The ‘Runaways’ and ‘Cloak & Dagger’ Team-Up Is Totally Heroic (And Ultimately a Bummer)

Marvel fans live for a crossover moment. Whether it’s in the movies, on TV, or in the pages of Marvel comics, fans love to watch superheroes clash and, ultimately, team up. We got the crossover event of the millennium earlier this year in Avengers: Endgame, which featured practically every big-screen hero in the Marvel Universe, and now we’re closing out 2019 with a much smaller (albeit still highly-anticipated) meet-up: the Runaways and Cloak and Dagger.

The young stars of the Hulu and Freeform series finally cross paths in Season 3 of Marvel’s Runaways, fulfilling a hope that comic readers have had since Marvel’s Cloak and Dagger debuted. These two Marvel properties crossed over a bunch in the comics, and fingers have been crossed in the hopes that the TV shows would do the same. Now that wish comes true in an action-packed Season 3 episode titled “Devil’s Torture Chamber.” So, how does this crossover shake out? SPOILERS AHEAD for Marvel’s Runaways Season 3!

Tandy (Olivia Holt) and Tyrone (Aubrey Joseph) actually pop up at the very end of Season 3, Episode 7 (“Left-Hand Path”). Nico, with her father dead and her friends held hostage by Morgan le Fay’s forces across two dimensions, has no choice but to cast a spell. But in her attempt to open a portal to the Dark Dimension, she accidentally summons two travelers to the Runaways’ Hostel: Cloak and Dagger.

Episode 8 starts off with the expected (and always fun) superhero showdown, the part where neither side knows what’s going on and is immediately skeptical of the other. While Tyrone remains diplomatic towards the goth witch in an abandoned, run-down mansion, Tandy is immediately ready to bounce. But Tyrone reminds her that they left New Orleans in order to help more people across the country (as seen in the Cloak and Dagger Season 2 finale). Nico’s someone that needs help, and also Cloak and Dagger are kinda intrigued to learn that there are other teens with powers out in the world.

Cloak teleports the trio into the Wizard HQ, where Nico’s friends and some of their parents are being held. Tyrone immediately teleports the parental units out of harm’s way, and then returns for the rest of the super-teens. One catch: Nico has Tyrone teleport this ragtag bunch into the Dark Dimension without running it by anyone else first. She wants help rescuing Alex, who’s been stuck in a nightmare prison for months, but the rest of the crew are justifiably terrified of returning to that hell. And, as Tandy points out, Chase doesn’t have his fistigons, Gert doesn’t have her dinosaur, and Karolina’s alien light blasts don’t work in the Dark Dimension. On top of that, Ty’s teleporting abilities have to recharge! They are severely underpowered and going up against Morgan le Fay’s heavily-armed forces!

The sextet step out into the Dark Dimension’s fiery version of Los Angeles and make their way to Alex’s prison. Once they get there (after a few run-ins with armed goons and that kooky magician from Episode 5), the kids have a quiet moment to bond. Tyrone and Chase talk high school sports while Gert eye-rolls (“dude-bonding is my Dark Dimension”), and Tandy expresses serious concerns about Nico to Karolina. Is Nico getting too powerful too fast? And is she flirting with darkness? And what’s up with her kinda trusting Morgan le Fay?

All this bonding is interrupted by some of the Dark Dimension’s patented horrific apparitions, one of a monstrous Molly (the only absent Runaway) that attacks Gert. Cloak jumps into action just in time to save Chase and Gert from the vision, teleporting them away from the group. Now separated into two groups of three, each trio decides to head to their ultimate destination: Alex’s prison.

There’s just one catch: the longer they remain in the Dark Dimension, the more they start to forget who they are and where they really come from. This ticking clock makes Nico push Karolina and Tandy to action, but Tandy wants to find Ty first. Frustrated, Tandy grabs Nico’s arm to stop her from charging off and ends up using her powers to show the teen witch her heart’s greatest hope: a wedding with Karolina! This is the second Nico/Karolina wedding vision we’ve gotten this season! Aaaahhh!!

Back with the other three, Gert is starting to freak out because they’ve left Molly out on in the real world. She demands that Tyrone take her back home and then return to finish Nico’s rescue mission, but Ty can’t do that. He has no idea if he’ll ever be able to find this specific spot in the Dark Dimension if he leaves. Like Tandy, Ty grabs Gert and shows her a vision, this time of her greatest fear: a flock of ravens surrounding and attacking Molly, Chase, and Old Lace.

The sextet reunites in the prison via one truly spectacular superheroic leap from one building to another (Nico, Tandy, and Karolina are ready for the Avengers, BTW).

They team up to stop that mad magician and Morgan’s guards, but are quickly overwhelmed–and we learn that all of this drama is just a show for one viewer: Alex. Morgan le Fay’s lieutenant has been screening the melee for Alex Wilder in an attempt to push him closer and closer to doing what the evil forces want, which is to commit murder! Will he do it if it means saving his friends?

But just as the magician has Karolina in his grasp, Tandy and Nico hit him with a special team-up: Tandy tosses one of her light daggers to Nico, who catches it, infuses it with her dark magic, and stabs the undead villain. This disposes of him, just as Alex gives in and kills the Dark Dimension’s replica of his mother. And just like that, all the threats disappears in a puff of smoke and the Runaways are finally able to reconnect with Alex.

As everyone circles up and links hands for Cloak’s teleportation, Tandy gets a vision of Alex’s greatest hope–and it’s terrifying.

In this flash, we see Alex possessing all of his teammates abilities. He’s wearing Chases gadgets, his eyes and fist are glowing with Molly and Karolina’s energies, he’s carrying Nico’s staff, and Old Lace is by his side. Upon returning to the Hostel (Earth’s Hostel), Tandy tries to warn everyone that Alex’s intentions may be a lot darker than they realize. They all wave her concerns away, and Alex says that the Dark Dimension has a way of breaking minds, but he’s better now. Sure! With that, Tandy and Tyrone depart, on a mission to make sure that other Dark Dimension portals aren’t opening up elsewhere.

But Tandy leaves with an offer that cuts like a light dagger: “Maybe you guys can come help us next time.” That tease is, of course, bittersweet since Freeform just canceled Cloak & Dagger a few weeks ago. And making matters worse, Hulu has announced that Runaways is over as of the end of Season 3. Not only will we never get to see the Runaways help out Cloak and Dagger, we won’t even get to see these teen teams in their own shows anymore. Does Cloak have his hand on my shoulder? Because I’m seeing my greatest fear right now.

That’s it. That’s what goes down when the casts of Marvel TV’s two teen shows team up. We got some conflict, some laughs, and one helluva hero moment. And for now, that’s all we’re going to get. This was the beginning of something bigger, and now we know that it’s also the end.

Stream Marvel's Runaways on Hulu

Stream Marvel's Cloak and Dagger on Hulu