Marvel Legends Retro Longshot review

Hasbro somewhat tripped up with the reveal of the Mojoworld set as it coincided with the release of a standalone Mojo and Longshot offerings. There were subtle differences so collectors who appreciate little differences were OK with the double dip. I remember reading the Longshot standalone a long time ago, but I really came to enjoy the character through his stint with the Outback era X-Men.

Longshot was the innocent, naive member of the team who lucked his way out of dangerous scenarios and a relationship with Dazzler. While the timing of multiple Longshots was weird, it was nice to get a solo Longshot on the Marvel Legends Retro card series.

Let’s see if his luck holds out and this was another great entry from a very strong wave so far. 

Packaging: While Hasbro is 90% concerned about the environment, they’ll make an exception with the Retro line, which still features the plastic window. Ironically, this is a wave that never made it to retail in my area so it was still a blind purchase hoping that I got the best paintjob. That said, I do really like the packaging art featuring another classic character portrayal from David Nakayama.

Nakayama always gets to the core of the character showcasing them exactly how the figure should look. This is one of those special moments where the Hasbro sculptors are basically on the same page as Nakayama’s art.

For the X-Men in this wave, they have a red and orange yellow burst color scheme. It’s a nice combination and is very eye catching. I can certainly see the appeal in this line for MOC collectors.

Turning to the back, there’s the cross sell featuring the other figures in the wave. That’s something I miss from the old days of collecting especially since these show the figures in action shots instead of boring renders. Longshot has a quickie bio, but it summarizes his backstory pretty good for a sentence even though it really should mention his affiliation with the X-Men. 

Likeness: I love this head sculpt. It’s a terrific take of the character with a spot-on approach to his hairstyle with the bushy top and prominent mullet. He’s got a bit of a defiant smile like he’s about to ruin Mojo’s programming again or watching Dazzler on stage in some Australian bar.

Hasbro’s version features a stronger head sculpt compared to its Toy Biz counterpart, which made the normally happy-go-lucky Longshot look too sinister and prickly. 

I can’t place the sculpt as it looks like it’s a dedicated one for Longshot with the popped collar and sculpted zipper, slender physique and tall boots.

There’s some nice folds and wrinkles in the outfit that really sells the costume look wonderfully. His default left hand is an awesome unique sculpt as it features three of his kunai style shuriken in between his fingers like he would frequently have them before slinging them at an opponent. There’s precedence for this as the Toy Biz version featured them as well. 

He’s got all of his expected gear including his bandolier filled with his shuriken. In a nice bit of attention to detail, the bandolier slots are missing the three shuriken he’s got in his hand just like the Toy Biz figure. Longshot’s smaller belt connects with the sheath on his hip. And the included satchel can fit under the bandolier for that precise comic book visual. 

Finally, his right breastplate star isn’t just handled by paint. It’s actually sculpted on. That’s an unexpected bonus — good for you, Hasbro!

Paint: While he has a simple looking costume at first glance, Hasbro did solid work on his paint specifically with Longshot’s glowing left eye. There’s some cool printing here that gives it a shining sparkle like effect that carries over to his left eye. This is one of the biggest differences between the two Longshots as the Mojoworld version doesn’t have the sparkle eye. 

Longshot’s chest star is a very strong, bold yellow with zero black bleeding through. That’s a tough challenge and Hasbro made sure to keep applying enough yellow paint to make it look strong.

His hair is a terrific shade of blonde that looks far more lifelike than the shock yellow we typically see with figures. Smaller details like the silver of his kunai shuriken and his belt buckle are nicely done as well.

Scale:  Longshot was about average height typically portrayed as the same height as Dazzler and Psylocke and looking up at Rogue, Havok and Storm. And of course, he’s taller than Wolverine. 

Articulation: Longshot is a superior athletic fighter. While he might not be on Nightwing’s level, he’s pretty close. The butterfly shoulder allows him to hit some solid knife-throwing poses.

Longshot’s got great range with his hips and can achieve some smooth kicking and flipping poses as well.

Longshot has:

• neck
• ball-jointed shoulders (butterfly joints)
• bicep
• elbow (double-jointed)
• wrist
• wrist hinge
• torso
• waist
• hip
• thigh
• knee (double-jointed)
• boot
• ankle

Accessories: Longshot has all the necessary accessories even if I wished he got one more. 

He’s got his knife as well, which has good detailing in the blade.

That fits in the right sheathe. It would have been cool if Hasbro reused the effect piece used for Gambit and Bullseye to simulate Longshot throwing his shuriken.

That effect isn’t viable for many characters and Longshot definitely would have been one of them. Additionally, he’s got two swappable hands — one is an outstretched left hand that’s accurate with four fingers. The other is a right fist. He also has his satchel to sling over his right shoulder.

Worth it? Longshot clocked in at the standard $24.99 current price for the line. Longshot might not be the obvious value compared to Spiral, but he’s a very solid figure. Don’t forget to check Entertainment Earth’s Outlet Deals section as you could get figures like Longshot with slightly damaged packaging for cheaper.

Rating: 9.5 out of 10

Longshot is a fun figure and it’s nice to get the very nicely done eye sparkle version to mix up which one I display with my Outback X-Men squad.

Where to get it? This wave didn’t hit retail so the only option is from online retailers. You can get the Marvel Legends X-Men Retro Longshot figure now at Entertainment Earth.

Use my special code lylesmf to get 10% off on in-stock items and free shipping over $59. Grab the full set and pre-order the MojoWorld box set and Retro Spiral as well.

As an Entertainment Earth affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.