that the story advances beyond the Season 1 finale. That said, Freeform has gotten some solid ratings from Cloak and Dagger's first season, and I'd be surprised if the network would pass on a Marvel property.
Tune in to Freeform on Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET to catch new episodes of Cloak and Dagger. If you're in the mood for some other series, swing by our summer TV guide.
