It’s said that there is no such thing as a bad character in comic books; just extremely ill conceived or poorly written ones. This week we feature two combatants who stumbled out of the gate to become cult favorites: Vibe and the Dazzler.
DATED ORIGINS: Both of these characters are extremely dated in their origins. Vibe’s story comes across like the downfall of a member of Manudo; he’s a former break dancer turned gang member turned super hero. Dazzler is a former disco singer whose career is derailed once the public finds out she is a mutant and becomes an adventurer. ADVANTAGE: Neither.
THEY CAN TURN SOUND INTO THINGS: Vibe and Dazzler almost have the same super powers. They can turn sound into seismic and light energy respectively. Dazzler seems to be able to take her powers much further though, being able to successfully take on higher level cosmic villains like Dr. Doom, Terrax and even Galactus. ADVANTAGE: Dazzler.
KING OF THE STREETS: Vibe doesn’t really have much in the line of combat skills. In addition to her music career, Dazzler is an accomplished athlete. She’s also received extensive combat training during her time as an X-Men. I’m sure Vibe’s partners in the Detroit era of the Justice League (one of the lamest groups ever) really couldn’t offer something comparable. ADVANTAGE: Dazzler.
WINNER: Dazzler walks away with this one over poor Vibe. She is a much more established character, having been expanded so much over the years to be more than just a disco joke. Vibe has a chance to evolve and become a better character. Hopefully the new series written by Andrew Kreisberg can breathe some new life into the character.
Ridiculously Awesome 
I love Dazzler. I’m not really anti-Vibe, but I agree with you. He just never really had a chance to become an interesting, fleshed-out character. Here’s hoping his inclusion in JLA and this new team book does just that.
Thanks so much for stopping by and hope to see you as a regular commenter! I totally agree with you. I forgot who said it, but Vibe is definitely a case of not being a bad character, just a poorly written one!
I think you’ll be glad to know that former Hawk and Dove writer Sterling Gates will be working on a New 52 series again in a matter of months. He’s going to write Vibe from the 4th issue on. Here’s the solicitation: http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=43654.
I’m very glad too, because Hawk and Dove was a very nice read, and I hope Vibe will be as entertaining as that title was.
For one: hasn’t the supporting character Cisco on TV’s The Flash turned out to be Vibe? I need to catch up on season two, but I’m pretty sure.
That is a terrific image of Dazzler. From where did it originate?
I’m not too up on The Flash but you are right! Unfortunately I don’t have all the time to keep up on these things 😦
As for the picture of Dazzler, I really like it a lot too. Didn’t remember who did it, but after a little internet detective work it turns out it is by an artists named Chris Tsuda on Deviantart!