Longshot Appreciation 2020

[Ricochet Rita]

I'm picking this quote up from the Dazzler Appreciation thread:

Right -- even though I think CC wrote them oddly (which in turn made it creepy) the friends-with-benefits deal at least made sense: Longshot was supposed to be sex on legs. As a Longshot fan I'm curious what are your thoughts on CC's portrayal? I haven't read the Longshot mini in ages, but from what I remember he was depicted very much as able & "adult" with a humorous alien bewilderment about Earth. The way CC wrote him was like a man-child with a toddler-like understanding (& sometimes speech) of things. Based off the writing I always thought CC was not a fan of either character, but I'm not sure if Longshot was editorially placed there like Dazzler or not.

Yeah, your assessment is right: Nocenti's Longshot and CC's Longshot are pretty different. Both have ingenuosness and kindness, but Nocenti's much more bittersweet, sometimes even unintentionally rude, and he seems self-reliant to a certain extent. CC's, on the other hand, seems really as he was born yesterday and he has any concern at all, much like a little child or a pup.

First of all, I'll say I like both of them: I think the mix of these two portrayals makes a richer character, and they're not incompatible.

My lecture: in the beginning of the former miniseries, as well as in the beginning of UXM Annual #10, Longshot suffered a mindwipe. Either the second one was more injurious, or Longshot's mind was already damaged by the previous mindwipe. As a result, during the mini he was savvier and, as time went by (scarcely a week), some of his memories went back, so he turned more focused, responsible and grave, since he had a goal.

When Longshot joined the X-Men, his mind kept totally closed during all those months. As a result, he had a happy-go-lucky personality all the while, and he didn't progress...until his subconscious couldn't bear it any more and it exploided. CC explained this absolutely brilliantly in UXM #248.





Nevertheless, both Longshots share a deep sense of melancholy.

EDIT: I forgot to say that, as far as I know, CC did like Longshot, and he asked for him to be in UXM. Actually, Nocenti said once that CC 'stole' him from her.

[Ricochet Rita]

I find this highly irregular X'D



On a different matter, yesterday I was watching "Spartacus" (Kubrick, I mean) and I can't believe I didn't make a SO obvious reference before.

[Ricochet Rita]

35 years ago, in September 1985, Longshot #1 was on sale.

I would like to post something special as a celebration this Fall, but meanwhile let's have a song for Longshot (as always at this time of year).

[Ricochet Rita]

"they have good genes.. they deserve big hair.."



By agart_s

[Ricochet Rita]

This is so much accurate! (Bolds are mine)

"Headcanon that nobody wants~ Longshot would get sympathy sick before Alison even knew she was pregnant. Also he gets really bad hiccups when he’s queasy."

By squidbiscuit.

[nadler]

Was there talk in the Longshot miniseries of the idea that Longshot was modelled (by his creator Arize) to look like creatures from the Mojoverse's ancient past? If so, does this suggestion that Mojo world is actually our world, but years in the future, i.e. possibly *millions* of years into the future? You see, if Arize built genetic replicants, it raises the question of where he obtained the genetic material to create his "slaves", etc. So was the genetic material drawn from Earth?

If Longshot was a supposed tabula rasa, how is it that in his first appearance he is able to read about a kidnapped child? If this is the case for all Mojoworld’s slaves, why did he need to kidnap Ricochet Rita and transmogrify her into Spiral, when he could easily have done so to one of Arize’s engineered slaves? If Spiral is unable to recall her own past, yet is an earth human, might this also suggest that Longshot and Mojoworld’s other slaves were also kidnapped from other worlds and mindwiped?

We know that into the primitive society of the Spineless Ones was born the mutant Arize, a scientific genius who created artificial spines for this race. But the small group that came to rule the dimension refused to use these spines, instead ordering Arize to create a race of slaves for them.

Despite it previously being believed that Arize wasn’t capable of receiving transmitted TV programs like the other Spineless Ones, was that untrue and he was able to mentally receive the TV transmissions from earth, but upon realising the creatures considered demons by his brethren are instead humans, finds a way to breach the dimension to our world, and succeeds in snatching thousands of mutants he mindwipes into a slave race that will eventually rebel and overthrow the rulers of Mojoworld (ala Jim Shooter’s Warriors of Plasma). He places a post-hypnotic trigger in the mind of one of the slaves to ensure he will come to lead the planned resistance.

[Ricochet Rita]

And I believed I brooded about it too much, LOL! Well done!

Was there talk in the Longshot miniseries of the idea that Longshot was modelled (by his creator Arize) to look like creatures from the Mojoverse's ancient past?

Actually, they were modelled to look like evil creatures from their mythology.



In her "Longshot Bible" (I'm sorry I can't find a scan) Nocenti said that humans crossed between dimensions some time in the distant past, so the Spineless kept this image in their collective culture as fabled beings.

If so, does this suggestion that Mojo world is actually our world, but years in the future, i.e. possibly *millions* of years into the future? You see, if Arize built genetic replicants, it raises the question of where he obtained the genetic material to create his "slaves", etc. So was the genetic material drawn from Earth?

It's an amazing idea, indeed. But I think it was never implied that the slave race had human genetic material, just a similar look. According to the "Bible" again, they're built from Spineless themselves --in fact, they have things in common as fingers and leather skin (maybe two hearts, too?). After all, to make a clon you just need the smallest cell, and I guess bioengineering in that dimension is way advanced that ours.

On the other hand, if we wanted to attend to current canon (not Nocenti's), Longshot is the only one with a bit of human genetic material, since he was made from Shatterstar (whose mother is Dazzler).

If Longshot was a supposed tabula rasa, how is it that in his first appearance he is able to read about a kidnapped child?

Well, regarding this and the fact that he can speak English... I'm afraid that I have no other answer but the rawest and simplest suspension of disbelief for the sake of the story. Any other solution would have been convoluted.

If this is the case for all Mojoworld’s slaves, why did he need to kidnap Ricochet Rita and transmogrify her into Spiral, when he could easily have done so to one of Arize’s engineered slaves?

Now you're talking about facts that, yes, are canon nowadays, but were not present at all in the former Limited Series. Nocenti never wanted Spiral and Rita to be the same person.

Anyway, Mojo kidnapped Rita the first time only to make her talk about where Longshot was hidding. And the second time he apprehended her (after the end of the series, while she was part of the guerrilla) he forced Arize to turn her into Spiral just to torture her and to find out to what extent could she be twisted. Mojo is a sadist, you know.

If Spiral is unable to recall her own past, yet is an earth human, might this also suggest that Longshot and Mojoworld’s other slaves were also kidnapped from other worlds and mindwiped?

There's no sign of Spiral not remembering her own past. Much the contrary, I would say, since she's consumed by rancor.

We know that into the primitive society of the Spineless Ones was born the mutant Arize, a scientific genius who created artificial spines for this race. But the small group that came to rule the dimension refused to use these spines, instead ordering Arize to create a race of slaves for them.

Despite it previously being believed that Arize wasn’t capable of receiving transmitted TV programs like the other Spineless Ones, was that untrue and he was able to mentally receive the TV transmissions from earth, but upon realising the creatures considered demons by his brethren are instead humans, finds a way to breach the dimension to our world, and succeeds in snatching thousands of mutants he mindwipes into a slave race that will eventually rebel and overthrow the rulers of Mojoworld (ala Jim Shooter’s Warriors of Plasma). He places a post-hypnotic trigger in the mind of one of the slaves to ensure he will come to lead the planned resistance.

It's really a interesting theory, and could be a great story. Although, as I said, all of this is already explained and it would be a retcon.

Besides, that would be an awful strategy for Arize's part: kidnap thousands of innocent aliens, mindwipe them and enslave them for ages just in order to release his own dimension! What a undesirable person! He placed indeed a planned obsolescence towards a unbowed drive in the slaves (not just Longshot: he was 'one of the specials'), but at least those slaves was created from zero, not snatched from their lives.

All good ideas, anyway. I'm here to share if you've got more

[nadler]

Actually, they were modelled to look like evil creatures from their mythology.

Yes, but what I'm asking/ suggesting, is were those "evil creatures from their mythology" actually us from the transmitted TV programmes they were receiving (i.e. what they saw in broadcasts interpreted into their mythology)?

In her "Longshot Bible" (I'm sorry I can't find a scan)

Where, and when, did you obtain such an item?

It's an amazing idea, indeed. But I think it was never implied that the slave race had human genetic material, just a similar look. According to the "Bible" again, they're built from Spineless themselves --in fact, they have things in common as fingers and leather skin (maybe two hearts, too?). After all, to make a clon you just need the smallest cell, and I guess bioengineering in that dimension is way advanced that ours.

Or the genetic material might have been obtained when humans crossed between dimensions in Mojoworld's past, as you indicate Nocenti said in her "Longshot Bible"!?

Well, regarding this and the fact that he can speak English... I'm afraid that I have no other answer but the rawest and simplest suspension of disbelief for the sake of the story. Any other solution would have been convoluted.

The ability of language is tied to our genes, so if Longshot had a natural ability for English, this might provide further evidence for his genetic template to have been human/ Earthling.

[Ricochet Rita]

Yes, but what I'm asking/ suggesting, is were those "evil creatures from their mythology" actually us from the transmitted TV programmes they were receiving (i.e. what they saw in broadcasts interpreted into their mythology)?

Could be. Although I would say a "myth" is something more remote, more unknown, more unfathomed than a TV program, no matter how alien this was.

Where, and when, did you obtain such an item?

It was published as a facsimile in Longshot TPB (2008). Unfortunately, my edition is from another country and it's not in English. There's some pages around the internet, but not the one I wanted to show.

This is Nocenti talking:

"Back then they encourage the editors to write. They wanted us to know both sides of the fence, which is very smart. I do know that I wrote what they call a bible, which was a really confusing, overwritten tome, the deep roots of Longshot. [Editor] Louise Jones really liked the idea. [Editor] Carl Potts was there at the time and he hated the idea. He was obsessed with, 'how do the powers work? Where do the powers come from?' I was like, 'I don't know, he's just lucky.' I had to write up this whole thing. We had one of his eyes glowing and Carl was like, 'why does it glow?' I was like, 'I don't know. I just wanted it to glow because I have a cat with one eye. At night I see him in the dark and his eye glows.'"

Ash, Roger. "Ann Nocenti and Art Adams Bet on a Longshot." Back Issue August 2008: p27.

Or the genetic material might have been obtained when humans crossed between dimensions in Mojoworld's past, as you indicate Nocenti said in her "Longshot Bible"!?

Now that's a point, indeed! We don't know which humans crossed to this dimension, when, nor what happened to them once they were there.

The ability of language is tied to our genes, so if Longshot had a natural ability for English, this might provide further evidence for his genetic template to have been human/ Earthling.

Right. As I said, your theory could be a brand new explanation for the whole slave race stuff.

[From The Shadows]

I found a rather nice manga-ish pic of Longshot with Dazzler.

[Ricochet Rita]

Yeah, I saw it before! I like it a whole lot Actually, I think (despite the manga-ish style) it's one of the most realistic depictions of Longshot I've ever seen.