The Dazzler tour returns for one last big show in the Big Apple in Dazzler #4, written by Jason Loo, drawn by Rafael Loureiro and Alan Robinson, colored by Java Tartaglia and lettered by Ariana Maher.
Previously in Loo and Loureiro’s Dazzler, Lila Cheney and Alison Blaire had a fun night out in Tokyo, only to be attacked by another supervillain getting paid to ruin Alison’s day. This time it was Arcade and a crew of Locke-bots, leading to Mario Kart in the streets and a save from the rest of the tour crew. With the tour in shambles, Lila arranged for a surprise gig in Madripoor before Dazzler’s return home to New York.
Previously in NYX, Laura, Kamala, Anole, Prodigy, Sophie and … Kiden(?!) foiled an attempt to sabotage Dazzler’s New York show by a Mojo-controlled Local.
Whose vendetta against Dazzler has hijacked her Eras-style tour? Can Dazzler escape “cancellation”?
Dazzler Day!
Let’s face it, Dazzler has not been having a great time lately. At every turn on this very abbreviated tour, she’s been attacked, subverted and thwarted in her pursuit of performance prestige. So it’s a nice turn of events when upon return to the Big Apple, Dazzler is given a hero’s welcome by Congresswoman Stevie Hunter and the mayor/man who might be All-New Venom, Luke Cage, who proclaim it “Dazzler Day” and speak out against anti-mutant hate.
Back at MSG, Dazzler is greeted backstage by handsome ER doc Dale. There’s chemistry here, but sadly no on-panel smooches, because the lovely couple are interrupted by the cast of NYX, who have presumably already defeated Local and Mojo. Surely that was the only villainous activity of the evening. Right? Of course not.
Shouldn’t Reaver be Plural?
So for a hot second it seems like the New York gig is going to go off without a hitch. Dazzler has donned a fun, Longshot-esque bodysuit, and even starts her playlist with a song about her former four-fingered boyfriend. Loo leaning into the Longshot love is the first misdirect that suggests maybe after that NYX crossover, Mojo might be the one trying to ruin Dazzler’s life. But no sooner might you have this thought than the very girders and beams of MSG come to life and attack Dazzler in the form of the Reavers’ Pretty Boy.
It is odd to see a Reaver, especially one who’s not Donald Pierce or featured in the ’90s arcade game, appear solo as a contemporary villain, but much like issue #3’s Mario Kart scene, Pretty Boy allows for this issue’s surprise set piece, as he uses the speaker in his chest to silence the stadium, making Dazzler powerless. What follows is four pages of narration-only action as Domino, her team and the NYX crew leap into action to tear Pretty Boy apart and figure out how to deactivate his white noise silencer. Phew! (It’s worth noting that Alan Robinson’s art style is house-y enough to match Loureiro’s, so even though he handles these pages, you won’t notice a big difference, which is the mark of a successful fill-in.) But just when you thought you finally knew who the big bad was, the Forever Ship shows up (inside MSG somehow?) and we get the final reveal.
Incel Jamie
Of all the interesting ways Loo could’ve wrapped up the Dazzler miniseries, the idea that a love-spurned Hellfire Gala waiter Jamie dupe was putting out the hit on Alison lands with a thud. Loo used renegade dupes to pretty good comedic effect in his Infinity Comic stories, but there’s only so many times you can go to this well. And frankly, an incel Jamie whose sole motivation is that he asked Dazzler out and she said no — while, sadly, a timely reference to what’s wrong with many men out there — just isn’t enough to justify the intercontinental master plan committed against our protagonist.
Add to this the fact that since we’ve already spent our page count on fighting Pretty Boy, taking out the Jamie dupes on the Forever Ship is pushed off panel with a little “Soon…” caption. So we don’t get to see what might have been a fifth issue’s worth of story. Allison concludes the evening by apologizing again, and … yeah, maybe she should? She continued to tour knowing her life was in danger, thereby endangering her sizable audiences in multiple locations. When she asks New York if they’re “still with her,” they’d be well within their rights to say no and ask for a refund.
Should you be asking for a Dazzler refund for your tickets? Loo and Loureiro served up a fun mini perfectly in line with what Loo was doing in his Infinity Comic work that will be enjoyable for Dazzler fans but inessential for the larger X-Men reading public. Just one look at the NYX crossover issue (with its own fill-in artist) shows how a Dazzler-adjacent story can have far more personality than this did. Unfortunately the well-chosen supporting cast had very little to do, and while some of the hallmarks of Dazzler stories were present — drama, romance — they were dialed back in favor of pages devoted to delivering song lyrics. The issue ends with a teaser for Dazzler’s “next gig” in April, so time will tell whether this is a one-hit wonder or the start of a new, memorable era for Marvel’s most enduring pop star.
X-traneous Thoughts
- After four issues, I still remain very confused by Wind Dancer, who is reluctant to use her powers even in the face of saving herself and her colleagues. Out and Proud, Sofia! Out and Proud!
- Also, poor Shark-Girl still has nothing to do.
- Loureiro’s Longshot look for Dazzler was great. Now where is that lucky fella?
- If a Reaver reaves without his Reavers, has he even reaved?
- The Forever Ship is “parked” back in orbit. Will we ever see it again?
- The teaser for the next Dazzler “gig” features Lila, a new artist and only editor Martin Biro promising to return in the letter column. Looks like we’ll have to wait to see who the creative team is and whether it will be a direct sequel to this book.
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Adam Reck is the cartoonist behind Bish & Jubez as well as the co-host of Battle Of The Atom.
