Marvel’s dazzling singer/light show creator, part-time X-Man, and all-around performer is turning 40. Alison Blaire, aka Dazzler, lives up to her name. She is a mutant with the ability to turn sound vibrations into light and energy beams. She can control the light that she produces, including the direction, color frequency, intensity, and duration. She can also create a null space of sound around herself and others to protect them or supercharge her powers. Supplementing her mutant powers, Dazzler is a trained singer, actress, and dancer, as well as a highly skilled athlete and talented roller skater.

Dazzler was originally designed as a cross-promotional character between Casablanca Records and Marvel Comics. Casablanca commissioned the Disco Queen character in ’78 with the plan of producing a singer while Jim Shooter wrote a treatment for an animated special, which soon became a live-action project. Shooter tasked writer/editor Tom DeFalco and artist John Romita Jr. with developing her background, personality, and appearance and she soon changed from the Disco Queen to Dazzler at writer Roger Stern’s suggestion. Because of financial issues, Casablanca left the project, and though a film was still in the works, it was eventually cancelled.

Dazzler was introduced in Uncanny X-Men #130 (February 1980) as Alison Blaire, a New York native whose mutant powers manifested during junior high school when she was singing at a school dance. She decided to use her new abilities to launch a career as a singer and dancer, using her light powers to further wow the crowd. She met the X-Men during one of her early shows when they are attacked at the Hellfire Club and she helps them find Kitty Pryde. Despite not being ready to join the team, Dazzler guest starred in more issues of Uncanny X-Men, along with appearing in Avengers, Fantastic Four, and the crossover Contest of Champions.

In March 1981, Dazzler’s self-titled solo series began, running for 42 issues until 1985. DeFalco and Romita began the series, then writer Danny Fingeroth and artist Frank Springer took over for a large chunk of the remaining issues. It began with confrontations with Enchantress, Doctor Doom, and Nightmare and then a story in which she helped Spider-Woman and the X-Men fight Caliban, she fought the Hulk, and began a feud with Rogue. Dazzler gets offered membership with the X-Men and even asked to audition for the Avengers, but she still didn’t want the regular superhero life.

Moving to Los Angeles to help her half-sister Lois London learn to control her mutant abilities, Dazzler also pursued careers as a dancer, model, actress, and fitness trainer. In Marvel Graphic Novel #12: Dazzler: The Movie (October 1984) as anti-mutant sentiment grows, Alison decides to announce her mutant identity, which backfires, destroying her reputation and leaving her feeling depressed. She becomes a keyboard player and back-up singer for a bit then when she gets possessed by the psychic mutant Malice and saved by the X-Men, Dazzler finally joins the team in Uncanny X-Men #214 (February 1987).

While appearing in Uncanny X-Men, the X-Men trained Dazzler on ways to improve and better control her powers. She develops a relationship with Longshot and is forced to work with Rogue – which causes tension because of their past fights and Rogue’s romantic feelings for Longshot. Later in X-Men, she and Jean Grey fight a repowered Magneto, who uses Dazzlers powers to apparently incinerate her. But it’s a ruse that Dazzler made by generating a hard-light hologram of herself to distract Magneto so the team can stop him.

Dazzler appeared in New Excalibur attempting to reestablish her music career and briefly rekindling her relationship with Longshot. With her music career back on track, she rejoins the X-Men and helps defend the mansion when they are attacked by the Sisterhood. When Storm blows out the windows, Dazzler absorbs the sound from the city and creates a light beam to attack a mind-controlled Psylocke and help her regain control of her body to end the fight. As part of X-Treme X-Men, she becomes a team leader and Wolverine offers her a teaching position at his school, though she doesn’t give him an answer. In “The End of X-Factor” storyline, Dazzler and Longshot are married and she gives birth to Shatterstar, confirming what had long been speculated – that Shatterstar was their child.

Dazzler was part of A-Force, the all-female Avengers team, helmed by G. Willow Wilson, Marguerite Bennett, and Jorge Molina in 2015. Set during the Secret Wars storyline, A-Force are the defenders of the Battleworld nation of Arcadia who must root out a traitor, who ends up being Loki (the female version), and defeat her. Dazzler’s powers were needed to defeat Antimatter and she nearly died during the conflict. Then they encountered a Dazzler Thor, an alternate version of the character from Battleworld. When they get attacked by a reality warping woman called Countess, Dazzler created a hologram to rescue Nico, who was under the Countess’ control. When the Countess injures Dazzler Thor, Dazzler picks up her alternate version’s hammer, Light Bringer, and stops the Countess. As part of the Civil War II event, A-Force is split over arresting people before they’ve committed crimes based on a precognitive Inhuman’s visions. Despite the team’s conflict, they come together to save a town when an infection is turning people into giant bugs.

She was seen most recently in the 2016 Inhumans vs X-Men limited series, assisting Emma Frost by disguising herself as an Inhuman performer before ambushing Black Bolt.