Longshot Appreciation 2018

[a0040pc]

Issue Information
Title- Longshot (Volume 1) #2
Release Date- October 1985
Writer- Ann Nocenti
Artist- Art Adams

Major Notes
First appearance of Ricochet Rita

Brief Summary

…I’ll Wave To You From The Top!

Longshot and the creature that he now calls Pup are racing towards a speeding train that looks to be heavily fortified. As they leap onto the roof they don’t realise that the train is part of a movie set and the director named Hitch is not happy that the pair are ruining his shot. He sends one of the stuntwomen named Ricochet Rita to get him off the train. She does as she is told simply to get away from him. She rides a motorbike towards the train and Longshot has yet to notice her but he comments on how happy he is even though he can’t remember anything. He does notice that Pup has grown spikes on his tail and a ridge on his back but Pup simply tells him to mind his business. Suddenly Rita appears alongside the train and this distracts Longshot for a moment. When he goes to look at Pup he finds that he has disappeared once again. Rita dares Longshot to catch her for a kick, he agrees and jumps on the bike itself.

Rita drives them back to where the crew are and when Longshot sees the cameras he thinks that they’re guns but she tells him that they’re merely cameras. Rather than being angry with Longshot Hitch is very impressed with what he has seen and he believes that Longshot is a stuntman. He explains that the film is a futuristic pirate epic and that he is also a top director. He offers Longshot a stuntman position which he accepts since he does need money and Hitch promptly fires the other stuntman. The jilted stuntman walks off in anger while Hitch tells Longshot to watch the actor who he will be doubling for. The actor himself also wants to use Longshot as a valet.

The lead actress is an aging beauty named Kimberly Price who needs hours of make-up to still look young and as she is filmed by paparazzi Rita and Longshot watch from the side line. Rita comments that Kimberly is a tragic case of fame and she also states that she works as her stunt double. She also apologises for somewhat tricking him into taking the job but Longshot doesn’t mind since it allowed him to meet her.

Rita then takes Longshot to some jetpacks that they will be using for a stunt. She has to teach him how to operate them and they strap their packs on. They then begin to fly in the air and Longshot begins to think that Rita is somewhat crazy as she states that she has always wanted to be thrilled. She is a wildcard and she sees how capable Longshot is with a jetpack. When she asks Longshot if he has actually flown before it causes him to have a flashback.

In this flashback Longshot is rocketing through the air with a man named Jackson. They are attacking a target and at first everything is going fine until Jackson is destroyed in an energy blast. This greatly angers Longshot who flies down towards where the shot came from which seems to be an alien looking fortress. Everything that has happened is seemingly for some kind of alien film.

In reality Longshot begins to gall and Rita has to snap him out of it so that he can land on the ground safely. Longshot thinks that he used to be some kind of movie star and a slave, she does try to comfort him as they go back to the set.

When they arrive at the set Kimberly isn’t happy that she has had to wait for their return. Longshot states that being a star is like offering her soul to the public and that it is a curse. Kimberly doesn’t agree but when she sees that her make-up is fading she begins to panic. They don’t realise that they are being watched from the bushes as Hitch tells Longshot about all that he is accomplished in his career. He also states how the next stunt will be extremely dangerous since it will all be real but he is willing to pay Longshot a million dollars if he were to sign a contract which he does.

That night Longshot and Rita stay in a motel and when she if he remembers anything about his past he still draws a blank. Pup is outside and he sees the jetpacks so he knows that Longshot is inside. Longshot explains how the memory he experienced was like ab echo and most likely he doesn’t want the full picture. Rita does try to comfort him and even goes to give him a kiss but she notices that his skin feels like leather. She doesn’t think that he’s human and in her shock she leaves the room so that she can have time to think.

Longshot hears a crashing noise from outside and when he goes to investigate he is confronted by the Hunters from before. They want revenge since they’re stuck there because of him but before they can attack Pup comes out of nowhere and attacks them. This causes them to disappear but Longshot notices that Pup is bigger than he used to be. He is also standing on two legs and he wonders into the kitchen to grab some food from the fridge. Longshot is confused with what is happening and at that moment Rita returns as she regrets leaving. She sees Pup and states to Longshot that he isn’t a puppy and is some kind of alien. Pup tries to convince him that they are friends but Longshot realises that he has been lied to. He grabs Pup and demands to know more about him, Pup knows that in his current form that he can’t defeat him so instead slashes him and flees. Longshot is left saddened since Pup was his only friend but Rita states that Pup wasn’t his only friend.

The next day on the epic set Hitch runs through what will happen. It includes real lasers and he reminds them just how dangerous it is. As Longshot and Rita get ready he feels that something isn’t right but when everything is ready the pair fly towards the set. They are able to dodge the lasers and land on the roof like they are supposed to. Longshot still feels off and he knows that it is not skill but luck and he asks Rita if money is a good motive. Rita t first says it is but then states that it is selfish. Longshot is confused and flies away but unfortunately he is struck by many lasers. As he begins to fall he remembers a cult like ceremony taking place where he is branded with a star like brander. The words pure motives ring in his head as he continues to fall and is struck by more lasers.

Longshot’s rocket is out of control and despite what is happening Hitch chooses to keep filming even though the rest of the crew want to stop. Longshot is caught in some wiring where he is freed by Rita. His jetpack continues to fly out of control and he crashes into a nearby building much to Rita’s horror. One of the crew go to him but she thinks that he’s dead and Hitch tells her to put him in his truck so that he can take him to the hospital. Hitch knows that Longshot can sue if he survives since the contract was illegal. He wishes to wash his hands clean of the situation.

After Longshot is loaded into the back of the truck and Hitch refuses to let anyone else travel with him. As he drives away Rita knows that he is up to something and Hitch himself is panicking as he knows that he is in very big trouble. He drives Longshot to the Blue River and dumps his body in there as he thinks that he sink. Instead Longshot’s body rises to the surface and a horrified Hitch panics and shouts to stop looking at him.

My Thoughts

Now we come to the second issue of the Longshot LS with another entertaining issue which was completely different to the last. Rather than him saving someone else from peril this time with we have Longshot taking part in stunt acting for a film. We also got to meet a woman who will be of some importance to him although technically we’ve already met her before.

The first thing to mention is that this is the first appearance of Ricochet Rita who as we learned in this issue is sort of an adrenaline junkie who is a professional stunt woman. With the stunts that Hitch wanted her to do you can see that she is a little crazier than normal stunt performers. She seems to be a very fun character and as Longshot mentioned that she seems to be crazier than him.

If you ask me the whole movie in this issue reminds me a lot of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe which was a big tv show/toy range at the time. You can definitely see the similarities between the last movie set and Castle Greyskull. I was really surprised that no one in the issue decided to shout ‘I HAVE THE POWER!’

Hitch himself seemed to be a somewhat sleazy director who is willing to put his crew at great risk just to get the best film. He was willing to kill Longshot to make sure that he kept his nose clean and that just shows you the kind of guy he is. It isn’t something that we haven’t seen before but the whole angle was nicely played in this issue. From the looks of it Longshot is dead because of Hitch but then again he can’t be dead since there are still another four issues of this series to go.

We also learned a little more about Longshot in this issue as he did have a couple of flashbacks. It seems that he was some kind of movie star wherever he came from another world. He lost his friend in some kind of sick film for entertainment. We also learned that he was branded by some cult but also we learned more about the creature that he calls Pup. We learn more that he hates Longshot and that he is actually a demon who seems to be evolving. Besides this not much is known about him but we will learn in the near future.

This issue was still fun to read and the story is pretty good as well. Once again for now Longshot has no connections to the X-Men but that will come to an end soon enough. At least the blonde hair amnesiac seems to have gotten himself a women who is quite a bit like him.

In conclusion I’m giving this issue an 8 out of 10. It was fun overall and I am almost done playing catch-up.

Next Issue
Longshot (Volume 1) #3

[DDD]

LOL, it's funny to see Longshot acting like a cocky rooster, it's so inappropiate in comparison with his usual unaware mood!

Anyway, I rather like Ultimate version: a liar and a murderer! That's really an upside-down Longshot! And the beard fits him great !



Now that you've resurrected this thread (thanks, people!), it's time to go on.

I was still rooting for him, especially after learning the truth. BKV's UltXM run drove me off his work entirely.

[Ricochet Rita]

Issue Information
Title- Longshot (Volume 1) #1
Release Date- September 1985
Writer- Ann Nocenti
Artist- Art Adams

A Man Without A Past

Well, I just don’t know where to begin… I remember an old comic fan letter in which he said that after reading this issue he’d got to throw up (!!!), and that's because all concerning to Longshot is always in a dangerous balance between sublime and ridiculous. In the other hand, I was absolutely fascinated, ‘cause it was so…so different! It hooked me so much that, before I decided to buy it, I went every day to the newsstand to read it on the sly.

Its oddity captivated me right from the start. The protagonist, of course, but also the strained atmosphere and those wonderful acid colors (orange, yellow, fuchsia, green, purple –no blue!), one year ahead Watchmen (great Christie Scheele!). Synesthesia as a notion bound to Mojoworld and its natives is an awesome Nocenti’s idea which, sadly, has not been developed later. Nevertheless, the pic of a momentarily blinded Longshot is frequent. BTW, did you ever notice that most of the series happens by night? You’ll verify later, a0040pc.

With the crisis over everyone gathers around the stranger to congratulate him on his actions. They ask his name but the stranger can’t remember it, a nearby policeman thinks that he is on drugs and goes to arrest him but the stranger flees. He is surprised to see the sun in the sky and when he looks up at it he is blinded for a moment. He even wonders to a window and he is surprised to see is reflection. He is then approached by a man who states that he is a friend, he introduces himself as Eliot and sees a kindred spirit in him. Eliot thinks the stranger is some kind of superhero and tells him that if he needs him to head to his survivalist pad on the hill. They have to split up quickly though as the police and the crowd almost catch up to them.

These first pages are some of my favorites, ‘cause they introduce what IMO is the spirit of the series: kinda ‘Alice in Wonderland’, where a stranger (an alien) travels through a foreign world and in her/his journey she/he meets a lot of characters who use to annoy her/him and despise her/him, so she/he end up loads of confused. Not only he’s not a hero –he’s neither an antihero. The panels with Longshot shattered against the shop wall, and then slipping himself to the ground and guffawing (“Someone will tell me [who I am], I’ll just sit here and wait till”) are a splendid character portrait.

As for Eliot, he’s one of the misfits so appreciated by Nocenti, the same way than Hester: a half-fascist wacko and a single mother. I’m a big fan of Nocenti, although I’m pretty aware of her flaws (blurred writing and, um, not much subtlety in her messages), because she always speaks about things that nobody deal with, things that always interest me –and she do it with bravery but without complaisance.

But I think I’ve said too much for the moment. To be continued…

[Ricochet Rita]

I was still rooting for him, especially after learning the truth. BKV's UltXM run drove me off his work entirely.

I'm not sure I understand what you're saying, sorry for my poor English. You mean you liked Ultimate Longshot as a character, but not Vaughan writing?

[616MarvelYear is LeapYear]

Thanks Ann Nocenti and Art Adams for creating this marvel character.

[Ricochet Rita]

Thanks Ann Nocenti and Art Adams for creating this marvel character.

HOLY CRAP!!! I DIDN'T EVEN REALIZE!!! SHAME ON ME!!!

Thanks, 616, now I should make some kind of celebration in CBR. Just let me think about it...

[Ricochet Rita]

...and here it is .

Happy-go-lucky 30th birthday, Longshot!

[DDD]

I'm not sure I understand what you're saying, sorry for my poor English. You mean you liked Ultimate Longshot as a character, but not Vaughan writing?

I didn't care that he killed a guy who made a career murdering mutants. I had a lot of issues with the writer's "ethics".

[Jdsm24]

According to the latest continuity established by Jeph Loeb and Peter David, Longshot is actually a human mutant, the Arize-modified clone of a brunette orphan named Benjamin Russell who became comatose (ala Kwannon) by the first awakening of his undisclosed mutant powers, and whose body now serves as the host body* (ala Psylocke) for the spirit of Shatterstar, Longshot's biological son with his ex-wife and fellow X-man Dazzler (from the time that they were married and ruling the Mojoverse together) who was raised in the far future (ala Cable), who through a time paradox (ala Spiral), fell back in time and met Arize who used the DNA of Shatterstar's host body to serve as the genetic template for his creation, Longshot, who is Shatterstar's own biological father (in other words, Shatterstar and Longshot are technically their own grandpas).

*which the spirit of Shatterstar was placed into by Longshot himself using magic after Shatterstar was fatally wounded by Mojo in a one-on-one battle where Mojo defeated Shatterstar using Shatterstar's own twin swords.

[Jdsm24]

sorry double-post, so I deleted it.

[Ricochet Rita]

I didn't care that he killed a guy who made a career murdering mutants. I had a lot of issues with the writer's "ethics".

Actually, most of the arc deals with the conflict of saving a man who's a murderer from a murderer political system. To me, it's clear that every person has got the same human rights (including the right to live a decent life) regardless of the crimes he/she may have committed, so I support Art 'Longshot' Centino, too. Having said that, he kill a lot of people, not only 'a guy who made a career murdering mutants'. Centino shows no respect for the life of who's not of his kind: he's a fanatic racist. But I too have 'an issue' with the story, though, when Spiral says that he deserves execution.

According to the latest continuity established by Jeph Loeb and Peter David, Longshot is actually a human mutant, the Arize-modified clone of a brunette orphan named Benjamin Russell who became comatose (ala Kwannon) by the first awakening of his undisclosed mutant powers, and whose body now serves as the host body* (ala Psylocke) for the spirit of Shatterstar, Longshot's biological son with his ex-wife and fellow X-man Dazzler (from the time that they were married and ruling the Mojoverse together) who was raised in the far future (ala Cable), who through a time paradox (ala Spiral), fell back in time and met Arize who used the DNA of Shatterstar's host body to serve as the genetic template for his creation, Longshot, who is Shatterstar's own biological father (in other words, Shatterstar and Longshot are technically their own grandpas).

*which the spirit of Shatterstar was placed into by Longshot himself using magic after Shatterstar was fatally wounded by Mojo in a one-on-one battle where Mojo defeated Shatterstar using Shatterstar's own twin swords.

I'm feeling dizzy *_* .

[Ricochet Rita]

[CONTINUING LONGSHOT #1 READ THROUGH]

The first issue contains a scene that it's pretty much one of the keys of the character (and the spirit of the series, in the 'Alice' sense). I'm giving a rough translation, 'cause I haven't got the original USA item.



LONGSHOT: Here it's told that a child has been kidnapped. I would like to rescue her.
ELIOT: What? That's just the news!
LONGSHOT:You mean all of this is a lie?
ELIOT: Yes! Well, no... I mean, I guess it's true.
LONGSHOT: Let's rescue the child, then.
ELIOT: But nobody's interested in such things!

See? Longshot is being purely, naturally logical: something is wrong, so we should put it right. Eliot, with all his baloney about political plots, corp control, shock to the system and so on, is not ready to lift a finger for someone else. We spend our lives complaining, but we do nothing to improve things because we are hypocrites. Longshot's presence says to us: if you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem. And this annoys us.

[DDD]

Because it could get you into trouble. If you find any info, you should report it to the police or dial 911.

[Ricochet Rita]

Gosh, DDD, I never know when you're being sarcastic or serious, hahaha :P .

I meant it in the broadest sense: we're responsible of the world we're living in. Longshot makes people feel uncomfortable because he's as a mirror, in which they see how fake and selfish they are.

[616MarvelYear is LeapYear]

Gosh, DDD, I never know when you're being sarcastic or serious, hahaha :P .

I meant it in the broadest sense: we're responsible of the world we're living in. Longshot makes people feel uncomfortable because he's as a mirror, in which they see how fake and selfish they are.

Made me like him all the more.