What is wrong with this story? Deadpool Gets a Time Machine. What Could Go Wrong?

Continuity Conundrum: Dazzler in Deadpool Comics

(Review from 2014 on continuity problems when Deadpool went back in time to recruit the mutant Dazzler to fight against Dracula. No, really, that was the plot!)

*Note: This Deadpool Comic Book Review was written before Ryan Reynolds took on the movie role of Deadpool, and way before rumors that Taylor Swift might play Dazzler in the upcoming Deadpool 3 movie. Just sayin’…

When Deadpool stole a time-travel device from the Fantastic Four in issue #29, he travelled back in time to the 1970s (much mention is made of it being the era of Disco), in order to recruit the younger version of Dazzler (mutant Alison Blaire), to return with him to the future (Deadpool’s present), to help him fight the vampire hordes of Dracula.  If you are following the recent Deadpool storyline, you know that Deadpool married Dracula’s bride-to-be, Shiklah.  This made Dracula mad, as the Lord of Vampires had hired our Merc with a Mouth to deliver Shiklah from her resting place in the Middle East to Dracula’s mansion in New York. These events took place in the Deadpool: Dracula’s Gauntlet mini-series (Yes, worth reading!).

Anytime we send a pschotic nut-job like Deadpool back in time, we open up all sorts of crazy time-travel paradoxes, not the least of which is the person from the past (Dazzler in this case), learning something that can screw up the future.  The comic has a little fun with that, as this scene from Deadpool #30 shows.

But the major continuity conundrum here has more to do with how Marvel defines and limits time in their comic universe, along with the interesting origins of the Dazzler character. The universe of Marvel Superheroes has been ongoing since the Fantastic Four debuted in 1961. While there are several good articles explaining Marvel Time in-depth, for this article we can define it as a slowing down and compressing of time as events occur in the Marvel Comics Universe, with some soft edits of certain events.  Basically, even though the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, and all the other classic Marvel characters appeared over 50 years ago in real time, in the comics published by Marvel, only about ten years have passed since they first appeared from the point of view of people who “live” in the Marvel Universe.  On occasion, a soft edit or soft retcon (change in continuity done retroactively by Marvel editing), is necessary to preserve the fiction that major events have occurred.  Perhaps the best example is the origin of Iron Man.  In the 1960s, Tony Stark was wounded and captured by a warlord while testing weapons for the military in Vietnam.  In the 1990s, this was retconned to take place in the Middle East (think Iraq and Kuwait), and now, in the 21st century, his origin story takes place in Afghanistan (as we also see in the first Iron Man movie). Twenty years from now in real time, his origin will likely take place in a part of the world where a future American war will occur. Thus, the original origin or original first appearances of a character cannot (in most cases), stay static.  In order to keep our heroes somewhat youthful, Marvel Time must be used.  Otherwise, Tony Stark and Peter Parker would both be old men by now.  

So, what does all this have to do with Dazzler and Deadpool? Simple: Dazzler was originally developed by Marvel in conjunction with Casablanca Records in the late 1970s.  She was to be a Disco singer with super-powers.  The idea was to have a monthly comic book, and a real person making records, with plans for a movie along the way (with actress Bo Derek to be the lead).  The records and movie never happened, but Marvel did introduce Dazzler as a singing and dancing mutant in Uncanny X-Men #130 in February of 1980. (FYI: Technically, 1980 is considered as the last year of the 1970s). So, she was a Disco singer.  With powers.  Uh-huh.  

Anyway, due to Marvel Time (and the recognition that disco died a loooonnnnggg time ago), she has been soft retconned to be a rock singer and pop star.  And she has always been portrayed as a youthful-looking, very attractive blonde. In real time she would be at least in her mid-fifties, if not older.  In Marvel Time, she is in her mid-twenties, maybe younger. None of Dazzler’s powers or abilities even hint at immortality or a healing factor that would keep her looking and acting young.

The problem here is that Deadpool specifically says he is travelling back to the 1970s to recruit a younger version of Dazzler to help him kill vampires.  Her light-projection powers are nasty on vampires. Ok, so Deadpool goes back to the 1970s, and brings her home to 2014.  According to Marvel Time, that should not be possible.  In the Marvel Universe, Dazzler cannot have really been a music star in the 1970, AND a young mutant superhero pop star in 2014.  Marvel screwed up their own continuity and canon! Oh, the horror!

Now, this continuity conundrum can be explained away by saying that everything Deadpool does is outside continuity.  Being crazy, it could all be in his head.  That is a plausible defense, except that all the sub-plots in this Deadpool story arc tie in to other, known events in the Marvel Universe, specifically the Original Sin storyline.  If this whole Dazzler/Deadpool sub-plot was a true stand-alone story, maybe the Wade-is-nuts-and-makes-stuff-up-in-his-head line might work.  The more logical explanation is that Marvel editing either messed up, or they do not care to keep their continuity nor their canon clean.  Not that it is all that clean now, but come on…

Yes, I do take canon and continuity seriously. Well, someone has to…right?

Sources and Notes:

Marvel’s Sliding Time Scale-https://zak-site.com/Great-American-Novel/marvel_time.html

Dazzler and Bo Derek –http://jimshooter.com/2011/07/debut-of-dazzler.html/