Review: 76290 The Avengers vs. The Leviathan from LEGO® Marvel

We are reviewing another August LEGO® Marvel release today, 76290 The Avengers vs. The Leviathan. The set features a foe of furiously fantastic proportions to fight, and of course a couple of superheroes from the Marvel universe ready to do battle!

Products in this article were gifted by The LEGO Group; the author's opinions are their own.
This article contains affiliate links to LEGO.com; we may get a small commission if you purchase.

76290 The Avengers vs. The Leviathan

• US$49.99/ £44.99/ 49.99€/ AU$79.99
• 347 parts
• Release Date: 1 August 2024

Buy set 76290 The Avengers vs. The Leviathan on LEGO.com

In the movie, The Leviathan is an enormous "spaceship meets flying demon whale" thing. It's a cybernetically enhanced serpent that forms a combative force and troop transport for the Chitauri, . It's a cool looking beast whatever it is, but before comparing the build to that description, let's check out the new elements.

New and rare parts

There are very few new parts in this set for us to report on, in fact, I think this might be the first time I've had to combine the new and rare parts into one shot!

• 1x Minifig Neckwear Cape in Green (6508951 | 5725) – new mould in LEGO Marvel sets.
• 1x Plant / Animal Body Part, Tree / Branch / Tail / Appendage Bladed with Pin in Warm Gold/ Pearl Gold (6452576 | 65041), only in three other sets.

In this set, the cloak is Loki's. It is also available in red as sported by Thor in both 76291 Avengers Assemble: Age of Ultron (read Kev's review) and 76289 Thor vs. Surtur Construction Figure.

Minifigures

Understandably, given the theme, this set is strongly focussed on the minifigures, and another crowd-pleasing selection is supplied here.

Black Widow

• 1 x Hips and Black Legs with Silver Pockets, Straps print in Black (6437764 | 103688) only in 76269 Avengers Tower
• 1 x Torso Jacket, Zipper, Black Belt, SHIELD Logo on Shoulder print, Black Arms and Hands in Black (6434272 | 76382) available in two sets

Captain America

• 1 x Minifig Head Captain America, Balaclava, Light Nougat Face, Clenched Teeth / Smile Print in Earth Blue/ Dark Blue (6421700 | 101678) only in 76269 Avengers Tower
• 1 x Torso Jumpsuit, Silver Star, Blue Panels, White and Red Flag print (Captain America), Dark Blue Arms, Dark Red Hands in Earth Blue/ Dark Blue (6434261 | 76382) only in 76269 Avengers Tower

Loki

• 1 x Hips and Pearl Titanium Legs with Black Robe, Gold Trim print in Titanium Metallic / Pearl Titanium (6421733 | 101691) only in 76269 Avengers Tower
• 1 x Torso Jacket, Black and Gold Strap, Green and Gold Trim print, Pearl Titanium Arms, Light Nougat Hands in Titanium Metallic / Pearl Titanium (6434302 | 76382) only in 76269 Avengers Tower
• 1 x Minifig Head Loki, Eyebrows, Cheek Lines, Grin with Clenched Teeth / Mouth Guard Print in Light Nougat (6421727 | 101688) only in 76269 Avengers Tower

Chitauri

• 1 x Minifig Head Chitauri, Gold Armor, Lime Eyes, Large Open Mouth with Teeth Print in Dark Stone Grey / Dark Bluish Gray (6336821 | 77221) only in 76269 Avengers Tower
• 1 x Torso Armor, Light Bluish Gray and Olive Green Panels Print, Light Bluish Gray Arms and Hands in Dark Stone Grey / Dark Bluish Gray (6356857 | 76382) only in 76269 Avengers Tower

Hulk

• 1 x Hair for Bigfig, Short Curly in Black (6430626 | 3478) only in 76269 Avengers Tower
• 1 x Body Giant, No Head, Hulk with Sand Blue Pants Print in Olive Green (6437822 | 103705) only in 76269 Avengers Tower

Common to August LEGO Marvel sets

• 1x Helmet / Mask, Top Hole with new print in Dark Blue (6488122)
• 1x Bigfig Head with new print in Olive Green  (6488087) 

The build

To begin with, the model resembles the love child of a mutant golden millipede and the face-hugger that attacked King Midas.

The resemblance is probably down to a large quantity of claw elements; 28 of the larger claws (6293489 | 16770) and 8 of the new smaller claws (6426622 | 3171). When all the claw-ribs in the 'rib cages' are rotated downwards, the look is significantly altered.

The addition of the three sets of wings firmly establish this as a "thing of impressive if slightly implausible flying abilities", given there are no engines to propel it, although that is no fault of LEGO designers in this case.

It's not a bad-looking model. Without directly comparing the two, it does seem that The Leviathan here is just a slightly scaled-up version of the one that features in the 76269 Avengers Tower (please see Tom's excellent 76269 review here). I feel like this version is a bit small in comparison to the minifigures.

Although I liked the overall set and build, there are a couple of issues. Firstly, the head attachment via a single Mixels ball joint isn't strong enough to support the weight. Secondly, and I have discussed this at length in my article on relative costs of these LEGO Marvel sets, is the price. I believe the price is too high for what is included in the set. 

Sticker sheet

There is good news though; there is no sticker sheet in this set. 

While I am not especially a fan of stickers, I am conflicted here. Although the Leviathan is mostly devoid of emotion from what we see of it in the movie, it does have a discernible face in that ginormous head. A pair of eyes printed on to an element already used would have given it a bit more life.

Conclusion

The word leviathan has a few meanings, but most of them imply that the something in question is massive. Legends mention giant sea serpents or monsters, so perhaps that is a slightly grandiose term for this version. This feels more like a midi-monster, it’s a bit Levia‘thin’!

I'm aware that building to scale would have probably been cost prohibitive, and I’m not generally a stickler for scale because that's a pathway to disappointment. However, something here has engaged my inner pedant and it is to do with relative sizes, the number of minifigures included and the design and overall play features. I can see the dilemmas facing the design team at this price point, but I think making a larger Leviathan could have worked. 

Had this been the largest set in the new Avengers range, for example swapping with set 76291 The Avengers Assemble: Age of Ultron, I feel like it might have solved the problems present in both sets. I envisage making set 76291 a simpler £45 jeep-and-motorcycle affair while this becomes a 600-part Leviathan with Chitauris inside, Loki on his sky scooter thing and Hulk trying to knock this thing back into its own dimension. Your mileage may vary but that would have appealed more to me.

In terms of value by weight, this set is one of the worst in the theme overall. If 6.49p is the reasonable average price per gram, this set will cost you 10.59p for each of its 425 grams. On the other hand, there are a nice selection of minifigures with many elements that have so far only been available in 76269 Avengers Tower, and this does represent a cheaper way to get them including the newer Hulk bigfig.

This is a nice looking set and is quite pose-able through the sectional construction. It is very light on new and rare elements, but it does contain some parts in quantity and at the right price would be a contender for a parts pack for the LEGO chrysophilists out there.

76290 alternate build

With so much pearl gold on offer, I was inspired to create something...well, gold!

I don't know where I was headed, but to my eyes it has turned out as an amusing cross-breed. Chitauri ship meets Star Wars snowspeeder, made using only parts found in 76290 The Avengers vs. The Leviathan!

READ MORE: How are LEGO® mini-doll legs moulded?

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