One of the biggest highlights of theMarvelCinematic Universe is its willingness to shine a light on some of the company’s lesser-known characters. Even just a decade ago, even some of the biggest Marvel fans didn’t know too much aboutAnt-Man or the Guardians of the Galaxy, and now they’ve become household names. But while the MCU is still trying its best to introduce some more obscure Marvel heroes, a few have flown under the radar a little, despite even having their own dedicated show.
The last 10 years of Marvel TV have been a bit of a mixed bag. WhileAgents of Shieldhad its moments, andthe NetflixDefendersuniverseled to some incredible seasons of TV, Marvel also produced its fair share of disappointing TV shows, with shows likeThe Inhumansstanding out for their poor quality. But right in between those two extremes landed shows likeThe RunawaysandCloak and Dagger, the latter of which would be perfectly suited for a co-op game in a similar vein toIt Takes Two.
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Cloak And Dagger Lend Themselves Well to a Co-Op Game Like It Takes Two
Debuting in 1982’sPeter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #64, Cloak and Dagger are two runaways who first meet onthe streets of New York City. Tyrone Johnson left his home in Massachusetts after his friend was mistakenly shot by the police, which Tyrone blames his own speech impediment for causing. Tandy Bowen doesn’t have quite as tragic of a backstory, choosing to run away from her privileged life in Shaker Heights, Ohio in protest of her affluent mother spending more time with her supermodel career than her daughter. After Tyrone saves Tandy from a mugging, the two become quick friends, and their lives only continued to become more entangled.
After accepting an overly generous lodging offer, Tandy and Tyrone are kidnaped by D-tierMarvelvillain Simon Marshall, a chemist who’s working with the Maggia crime family to produce a new experimental type of heroin. Tandy and Tyrone are injected with the experimental drug, but rather than killing them, it gives them mysterious superpowers. Tyrone’s body transforms into a cloak of pure darkness and shadow, while Tandy’s body begins to glow white. After escaping the Maggia’s enforcers, the two dub themselves Cloak and Dagger, and they begin taking down New York City’s drug empires.
While their abilities change a little depending on their iterations, Cloak and Dagger have some pretty interesting powers, ones that are intrinsically linked to one another. While Cloak wields the Darkforce, Dagger wields the Lightforce. Cloak is capable of engulfing large areas in pure darkness, inducing fear and paranoia in anyone trapped in its void. Cloak can also go invisible and teleport. Dagger, on the other hand, is capable of healing the darkness in others, as well as firing out dagger projectiles made of pure light. What makes thisMarvel duoso unique is that they rely on the other to tame their unwieldy powers. For instance, when Cloak’s victims become too paranoid for interrogation, Dagger is able to relieve them of their worries. The two make an excellent team, and it’s a team that could be well suited to anIt Takes Two-style co-op video game.
Cloak and Dagger’s reliance on one another, and their uniquely different powersets, make them an ideal duo for a co-op video game. One player could control Cloak and have the ability to shift around the environment freely, maybe taking out enemies first with stealth. And then the other player could control Dagger, a more combat-focused character capable of throwing projectiles and fighting up close with weapons made of light. One interesting mechanic that lends itself well toa co-op Cloak and Dagger gameis Cloak’s insatiable hunger. In the comics, Cloak suffers from a constant hunger to feed on criminals and wrong-doers. The only person able to abate that hunger is Dagger. A mechanic based around this, where Cloak can’t stray too far from Dagger, might make for some interesting co-op gameplay.
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