Dazzler #22 (1982): Brotherhood of Evil Mutants

It all starts with Angel being attacked by hawks.  We learn later that they were “experimental anti-personnel hawks” that Mystique stole from the Pentagon.  Let’s let that sink in for a bit.

Okay.

So Mystique is now leading The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, but there’s only three people in it and they’re all girls (Mystique, Destiny, and Rogue).  So, if there’s a bad girl mutant squad, of course they’re going to appear in Dazzler, a book about a girl hero.

I’m being a little hard on this book, but frankly, it earns the pain.

Angel is a straight up stalker, and now we see Dazzler allowing him to carry her around the city and appear shirtless in her abode, even though Dazz already has a perfectly good (albeit a bit nebbishy) boyfriend.  Angel’s behavior should not be tolerated or rewarded.

Having said that, the Brotherhood is going after Angel because he’s on his own and they figure they can pick him off and use him to get to the X-Men that really matter, like Wolverine, Colossus, etc.  When the Brotherhood attack Angel, Dazzler is with them, and Angel tries to chivalrously say that Dazzler isn’t into the whole superhero thing, so Rogue decks him…

Then Mystique changes her form to look like Angel’s girlfriend Candy Southern (yes, he’s still dating her while stalking Dazzler—again, yeeeechhh), gets Angel interested, and then gives him a nutshot.

Ouch.

Apparently, that’s where Allison draws the line because she changes into her “costume” and joins the fight.

What’s her costume, you ask?

Yes, it’s roller skates.

They fight off the Brotherhood and escape.  Angel decides to go into hiding(!), leaving Allison exposed.

What a weird issue. It’s stupid and politically questionable, but I have to admit it’s so bizarre that it’s a lot of fun to read.

2 thoughts on “Dazzler #22 (1982): Brotherhood of Evil Mutants”

  1. You’re right! It IS a lot of fun to read! Insofar as the Angel “cheating” on Candy Southern, well……. not so much. Super-rich people like these two, who do not need to rely on each other financially, can pretty-much do- and see-any damn-body they WANT. The Super-Rich pull back from one another and see several different people all the time. It’s a fact of their culture. The Rich are DIFFERENT from the rest of us. That’s why it’s better to be rich than to be poor! BELIEVE it. Anyway, if we have a trio of female mutants, then they are not a “Brotherhood”, they are a “Sisterhood”, as per this issue’s title! Frankly, under the circumstances, I didn’t blame the Angel for going “into hiding”. What ELSE is he SUPPOSED to do-??? He is OBVIOUSLY being targeted by some sinister force! Even retreating to the X-Men or the Avengers, ( which he did NOT do ) could be considered a form of “hiding out”. If it were me, I’d go get some help! There’s no shame in asking for help! The Angel is aware of the stakes of his lifestyle. Insofar as the Wolverine and Colossus being the X-Men “that matter”, as opposed to the Angel, well, old Irene-baby sums it up best when she warns Rogue to “Beware! The Angel is more dangerous than you think!” Exactilioso! The Angel is not to be underestimated, as his almost-carefree defeat of Dr. Octopus in issue#17 should underscore, as well as his X-pert handling of pretty-much every supervillain from his ‘Champions’ tenure. I wouldn’t sell ANY charter member of the X-Men short. They are PROS, and they know their stuff! The only “hole” I would attribute to this issue is, how in the hell does Mystique happen to know who Candy Southern is, and what she looks like??? I would assume that, in order to facsimilate someone, Mystique would have to be aware of what her subject would look like. Of course, Candy and Warren are highly-public figures, so I guess it might be a matter of simply keeping her subscriptions to “People” and “Us” magazines current! There! I just gave myself a no-prize! How about that?? Have a Very Brady Day!

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    • It’s pretty clear that she says no and he forcible removes her from her own apartment, flies her around, and kisses her. Just because she (may) later consent, doesn’t mean he should have gotten consent before kidnapping her. I get that in the ’80s popular culture was much more comfortable with men using force or coercion to get a woman to do what they wanted, but…Just because society accepts it doesn’t make it right. I also find Stan Lee’s portrayal of Reed Richards–constantly insulting Sue–and Hank Pym–doing the same thing to Jan–to represent a view that was “okay” or even dominant at the time, but is now clearly inappropriate and outdated.

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