In Cloak or Dagger #1, one of Marvel’s most iconic twosomes face the greatest challenge they’ve ever met: not being able to co-exist.

Another tie-in for the ongoing “Age of Revelation” event, Cloak or Dagger #1 focuses on its titular characters —Tandy Bowen and Tyrone Johnson, now married with a child— after they’ve been afflicted by the X-Virus, rendering them unable to both occupy the same plane of existence for more than a few minutes at a time. They’re both powerful individually, but it’s just not the same when they’re apart. If that weren’t bad enough, they quickly find themselves in the crosshairs of another infamous super-duo seeking to undo their heroic mission to save people from Revelation’s regime.

Cloak or Dagger sort of seems like a concept that has been floating around Marvel editorial for a while, especially following their uptick in popularity thanks to Marvel Rivals —they’re one of my mains!— and this event was deemed the right opportunity to do it. I can see the logic there; they sometimes mingle with the X-Men? But I would say you could almost skip that storyline entirely if you’re only here for Tandy and Bowen, because the plot presented is otherwise completely unrelated. (That could change in later issues, but the X-Virus angle is mostly there for event continuity and could be any other malady.) It’s much more about their relationship and shared history than whatever the mutant FKA Cypher is doing.

Naturally, it’s a very romantic concept for a Cloak and Dagger story, forcing them apart when they’re so closely linked together, especially when the version of them shown here has even more accumulated history because of the time jump into a possible future. Knowing the events of this series will (likely) ultimately be undone somewhat diminishes its impact, but fans of the couple should at least be delighted that they’re being given a new series. (He says, staring down the barrel at Wiccan’s upcoming debut solo title…)

Writer Justina Ireland and artist Lorenzo Tammetta have prepared a solid, worthwhile package here, with the latter’s art especially fantastic. It’s soft and almost painterly in spots, with Andrew Dalhouse’s gentle colors reflecting the delicate situation the characters find themselves in. Even if you’re much of an X-Men fan, Cloak or Dagger #1 is worth checking out.