Had this worked, we might have been looking at a reboot of the Dazzler film series by Marvel Studios today!
The Dazzler was a pretty unique concept and could have been a HUGE
success.
I mean this could have put superhero movies on the map and may have
actually beaten Richard Donner's "Superman" to the big screen.
But alas it didn't work.
Because the idea sucked.
Marvel Comics and Casablanca Records were going to create a superhero. In case you have no idea who Casablanca Records is, they were the label for HUGE 70's acts like Donna Summer, Village People, Cher, and Kiss. Marvel would create the hero, Casablanca would find a singer and make her the hero, make albums and then Filmworks Studios would make a movie about her! On paper it looked like pure gold. A real life superhero that had big albums and was in a major motion picture! That was as far as it got.
Marvel Comics Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter came up with a character named "Disco Queen". And sent the idea to the writers and artists. No one wanted anything to do with it. The rumor is that no one was willing to work on the project until they were pretty much forced to. So Tom DeFalco, Roger Stern and John Romita, Jr. were forced into working on the now re-named "Dazzler".
Originally Dazzler was supposed to be Grace Jones, but then Filmworks wanted Bo Derek to play her on the big screen. And Casablanca wanted Dazzler to show up in The X-Men (because she was a mutant), The Fantastic Four, and Spider-Man.
Then Disco started dying a quick death and Casablanca Records pulled out completely. That left Marvel with a hyped character and nothing to do with it.
So Marvel launched it as a comic book only and Dazzler actually did pretty well from 1981 to 1985. It was the first comic sold directly through comic book stores. But sales fell off and Dazzler was limited to appearing in other titles.
As far as powers go, Dazzler can turn sound into light with sometimes devastating effect. She can fire that light in beams as powerful as lasers or even create 3-d Holograms. And in a nod to her 70s creation, she occasionally moves about on roller skates that magnetically attach to her boots.
Marvel Comics and Casablanca Records were going to create a superhero. In case you have no idea who Casablanca Records is, they were the label for HUGE 70's acts like Donna Summer, Village People, Cher, and Kiss. Marvel would create the hero, Casablanca would find a singer and make her the hero, make albums and then Filmworks Studios would make a movie about her! On paper it looked like pure gold. A real life superhero that had big albums and was in a major motion picture! That was as far as it got.
Marvel Comics Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter came up with a character named "Disco Queen". And sent the idea to the writers and artists. No one wanted anything to do with it. The rumor is that no one was willing to work on the project until they were pretty much forced to. So Tom DeFalco, Roger Stern and John Romita, Jr. were forced into working on the now re-named "Dazzler".
Originally Dazzler was supposed to be Grace Jones, but then Filmworks wanted Bo Derek to play her on the big screen. And Casablanca wanted Dazzler to show up in The X-Men (because she was a mutant), The Fantastic Four, and Spider-Man.
Then Disco started dying a quick death and Casablanca Records pulled out completely. That left Marvel with a hyped character and nothing to do with it.
So Marvel launched it as a comic book only and Dazzler actually did pretty well from 1981 to 1985. It was the first comic sold directly through comic book stores. But sales fell off and Dazzler was limited to appearing in other titles.
As far as powers go, Dazzler can turn sound into light with sometimes devastating effect. She can fire that light in beams as powerful as lasers or even create 3-d Holograms. And in a nod to her 70s creation, she occasionally moves about on roller skates that magnetically attach to her boots.
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