| Cloak and Dagger | |
|---|---|
Cloak and Dagger #1 (October, 1983). Art by Rick Leonardi. |
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #64 (March 1982) |
| Created by | Bill Mantlo Ed Hannigan |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | (Cloak) Tyrone "Ty" Johnson (Dagger) Tandy Bowen |
| Species | Human mutates |
| Team affiliations | X-Men[1] Dark X-Men Secret Avengers (Civil War) Runaways New Warriors (Dagger) Secret Defenders Marvel Knights (Dagger) Brides of Set (Dagger) |
| Abilities |
(Cloak)
(Dagger)
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Cloak and Dagger (Tyrone "Ty" Johnson and Tandy Bowen, respectively) are a fictional comic book superhero duo in the Marvel Comics Universe. They were created by writer William "Bill" Mantlo and designed by artist Edward Hannigan.
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Cloak and Dagger first appeared in Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #64 (March 1982). Since then, there have been a number of attempts to launch various ongoing Cloak and Dagger series, but none survived past 19 issues due to low sales.[2] The pair did make numerous appearances as guest stars, appearing in a wide variety of titles, such as Runaways. The heroes were a prominent part of the Spider-Man Maximum Carnage story arc (Dagger was killed early in the battle, but reconstituted herself through Cloak). Cloak made a solo appearance in issues of the miniseries House of M, as a member of an underground human resistance movement. It was uncertain if Dagger also existed in the altered reality of House of M as there were no mentions of her during that storyline.
They have appeared in various other Marvel Universes, in one of which Cloak was killed.[3] Dagger also served as a member of Marvel Knights in a short running mini-series.[4]
It was announced at the 2008 San Diego Comic Con that the team would be reappearing once again in their own 5-part mini-series by writer Valerie D'Orazio, with pencils by Irene Flores and colors by Emily Warren.[5][6]
Recently, they have appeared in the Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men crossover, "Utopia". "They're here presented with a chance to have their reputations exonerated and their records sealed [if they join the Dark X-Men]," explains Fraction in an interview with Marvel.com. "Osborn presents it to them as the ultimate public service, [where] they can work off their past indiscretions — [such as] Cloak's dealings with the Avengers during the [Skrull] invasion."[7] Fraction reveals the more appealing part of Dark X-Men was to see how Cloak and Dagger react in a real superhero team scenario.[7]
Tyrone "Ty" Johnson (Cloak) and Tandy Bowen (Dagger) met in New York City as runaways. Tyrone was a 17-year-old teenage boy from Boston, Massachusetts, with a debilitating stutter. He ran away to New York City when his speech impediment prevented him from stopping his friend from stepping in front of a moving vehicle. Tandy was a 16-year-old teenage girl from a privileged upbringing (born in Shaker Heights, Ohio) who ran away because her multi-millionaire supermodel mother was too busy for her daughter with her career and social life. Originally when they met, Tyrone considered stealing Tandy's purse, only to be shamed when she kindly offered him money. A thief stole the purse and Tyrone retrieved it for her. Afterwards, they had dinner and became fast friends. When the naïve Tandy accepted an offer of shelter from some strange men, a wary Tyrone went along to protect her. The two teens were soon forcibly delivered to a criminal chemist named Simon Marshall, who was developing a new synthetic heroin for Silvermane and the Maggia, testing it on runaway teens with fatal results. Johnson and Bowen somehow survived injections of the drug, and they fled. During their escape, the drug turned them into superpowered beings (it was later revealed that they were both actually mutants, and that the drug had simply awakened their latent abilities).[8] Tyrone found himself engulfed in darkness and seized by a strange hunger which eased in the presence of Tandy, who was glowing with a brilliant light. Trying to hide his newly shadowy appearance in a makeshift cloak, Tyrone began absorbing Marshall's thugs into his darkness while Tandy struck them down with daggers of light. The two teens dubbed themselves Cloak & Dagger and declared war on drug crime in combating drug-dealers and helping runaway children. For all the work that Cloak and Dagger have done to help reform addicts and topple dealers, they realize that drug abuse is an evil greater than they can ever hope to conquer.
Later it was revealed that during this time, D'Spayre had been the direct cause of all of these events. He had been manipulating things from behind the scenes the entire time.[9]
Cloak and Dagger became vigilantes and hunted and killed Simon Marshall, and his drug-dealing henchmen responsible for activating their powers. They first encountered Spider-Man during these events.[10] They next murdered Silvermane in revenge, and battled his reanimated cyborg form.[11] They next teamed with Spider-Man to thwart the Punisher's murder attempt on the Kingpin.[12]
When their activities became too damaging for the illegal drug trade, some dealers kidnapped members of the New Mutants and tried to control them by injecting them with a drug similar to that which gave the duo their powers. For a time, they lost their powers to the heroes Sunspot and Wolfsbane but they cooperated in retrieving them when it was learned the others were not handling it well. Cloak and Dagger saved them with Spider-Man, but turned down an offer to join the X-Men's School for Gifted Youngsters.[8] Cloak and Dagger battled Silvermane and the Answer. The Kingpin wanted Dagger to help heal his wife, but Dagger refused to help him.[13] Cloak & Dagger befriended the superpowered preteens Power Pack[14] and twice aided the New Mutants, junior trainees of the X-Men.[15] The duo eventually learned they were mutants themselves, which is also the reason why they were the only test subjects to survive the administration of the drug in the first place.[15] Though they tend to target ordinary street criminals, they have faced such diverse foes as Doctor Doom, the Beyonder, Vermin, the Zapper, the Disciplinarian, the Warlord of Kampuchea, Mephisto, Thanos, The Assembly of Evil, Firebrand, and Lightmaster.
Cloak and Dagger encountered the Beyonder during Secret Wars II.[16] They also encountered Mayhem, a police officer who had gained powers from illegal drugs similarly to what had been done to them.[17] They next encountered Doctor Doom in Latveria.[18] Alongside Doctor Strange, they battled Ecstasy.[19] They were used in Nightmare's plot to defeat Doctor Strange.[20] They battled Mister Jip, and Night and Day.[21] They also encountered Power Pack again.[22]
Dagger was later possessed by Night, and battled X-Factor, and lost her sight temporarily.[23] Cloak and Dagger battled Hydro-Man, the second Jester, the Hulk android, Rock, and Fenris alongside the Avengers.[24] Dagger later regained her sight, and helped defeat Mister Jip.[25] Cloak later unknowingly met his twin sister.[26] Cloak and Dagger later battled D'Spayre, learning that he gave them their Dark Form and Light Form, which had been pieces of his soul, which interfered with their natural mutations.[9]
Dagger was one of the "seven brides" selected for the serpent god Set in the Atlantis Attacks crossover storyline, the other six being Jean Grey, the Invisible Woman, Andromeda, She-Hulk, Storm, and the Scarlet Witch.[27]
Cloak played a small part in the Infinity Gauntlet saga, and was among the heroes assembled by Adam Warlock to fight Thanos.[28] During his battle with Thanos, Cloak managed to suck Thanos into the Darkforce Dimension, but he was killed as Thanos released energy from within him; all that was left were pieces of his cloak. His life was restored after most of the events were undone. Not all the heroes remembered his involvement, not even Cloak himself, due to cosmic manipulation of time.
The two tended to live in churches, supported by friends and priests. Cloak has run away many times, not understanding that Dagger is fully willing to use her light power to satisfy his darkness. Cloak & Dagger are devoted to each other, but Dagger often wants more from life. While on an international case, Tandy performed with Eurocirque as Lady Light and shared a romance with a supposed stowaway on a drug boat.[29] Eventually he was exposed as a criminal but ultimately sacrificed himself to save Dagger.[30] Tandy found new friends in the New Warriors, who teamed with Cloak, Dagger, and other heroes to defeat the shadow-lunatic Darkling.[31] She also joined the team for a brief period, leading to further tension with Cloak.[32]
Cloak and Dagger teamed with Spider-Man, Captain America, Black Cat, Nightwatch, Iron Fist, Deathlok, Morbius, Venom, and Firestar to halt a murderous super villain rampage led by serial killer Carnage. Dagger was supposedly killed by Carnage's "wife" Shriek while saving an injured Spider-Man, but was later revealed to be severely wounded and recuperating within Cloak's shroud, and was the key instrument in breaking up the Carnage "family".
After Tyrone leaves Tandy's side, he was no longer able to control his hunger and consumed any and every lawbreaker, no matter how small the offense. While searching for him in churches she meets the Black Widow who she teams up with to prevent a church from being robbed. Daredevil later appears and both assist him on a mission he received from the Punisher.[33]
Dagger becomes a member of the now-defunct "Marvel Knights" team, partnering up with many different heroes, including Shang-Chi, Luke Cage, Moon Knight and Daredevil. During her time with the Knights, Dagger developed a deep friendship with the Black Widow. Natasha brings Tandy to the guidance of Dr. Strange in the hopes of finding a crazed Tyrone. The Marvel Knights and Dr. Strange locate and battle an enhanced and deranged Cloak, during which most of the group are absorbed into his cape.[33] Dr. Strange reveals that has become possessed by Nightmare. Tandy manages to overpower and absorb Ty's Cloak powers, freeing everyone from his cape.[34]
For some time, the Black Widow lets Ty and Tandy live in her apartment, which was later attacked by a homicidal Life Model Decoy of Nick Fury. Though at this point he was a normal human, Ty managed to defeat the robot.[35]
Cloak and Dagger make their return in Runaways, in which Tyrone appears repowered and stable. At one stage, the LAPD recruited the team to locate the Runaways. During their initial encounter, Dagger quickly knocked out Nico Minoru with her light and Cloak easily absorbed Chase Stein, Karolina Dean, Alex Wilder, and Nico. Gertrude Yorkes was able to halt Dagger's light attacks with her dinosaur Old Lace, as Dagger's light had no effect on animals, and Molly Hayes managed to pull Cloak's cloak from his body, severing his connection to the Darkforce Dimension. This caused a ceasefire, during which time Gertrude and Molly explained to Cloak and Dagger that the LAPD were actually corrupt and under the control of the Runaways' supervillain parents, the Pride. Cloak managed to reconnect to his cloak and rescue the Runaways he had absorbed, and he and Dagger both promised to return to New York and bring back the Avengers to stop the Pride and rescue the Runaways. However, the traitor in the Runaways—Alex—instead contacted the LAPD, which had the Pride erase Tandy's and Ty's actual memories of the group, thus preventing them from helping the Runaways.[36]
Cloak was later impersonated by a man who was using Mutant Growth Hormone to replicate Cloak's powers. The man stalked and attacked Dagger, leaving her hospitalized. After a fight with the New Avengers, Cloak regained his memories and requested the Runaways' assistance in clearing his name, as he had been framed for attacking Dagger. He appealed to the fact that they all shared bonds in being runaways and explains the reasons he and Dagger never helped them as planned. They agreed to help, and successfully helped him apprehend his impostor, a delusional nurse who believed that he and Tandy were in a relationship.[37]
Cloak and Dagger were revealed to be members of Captain America's faction of super heroes who oppose the Superhuman Registration Act during the Civil War story arc.[38]
Cloak was shot by S.H.I.E.L.D. tranquilizers while teleporting Captain America and the rebel faction to a chemical plant where they believed a catastrophic accident had taken place. It turned out to be a trap set by Iron Man, who was there waiting with the pro-registration faction. Dagger was hit with a lightning attack by a clone of Thor.[39]
It is then revealed that the pair were captured during a mission in Queens and jailed in the Negative Zone prison.[40] They are freed by the shapeshifter Hulkling, who was disguised as the pro-registration Hank Pym,[41] which leads to the climactic battle between the two sides, both of which Cloak teleports to Times Square, New York.[42]
Luke Cage calls Cloak, who drops the New Avengers at the top of Stark Tower to steal one of Tony Stark's quinjets. When Cage offers to take him with them to find the downed Skrull ship, Cloak refuses, and vanishes.[43]
Norman Osborn tracks down Tandy and Tyrone in Colombia, burning down drug fields and approaches them to join his new team of X-Men. Initially against it, as they know of Osborn's past and don't consider themselves mutants, Osborn tells them that they can take their war on drugs to a global scale as well as having no trouble with police anymore. Dagger agrees to the deal for them both, but Cloak remains hesitant.[44]
Cloak and Dagger are later recruited into the Dark X-Men by Norman Osborn. On their first mission, they take down Hellion, Sunspot, Match, Meld, Lorelei Travis, Adam X, and Avalanche, who are protesting against Osborn.[45] After Emma Frost's and Namor's betrayal of the team, Emma offers them the opportunity to join the real X-Men and their exodus from the USA, to which both instantly agree.[46] During their time with the X-Men, Cloak becomes involved with Wolverine's plan to kill Romulus along with Bruce Banner and Skaar.[47] Dagger is kidnapped and Romulus orders her to be beaten. Wolverine and Cloak manage to save her, and Wolverine kills her kidnapper, much to her chagrin. However, she tells Tyrone to continue helping Wolverine, as he needs his help.[48]
After doing test on Dagger, Dr. Nemesis confirms that they are not mutants, disappointing her as she enjoyed being on a team. It is revealed later that Tyrone was cheating on her with Tia, a girl from his old neighborhood. Eventually, Tia reveals that she knows his secret identity as Cloak and has him kidnapped, torturing him to keep him from using his powers. Dagger becomes worried after he doesn't return home after a few days and manages to track him down. With the X-Men's help, she fights off his captors whereupon Tia reveals that she has powers as well and has been brainwashed to hate them. Tia manages to escape the fight and Tandy and Tyrone decide to leave Utopia and the X-Men and return to New York to work on rekindling their relationship.[49]
They are featured in the Spider-Man arc as being homeless as they just loss their home in New York because it wasn't up to code. They then were confronted by the Avengers who informed them about the present spider problem at hand. It's also revealed that Dagger is attending college classes as an attempt to normalize her life. Cloak has contradicting views as he acknowledges them as "special".[50] After Mister Negative hears of a prophecy that he destined to be killed by Dagger, he kidnaps her and corrupts her with his negative touch; her powers are changed, now working through the Dark Force.[51] Similar to Cloak, she gets the "hunger" for light and starts dying from the lack of it. Cloak pleads with Mister Negative to give him the touch. He surprisingly agrees, altering Cloak's abilities to be powered by light. Cloak feeds Dagger his light, causing an explosion. In the aftermath it is revealed that Dagger now has Cloak's original powers, and Cloak has Dagger's.[52]
Tyrone acquired D'Spayre's Dark Form, which gave him the ability to create an aperture into the dimension of darkness and to dispatch persons into the darkness dimension. He also gained the abilities of intangibility, and the teleportation of himself and others through the dimension of darkness. Cloak feels a constant "hunger" which can only be assuaged by "feeding" either on light projected by Dagger or on light consumed from victims dispatched to the dimension of darkness. He later develops better control of his "hunger".
Tandy has the ability to create psionic "light daggers" which travel wherever she wills them, and which drain living beings of vitality when struck. Her "light daggers" also have the capacity to cure certain persons of drug addictions, and can alleviate Cloak's hunger for light (which simultaneously allows her to avoid becoming overcharged). Her powers work only on humans.
Cloak and Dagger both have moderate experience at street-fighting, and Dagger's combat techniques utilize her light powers and ballet dance training, as well as her sense of spatial relations, which had been heightened by her temporary blindness.
As noted above, Tyrone and Tandy swapped powers during Spider-Island.
Cloak and Dagger were considered both latent mutants whose powers were activated when they were injected with an experimental illegal drug in earlier appearances. In later years, they are listed as mutates, as which they are listed in the Civil War: Battle Damage Report. However some mutants, such as Sunfire, Polaris, and Thunderbird, who have been in similar circumstances to Cloak and Dagger's have also required external stimuli to awaken their latent powers.
Uncanny X-Men writer Matt Fraction stated: "No, they don't [think of themselves as part of the mutant community], and that's the thing: in a time when there are so few mutants left, can they afford to not at least acknowledge the existence of this community, this family?"[7] As such, in the Utopia crossover, when recruited by Norman Osborn as part of his "Dark X-Men", Cloak and Dagger comment how they aren't mutants.[44] This is further confirmed by Doctor Nemesis, who ran a full range of genetics scans on Dagger, stating that her powers were derived solely from the drug that changed both her and Cloak.[49]
Cloak and Dagger were members of Sinister's Six, who were brainwashed into fighting the X-Men. They were apparently killed in battle though this has yet to be confirmed.
Cloak appears as a member of the Underground Human Resistance led by Luke Cage, regarding Cage as a father figure.[53] Dagger does not appear with Cloak.
Dagger features in an arc of Robert Kirkman's Marvel Team-Up vol. 3, featuring a group of C-list heroes dubbed "The League of Losers". A group of heroes including Darkhawk, Dagger, Araña, Gravity, X-23, Sleepwalker, and Terror (although Araña dies along the way) go to the future to prevent the villain Chronok from stealing Reed Richards' time machine, Chronok having come to the present and already having killed all of Marvel's major heroes.[54]
In Marvel Zombies vs. The Army of Darkness Cloak and Dagger, both zombified, are seen in a narrow alley devouring a hapless victim.[55] In Ultimate Fantastic Four #23, Cloak is seen as one of the dozens of zombified heroes who have gathered together to hunt down and eat the last four known unaffected people.[56]
They appear as the duo Croak and Badger, a frog and a badger.[57]
The Ultimate version of Tandy Bowen has made a cameo in Ultimate Spider-Man,[58] running for and eventually succeeding in becoming school president. Ty Johnson has not made an appearance. The actual Tandy Bowen finally appears in Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man #9, where she appears as an angry teenager who hates mutants and calls an anti-mutant task force to arrest Kitty Pryde.
In an issue of Ultimate Spider-Man, when Ronin stumbles into a police station to provide evidence against the Kingpin, two women dressed as Cloak and Dagger are both in handcuffs for an unknown offense.[59]
Ty Johnson is dead, but his cloak is still carried by Dagger. Mar-Vell is given the cloak by Dagger and uses it as a teleportation device and a gateway to the Realm of the Dead.
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