McFarlane Toys The Maxx Action Figure McFarlane Toys, 1996
Day #357: March 16, 2012
The Maxx with Isz
Spawn Series 4 Action Figures
Item No.: n/a Manufacturer:McFarlane Toys Includes:Isz, headdress/I> Action Feature:n/a Retail:$9.99 Availability: Early 1996 Other: The first, arguably the best
Distribution woes are ingrained in action figure collecting, I remember paying a premium on The Maxx back in 1996 because-- say it with me-- he was really hard to find. The figure came with black or white Isz bendable figures, and later McFarlane's toy club would sell you a sack of the dang things if you wanted them.
This 6-inch scale figure was part of the Spawn line, but was not a Spawn character. There was no "Comic Maniacs" line or anything, so sometimes you'd see a character from Image Comics pop up in Spawn figure assortments, and since The Maxx was enjoying some genuine popularity as an MTV show, well, why not make a toy of him? (The character has been at other publishing houses since then.) The Maxx figure is pretty simplistic, but good-- he has but 6 points of articulation, with two massive arms, a pair of huge legs, a waist joint, and a neck joint. The sculpt is really amazing, with tons of detail like the character's freakish face and giant middle fingers extending from his fists. The feet are loaded with detail, with bolts and other elements popping off them.
Made mostly from a hard, hollow plastic, the figure still looks great. Ever since I got him he had a rattle inside him, so I don't know how to fix that-- but at least he looks cool. His headdress is removable and has a weird fur material, but they did a good job of translating the very stylized character to a plastic toy. If you pick it up and hold it, it's obvious that this probably wouldn't hold up to abuse from children. Of course, its market is older fans anyway since The Maxx is a homeless guy who fights a rapist. The big purple guy is giving the finger anyway, so it's not totally surprising that they didn't keep him in circulation forever.
Aside from the hat which pegs into his head, he comes with a single Isz. Built like Gumby or other bendable figures, his arms can be shaped and he looks just like the creepy little guys from the TV show or comics with messed up teeth and no eyes. A variant exists, so you can get black or white versions of the little guy-- I prefer black, because it's extra-evil.
McFarlane's Maxx (as pictured here) goes for about $10 or so today, while another company Shocker Toys made one more recently. Due to their distribution woes, it costs more-- I only see one on eBay and it's pretty expensive. I'm biased toward the one from Spawn, though, so I'd say get that. (Shocker's has more articulation, though.)
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