Murderworld drifts into Tokyo in Marvel's Dazzler #3

Dazzler and Lila Cheney party in Tokyo, only to be attacked by Arcade. Dazzler #3 is written by Jason Loo, drawn by Rafael Loureiro, colored by Java Tartaglia and lettered by Ariana Maher.

Previously in Loo and Loureiro’s Dazzler, a British talk-show host was a complete wanker to Alison before an opportunistic mutant production assistant psychically manipulated her into destroying the show’s set on live TV. Luckily, Lila Cheney showed up and helped Dazz and her team (Wind Dancer, Shark-Girl, Multiple Man, Strong Guy and Domino) make a hasty retreat.

‘This is Going to Ruin the Tour’

The first thing we see is Dazzler recording a classic social media apology video. Apparently, haters and fans alike weren’t happy seeing Alison take out an entire television studio on live TV, her fault or not. That said, with the sheer number of catastrophes, invasions and crossover events in the Marvel Universe, you’d think this kind of thing wouldn’t register with people? Like, surely there’s a Venom War happening somewhere that would elicit more concern than this. Alas, the PR war against anti-mutant sentiment continues whether Dazzler likes it or not. Lila quickly teleports the crew away yet again to avoid … hotel security?

We get a fun callback to the X-Men Unlimited Infinity Comics as the group boards the Forever Ship from (Check out that editor’s note! I love editor’s notes!) XUIC #56-58 and #92-95. Unfortunately, this reference has more than a few drawbacks. The first is a simple one: Jason Loo’s Madrox and Guido adventures from X-Men Unlimited were much more madcap than his Dazzler comic. They were also drawn by Loo, and while Loureiro is a more than capable house-style artist, I can’t help but wonder how much more I’d be enjoying this book if Loo was also on art duty. (A series of recent cover commissions is confirming my bias.)

But I want to talk about the Forever Ship too, because it was built with Krakoan tech with Forge, and seems to be able to teleport using Krakoan gates. Except … Krakoa is in the White Hot Room now, and … there aren’t any gates? Does Krakoan biotech continue to live on despite the fact that its host does not? If Krakoan biotech can continue to exist without the island, this opens up an entire range of possibilities, but maybe I’m just eagerly overthinking this when Jason just wanted to use the spaceship he created. I dunno.

Mario Kart

*Fun fact: “Nekoboh” is “Hoboken” spelled backwards.*

Domino is busy naming every adversary and antagonist from Dazzler Vol. 1 as the potential ringleader of the hits out on Alison. Fans of the original series will get a kick out of the name drops here, including Eric Beale, Lois London and Roman Nekoboh. Given that the team is on the run and multiple cities have canceled tour dates, Domino and Wind Dancer are in agreement that Dazzler should stay put on the Forever Ship. This is good advice!

Of course, Lila decides to go on a bender with Alison in Tokyo the night before her show there, and this is where the book gets fun. Because who shows up (sans SFLANG sound effects, unfortunately) but Arcade and a team of Locke-Bots for a game of Mario Kart-style drag racing through the streets of Tokyo. This is the best bit in the book by far. Loureiro gets to have fun drawing some great camera angles, including Dazzler doing the Akira bike slide. Arcade’s vehicle is essentially a giant Gundam head, Dazzler gets to cut loose with her powers (always helps to have robot adversaries to slice through), and Lila almost gets flattened by a Thwomp.

Bootleg Play

The rest of the team shows up to give Ali and Lila a break, but the damage has been done. Dazzler has been banned from Japan — again, extreme much? — and her tour is pretty much toast until Lila calls in a favor and sets up a gig in Madripoor. The song they play, “In the Darkest Night,” sounds suspiciously like it was written about the circumstances of this exact moment in time as opposed to a cut from her Krakoan-penned bestseller, but it would be pretty weird if the lyrics didn’t match and they just sang “Love Is a Battlefield” or something. The crowd loves it.

There’s only one issue left for our heroes to solve the mystery of who has been plotting against them and, I can only assume, solve the ongoing crisis of mutant-human relations in our fractured, post-Krakoan political climate. While this issue was fun, it’s very light on character development. Dazzler’s being made to feel miserable for most of it. And while I know this is a solo book, our extended cast is more set dressing than anything. I’m very interested to see what the future holds as the crew returns to New York for a final issue.

X-traneous Thoughts

Online apologies aside, Wind Dancer seems much more sympathetic to Dazzler’s woes than previously, especially as the tour collapses.
If you missed those X-Men Unlimited stories, they were a lot of fun. Check ‘em out.
Always fun seeing Dazzler and Lila Cheney rock out, and I appreciated Lila reminding Dazzler of her former backup singer status.
I would 100% read the story of the Madrox dupes chasing Arcade out of Tokyo.
When will people learn that hoodies are not disguises? They cover the back of your head, not your face!
If you’re looking for more Jason Loo art, you can check out the relatively new Hulk Not Smash, a Marvel-published mindfulness guide written by Amy Ratcliffe and illustrated by Loo.
Who is the mastermind behind the attacks on Dazzler? My money is on someone not pictured in Domino’s lineup, but still from her history. Possible suspects include her estranged mother Katherine Brown, her ex and former attorney Kenneth Barnett, or could it be Longshot himself? Guess we’ll find out!