Marvel’s Longshots is a lot of fun

Marvel’s X-Men have entered the Age of Revelation storyline, in which all of the main X-Men comics will be replaced with mini-series and one-off specials. These, like The Amazing X-Men, will be based in a dark future (surprise, surprise) where Apocalypse’s heir Revelation controls a new mutant utopia.

Spoilers ahead for Longshots #1

Mojo on the cover of Longshots 1, 2025, published by Marvel Comics

This event will be spread over 15 issues, so the usual problems will be encountered with readers struggling to keep up with them all. However, if it continues in a similar manner as its first issue, Longshots is one to pick up, even if it likely has little impact on the overall event storyline. It is chaotic, has some great lines, and pits some unlikely characters together.

Mojo, one of X-Men’s more delightfully absurd villains, has a problem; a side-effect of the Age of Revelation is that all of the Mojoverse programming has been cancelled. A desperate attempt to get something out and on the air is formed with Major Domo suggesting they contact Longshot – “the luckiest man in the Mojoverse“. In a twist, the parties cannot reach an agreement so a new show must be made!

“Time to get creative“
Mojo

Enter the X-Babies. Baby Colossus, Baby Wolverine, Baby Phoenix, and Baby Cyclops pull together a plan for cheap show. They decide on a reality show but they need bounty hunter Hellcat to ‘recruit’ talent. Artist Alan Robinson does a good job here of bringing together the contrasting styles of the cartoonish X-Babies, into the presence of the techno-nightmare that is Mojo.

At this point in the story, it is very apparent that writers Jonathan Hickman and Gerry Duggan were going for more X-Statix vibes rather than X-Men. The whole issue is tongue-in-cheek, with nods to the original Longshot series by Ann Nocenti, and meta commentary. It might lean more into Duggan’s Deadpool days but feels fresh enough to make it fun with a interesting selection of characters to play with.

The best moments are where Hellcat encounters her recruits for this team of Longshots. She finds Bishop practicing lines to sound cool. Kraven the Hunter is surrounded by cadavers of Jeff the Land Shark. Rhino is suffering a crisis of confidence as he has lost his horn and Wonder Man, the last living good guy, rounds out the new team. The team, and therefore Mojo’s new show, will be targeting a mysterious power source in the Revelation territory of The Power Plant.

The humour might not be to everyone’s taste but it is a must read if you like sci-fi that does not take itself too seriously, which seems an odd thing to write for a Hickman book! It will be interesting to see if the series will continue the silliness, or will instill some seriousness in it at some point – hopefully not!

Buy Longshots #1 – Forbidden Planet UK (I earn a commission)