Film Feature: Which X-Men We Want to See in Next X-Sequel

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Dazzler
Photo credit: Marvel

X-Man: Dazzler

Real Name: Alison Blaire

Powers: She can transmute sound into light, which is a nerdy way of saying that she can take noise – including her own singing – and turn it into lasers, light shows, blinding flashes, holograms, you name it.

Why She Should Be in an X-Men Movie: Because she’s so freaking ridiculous it just might work. Dazzler was originally introduced to the X-world in 1980, essentially billed as the first ever Disco X-Man. As disco thankfully died away as the ‘80s progressed, the camp-tastic Dazzler was quick to reinvent herself as a laser-shooting rock singer, but her essential core of cheese has never left the character, even after she spent years as an essential part of the main Uncanny team. We’re just going to say it – Alison Blaire has paid her X-dues and she deserves some respect. Dazzler is just pure fun, a punchline character who strangely works, and, in the right hands, she could be PERFECT for an X-movie. She’s over-the-top, she has a wonderfully visual power, the filmmakers could have so fun with music industry commentary, and having a popular pop goddess come out as a mutant could be a great story beat.

Who Should Play Her: The problem with Dazzler is that studio execs would probably use the character as an excuse to drop the pop-star du jour into the X-franchise for some multimedia synergy. So if Dazzler ever shows up in an X-flick, expect to hear rampant rumors of everyone from Britney to Taylor Swift being cast in the role. There’s actually a fan campaign to get Kristen Bell to play Dazzler in an X-movie, and she’s not a bad choice. Bell is a great actress with the comedic chops to handle the character’s campiness, and she’s got a great voice (she was fantastic in “Reefer Madness”). If not Bell, let’s forget about a pop princess and get a real singer like Rilo Kiley’s Jenny Lewis to put on the disco boots and shine.