Age of the Primes Liege Maximo
Rounding out the pantheon of the Thirteen Primes for many collectors, The Liege Maximo is finally delivered upon us after thirty years, in all the glorious 90’s grit one could hope for.
First introduced to audiences in Marvel’s G2 comic, The Liege Maximo was revealed to be the mastermind behind the events of the prior eleven issues, aaat the very end of the very last issue of the run. Didn’t exactly get a lot of time to shine. What an appearance it was though, the hulking monolith of wires and spikes towering over his subordinate with his smoking stump of a hand, taking up the entire page in the process. Now, while the G2 comic ended then and there, his tale was continued in an unofficial set of stories written by the comic’s author, Simon Furman. While not technically canon, much of the information presented would still go on to be used as a basis for the character’s later appearances. Like it was written by the guy behind the whole shebang, that’s fair game I’d say. Besides, it’s a lot more to work with than a single page.
Liege has since been rolled into the roster of the Thirteen (much like other Simon Furman creation The Fallen. Which, he helped create the concept of the Thirteen, so. Fair enough, I’d say), and he’s shown up now and again here and there. Mostly when the other Thirteen are involved, if you’d believe it, but he saw some spotlights in IDW2005 and Earthspark. His arm even made a cameo in Prime, marking two whole televised appearances!
For the character’s first (real) tangible take, they went big, quite literally. He’s physically imposing and overall sizable. Even only going up to the head, he’s taller than Megatronus, who has largely become my modern benchmark for what a “big toy” is. It’s not just height, either, he’s got a decent bit of bulk as well. Most of it’s in his upper body, with the horns hanging off his back making up a not insignificant portion of that. The horns really add to his profile, but the assembly they’re attached to is removable if you want to slim him down a bit or just make it easier to fit him on a shelf. Or a throne.
The sculpting is, almost naturally, a real treat. With someone like Liege Maximo, the visuals were always going to be a very strong selling point and they absolutely deliver here. He’s awash with thick, heavy wires, and of course he’s carrying a fair few spikes. Things like the design on the chest and gilded kneecaps are welcome touches as well. There’s plenty to sink your eyes into, but some surfaces are left smooth so that there’s not so much detail as to be overwhelming.
The only aspect I don’t utterly adore is, somewhat unfortunately, the head. It’s well sculpted, no matter what I will hold true to that, but it’s… so weird. So, in that original G2 comic page, Liege’s face is mostly shrouded in darkness, with only his eyes and some manner of mouth sticking out from that inky void. Now, I, and I am sure many others, have assumed that’s either his mouth, or some kind of mask or mouthpiece. Darth Vader esque respirator you know the deal. While the AOTP toy has deviated a decent bit from that original panel in many ways (almost needing to in order to fill in the gaps of his appearance), putting its own spin on things and adding touches from a few other influences, it retained much of what we did see, including the mouth. But then, it also didn’t. He has an actual face now, as toys typically tend to necessitate, but that face almost overpowers the comic look. It looks like he has a stiff bottom lip, suitably grumpy with the red serving as some kind of chin guard, I suppose. That’s how I read it most of the time, but like. Apparently it’s supposed to be teeth? Or. However one wishes to read the G2 artwork. (The designer called it teeth and. That’s horrifying. Thanks Mark.)
Whatever you call it, what was depicted on page it what we’re also supposed to be seeing rendered in plastic. That. That doesn’t come through very well. Now that he has been made manifest in physical form there are new details to interpret, and by default those details override what the effect was intended to be, at least in my brain. I guess the “lip” is just supposed to be a little nub above the mouth, but then it becomes the new mouth and everything else mentally molds around that. It’s tricky to read one specific way. What almost makes it worse is that I can see both the mouth plate and chin guard interpretations, it's just that I usually default to the chin guard. I have to either squint to see the mouth plate, or get him cast in shadow. Usually a little bit of both because the lip catches even just a little bit of light a lot easier than the rest of his mug. It’s almost like an optical illusion. Which, is very fitting for the self proclaimed Prime of lies, but it is a very weird effect that I don’t think I’ve ever seen on a toy before.
The face aside, the head has a few other oddities. Many clocked this upon his reveal but it bears repeating, the big horns curving inward next to his head aren’t actually apart of it. Those, and much the rest of the surrounding dressing is a separate assembly just behind his head. It definitely makes posing easier, which is appreciated, it’s just an interesting set up. Most of it is made of a softer, almost rubbery plastic, as well. As a result, the center spike is tilted to one side and the horns aren’t quite level, at least on my copy. That plastic is used at a few other points across the figure, but the oddest application is probably it comprising the entire top half of his dome.
All that said, he still looks damn good. He’s spiky and imposing, and no matter how you end up seeing his face it’s not exactly a friendly one. You also get your first taste of the colors here up top. He’s mostly cast in a fairly vivid green, alongside plenty of accents. The main hue might be a little bright for some folk’s taste, he’s supposed to be a representation of the sinister and seedy, after all, but it keeps him distinct from the other two green Primes and helps him from feeling too drab. The darker shade for things like his horns and shoulder pads balances it out, as well. The metallic blue used on all those wires is absolutely delightful, though I do wish there were a bit more of it. His shins are rather bare, which is a shame. He’s got a few touches of clear red on top of all that, mostly used for his weapon(s) but working its way into his hand cannon and… heels, of all things.
Liege’s looks aren’t just surface level, he has the movement to make it all matter. Starting from the top, as his upper body is where things shine, his head’s on a ball joint that's easy enough to make use of considering the surrounding clutter (and soft skull), while his shoulders are universally jointed. I find the shoulder swivel to be a bit stiff, while the hinge is maybe a bit sticky. The hinge has gotten better with time, but I’m unsure if that will ring true for the swivel. The shoulder pads move out of the way, though they are themselves a bit odd. They’re made of that softer plastic, and also like to pop off their (5mm) pegs without too much effort. They don’t fall all the way off, but you can tell that they aren’t on quite right and need to be corrected, which isn’t hard to do. He’s got a bicep swivel that presents no problems, his elbows go a little over 90°, and he’s got hands that make some Masterpiece figures jealous. First off, his left hand can flip around to replace itself with a cannon/the flaming stump from the comic. That same hinge also allows it some additional movement, able to tilt in and out. That movement is then mirrored on the right hand via a special hinge. Then on top of that, he’s got wrist swivels, his fingers move, and his thumbs move. Honestly, insane.
His waist swivels, while his hips are universally jointed. The hip skirts move out of the way, letting his legs come all the way forward. They can go almost as far back, only barely blocked by the backpack. The thigh swivel is cleanly cut, and while high up, doesn’t bump into anything. He’s got double jointed knees, though those are a bit stiff. His ankles tilt, as is the standard these days, but only to about 45°. He’s also got toes, if you want ‘em.
While he’s got a good bit of weight, his tight joints and deep heels ensure he can hold just about any pose you put him into. That said, I do find his legs a bit hard to work with. The knees lock into place and getting them out requires a decently big shift. More granular movement there is earned.
His accessories include his three Liegian Darts (no idea how that’s pronounced. Is it like, legion? To pair with the “Liege” in “Liege Maximo”? Lie-gion? Lie-gian? As spelled? Lay-gon? Beats me), as well as a launcher for them to plug into. They’re based on the artwork from one of those unofficial followups, “Alignment”. While it’s a really cool callback, heck the artifact was based on that to begin with, I uh. Am having a real hard time reading these as “darts”. This isn’t like the face, the form factor just isn’t there, sorry guys. Liege himself also has trouble using them as such, any sufficiently cool throwing poses being nigh unobtainable and hard to read as such due to the aforementioned look of the darts themselves. Though, I suppose that’s what the included launcher’s for. Said launcher is nicely sculpted and decently big, but he’s got a bit of a bitch grip on the thing. The peg is really short. It also kind of wants to tear itself apart. I saw someone posting about some gnarly stress marks on the hinges and lo and behold, mine was developing something similar when I took a look. I think the mount for the hinges is too wide. Might wanna shave that down.
The transformation is a fun affair, seeing him pull some decently big movements to get everything where he needs it. It’s maybe not too terribly complex, it certainly doesn’t have as much going on as Megatronus, but things like the way the torso hinges out are really cool. His head pulls a neat little procedure to tuck away, while his chest lifts up and his arms fold in underneath it. The entire top half of the torso splits apart on a huge hinge, which is followed by the legs making a big swing to sit underneath the assembly you’ve found yourself with. The panels on the back of the legs enclose the arms and lower half of the chest, making up most of the facade. There are then a few smaller touches to adjust from there, like the spikes up front. The gun does fit in during this process, pegging into the feet and getting locked in by the flaps. It is partsforming, but it’s not a huge deal, either. You’d be missing the darts it holds more than the tiny gap it fills were you to omit it.
The finished alt mode. Sure, is a thing. It’s a vague, super evil space vehicle I- idunno what to tell you, sorry. I do like it though! While not exactly carrying the grace of say, a predatory bird, it stays in line with the rest of Liege’s aesthetic. The three different sets of spikes all pointed forward give it a nice sense of flow on top of the tapering form factor, and the liegian darts sat up front add a nice pop of color. It’s solid, it’s hefty, and it even has thrusters out the back, that’s more than a lot can claim. While it sits nicely, it also has a flight stand port, but it’s at the very back due to reusing the one from the waist. A very common practice, but like. Weight distribution, and all that. Might have a bit of trouble getting it airborne when trying to use that. Also, another QC quibble. Getting him back to robot mode was (at least initially) a bit of a pain as the pegs on the back of the legs that plug them in place for vehicle mode were ridiculously hard to get unpegged. More force than should be necessary was required. They also ended up developing stress marks. So uh. Thanks, lads.
As a whole, Liege Maximo is a fantastic entry into the Thirteen, and a substantial leader class release. He’s maybe not the biggest “bang for your buck” as far as the size class is concerned, with a semi-simple transformation and alt mode, some incredible individual points of articulation but nothing absolutely outstanding overall, and a minor lack of paint and accessories, but everything he does he does well. He covers a good range, with nothing coming up short and he certainly not leaving him feeling like he’s missing anything. Appearances aren’t always deceiving.
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