Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger has had some jaw-dropping cliffhangers so far. But last night’s (June 28) ending to “Princeton Offense” may have the most impact to the series going forward, as we met Ally Maki’s new character, Mina Hess.
Who is Mina Hess? And what does she mean for the second half of the show’s season? Read on, friends…
Who is Ally Maki?
First, let’s talk about the actress who plays Mina Hess! You probably know her best from the TBS Lost parody comedy Wrecked, where she played Jess. But she’s been bouncing around for years, including a two episode appearance on Netflix’s Dear White People, and was a regular on 10 Things I Hate About You (the TV show!). She’s also had guest appearances on everything from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, to New Girl.
Basically, if she looked familiar when she popped up on Cloak & Dagger, it’s because you’ve almost definitely seen her before.
Who Is Mina Hess?
***Spoilers for last night’s Cloak & Dagger past this point!*** Mina is an environmental engineer working for the Roxxon corporation. More importantly, her father Ivan Hess got hurt during the destruction of Roxxon’s research platform; the same accident that gave Tandy (Olivia Holt) and Tyrone (Aubrey Joseph) their powers.
She briefly met Tandy while the girl who will be Dagger was snooping around a corporate shindig. And later, Tandy showed up on the set of a Roxxon promo, where Mina was talking about how Roxxon is helping to save the environment.
Mina’s father, Ivan Hess, also helped design the Roxxon platform with Tandy’s father Nathan Bowen. That (probably) puts him at odds with Peter Scarborough (Wayne Pére), the man Tandy suspects caused the explosion, or had a hand in its destruction.
How will Mina Hess help (or harm) Tandy?
TBD, because we’ve only had minimal contact with Mina so far. But here’s the description for the next episode, “Funhouse Mirrors”:
Tyrone heads down a dangerous path to get closer to Det. Connors, as Tandy pretends to be a Roxxon intern in an attempt to get answers. Her “internship” hits a little too close to home for Tandy when she gets a glimpse at what her life could have been like. Meanwhile, Det. O’Reilly gets closer to Det. Connors and Evita’s Aunt Clarisse worries about Tyrone’s future.
It’s a fair guess to say that Tandy will team up with Mina for the “internship,” and get to see what would have happened if her mother hadn’t pursued legal action with Roxxon. Will Mina be an ally or a hindrance, though, is a big question.
Who is Mina Hess in the comics?
Nobody, dude! She’s an original character for the show, so there’s no comic book source material to draw on. And as we’ve discussed before, though Cloak and Dagger have been around for years, they have a surprisingly short bench for villains and allies. It’s nice to see the show branching out from the source material.
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