Marvel Legends Maximum Thor Review
The Marvel Legends Maximum line is one wrought with controversy, mainly regarding the issue of pricing. Taking an iconic character and packing it with accessories then charging double or even more for it can feel rough. So when the rumors of a Maximum Thor were being mentioned everyone expected the classic Thor design upgraded because the last one we received was in 2019 and definitely needs some improvements. Then the Legends team revealed this Thor ,which is based on the 2007 redesign of the Mighty Avenger by Olivier Coipel from his relaunch with writer J. Michael Straczynski. So is this figure still worthy of the Maximum name and price?
This is a brand new pinless sculpt with the only possible reuse being the fist and grip hands (but I haven’t directly compared the hands to others to know). All of the texturing is fitting for each piece of the costume and it also blends the style of the art from the comics with the Legends style. My only complaint about this new mold is a few of the joints are so smooth that they are a little loose. He can still hold a pose but it makes me worried for the long term if they will hold up, although this also could be just an issue with my copy. Thor is now upgraded with some of the best articulation Legends is doing. Some highlights are the double ball at the head and neck giving more head movement, ball at the shoulder for more range than a butterfly joint, double ball at the torso and lower abs, drop down hips to let the legs move more, and a toe joint. All of those mentioned are not present on previous Thor figures and I hope to see it on more designs of the character in the future. With all of this new range he can naturally hit more poses and even look up more when put him in a flying pose, which is a massive improvement on previous takes and very important in my opinion for this character.
Before getting into the cape I will admit that I don’t have very strong opinions on the soft goods versus plastic capes debate. I will appreciate it when they go the extra mile to give us soft goods but I am still happy with a plastic cape as long as it doesn’t affect the figure’s posing (cough cough Avengers Crossing Vision). So to me, having this bendy wired soft cape on Thor is just the cherry on top of an already excellent figure. The quality of the cape is also really great. Having owned a few Mafex figures with capes this Thor cape feels even more sturdy than those.
Admittedly the accessory count is low but what he does come with is still satisfying. The set includes: a set of fists, a set of grip hands, a set of open hands, one hand molded with the hammer for flying, a normal Mjolnir, a handle of Mjolnir to plug into a strap on Thor’s back, two lightning effects (previously coming from Electro figures), a Frost Giant horn, and a small figure of Throg (who has one point of articulation where you can rotate the hammer in his hand). Now I didn’t mention the heads, because they aren’t the normal swappable heads we get from Legends, instead opting for swappable face plates. There are three base faces: yelling, happy smirk, and angry looking neutral. Then two hair pieces: one with and one without a helmet. These can all be swapped around for whatever look you need. Funny enough the only other time Legends has done this faceplate method was on the 12 inch Thor figure from almost a decade ago. So what else could they have included? Off the top of my head: a battle damaged face, blue translucent Mjolnir, a swinging Mjolnir effect, or a helmet not attached to hair he can hold. With that being said I still think that what is included does a good job at covering the main things a Thor would need to do.
Pictured above is the Maximum Thor alongside the 2012 release of this Thor design and the 2019 release of classic Thor. The main thing I’d like to point out is the difference in style between Max Thor and the 2012 release. The 2012 figure really adapted the art from the 2007 Thor comic in the face and body shape, which goes back to my point about this Max figure blending the art and Legends style more.
So with everything gone over, does this Maximum Thor feel like he is worth the price? In terms of the amount of stuff in the package it is just a bit overpriced, although the Legends team has said in interviews that the bendy soft cape does make the price higher on its own. What I want to discuss is price to play value, which is a bit more important to me. The amount of play value this Thor has is fantastic. I spent hours just posing this figure not even taking photos, then when I did take take photos I had 20 by the end, double my average for photos I take of figures. So for me the figure and its contents are worth it for the play value. Then there is one last thing to consider, personal bias. This costume of Thor is my favorite. Don’t get me wrong, classic Thor is iconic, but this was what he was wearing in my favorite era of Avengers and I think it was his best look. So I was always sold on this figure and thankfully he wasn’t overpriced to the point of disgust but if someone doesn’t have the love for this look of Thor or the enjoyment of posing figures around this may not be worth it for you.
View on Amazon
This post contains affiliate links. We receive a small commission if you buy through this link.
