Longshot is one of those classic X-Men characters that you can count on showing up every few years in a supporting role (most often in some rehashed Mojo plotline), hanging around for a short tenure and then slinking back into his off-page status quo. I don’t mind Longshot’s guest appearances, but I’ve long since given up on any lasting character development or changes to him. But even so, it’s been 17 years since Toybiz made their version of ML Longshot, so I was happy to smash the pre-order button when the Hasbro Marvel Legends 2023 Longshot went up for order. Was it a lucky purchase? Here’s my review…

All of the new-age Marvel Legends figures in plastic-free packaging seem to be selling slow as molasses in my neck of the woods, but thankfully, Longshot will hopefully avoid that fate by coming in the popular Toybiz vintage-styled Retro X-Men Marvel Legends line (with bubble on cardback packaging).

It always warms my heart to see this throwback packaging that reminds me of hundreds of trips to Toys R Us 30 years ago, and I think the style is as effective now as it was then with bright colors, original artwork, big logos and character bios/series lineups on the back.

As the modern cardboard boxes are omitting character descriptions, it’s especially welcome to see them still present here.

While these Marvel Legends Retro X-Men series figures don’t come with a Build-A-Figure, the packaging and high-quality figures and accessories are meant to be the selling-points. Longshot comes with 4 accessories, and all of them enhance the figure and bring it to another level.

You get 4 hands for Longshot: a fist, a grasping left hand (for his dagger), an open “just released a throw” right hand and my favorite, a hand clutching multiple little throwing knives between his fingers. All four hands feel like they add something different when achieving poses, making this a really fun action figure to mess around with.

X-Men Legends Longshot also includes a larger dagger, which fits securely into the sheath add-on piece on his leg and equally well into his grasping left hand. It’s nothing fancy, but it looks nice and works well.

The last accessory is a purse-like pouch that Longshot wears across one shoulder. It doesn’t snap into place or anything, but it also stayed pretty much where I wanted once it was positioned. If it was sized wrong and flopped excessively it would make me nuts, but this figure’s add-on pieces are all better designed than to do that.

As an athletic, finesse-type character, it was important this 6” Longshot Legends figure have excellent articulation. And it does. Barring butterfly shoulders for a wider range of throwing poses, virtually every bit of articulation you’d want is present, including:

—Ball-Hinge Head and Shoulders
—Pin-less Double-Hinge Elbows and Knees
—Upper torso Ab crunch
—Swivel-hinge wrists
—Swivel Waist, Biceps, Thighs and Boots
—Ball Hips
—Hinged feet with ankle rockers

And yes, Hasbro did remember that Longshot only has three fingers and an opposable thumb, so his hands are all accurate. I also appreciate that this mass release version has the yellow chest star instead of the less-familiar white star from the Hasbro Pulse Exclusive Mojoverse set.

This is not an X-Men Marvel Legends figure I was screaming for, but Retro Longshot really did win me over as an all-around terrific toy.

Overall: Longshot isn’t quite my cup of tea as a character, but Hasbro did a bang-up job with his action figure here. Marvel Legends Longshot is near-perfect, with a fitting portrait, modern pin-less joints everywhere, add-on pieces that stay snugly in place, multiple great posing options with his interchangeable hands, and sturdy construction. My only true gripe is the omission of butterfly swivels on the shoulders for some extreme dynamic knife-throwing poses, but I think I can live without. This is the definitive X-Men Legends Longshot figure, and I don’t think many fans will feel the need for this character to be revisited for another decade (if ever).