1984 – Beauty and the Beast

Beauty and the Beast
4 issue miniseries
December 1984 - June 1985

Writer: Ann Nocenti
Artists: Don Perlin/Kim DeMulder

The Beauty, Dazzler, is trying to deal with the fallout from the public revelation that she’s a mutant. Desperate to reclaim her fame and fortune, Dazzler signs up to sing for what she believes is an underground entertainment company, but as it turns out, it’s actually an underground gladiatorial arena where mutants fight to the death in front of wealthy spectators.

Just as the Beast took a vacation from the Defenders during this miniseries, the art team of Don Perlin and Kim DeMulder dropped in from their regular gig on that book as well to draw this four issue miniseries. Unfortunately, the art just isn’t all that good. The panels are hard to follow and the action sequences are stiff and lack any of kind of flow.

The Beast does his best to free Dazzler, both physically and emotionally, but finds himself in tough as he ends up falling in lover with her.

By the third issue, things really start to unravel and the plot falls apart as Alexander Von Doom (one of Doom’s offsprings) feels the need to assert himself as a power player in this underground arena as a means to demonstrate his worthiness to take on his father.

Obviously playing on the fable, this miniseries seemed more of a gimmick than anything else. By the fourth issue, I was just skimming and couldn’t invest anymore time in this series. I had to check and re-check that Ann Nocenti, one of my favorite writers from the 1980s, actually penned this miniseries.

Disappointing all around. Some miniseries are best left in the 1980s and this is one of them.

Unfortunately, this miniseries isn’t the last we see of the mutant arena and its gladiators as it played a prominent role in the New Mutants (circa New Mutants #29, July 1985).