Longshot Appreciation 2018

[Ricochet Rita]

Made me like him all the more.

Good job. Spread the word .

As this quote in an old TV child show: 'We must unteach to unlearn how to undo things'. Critical thinking!

[Confuzzled]

I know this is super complicated, but any idea who owns the movie rights to Longshot and Mojoverse? Fox or Marvel?

Either ways, I think Sam Claflin would be a great choice to play him. He's great as Finnick in The Hunger Games series.

[616MarvelYear is LeapYear]

It just hit me that 616 Longshot and 616 Dr. Strange were good friends.
If Marvel holds his movie rights than I am hoping the MCU Longshot will have a cameo in the MCU Dr. Strange movie and that MCU Longshot along with MCU Mephisto will have a more prominent role in the sequel.

[Ricochet Rita]

I know this is super complicated, but any idea who owns the movie rights to Longshot and Mojoverse? Fox or Marvel?

Either ways, I think Sam Claflin would be a great choice to play him. He's great as Finnick in The Hunger Games series.

Ey, I didn't know this guy, but could be... He's neat.

It's hard to picture a flesh and blood Longshot. As Arize said once: 'My friend, if you wouldn't exist, nobody could be able to imagine you'. Anyway, the actor should be not only physically nice, but somebody real likeable, somebody you could love just at first sight. I'm thinking in someone as Ewan McGregor, who's charming and slightly melancholic at the same time (I know he's too old now, it's just an example). Stewart Copeland would be close to my own notion, too.







And no, I have no idea who owns the movie rights. Actually, I pray to never see Longshot nor Mojoverse in the screen :S . Please leave them alone.

It just hit me that 616 Longshot and 616 Dr. Strange were good friends.
If Marvel holds his movie rights than I am hoping the MCU Longshot will have a cameo in the MCU Dr. Strange movie and that MCU Longshot along with MCU Mephisto will have a more prominent role in the sequel.

I love Doc (one of the few non-X characters I use to read), and I loved his role in the former series and in 'Longshot saves the MU'. It's really a peculiar pair and I think it works very well, Doc so brainy and serene and Longshot so messy. If Longshot finally went to Hollywood (that I doubt a lot), I really wish he'd do it as you suggest instead of implicate him with the X-people. It's not a bad idea, indeed.

[a0040pc]

Issue Information
Title- Longshot (Volume 1) #3
Release Date- November 1985
Writer- Ann Nocenti
Artist- Art Adams

Major Notes
First appearance of Mojo

Brief Summary

Let Me Die

In New York a man named Theo is trying to watch some TV as he complains about his electric provider who has hiked their rates. His family are around them and they are generally messing around while he is watching the TV. He sees an article in the paper about a large diamond shipment to his energy provider named Con Edison. Unfortunately due to his daughter he misses a big play on the TV. In frustration Theo gets up and walks into the bathroom as she is talking to him. He feels that his life is worthless and he feels that he is ugly. He does brush his teeth as his wife still knocks on the bathroom door. He has so many things going on that he walks to a drawer and pulls out a gun much to the horror of his family. Rather than shooting his family he shoots the TV and simply walks out.

Sometime later he ends up on a bridge overlooking a river. He intends to jump and as he does so he is surprised to find that he lands on something. It is Longshot who is still seemingly alive, without much thought for himself Theo pulls him out of the river and onto the bank. Theo thinks that Longshot is some kind of superhero as he wakes up. Longshot recounts the last things that he remembers and the two seem to get along. He knows that Theo tried to kill himself and this causes Theo to state how bad his life is. When he mentions Con Edison this makes Longshot remember his friend Eliot telling him how the company are thieves. He suggests taking the money back. Longshot begins to walk away but Eliot goes back to the bridge and makes himself a noose which he intends to hang himself with. Longshot notices and throws one of his knives to cut through the rope.

Later the pair arrive just outside of Con Edison HQ. Longshot intends to get some excitement back into the life of Theo and get some of his money back. Theo is a little unsure but he does mention about the diamonds that are inside. Longshot tells him that luck will help them through this and at first Theo is sceptical but Longshot is able to convince him otherwise. Longshot then leaps over the electric fence and lands on a circuit box. This switches off all of the defence systems, Theo can’t believe what he has seen and he even tries to get over the fence himself although Longshot has to help him out in the end. They don’t realise that they’re being watched in the buses by Spiral and the leader of the hunters named Gog.
Longshot and Theo make their way into the building’s lab through a small window where they find the machine that is using the diamonds. They can’t see the diamonds but they begin to look around. Longshot comes across some cables which causes him to have a flashback. He is experimented upon by creatures known as the Spineless. The two Spineless creatures speak about the experimentation on the slaves before them and one of them is Longshot himself. He states that no one owns him and in response one of the creatures gives him a reminder.

As Longshot snaps back to reality and asks Theo who created them. Theo responds that many people believe that it is God. While they are talking they do find the diamonds but they’re also being watched. Longshot senses something wrong with the gems but Theo sees them purely for their value. They begin to make their escape but they’re being followed by the creature once known as Pup. Theo trips over the corpses of a security guard and the fall causes him to break his nose and knock out many of his teeth.

After Theo has gotten himself up Pup makes his presence known. He is bigger than he was before and suddenly a group of hunters appear around Longshot and attack him. Theo tries to help Longshot but is grabbed by Pup and pulled away. The Hunters need the diamonds to create a portal to get themselves back home. Longshot does push one of the hunters into some equipment and destroys it. Unfortunately this causes a blackout throughout New York City. He thinks he is doing well but is soon knocked out.

When he wakes up he is tied up and he sees Spiral performing a dance which will open the portal. The hunters are around her and Longshot knows that they know about his past, he asks them but then are unwilling to answer. They simply leave him behind as the portal opens and state that he is nothing. Longshot is only left with questions but he is soon released by Theo and Pup. Longshot thanks Pup who throws it back in his face and still hates him. Pup states that Longshot is pretty and he has his luck and it is a couple of reasons why he hates him. Longshot tries to find the good in his old friend but he walks away.

Longshot and Theo escape through a window and they see several policeman outside. Longshot still has some diamonds but Theo knocks them out of his hands as he knows that what they did is illegal. He also blames Longshot for the blackout and he states that he doesn’t want to hang around with him anymore. Theo states how when he is around him he feels like a chump and he realises how important his family is to him. He picks some flowers for his wife as he wishes to straighten his life out as Longshot walks away and feels guilty over what has happened.

Later in a coffee shop a couple are reading about what happened in the power station. The woman admits that Longshot is cute but when she looks at the photograph in the paper it looks like he is punching nothing.

My Thoughts

And now we come again to Longshot in an issue that I didn’t feel was as good as the previous one but it was still entertaining nonetheless. Rather than meeting some nutjob or a stuntwoman we meet an average joe kind of guy who really is down on his luck and saw only one way out.

Although he isn’t named in this issue this is actually the first appearance of Mojo who is a villain who is most well known as an X-Men villain although I believe that he has crossed over to other heroes. He is from a race of beings called the Spineless who as the name suggests have no spines. He is basically the ruler/TV producer of a realm called Mojoverse where he basically shoots deathly reality series. He will go to any lengths to get ratings and he does have a legion of servants at his beck and call.

This issue is the only appearance of Theo who although seems to be against Longshot at the end of the issue ultimately the hero does actually help him. Don’t forget that Theo was going to commit suicide and if it hadn’t of been for Longshot he would have succeeded. He is you typical person who is normally saved by some kind of supervillain in most comics but we got to see him in a prominent role. When he took the gun out at first I thought he was going to shoot his family and I’m glad that he didn’t. What he did was dramatic nonetheless. Hopefully his life truly turned around for him.

There was also a brief cameo by Spider-Man and other supporting characters. Ok so we only saw Spider-Man as Peter Parker but it was a nice little nod and reminds us of the larger Marvel Universe.

We also got a few more questions come out of this issue. The first is that fully know the deal with Pup. We know that he absolutely hates Longshot but he has saved him on more than one occasion. He is also transforming more as the issues go by and I’ve noticed in the corner of the covers that he transforming on there as well. I find this a nice little touch by the artist Art Adams.

From the end of the issue we learn that Longshot is heading to Manhattan and he will be meeting other heroes while he’s there such as Spider-Man and She-Hulk. We also learn that the Hunters don’t seem to show up on film. Not sure whether it is simply because they have some kind of technology that prevents them from being filmed or that they were never there in the first place.

In conclusion I’m giving the issue a 7 out of 10. It was pretty good but I did miss Ricochet Rita.

Next Issue
Dazzler (Volume 1) #40

[Ricochet Rita]

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

…I’ll Wave To You From The Top!

I'm a bit delayed in comments, sorry. Let's go!

First of all, we've got Ricochet Rita, of course. She's a wonderful character herself, with or without Longshot, with or without Spiral. Here's a gal who doesn't need to be a stunning woman to rule --self-reliant, unpredictable, without inhibitions nor hangups, neither 'feminine tricks'. Hooray for Rita!

Now, after having included uncomfortable types as a weapon fanatic and an adulterous mother in the first issue, Nocenti deals on the sly with Hollywood corruption and with illegal labour. Gosh, I do love this woman ^ ^ !

BTW, the He-Man parody is obvious: it reflects every trash movie of the 80's (and 90's, and 00's...).

Coming back to Longshot, it's interesting how we begin to see the difference between his mood on Earth, largely light hearted because of his blank memory, and his mood on Mojoverse, worried and tense about his (and the other biogenetic creatures') terrible situation. BTW, here's a clue many people use to forget: Longshot's luck power is not natural --no matter how much he's been defined by it later, it was implanted in him like a 'magic prosthesis'.



Look what a splendid coloring to evoke this demented world!

As for the relationship Rita-Longshot... I think it's very sweet the way she's slowly falling in love with him (there are little signs of weakness in her usual decisive nature; it's a shame, but...who could blame her?), and the way he's increasingly trusting her. Regarding this, I don't know what do you think, but in my opinion the motel scene is probably the most erotic one I've ever read in a Marvel comic-book.



His leather skin... Disturbing. Although not as disturbing as the final page. Wow.



Funny things in this quite dark issue:

1. Rita calling 'hot shot' her buddy, and his absolute ignorance about the meaning of this expression.

2. The Michael Jackson nod. I wonder if this was Nocenti's or Adams' idea (the spineless could have even 'duplicated' the real Michael). Anyway, poor Jackson finished off real bad.

[Ricochet Rita]

Issue Information
Title- Longshot (Volume 1) #3
Release Date- November 1985
Writer- Ann Nocenti
Artist- Art Adams

Let Me Die

And now we come again to Longshot in an issue that I didn’t feel was as good as the previous one but it was still entertaining nonetheless.

It's funny you say that. On the contrary, I think this is probably the most perfect issue of the series, as a whole piece I mean. I like it precisely because it deals with average people and matters, with those things that are automatically ignored in most of superhero comic-books: working class ennui and extortionate monopoly. Plus, it deals with it in a not at all pleasant nor encouraging way. And finally, Nocenti dares to tease her own protagonist and to show his irritating side (please, could somebody post here scans of page 22?). All of it, without forgetting the sense of adventure and thriller. Is there a better offer?



And oh, this awesome cover! What a great poster would be! Adams in his best & Christie Scheele and her pre-John Higgins sick palette <3 .



TO BE CONTINUED...

[616MarvelYear is LeapYear]

It's funny you say that. On the contrary, I think this is probably the most perfect issue of the series, as a whole piece I mean. I like it precisely because it deals with average people and matters, with those things that are automatically ignored in most of superhero comic-books: working class ennui and extortionate monopoly. Plus, it deals with it in a not at all pleasant nor encouraging way. And finally, Nocenti dares to tease her own protagonist and to show his irritating side (please, could somebody post here scans of page 22?). All of it, without forgetting the sense of adventure and thriller. Is there a better offer?



And oh, this awesome cover! What a great poster would be! Adams in his best & Christie Scheele and her pre-John Higgins sick palette <3 .



TO BE CONTINUED...

Yes, it would be.

[Ricochet Rita]

[CONTINUING LONGSHOT #3 READ THROUGH]

I only got this small scan almost illegible of page 22, so my translation is rough again. But ey, isn't it a simple but devastating deconstruction of the hero figure? Those supers rub it in even unconsciously --just their presence is appalling. Our usual response is fascination for their wonder, but sometimes even the most insignificant guy (Theo) has got the inspiration and decorum to raise his voice against injustice and inequality. Are you here really to help me, or to make yourself bright?



JINX: Around you, I'm feeling nothing but an idiot!
LONGSHOT:I...
JINX: You're special, I don't. I'm ugly and clumsy, there isn't anything special about me. I haven't got what you've got.
LONGSHOT: Eh...
JINX: People aren't equal! You are...different...bigger than life! You remind me how small I am. I couldn't even kill myself!
LONGSHOT:But...
JINX: Last thing I want to do is spending my time with Mr. Superior.
LONGSHOT: I...only wanted to...(What can I say...?).

Fighting against market abuse is a very good motive, indeed, but quite useless through sabotage. And the diamonds confused Longshot a lot about the real goal. No surprise that the mission became a bit of a mess. On the other hand, it's quite interesting how cleverly, little by little, flashbacks are bringing snippets of Longshot's identity to us.

Last note: this issue goes entirely by night.

[a0040pc]

Issue Information
Title- Longshot (Volume 1) #4
Release Date- December 1985
Writer- Ann Nocenti
Artist- Art Adams

Major Notes
Features Spider-Man & She-Hulk

Brief Summary

Can’t Give It All Away

There is news report on the TV about Longshot and how he stole the valuable diamonds from the electrical facility. They have CCTV images of him and the report us being watched by Spider-Man who is enjoying a day off work and She-Hulk who is getting ready to go out for a jog.

In the Bronx Longshot is forced out of an electronics store for trying to pay with diamonds. As he walks into Central Park he knows that what he did was wrong and he wishes to pay back the people and then find out who he is. He notices his old friend Gog in a nearby bush but he moves away and seems to have mutated even further. Longshot even begins to question whether this world is real and more especially he believes his friend Ricochet Rita can help.

Meanwhile a group of children are playing in an old car on the streets. They are pretending that it is a space ship but eventually the children fall out of the car where they see their parents. Their parents are talking about how TV and comics are a bad influence on them but the father states how carrying a gun around is good for protection. The children try to sneak away but the father does ban them from getting comics.

When the parents are gone the children go through their change and discover that they only have enough for one comic. This saddens them a little but they see diamonds falling on top of them. When they look up they see Longshot who is standing on top of a wall. He asks them what they want to do with the diamonds and they respond that they want to buy comics. The girl in the group named Darla takes a liking to Longshot as he walks away. One of the boys notices Gog in an alley but a moment later he disappears.

A short time later Longshot is walking through Central Park and he seems lost in his thoughts about everything that has happened to him on Earth. She-Hulk jogs passed him and she recognises him from the news report. She strikes him and is surprised with how far he flies. He strikes a sign post but vaults over her as she demands to have the diamonds. She is able to strike him and he flies into a tree and this makes Longshot believe that she is in league with the hunters from before.

In another dimension an alien looking being named Mojo who is complaining to his minion named Major Domo about how his plants keep dying. Mojo himself is responsible for this and he is in fact the owner of everything in sight. Major Domo reveals that Mojo own forty three percent of the slaves in this world and he is unhappy that he only has that many. In his anger he even commands two pretty women who are his slaves because he deems them ugly. He states that everyone’s faces are ugly besides his own and that everyone must have the same face as him.

Mojo then makes his way into a special room where several mirrors around him and he states about his power and how he controls everything. He soon leaves and Major Domo informs him about how the Hunters have returned without Longshot. The Hunters are soon brought to Mojo and they are all wearing masks with his face. They explain to him what Longshot has been doing while on Earth. They also tell him how humans look a lot like their slave race and Mojo himself becomes angered about them wearing his face. He destroys one of the hunters and calls for Spiral. She appears and under his command teleports them both to Earth.

In Central Park Longshot still believes that She-Hulk is a hunter and tries to defend himself with his words. She-Hulk thinks that he’s crazy and as she goes to strike him again he vaults over her and throws extension cable and his knives at her. She is pinned to a tree for a moment but she is easily able to free herself although it costs her the sweater she is wearing. She discovers that he is gone and she is disappointed with herself for not catching him.

Longshot is running over some buildings. He still intends to return the diamonds to the people but he doesn’t see Spider-Man coming from behind him but thanks to his powers he is able to dodge and strike back. Longshot also believes that Spider-Man is a hunter and rather than fighting he tries to escape. He is even able to give Spider-Man the slip for a moment and he even thinks that the superhero is just in his mind. Spider-Man begins to see that Longshot is more confused than anything and at one point Longshot even falls. He begins to fall to the ground but he swings on some washing lines and vaults back up right past the dismayed Spider-Man.

Some distance away at the home of Rita she is practicing her Tarzan swings in front of her dog. This seems to be more fun than anything else and even pretends that her dog is a panther even though he doesn’t play along. She then walks into her home which is a bit messy and she even says hello to her parrot. She is a little saddened about Longshot and she has even been told that he went to a hospital and was later released. She doesn’t notice one of her plants dying but when her dog begins to growl she sees her parrot drop dead (or maybe it’s just resting). She soon sees that Mojo and Spiral are in her home. Mojo sees that humans do look like the slaves and he wants to enslave them all but he wants to find Longshot first before word of this gets out. It could start a slave rebellion and he demands that Rita take them to Longshot.

Elsewhere Longshot sees the kids again from earlier and they are talking about Gog. Only the one kid saw him and suddenly Longshot lands before them. He has overheard their conversation about a monster and Darla asks him to kill it for them. He thinks that they’re pretending and one of the kids even hands him a gun after taking his father’s words. He stares at the gun and when he looks into it he has a flashback of a battle and being captured. He is taken away and his mind is wiped.

Longshot snaps back to reality and as he moves his hand on his head the children see a cross like scar. He tells them to take him to this monster, this eventually leads them to an old abandoned building. Longshot goes inside with the children and moments later they are confronted by Gog who has seemingly killed someone. Longshot sees that he has grown and concludes that he is real. The children are scared as Gog is filled with power. Longshot figures what reality truly is but he is struck by Gog who seems to have only just started.

My Thoughts

Now we return to Longshot which featured the most well known character in the Marvel Universe and a female spin-off of another well established character. Of course Longshot was still the main character but it was somewhat nice to have those other characters thrown in there as well.

One thing to really note about this issue is that this is the first time that Mojo is actually named and also the first appearance of his henchman Major Domo. Mojo did appear in the previous issue but he wasn’t named. We got to see that he has no regard for life and that his mere presence is actually poisonous to life. A great way to show just what this character is like. For Major Domo although he looks human he is actually a mechanoid, I did like his lines and it makes me think that he’s the only one who can say those kinds of things to Mojo and not be destroyed for it.

Of course we got to see Longshot face off against two superheroes in the form of Spider-Man and She-Hulk. What was good to see was that he didn’t defeat them but rather just escaped. It makes it that much more believable since I think Longshot would have struggled to defeat She-Hulk (in fact she basically had him on the ropes). Also I think he would have done better against Spider-Man but again I don’t think he would have been able to defeat him. Guess this just shows how lucky he really is.

This issue also marked the return of Ricochet Rita who I did miss in the previous issue. She still seems to be a very fun character as we see her using her acrobatic skills at home. Unfortunately her eccentric lifestyle comes at the cost of keeping her house clean. It does look pretty bleak for her at the end of this issue and we fear that we might not see her again.

We got a little reference to what we see in some children’s cartoons where the parents of the main character’s faces are not seen. This is the case of the parents one of the children and it seems that the father’s view on guns is very questionable. You can definitely see this having a negative effect on the child and I suspect that there could be a very tragic accident that might take place. Adding guns to anything rarely makes things better.

Longshot seems to be in some confusion over what is real and what is fantasy. I take it that this is because of his whole memory business but he does seem to be trying to return the diamonds that he stole. Looks like he’s admitted that what Eliot told him in the first issue is wrong and he wants to make things right. Unfortunately at the end of this issue things seem to be going against him.

In conclusion I’m giving the issue an 8 out of 10. A great issue which is definitely keeping me waiting for the next issue.

Next Issue
X-Men: Heroes For Hope

[Ricochet Rita]

Issue Information
Title- Longshot (Volume 1) #4
Release Date- December 1985
Writer- Ann Nocenti
Artist- Art Adams

Can’t Give It All Away

OK, here we go .

First of all: isn't this really an AWESOME cover? Why, if you don't want to read the contents at the sight of it, maybe you've got no blood in your veins! (BTW, Longshot may be the most bashed hero after Daredevil).

'Cause the main point of this issue is the big qualitative leap forward that Adams makes almost without prior notice. His previous issues were noticeably interesting, and increasingly better, but still a bit inconsistent and fixed. Nevertheless, now it's as if his hands were untied and all of a sudden he knew exactly what to do. The lightness, expresivity and ease of his line is simply amazing: now he's able to draw buildings and houses and rolling dogs and children who look like children, not like short people!. And, of course, the most sylphic She-Hulk ever seen (oh and how I fell in love with her legs!).

TO BE CONTINUED...

[Ricochet Rita]

[CONTINUING LONGSHOT #4 READ THROUGH]

Nocenti treats her character unceremoniously --he gets more insults and snubs than Alice in Wonderland (including "goldarned girl", that I'm sure it was the thinking of a few readers). Sometimes I feel really sorry for this poor isolated orphaned confused being who is among strangers in a foreign land, who can understand nothing, and whose attempts to relate with others often end badly (except for Eliot and Hester --and Rita, but even she got scared when she kissed him).



(BTW, is that cord he took one of his strokes of luck, since he will use it soon to restrain She-Hulk, or another sign of his Diogenes syndrome?)

In this regard, it's great to notice this one more Nocenti's barbed writing about superheroes. She shows Spiderman and She-Hulk as what they really are: bullies (when they're on duty, I mean –no offence). He abuses with his words, and she abuses with her fists. None of them ask before attack, none of them listen to the victim: they presume because of the TV news that he's a criminal, and that's all. It's not just the classic “confussion among heroes”, but a demonstration of how both of them take advantage of a presumably second-rate villain. Spidey is particularly revealing: when we read his adventures from his POV and we see his chattering, we may think: “Ey, this guy is really funny!”. Yes, but he's funny at the expense of humiliating other people for no good reason. Longshot's lack of malice makes him wonder what's the point for this.

[Ricochet Rita]

[CONTINUING LONGSHOT #4 READ THROUGH]

More characters seen in this issue:



I absolutely love the tribute to 'Our Gang', the TV series I so much enjoyed in my childhood. These 'Fatboys' keep the names (not the look) of Darla and Butch, and Alfalfa 'Alfie' is a carbon copy of the original Carl Switzer (my very fav!). They could have been just an incidental plot excuse; luckily, Nocenti herself brought them back in her Daredevil run and they proved to have got a great potential.

Adding guns to anything rarely makes things better.

I couldn't agree more… BTW --is it me, or Butch's father looks exactly like Reagan ;P ?



IMHO, Mojo is an outstanding villain, because he surpasses any other in pure madness. It's like a Joker without a goal: the Joker usually wants to harm, directly or indirectly, but Mojo often haven't even got a purpose (he constantly asserts one thing and then the opposite, in an extreme schizophrenic profile). Well, it might be he wants to be worshipped and to control the spineless through media, but sometimes he forgets that. The only thing that remains is his humongous ego, which even put him close to death when Longshot is about to stab him (in issue #6) and he stays fascinated in the glorious experience of his own murder.

Later, Mojo was developed basically as a comedic character. That's not bad itself, but the former Mojo, causing hilarity himself, was inseparably terrifying. His inherent 'touch of corruption', his total insanity, his deadly unpredictability, his total isolation from the reality, is as a vertiginous black abyss in which everything is irremediably lost. He's a monster, only comparable to Mad Jim Jaspers or, as I said, the Joker (actually, there's a scene in issue #5 that I find very similar to 'The killing joke'…two years before).

Major Domo is certainly a discovery. Some people may not sympathize with Nocenti's writing, but what about her skill with creating out of the blue amazing characters who have survived with success over the decades, huh? Domo, with his couturier manners, cold and fairy (please, no offence: I say this with all my care!) at the same time ("Mojo doll, Mojo darling"), is such a contrast with his hideous master, and soooo funny. An example that each slave of the spineless has been produced with a particular purpose ("A utensil! A gadget! A toaster! A vacuum!") and that Longshot is not the only one who feels uncomfortable about it and who dares to say it aloud.



I don't know, but somehow I feel as if this delicious page was the most autobiographical one of Nocenti's whole work ;-) . No, Rita, you shouldn't be born a boy, you're great just the way you are --but maybe you could have tried to immediately visit Longshot at the hospital, couldn't you?

[616MarvelYear is LeapYear]

In this regard, it's great to notice this one more Nocenti's barbed writing about superheroes. She shows Spiderman and She-Hulk as what they really are: bullies (when they're on duty, I mean –no offence). He abuses with his words, and she abuses with her fists. None of them ask before attack, none of them listen to the victim: they presume because of the TV news that he's a criminal, and that's all. It's not just the classic “confussion among heroes”, but a demonstration of how both of them take advantage of a presumably second-rate villain. Spidey is particularly revealing: when we read his adventures from his POV and we see his chattering, we may think: “Ey, this guy is really funny!”. Yes, but he's funny at the expense of humiliating other people for no good reason. Longshot's lack of malice makes him wonder what's the point for this.

So true!
616 She-Hulk and 616 Spider-Man were indeed abusive towards 616 Longshot.

[Ricochet Rita]

"Luckily", he managed quite good to dodge and escape. But not before letting in some blows...

In relation to this, there seem to be a contradiction during his struggle with She-Hulk. To her surprise, her punch ("not so strong") makes him fly a rag doll --but his impact against the streetlight bends it in half. Now we know that Longshot's lightness is due to his bones, which are hollow as those of a bird (regarding this, I can't recall it's ever mention before his arrival to the X-Men Danger Room: was it Nocenti's idea or CC's?). So, being his skeleton so fragile, it should have been broken, and not the streetlight . Was it Adams' mistake or wasn't there a clear explanation about Longshot's lightness yet?