At his essence, Longshot is an interesting character; especially when placed in comparison with the ‘regular’ mutants of the X-men corner (or half) of Marvel’s Universe; A four-fingered rogue neither mutant nor magic with luck on his side, and a relatively innocent mind in an imperfect world. Created in 1985 by Art Adams and Ann Nocenti, the alien from an alternate dimension had a fashion sense seemly inextricably tied to the fashion of the time: namely, the haircut. While a feathered look on top with flowing locks in the back might have been a no-brainer in the cultural landscape of 1985, it proved to be a shortlived and long-cliched choice. Although Longshot’s appearance has generally remained the same during his infrequent appearances in the modern Marvel Universe, a major visual overhaul was given to the character in the Ultimate Universe by the hands of artist & Project: Rooftop Stuart Immonen.

With David Lackey’s design shown here, we see a long-overdue updating of the hairstyle to something more modern (and probably easier to draw in repetition and in various angles). But Lackey’s not just given his hair the Project: Rooftop treatment, but has taken his jacket a more personalized variation with the storage of Longshot’s cleaver-like blades on the shoulders and arms instead as a separate bandolier outside Longshot’s original jacket. The trademark glowing scar over his left eye wisely remains, as does the graphic representation as a logo on the breast of the jacket.

Overall, I think this design shows remarkable awareness of the original character and a clear delineating of what is timeless and what as a product of the time. While a radical change of hairstyle is an apprehensive moment before-hand and a sometimes slow acquiescence, Lackey has give Longshot what he needs to take on the 21^st Century.

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