2. Dazzler
What Was It: For those who are unaware, Dazzler is one of the lesser-known members of the X-Men (those unfamiliar with the comics may remember her best from Konami's old X-Men side-scrolling arcade game). The character was initially conceived as a cross-promotion effort with Casablanca Records in the 70s. The deal was that Marvel would produce a singing superhero, Casablanca would provide the singer, and the two companies would work with Filmworks for a movie tie-in. Jim Shooter, who was Marvel's Editor-in-Chief at the time, wrote a treatment for the movie. That treatment was absolutely bonkers. Initially conceived as a half-hour animated special, upon reading Shooter's treatment, it was decided it should be a feature film. Bo Derek was who Filmworks had in mind for the lead role, and the film also would have featured Rodney Dangerfield playing four roles (one of which would be Lord Chaos), KISS fighting the Village People, Cher as the Witch Queen, Donna Summer as the Queen of Fire, and Robin Williams as Dazzler's love interest. Plus the appearance of Spider-Man and the Avengers. All in some bizarre dystopian future. Derek agreed to star and as she was one of the biggest names in Hollywood at the time, it led to a bidding war for studio financing. Everything seemed on track to make Dazzler the first Marvel superhero to make it to the big screen.
What Happened: Back in those days, despite the success of Superman: The Movie, comics were still considered campy kids' stuff. So once it became an idea for a feature film, it was decided that they should get an actual screenwriter instead of "just a comic book writer." Leslie Stevens was brought on and discarded everything in Shooter's pitch. Bo Derek also insisted that her husband, John Derek, get the job of director or else she wouldn't do the project. But because John Derek had a reputation for being behind schedule and over-budget, all the studios backed out, which led to Derek backing out and Casablanca Records also backed out later. Shooter and Stan Lee, still believing in the character, decided to go ahead and launch the comic anyway. It lasted for several years and upon cancellation, Dazzler joined the X-Men title.