WARNING: The following contains spoilers for "Cloak and Dagger" by Rodney Barnes, Danilo S. Beyruth, Rachelle Rosenberg, and VC's Cory Petit, from King in Black: Planet of the Symbiotes #3, on sale now.
While the Marvel Universe has been enveloped in darkness, almost every hero wi has been stepped out to do their part in the battle for the fate of the universe. While some heroes don't feel as though they're actually making a dent in Knull's forces, others have found themselves changed by the mere presence of the dark god of the symbiotes. And in the case of the classic Marvel duo Cloak and Dagger, both things are true.
Tandy Bowen's Dagger, has seen Knull firsthand, and she knows how powerful he is. She's also seen the influence that his appearance has had on her closest friend and partner, Tyrone Johnson's Cloak. Recently, he has become cold, distant, and malicious in his pursuit of justice, the latter of which has been cultivating a deep fear in the pit of Dagger's gut. The two continue to patrol the streets during Knull's invasion, picking off those who are left untouched by the living darkness yet have chosen to use the chaos as a cover for their own violent crimes. Dagger is capable of taking down a couple of assailants on her own, but Cloak still drags them under his hood to feed their fear to the darkness he has now embraced.
From Dagger's point of view, Cloak has allowed Knull's darkness to affect his connection to the Darkforce Dimension, which in turn has affected his behavior. Usually, Dagger uses her light to help feed the all-consuming darkness within Cloak, but with the influence of the King in Black lingering in the air, he has taken to acting on his most wicked impulses instead. Even when the two encounter an officer and agree to work together, Cloak drags every human threat within reach under the veil of the Darkforce.
The change that has taken hold of him doesn't seem lost on Cloak, and after clearing the streets of gunfire he makes his way to a nearby church to release his victims back into the real world. When Dagger finds him, he reveals that he has found himself drowning in hopelessness, but she reassures him he isn't alone. As the two embrace, Dagger reminds Cloak that he will always have her light if he can open up to it, and as she emanates a blinding flash the darkness that had been literally consuming Cloak's form is washed away.
When Cloak and Dagger first appeared in 1982's Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #64 by Bill Mantlo and Ed Hannigan, they were in almost as much trouble as they are now, both on the run from the titular hero while searching out the man who gave them their powers and killing anyone who got in their way. Though the two would eventually find themselves broadly considered as heroes, their introduction to the Marvel Universe was far from the typical trappings of that descriptor.
Now that they have pulled through the sprawling symptoms of Knull's invasion, it seems that they are once again firmly planted on the side of light, even if both of them don't necessarily thrive on it. Having faced Knull and his influence just might be opening the door for a stronger, more influential era for Cloak and Dagger.
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