Cerebra's Files

Dazzler


Real Name: Burtram Worthington
Affiliation: None
Relatives: Warren, Sr. (father, deceased), Warren, Jr. (brother, deceased), Kathryn (sister-in-law, deceased), Warren III (Archangel, nephew)
Status: Incarcerated
Alternate-X Versions: None
Codename Etymology: Pronounced dăz'lər [Frequentative of "daze," from Old Norse, dasask: "to become weary"]; One who blinds with light.
Powers & History: Burt Worthington was a criminal who developed a mechanism that allowed him to project intense amounts of light that "dazzled" his opponents. Perhaps he turned to crime because he had no share in the vast Worthington fortune. As Dazzler, Burt got involved in a diamond heist that brought him into conflict with his brother Warren, whom he shot and killed. It also attracted the attention of his nephew, who was the X-Man known as Angel. Angel fought and unmaksed his uncle, who used the ensuing moment of surprise to break free and escape.

Over the next few months, Burt played the greiving brother and cozied up to Kathryn Worthington. He led her to believe that he was in love with her, and she developed similar feelings for real. The two agreed to get married, which would make Burt part of the fortune again. Candy Southern, then Angel's girlfriend, discovered the situation and notified Professor X, who in turn apprised Warren III when the X-Men returned from a mission to the Savage Land.

Angel was convinced that his villainous uncle was up to no good, and was tempted to tell his mother about her fiance's true nature. However, the family doctor dissuaded Angel, fearing that his mother's physically weak body and soul would not be able to handle such a shock. Upon further investigation, though, the X-Men found that Burt, with Dr. Lambert's assistance, had been slowly poisoning Kathryn, planning to have her die shortly after the wedding. Unfortunately, Burt was impatient, and increased the dosage without approval. This caused Kathryn to turn for the worse before the wedding, and even though she received no more poison, her condition was fatal.

The X-Men immediately attacked Dazzler, who flash-blinded them as soon as they figured out his plan. Marvel Girl eventually defeated him with telepathy, and then put a mental block on Burt and the doctor (who was revealed as a rabid mutant-hater) so they could not reveal that Warren III or his friends were mutants or X-Men. Dazzler is still presumably in jail.


Dazzler II

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