Marvel's New Dazzler Solo Series Includes Original Song Lyrics – And They're Pretty Great (2024)

One of the most buzzworthy things about Marvel's new Dazzler solo series is the way the mutant pop star's musical abilities will manifest on the page. In an interview hyping the imminent release of issue one, Dazzler's writer explained the process of writing the lyrics for the character's breakout hit tracks, which will appear throughout the series as she embarks on an epic world tour.

The latest addition of AIPT's X-Men Monday interview series featured a conversation with Dazzler writer Jason Loo about writing the next chapter for Marvel's pop icon; AIPT also shared a preview of the first issue, which offers fans a tease of the lyrics to Dazzler's song "Rich Angel."

The preview, and Loo's comments on the series, also give a sense of the action, intrigue, and interpersonal dynamics that will round out Marvel's depiction of Dazzler's music career, which has quickly come to be one of the most anticipated titles of X-Men's "From the Ashes" relaunch.

Marvel Debuts Dazzler's Breakout Hit "Rich Angel," As Anticipation For Her New Series Grows

Dazzler #1 – Written By Jason Loo; Art By Rafael Loureiro

As noted in Jason Loo's X-Men Monday interview, fans who reader NYX #1 have already encountered a snippet of the lyrics from Dazzler's song "Rich Angel," as the song was coyly referenced as mutant Prodigy's ringtone. Now, the preview for Dazzler #1 features an extended version of the lyrics, as the singer performs her hit in front of a packed Los Angeles crowd. In fact, the preview ends just as Dazzler shouts to the crowd: "Here's the chorus, sing it with me!"

Hilariously, X-fans will quickly recognize the "Rich Angel" in question as original member of the X-Men Warren Worthington III, better known as Angel. Though Dazzler declares that she and Warren are "cool now," it strikes the perfect chord for the new series that her song would be about another iconic Marvel mutant. Of course, Dazzler's live performance of the song is interrupted by a villain, Scorpia, jumping on stage, reminding readers that the character will still have to face the trials associated with being a hero, in addition to the tribulations of stardom.

The lyrics to "Rich Angel" serve as a fun callback to Dazzler's history in the X-Men franchise, but beyond that, they show that Marvel is taking the opportunity to do something special with this series. Fictional song lyrics are nothing new, but for Dazzler they should prove to be a particularly effective way of making her a more immersive part of the Marvel Universe. For writer Jason Loo, it seems to have served as an opportunity to cut loose and flex a creative muscle that he might not have known he had before working on Dazzler.

Dazzler Writer Jason Loo On Crafting Catchy Pop Lyrics For Marvel's Mutant Superstar

The Author Studied Taylor Swift & Dua Lipa

According to Jason Loo, the lyrics to Dazzler's songs are more than just throwaways; the author put care into making them narratively and thematically relevant. His process also included looking to the highest echelon of contemporary pop music for inspiration, in order to learn how to craft a song that don't just work on paper, but have an evident rhythm, which could very well jump off the page and get stuck in the reader's head. As Loo explained to AIPT:

I’ll first jot down story notes and try to write them in a poetic way. Then I’ll study some rhythmic patterns from Taylor Swift or Dua Lipa’s song lyrics, counting syllables in each verse, and then try to cram those story notes in these very elaborate haikus. It’s a lot of wordplay, finding the right synonyms that will rhyme with the next verse. Then I’ll sing them out loud to see where Dazzler would add her vocal embellishments.

With this in mind, the Loo's Dazzler lyrics taken on a whole new dimension.

In the interview, Loo also dropped the title of another track, "Beauty in the Beast" – this one about another original X-Man, and another one of her famous exes, noted lothario Hank McCoy. With the Dazzler series promising to follow the singer issue-by-issue as she embarks on a world tour, it is likely many issues will contain more glimpses at her lyrics as well, giving already-excited fans an even greater reason to eagerly await the series. Especially for those familiar with some of the character's deep-cut romantic entanglements, the possibilities are tantalizing.

Dazzler's Music Should Be Her Greatest Contribution To The Marvel Universe

An Advocate For Mutants Worldwide

Original X-Men Angel and Beast are perhaps Dazzler's most memorable former love interests, but the character has also previously been attached to characters as Doctor Nemesis and even, debatably, the cosmic Beyonder. Of course, those are just the romances that have been at least hinted at in previous Dazzler appearances. Further, it is likely the character will branch out beyond singing about ex-boyfriends as her solo series progresses; Dazzler is set to be about more than just the character's music career, but also about her unique role in bridging the divide between mutantkind and humanity.

On her world tour, Dazzler will serve as a kind of ambassador for mutantkind, whose population is distributed across the globe once more, in the wake of Krakoan's fall. Each book in Marvel's "From the Ashes" relaunch of the X-franchise has so far approached the tensions between mutants and humans from a different perspective, and Dazzler will be no different. In the preview shared by AIPT for Dazzler #1, the singer is performing in front of what looks like a sold-out crowd, yes, but there is also a panel depicting anti-mutant protesters picketing the venue.

That is to say, Dazzler's fame will make her a polarizing figure, and that will in turn give her a prominent opportunity to be the voice of a generation by crafting the ultimate pro-mutant anthem. Each of Marvel's mutant heroes are set to work in their own way to facilitate peace between mutantkind and humanity, and while Dazzler will have her share of physical battles to fight along the way, her solo series and world tour offer her the best chance to make an impact in this fight.

Marvel's Mutant Pop Hits Make The Universe More Immersive For Readers

A Lived-In Fictional World

Hopefully, with Dazzler, Marvel will continue to let Jason Loo develop the character's musical style; the publisher should absolutely double-down on fleshing out the character's identity as a pop star, as much as her status as a superhero. First and foremost, it is fun and engaging for readers, but there is something more vital to it than that. With Dazzler, Loo and Marvel have an opportunity to do more than just tell another superhero story – they can use the pop culture landscape of the Marvel Universe to comment on the real world.

Comics always do this to some degree or another, but Dazzler affords the opportunity to do so in a more concise, and concrete way. As much as fans love superhero action and high-stakes drama, they also deeply appreciate insight into the wider world Marvel's characters inhabit, to feel what it would be like to really exist alongside their favorite characters, not just to catalog their every move. In this way, Dazzler's songs are a perfect way to make the Marvel Universe feel wider, and more lived in, and more captivating to readers.

X-Men

The X-Men franchise, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, centers on mutants with extraordinary abilities. Led by the powerful telepath Professor Charles Xavier, they battle discrimination and villainous mutants threatening humanity. The series explores themes of diversity and acceptance through a blend of action, drama, and complex characters, spanning comics, animated series, and blockbuster films.