Dazzler (2025)

Dazzler
(2025, 11x14)

Here’s a fun one. While officially recognized as the creation of Marvel writer/editor Tom DeFalco and artist John Romita, Jr., Dazzler was really created more by committee.

In 1979, Casablanca Records was in talks with Marvel to create a new cross-promotional character that could appear in Marvel Comics but also be used to sell music, particularly disco. Romita originally designed her as African-American after Grace Jones and her powers were to “make people tell the truth”. Also, her name was Disco Queen. Realizing this was…kinda…dull…and not very well suited for selling either music or comic books, her powers were changed to be more about manipulating sound and light and her name was changed to Disco Dazzler. Then, just Dazzler.

This process dragged on for a bit, and some at Marvel feared disco “would be dead” before they could get a consensus and publish a story. This, in hindsight, was quite foolish as we all know Disco will never die. Sadly.

The arrangement with Casablanca Records eventually dissolved. Filmmaker John Derek became interested and thought the character would make a nice film project for his wife, singer/actress Bo Derek. The character was redesigned as a blonde woman with sound/light powers who could sing as well she could fight and DAZZLER was born, first appearing in “The Uncanny X-Men” issue 130 in February 1980.

Too late for disco, too early for New Wave. Always ready to rock!