Mismatches are kind of fun when it comes to realizing that someone as powerful as Maui could actually be an underdog since his Disney version is interesting and impressive, but the fact is that he’s still an insanely strong individual, just judging by the feats that he’s heard to mention, like pulling islands from the sea and roping the sun to lengthen the day. How could anyone with this kind of power possibly be an underdog, right? Well, without trying to insult Maui, he’s a terrestrial demigod…listen to that word, a DEMIGOD. Thor is the son of gods, ACTUAL GODS. This means more than just the fact that he is a deity born and bred, it means that the power that’s his birthright is only bound to get stronger as he grows older and attains greater mastery over his abilities. If one is using the base form of Thor to combat Maui at his best it would still be too much for the demigod, since in the movie it’s shown that he can be hurt and that his magical fish hook can be destroyed.
Granted, Thor’s hammer can be destroyed as well, since Hela made that point quite well. But pitting Maui and his hook against Thor and Mjolnir isn’t even a fair fight since even if the hook is magical, it’s still reinforced bone, or whatever other material it’s made from, and Mjolnir is Uru metal, which is insanely tough and took an effort for Hela to destroy. With the durability of the weapons no longer in question, the matter of pitting one strong character against the other is the next idea to get past since when one thinks about seeing Maui and Thor lock horns it’s fair to say that some might think that Maui’s strength would be enough to allow him to last for a while.
That’s a little bit laughable to be certain since while Maui is insanely strong and could go for at least a couple of rounds with Thor, once the Norse god of thunder decided to take the fight seriously, however, the skies would darken and Maui would find that his punches would have less and less effect upon the thunder god, and the trouble he found himself in at that point would be enough to make him realize that his many feats didn’t mean quite as much to someone that could tear the world apart, literally. One has to remember that Thor, at his strongest, is the type of threat that could end a planet if he so desired. It might take a serious effort, but at the very least, his power levels are far beyond Maui’s thanks to his divine heritage. Some might want to claim that Maui might have an advantage thanks to his hook, as he could change shape and keep Thor off guard. But this is kind of hard to get behind since unless Maui could change himself into something the size of the Midgard Serpent, he has no chance against Thor since the god of thunder has routinely taken on monsters that would make Tamatoa from Moana look like a soft-shelled version of himself.
There’s no doubt that both of them have a bit of a vanity problem at times, especially if one is speaking of the MCU version of Thor, but it would appear that Maui might be a bit worse when it comes to this trait. Thor definitely thinks highly of himself sometimes, but he can usually back up his claims of being mighty, with or without his hammer. In a fistfight, Thor would still thrash Maui for a couple of reasons, one being that he’s simply stronger, and two being that compared to Maui, Thor is a skilled and seasoned fighter that knows how to handle himself in many situations. Even if this came down to a brawl, it still feels that Thor has a massive advantage since, without his hook, Maui is unable to change shape and therefore would have to fight Thor on even ground. With weaponry though, there would be little to no hope since the powers that Thor has access to when he wields Mjolnir are simply too devastating for Maui to overcome.
Maui can turn into a giant hawk, right? What happens when Thor summons a storm and makes it difficult if not impossible to navigate the skies? Maui can turn into a whale or a shark or many other creatures, but one massive lightning strike would put Maui on notice, or worse, and Thor wouldn’t even have to come within striking range. The fact is, Thor would annihilate Maui at one point if he had the reason to do so since the Norse god is simply too powerful and might not even need a godblast to finish Maui off. It almost feels as though Thor would snap Maui’s hook in disdain while making some offhand quip that might be corny, but appreciated.