Cloak or Dagger #3 opens with the long-awaited reunion of Cloak and Dagger, who have spent the last two issues and X years unable to occupy the same space as a result of their ill-fated exposure to the X-virus. But with time running out to stop the Fenris twins from creating their own mutant army, Tyrone and Tandy must take a potentially world-ending risk: exist in the same place.
Ty and Tandy’s daughter, Ayla, brings Tandy to the Haven outpost, just beyond the Revelation zone. Before this point, Ayla lived in the Inbetween with whichever parent wasn’t currently on Earth. Ayla seems to have her own array of powers, a mix of both Cloak and Dagger and perhaps even a bit more powerful, too.
Longtime Cloak and Dagger fans will be more than happy to see the couple reunited, however brief it may be, as we finally see the consequences of their existence together. Both feel the absolute force of their respective otherworldly powers, acknowledging that even as they must work together, their time in the same space is limited, as Ty admits he “feels the dissonance creeping in… our energies beginning to pull apart.”
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After three issues, what fate befalls Ty and Tandy if they are in the same plane for too long is revealed, with Cloak becoming pure darkness and Dagger becoming pure light. The couple admits that this has happened once before, and it took them a long time to regain their sense of self.
Another problem is Ayla’s presence, as she’s never left the Inbetween. The couple’s allies against the twins, Flex and Scritch, raise questions as to what could happen to Ayla if she stays on our plane of existence too long. No one is quite sure, which doubles the importance of defeating the Fenris twins and their fanatic followers.
The team makes quick work of the Fenris followers, and after an initial failed fight with the twins, Cloak leaves Andreas in the Darkforce dimension, separating and ultimately de-powering the Fenris twins.
Several questions are raised by the end: Did Ty and Tandy make the right choice to raise Ayla, separated from the rest of the world? Ayla clearly still wants to go live in the ‘real world’ and help save people. What will happen the next time she brings up her unhappiness with the Inbetween? And rather cheekily… does Andreas von Strucker now live in the Darkforce dimension?
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Regardless, the story concludes with Ty and Tandy helping evacuate the civilians, Ayla tucked into bed, and the reminder that hate has no place in the world, even in a post-Revelation one.
The final installment of this miniseries does suffer in that it is such a short amount of time for such an ambitious story. With so much of the status quo changed for Ty and Tandy, another issue or two could have properly fleshed out this new reality for our heroes. However, this book does make a great jumping-off point for any new readers wanting to read Cloak and Dagger, especially with more people discovering them in a post-Marvel Rivals world. Writer Justina Ireland understands the characters of Tyrone Johnson and Tandy Bowen and how deep their connection is to one another.
Art by Lorenzo Tammetta and Edoardo Audino, with colors by Andrew Dalhouse elevate the story, bringing to life both Cloak and Dagger’s unique power sets. Every moment between Ty and Tandy together again is so visceral and breath-taking; the world around them disappears as they see one another again. The distinct portrayal of both darkforce and lightforce, for lack of a better phrase, lights up the pages.
As far as potential future plot lines go, the inclusion of Ayla was one of my favorite aspects of the miniseries. The biracial child of Cloak and Dagger, who lives in a place called the Inbetween, spells out the intentions quite well. With the sandbox nature of comics, it’s entirely possible to see Ayla Bowen-Johnson again.
While Cloak or Dagger was clearly a miniseries for a larger event, it’s also a testing ground for whether audiences would want a mainline Cloak and Dagger series. With their budding popularity as playable characters in Marvel Rivals and now this expressive and exciting book, hopefully, the answer is a resounding yes.
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