Dazzler

Dazzler (Alison Blaire) is a Marvel Comics superheroine, associated with the X-Men. She first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #130 (February 1980).

A mutant with the ability to convert sound vibrations into light and energy beams, Dazzler was originally developed as a cross-promotional, multi-media creation between Casablanca Records and Marvel Comics until the tie-ins were dropped in 1980. The character was created by a committee of Marvel staff, principally writer/editor Tom DeFalco and illustrator John Romita, Jr.

Despite the fact that Dazzler was originally commissioned as a disco singer, the character shifted to other musical genres, including rock and adult contemporary. She starred in a self-titled solo series in the early 1980s which lasted 42 issues, a Marvel Graphic Novel titled Dazzler: The Movie, a 4 issue limited-series co-starring Hank "The Beast" McCoy titled Beauty and The Beast, and later joined the cast of the X-Men. She was briefly a member of the spin-off group Excalibur but has since re-joined the X-Men.

Dazzler was originally a project commissioned by Casablanca Records in the mid-late 1970s, to be a cross-promotion in the mold of KISS, who had two successful comic book tie-in super-specials by the end of 1977. Marvel Comics would develop a singing superhero, while Casablanca would produce a singer. The two companies would then work with Filmworks and produce a tie-in motion picture; Marvel Comics Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter wrote a treatment for the project.