Cloak & Dagger: Roxxon's History in the Marvel Cinematic Universe

The Marvel Cinematic Universe's Roxxon Oil Corporation is back in a big way. The mega conglomerate, which debuted in 2008's Iron Man, will return to menace the heroes of Freeform's upcoming Cloak & Dagger series. However, this is far from the first time the company has had a large presence in the MCU, though it does appear to be its most ominous role to date. Here's the history of Marvel's Roxxon -- so far.

Chronologically in the MCU's timeline, Roxxon's first major appearance took place in 1946 during Agent Carter Season 1. Right off the bat, Roxxon was in the center of the action. When Howard Stark realized his Bad Babies -- that is, "inventions too dangerous for anyone, even my friends" -- were stolen, he sent Peggy to track them down. She soon discovered molecular Nitramene, an explosive strong enough to "level a city block," at Roxxon's Red Hook Refinery. According to Stark's partner Dr. Anton Vanko, Red Hook Refinery was the only one in the area "capable" of making something like Nitramene.

When Peggy and Edwin Jarvis showed up to Red Hook Refinery, they discovered a building "well-armed for a mothball facility." In addition to an electric fence, the place was surrounded by armed guards. Nevertheless, Peggy was able to sneak inside, where she discovered a Roxxon employee named Miles Van Ert developing Nitramene bombs for Leet Brannis, an ex-Leviathan agent.

Roxxon's Red Hook Refinery as it appeared in Agent Carter Season 1

Unfortunately for Roxxon head Hugh Jones, Van Ert and Brannis soon became aware of Peggy's presence in the Red Hook Refinery. In an effort to escape, Brannis agent set off a Nitramene bomb, giving Peggy just 30 seconds to escape. She and Jarvis managed to get away in the nick of time, but witnessed firsthand the destruction wrought by Nitramene. The building completely imploded, leaving only a ball of debris behind: "An entire chemical refinery squashed into that."

"Port Authority says Roxxon Refinery just blew up," Agent Daniel Sousa announced following the Nitramene's detonation. "They can't find the building."

Outside of Van Ert's involvement, it's unclear how involved Jones was in the development of these Nitramene bombs, though the building's security suggests he at least knew about it. However, Jones never shied away from opportunity, so long as it benefited him. In Season 2, he -- and Roxxon by extension -- was revealed to be part of the Council of Nine, an Illuminati-like group of businessmen and influential leaders who used their powers to their own ends. For instance, the Council caused the Great Depression for their own gain: "I'm still living off the dividends from the crash of '29, a crash that Tom [Gloucester] here had the vision to orchestrate," Jones revealed.

As a member of the Council, Jones voted to dissolve Isodyne Energy, "a development laboratory dedicated to fuel initiatives in the 20th century" that discovered Zero Matter. Zero Matter, an element comprised entirely of pure negative energy, would later be called Darkforce. Isodyne Energy stumbled upon Zero Matter after the development of the A-bomb launched an atomic arms race that involved other big name technology companies, like Stark Industries and -- of course -- Roxxon.

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As part of this atomic arms race, Roxxon developed its own warheads, which were used in the Isodyne Energy test that uncovered Zero Matter. "The bombs used in the Isodyne test. Those were manufactured by Roxxon. After 1946, the two remaining warheads were put in storage," scientist Jason Wilkes explained to Peggy and the S.S.R. gang. "They have several facilities, and the location of each is classified."

Peggy and her friends soon discovered just how thoroughly Roxxon invested in its security. "I believe the word 'impenetrable' was used," Jarvis said of the Los Angeles facility that stored these warheads. "The elevator requires a special key, one that impossible to duplicate." When Peggy suggested blowing the door off its hinges, he revealed that "could trigger the explosives set inside them." Any attempt to drill into the lock "would pierce the acid core, spraying into the elevator." Likewise, trying to dig into the building "would trip the 3,000-volt mechanism underground." The facility was also surrounded by guards paid handsomely enough they could afford Rolex watches.

After Whitney Frost killed half the members of the Council, Jones remained a member. When she demanded to use Roxxon facilities, he quickly acquiesced. "I'm very excited about this collaboration and I look forward to seeing where your leadership takes us," he told her, indicating he would do whatever it took to survive. He was not seen again on the series, which ended after its sophomore season.

During the time of Agent Carter, Roxxon also sponsored a radio serial titled The Captain America Adventure Program, which offered a heavily fictionalized retelling of Steve Rogers' adventures. In the serial, Cap battled Adolph Hitler to save triage nurse Betty Carver, who was loosely based on Peggy. Betty often found herself as a damsel in distress in need of rescuing by Captain America.

Per the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 4 episode "The Good Samaritan," Roxxon acquired Isodyne Energy and its assets on October 13, 1956. As Leo Fitz explained to Alphonso "Mack" Mackenzie, "Peggy Carter and her team encountered them back in the 40s. They were conducting experiments on something called Zero Matter, or Darkforce, but Isodyne doesn't exist anymore. Its assets were acquired by Roxxon Corporation in the 50s."

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Of course, all of this explains why Roxxon had a presence in Iron Man. Though Roxxon didn't actively participate in the events of the first MCU film, a building owned by the corporation can be spotted in the background during the final battle between Iron Man and Iron Monger. Specifically, the Roxxon building appears on the skyline as Tony Stark and Obadiah Stane brawl on the ground in the middle of traffic.

In Iron Man 2, Roxxon played a similarly small role. The corporation sponsored a driver at the Grand Prix de Monaco Historique. After Ivan Vanko, aka Whiplash, sliced Stark's vehicle in half, he caused an accident between the other race cars. As a green car tumbles through the air, the Roxxon logo can be spotted on its spoiler.

Roxxon also appears in the Marvel one-shot "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor's Hammer." As Agent Phil Coulson traveled from Stark's Malibu mansion to New Mexico, he made a pit-stop at a Roxxon gas station to fill his tank. There, he stopped an armed robbery in progress, saving the cashier in the process.

Iron Man 3 gave Roxxon a bigger role to play. At one point, the Mandarin kidnapped Thomas Richards, an accountant for the Roxxon Corporation, and threatened to shoot him unless President Matthew Ellis called. Though Ellis gave into this demand, the Mandarin shot Richards anyway.

Additionally, Roxxon's tanker Norco was revealed to be the source of a major oil spill. "You'll remember that when she spilled a million gallons of crude oil off Pensacola, thanks to you, not one fat cat saw a day in court," Aldrich Killian reminded Ellis, implying that the Commander-in-Chief has ties to the corporation. Stark's showdown with Killian also took place on the Norco. With a little help from Pepper Potts, he was successful in defeating Killian and saving the president.

The fall following Iron Man 3's theatrical run, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. debuted and picked up the baton. A Utah-based Roxxon gas station appeared in the opening sequence of the Season 1 episode "Repairs," only to be destroyed in a freak accident.

The show also introduced Cybertek Technologies, "a small firm that deals in advanced technology and research," which has ties to Roxxon in the comics; however, the company was never explicitly linked to Roxxon in the show, outside of some Easter egg-like hints. For instance, at a Cybertek facility in "Ragtag," Coulson and Melinda May stumbled across file cabinets labeled with the names of Roxxon subsidiaries from the comics: the Brand Corporation and the Metrobank. Despite this, they were never confirmed to be part of Roxxon within the context of the MCU, and so it seems Cybertek and Roxxon are two separate entities as far as they exist in the show.

Roxxon reared its ugly head again in the Season 4 episode "The Good Samaritan," where it was revealed that the corporation had bought Isodyne Energy. Using a book called the Darkhold, a group of scientists -- including Robbie "Ghost Rider" Reyes' uncle Eli Morrow -- had discovered a way to make matter from nothing. One of these scientists, Lucy Bauer, was trapped between dimensions during the experiment and later returned to a Roxxon power plant to reverse what had been done to her. "This Roxxon power plant closed down years ago because of safety violations, but -- if Lucy Bauer can get it operational -- it's got more than enough power for her experiment," Fitz explained -- and so Roxxon continued its proud tradition of "closing down" their facilities, even as villains found use for them.

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Roxxon's MCU tenure didn't stop there. The corporation resurfaced during a flashback in the Daredevil Season 1 episode "Nelson vs. Murdock," where Matt Murdock and Foggy Nelson represented Roxxon in a case against a former employee. In the countersuit, "not only does... Roxxon Energy Corporation categorically deny any culpability in your diagnosis, but also cites clear and actionable breach of contract regarding your decision to share details of your highly sensitive work in the Londonderry plant." The former employee, of course, only shared those details with his doctor, as he had become gravely ill.

Despite the former employee's condition, Roxxon sought to pursue damages against him: "Roxxon must vigorously defend its patents in relation to the extraction and refinement process that you, by admission, had intimate knowledge of. In light of this, we will be pursuing damages." Realizing the treatment of this sick Roxxon employee wasn't right, Murdock was inspired to open his own law firm with Nelson, his longtime friend and partner -- and the rest, shall we say, is history.

In the Iron Fist Season 1 episode "Felling Tree with Roots," Roxxon's nefarious associations deepened. As it turns out, the Hand -- a clandestine organization filled with assassins -- used the company as a means of distribution in their heroin operation. "Genius how the Hand's been using our company," Harold Meachum mused to his son Ward. "Well, not just us. It's everywhere. It's Roxxon, Midland Circle... You could really learn something from them the next time you feel like stealing millions."

The mention of the conglomerate in Iron Fist brings us up-to-date with Roxxon's sordid Marvel Cinematic Universe history. From the 1940s through to the present, Roxxon has committed -- and gotten away with -- dozens of evil acts, ranging from small scale injustices to environmental disasters to potentially world-ending events. This bodes ill for Cloak & Dagger's protagonists, as it seems unlikely that the mega corporation has changed its deadly ways. Hopefully, Tandy Bowen and Tyrone Johnson will survive the experience.

Arriving Jun 7 on Freeform with a two-hour premiere, Cloak & Dagger stars Olivia Holt as Tandy Bowen/Dagger and Aubrey Joseph as Tyrone Johnson/Cloak, as well as Andrea Roth as Tandy’s mother Melissa Bowen, Gloria Reuben as Tyrone’s mother Adina Johnson, Miles Mussenden as Tyrone’s father Michael Johnson, Carl Lundstedt as Tandy’s partner in crime Liam, James Saito as Dr. Bernard Sanjo and J.D. Evermore as Detective Connors.