There is an old saying that one should not bite the hand that feeds them. Conversely, it is held that the ability to laugh at oneself is a sign of great intelligence. Both proverbs are put to the test in Longshots; a new Marvel comic book, which seems to mock one of the biggest failures of the MCU.
Written by Gerry Duggan and Jonathan Hickman, with art by Alan Robinson, Longshots is an uproarious satire of several things. The plot centers around frequent X-Men adversary Mojo. An interdimensional executive, Mojo enslaves superheroes and forces them to “star” in brutal multimedia spectacles. Mojo has been used to parody everything from reality TV and video games, to social media and influencer culture. He’s also acted as a meta commentary on Marvel as a company.
(Image Source: Marvel Comics / Alan Robinson)
Longshots #1 finds Mojo back to his usual tricks, once again seeking to capitalize on a big Marvel event. In this case, the event in question is X-Men: Age of Revelation. Unfortunately, all of the popular heroes the general public knows from the MCU movies are already occupied. This leaves Mojo scrambling to assemble a team of whatever heroes and villains are available. Dubbed the Longshots, this C-list squad is sent to investigate a mysterious, heavily-guarded Power Plant and the alien energy signature within.
How Longshots mocks MCU’s biggest misstep
Longshots #2 finds the team’s two surviving members, Hellcat and Wonder Man, fighting their way into the Power Plant. They are subsequently surprised to find the source of the alien energy is one of the Celestials. This is evidently a surprise to Mojo as well, who had tried to book Galactus as the big bad of the Longshots series, only to be rejected. However, while this is funny in and of itself, it is also a subtle roasting of the MCU’s most famous failure.
(Image Source: Marvel Comics / Alan Robinson)
Created by Jack Kirby in 1976, the Celestials were a divine race of cosmic beings in the Marvel universe. The Celestials were accordingly referenced indirectly throughout the early phases of the MCU. The most famous example of this is the city of Knowhere from Guardians of the Galaxy, which was built into the severed head of a dead Celestial.
The Celestials played a larger role in the MCU movie The Eternals, with the titular immortals fighting to stop a newborn Celestial from destroying the Earth. The movie’s story was specifically steeped within the lore and visuals of Jack Kirby’s comics. Unfortunately, the high-concept ideas behind the Eternals, largely unknown even to comic readers, proved less than engaging to general audiences.
Mojo’s reaction to his big event being tied to the Celestials seems to be a subtle stab at the hubris of the MCU architects. Indeed, his complaints about how the Celestials “just suck” could have come straight from a message board. The failure of Eternals proved that audiences would not flock to a movie just because of the Marvel brand. It also showed that not all of Jack Kirby’s ideas stood the test of time.
Longshots #2 is now available at comic shops everywhere.