It’s finally Dazzler’s turn in the spotlight! Long a fan favorite and favorite of our Redesign community, the dramatic Dazzler debuted in 1979 in Uncanny X-Men #130, in the midst of “The Dark Phoenix Saga.” Initially a performer of disco music, Dazzler has kept her roots as a famous singer and musician, though her influences and genres have morphed over time. She’s had several looks over the years, reflecting some different famous pop stars, and gone from a solo character with her own book to a member of the X-Men, Excalibur, S.H.I.E.L.D. and now a denizen of Krakoa.
With so many options available, we asked our team to go nuts with the disco queen. What musical influences and pop culture icons would they look to for Alison Blaire? As we worked on this, Dazzler was a candidate for the 2023 X-Men election. Is it her time for a hit single again?
As always, make sure to follow these very talented artists on social media!
Alex Buckland: @blueromanticss on Twitter
I thought it’d be really fun to try to do multiple looks because Dazzler is a popstar! She should have multiple looks at once. Her first look is more of a performance look, drawing on her first costume. The second one I have coined “Gogo Girl Dazzler.” It’s flirty and fun! And lastly, you can never go wrong with a roller girl look!
Anthony Ruiz: @AnthonySRuiz on Twitter
My inspiration came from my love of both X-Men and DragonBall when I was a kid, so for this redesign I decided to cast Dazzler into the world of Toriyama and imagine what she would look like in that classic anime. I tried to pick elements from different costume eras for her as well as put my own spin on it … and of course, I had to give her a fantastic BoomBox Scooter so she could be ready to perform anywhere!
Dia Falconer: @unteletoonz on Twitter
Is it a tour poster? Is she actually an outlaw? Who knows! My redesign was 50% inspired by when Dazzler had to put on a country concert early on in her career. The other 50% came from a holographic cowboy hat I saw in a dollar store once that I haven’t stopped thinking about since. Yeehaw!
John Marsh: @pastelrake on Twitter
What if Dazzler did a collab with Skrillex?
Joshua Bruckner: @joshington_bear on Twitter
I struggled a bit to come up with an inspiration for Dazzler until I thought of how I’d update a 1980s disco queen for the modern age. I landed on Britney Spears as a good inspiration for a famous musician with a loud, catchy body of work (and a gay icon, as Alison Blaire surely is). I knew I wanted to have gold sparkles in her look, and the blue face paint is close to what she had in her debut. I kept the long hair but gave it a slightly modern cut!
Léa Dupic: @kimodraw on Twitter
I just wanted her to have a cool ’70s disco barbie vibe. 🙂
