Friday, March 17, 2023

Action Figure Review: Longshot from Marvel Legends Retro Collection: X-Men by Hasbro



   It's St. Patrick's day, so how about a little luck for you?

   Would you believe that I haven't reviewed a Marvel Legends Series figure since last year? It's true! While Hasbro's Marvel Legends team showed off some cool upcoming things recently, there just hasn't been a lot out there lately that interests me. Pair that with the price increases that have kept me from picking up figures randomly and I've become much more selective with Marvel Legends. I love X-Men characters from the mid 1960 through the mid 1990s, though, and I'm thrilled that Longshot was released as part of the Marvel Legends X-Men Retro Collection. Packaged on a classic Toy Biz inspired card that actually lets you see the product you're buying, Longshot is a slight variant of the figure released last year in the Hasbro Pulse exclusive Mojoworld set. I didn't buy that set as I picked up Mojo separately, already have two versions of Dazzler, and I assumed that Longshot would get rereleased. Ta-da! I never owned the vintage Toy Biz Longshot as a kid, nor any other ones, so this is the first figure of the character I've owned. Let's take a look at Longshot after the break...




The Facts:

Height: 6 1/8ths inches

Articulation: Swivel/hinge ankles, boot swivels, double hinged knees, swivel thighs, ball-jointed hips, swivel waist, hinged mid-torso, swivel/hinge shoulders, swivel biceps, double-hinged elbows, swivel/hinge wrists, hinged neck, and a balljointed head.

Accessories: 4 swappable hands, bandolier, dagger, sheathe, and satchel.

Non-Scalper Price: $25 dollars


The Positives:

* Longshot is a rather cool looking figure. He's decked out in a cool black jumpsuit that appears to be all new, or mostly new, and he's rocking some sweet black boots with buttoned pouches. Throw in his brown leather belt, bandolier, and the sheathe on his legs and he manages to look sleek and skillful while also having easy access to the gear he needs. There are a lot of nice details on Longshot's outfit including folds and creases to show he's wearing clothes rather than just having a standard body painted black, and little details like the star on his right chest and the zipper down his shirt are all sculpted elements with paint apps. 


* Longshot is rocking a mullet and it's very, very cool. It's a wicked 1970s or 1980s rock mullet; more Bowie, Rod Stewart, or MacGyver than Billy Ray or Joe Dirté. Turns out, his hairstyle was actually based on Limahl, the guy who sung the NeverEnding Story song. It's a fine specimen of a mullet, that's what I really want to say. Remember that one of Longshot's powers is that women love him, so a mullet is a grand accessory. 



* Longshot's bandolier is a separate piece that fits over his chest really well and features lots of little throwing knives. Well, lots of throwing knives and a few empty pouches for knives he's already thrown or that he's getting ready to throw. Lognshot comes with a hand with three daggers attached, so I suppose that's where the missing daggers are.

* Longshot is an artificially created person from the Mojoverse, so he's a little different than a human being from Earth. One difference is that he has hollow bones, though I don't know how exactly Hasbro would show that off. Another difference is that he has four fingers instead of five, so that's what Hasbro gave him. Nice! Ch'od is supposed to have four fingers as well, I believe, but it looks like his upcoming figure will incorrectly have five. Sometimes less is more, like with Longshot's fingers here.



* Since he's slender and seemingly a new sculpt, Longshot's articulation is excellent. He's got plenty of joints and everything moves nicely. He doesn't have lateral pecs or anything but the area around his shoulders is sculpted in such a way to ensure that the shoulders have a great range of motion. 



* Longshot comes with four hands, three of which are pretty normal. You've got a gripping right hand, a left hand with his fingers splayed open as if he's just released a flurry of daggers, and a right handed fist. 




* Longshot's alternate left hand actually has three of his little daggers held between his four fingers, allowing him to look like he's ready to toss them at someone, messing up Mojo's day. 



* If you want a single dagger then you can use Longshot's lucky dagger. It's a really nice, simple dagger with some cool little detail flourishes. It's another piece I just don't recognize, and I think it's another new element of this figure crafted just for Longshot. I'm really digging it.




* The dagger fits snugly and securely into the removable sheathe on Longshot's right hip. It's sculpted perfectly to fit the curved blade.




* Longshot also comes toting a satchel for carrying all of his extra goodies in. It's definitely not a purse (it's European) and it's molded in the same color of plastic as the rest of his gear, so it color coordinates splendidly. 






* Part of Longshot's probability manipulation/ good luck power is that he also is irresistible to women, a mutant power I apparently also have. How's he look? He definitely looks like a cool, charismatic individual.

The Negatives:

* Is he handsome though? He's charismatic but I think the sculptor may have over accentuated some of his features. I like that he has the glowing yellow left eye that represents him using his powers but I wish it has been a separate piece like the Marvel Legends Cable from the Deadpool series.


   Longshot is a really nice figure and I'm actually quite glad I waited for this one instead of picking up the oddy overpriced Mojoworld pack. I'm digging the glowing eye, the excellent accessories and extra hands, and the articulation. Longshot is a pretty exciting figure who feels like no corners were cut and is definitely worthy of your time and attention if you're a fan of the 1980s era mutants. I never picked up the vintage Toy Biz figure as a kid as I just didn't know much about him, but having read the 1980s X-Men books since them, I'm thrilled to have this Great and a 1/2 figure of Longshot. 


This is the first figure of Longshot I've reviewed. For more Marvel Legends Retro Collection reviews check out the following:

Marvel Legends Retro Collection by Hasbro

Marvel Legends Retro Collection: Fantastic Four by Hasbro
 
Marvel Legends Retro Collection: Spider-Man by Hasbro
Symbiote Spider-Man

Marvel Legends Retro Collection: X-Men by Hasbro
Apocalypse
Gambit



7 comments:

  1. Well, at first i thought he was a Hokuto No Ken character mixed with Limahl, imagining him saying:
    "Omae Wa Mou, Shindeiruuuuuuu uuuuh uuuh uh uh...", and it's nice to be wrong. We don't want "Fist of the Never Ending North Story", at least not still.

    Never heard of Longshot (never heard from most Marvel/DC characters outside of the classicals, i was not much of a Marvel/DC fan myself, maybe i like a bit more DC as the chatacters are not superspectacular and fantastic like Marvel's ones) but well, he looks fine and the accessories seem nice as well. Only thing i wonder is, Mojoverse and Simpsonsverse are connected? As he has 4 fingers on each hand, maybe he is Homer Simpson's lost cousin from Albany, ha, ha, ha!

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    Replies
    1. Mojo is big and yellow, so maybe they are connected?

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    2. Obviously, Mojo it's Mojomer Simpson, ha, ha, ha! And Longshot it's his son Longshotolomew "Longshot" Simpson, of course! Who knows, maybe the Mojoverse transcurs inside Homer's imagination while he is bored in the Nuclear Power Plant!

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    3. Stranger things have happened in comics, so maybe it's a possibility. Disney owns it all now, so it's a possibility.

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  2. Looks awesome. I'll have to brush up on my Longshot history. I stopped reading comics right as he came along.

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    Replies
    1. The Marvel Epic Collections are excellent ways to read entire eras of storylines. They're arranged wonderfully and are very reasonably priced. Any X-Men stuff from the late 1970s through the 1980s is just gold.

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    2. The Marvel Epic Collections are excellent ways to read entire eras of storylines. They're arranged wonderfully and are very reasonably priced. Any X-Men stuff from the late 1970s through the 1980s is just gold.

      Delete

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