Classic X-Men Character Returns in Crossover Event

A classic X-Men character made their return to the fold in today’s X-Men Blue #13, though the character seems to have had a bit of an attitude adjustment since last fans saw him.

Spoilers for X-Men Blue #13 follow.

X-Men Blue #13 is the first Marvel Legacy issue of X-Men Blue, but the second part of the series’ crossover with sister series X-Men Gold, “Mojo Worldwide.” The series sees the television-obsessed X-Men villain from the Mojoverse taking his show on the road as part of an elaborate rating stunt. Mojo is invading New York City and assaulting the X-Men with their own weaponized greatest hits.

Both the Blue Team and the Gold Team X-Men are involved in the battle, but they’ve been separated and trapped in their own virtual realities. One group of X-Men consisting of Prestige, Kitty Pryde, the time-displaced Cyclops, and the vampiric Bloodstorm were trapped in a version of the dystopian future from “Days of Future Past” battling a non-stop onslaught of Sentinels.

Things began to go poorly for this group. In order to prove just how real this assault was, Mojo had one of the sentinels impale Bloodstorm, killing the undead mutant on the spot. Prestige, Cyclops, and Kitty continued to try to hold their own, but they would have soon be overwhelmed if not for the “lucky” arrival of an old friend.

It should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with Longshot’s history that it was this former X-Man and freedom fighter from the Mojoverse who came to the X-Men’s aid. After all, Mojo is basically Longshot’s archrival.

What may come as a surprise is Longshot’s personality. While Longshot has always been somewhat innocent if not outright naive, the fact that he is apparently some kind of Internet celebrity now is a new development.

Longshot actually pauses in the middle of battle to speak to his streaming audience and goes on about how he’s been leeching viewers from Mojo. This fits with the typical tone of stories involving Mojo, which are often meta-textual satires of our own media- and entertainment-obsessed cultures.

However, it should be noted that Longshot’s luck powers only work if he is using them for selfless intent. If he becomes too obsessed with his own celebrity, that could be bad news for him and the X-Men.

Longshot’s History With the X-Men

Longshot is the rare member of the X-Men who is not himself a mutant. Created by Ann Nocenti and Art Adams and first appearing in his own Longshot #1 in 1985, Longshot is actually one of many genetically enhanced humanoid slaves from the Mojoverse.

Longshot led the rebellion against his former master, Mojo. However, his revolution proved unsuccessful. Longshot lost his memory and was expelled to Earth, where he met the X-Men.

Longshot was a member of the X-Men during the “Outback era,” when the X-Men were believed dead after a battle in Dallas when in fact they had faked their deaths and set up a new base of operations in Australia. During his time with the X-Men, Longshot fought the Brood and the Reavers and began a romantic relationship with the mutant Dazzler.

Eventually, Longshot began to question his place in the X-Men and decided to return to the Mojoverse. Dazzler went with him and together they led the rebellion against Mojo.

Exiles and X-Factor Investigations

Later, Longshot again suffered memory loss when he was recruited into the Exiles, a team dedicated to maintaining the integrity of the Marvel multiverse. Longshot helped the team battle Proteus by using his luck powers as a means of canceling Proteus’ ability to warp reality.

Longshot left the Exiles during a trip to the Earth-616 main Marvel universe. He met up with Dazzler again, but the holes in his memory made it difficult to regain the spark in their relationship.

Longshot made his way to Detroit after hearing rumors that he had already been seen in the area. It turned out to be a Skrull imposter during the “Secret Invasion” storyline. However, while in Detroit, Longshot met up with Jamie Madrox’s X-Factor Investigations and ended up joining the team.

During his time at X-Factor, there are hints that he may be related to Shatterstar, a member of the original X-Force team who was then working for X-Factor. It is finally revealed that Shatterstar is actually the son of Longshot and Dazzler who was born in the Mojoverse. Neither Longshot nor Dazzler remembers their child because of the tampering to their memories.

Since then, Longshot has largely been off the board in the Marvel universe, but the return of Mojo made this the perfect time for his return.