Tandy Bowen’s life started in privilege, but it wasn’t the life for which she was destined. The teenage rebel’s path took a super-powered turn when she crossed paths with Tyrone “Ty” Johnson and the two ended up participating in a shady scientific experiment. Because of this, the duo developed powers that balanced each other. Tandy became Dagger, an embodiment of light that provided the yin to Cloak’s dark yang. Together, they became nearly unstoppable and inseparable.
Running Toward the Light
Tandy Bowen grew up in a wealthy Cleveland suburb, wanting for nothing—except love. As a child, her father, Nathan Tyler, abandoned his family to seek spiritual enlightenment in India. Her mother Melissa, a successful model, went through a string of replacement husbands, neglecting Tandy in favor of her career. Tandy coped by throwing herself into dancing, sharing her dream of becoming a prima ballerina with her friend Mary Gregory, who in turn hoped to become a famous actress. Eventually Melissa Bowen married Phillip Carlisle. While he actually did really care for Tandy, his love was not reciprocated. At age sixteen, Tandy ran away to New York.
Upon arriving in the Big Apple, her handbag was stolen within minutes of her arrival, but fellow runaway Tyrone Johnson retrieved it, initiating a fast friendship. Believing that they were being offered shelter, the two were taken against their will to Ellis Island. Simon Marshall, a pharmaceutical chemist for the criminal gang the Maggia, was experimenting on dozens of runaways to develop a new synthetic, addictive narcotic his employers hoped will be cheaper than imported heroin. Tandy and Tyrone survived the experiment, thanks to their unique body chemistry.