The 21 Greatest Lego Collectible Minifigures

Lego struck gold when they started releasing collectible minifigures in both limited edition waves and in blind packaging. These figures are highly detailed and imaginative, and include very specific character types, many that wouldn’t otherwise fit in standard Lego sets. The selection has been amazing and revolutionized the very concept of the ever-popular Lego minifigure. 

21) Classic Alien

Lego has created many alien minifigures through the years, such as the glowing, robotic lizards in Predator-like armor from the UFO theme, the Insectoidsl and various Martians. But this is the first time Lego created an honest-to-goodness grey alien, the default appearance for supposed extraterrestrial visitors around the world. Interestingly, the whole grey alien thing might have started when original UFO abductees Benny and Barney Hill watched an episode of The Outer Limits that colored their perceptions. Wherever grey aliens came from, though, at least we now have a truly terrifying alien menace to probe our other minifigures. (Series 6)

20) Genie

This genie proves how far Lego is willing to think outside the box with their collectible minifigues series, utilizing new parts on the classic minifigure frame to create exciting characters that never would have been this detailed in traditional sets. The genie, wearing an ornate turban, comes with a lower body designed to look like his wispy form swirling out of the included magical lamp. And of course he’s blue, so this figure and some discounted Prince of Persia sets could make a great recreation of Disney’s Aladdin! (Series 6)

19) Cheerleader

Although the release of this figure slightly missed the height of the first season of Heroes and its related cheerleader mania, this blonde-haired minifigure is perfection, from her detailed uniform to her cute little plastic pom-poms. (Series 1)

18) Disco Dude

There’s something both adorable and horrifying about seeing this typical disco maniac captured in minifigure form. This is perhaps the first time it’s been confirmed that Lego minifigures can have chest hair (and an ample amount at that)! And on top of that he’s got a certainly sweaty gold medallion, white and purple leisure suit, awesome purple shades and an afro that could hold a small family of birds. The Disco Dude comes with what is perhaps the best Lego accessory of all time, the “Brick Fever” vinyl record with a cover design straight out of the ’70s. (Series 2)

17) Super Wrestler

And here he is, ready to rummmmmmmble, Legoland’s one (and only) wrestling champion! This high-flying, caped luchador even comes wearing his (printed-on) title belt. The only unfortunate part is that Lego has yet to give him an opponent. (Series 1)

16) Hockey Player

If you ever wanted to fill a baking pan with water, freeze it, and than stage your own hockey brawl on the ice with Lego minifigures, your dreams can now be fulfilled. And if you’ve never wanted to do that until reading this, go right ahead and have fun! We won’t judge. This figure shows how far Lego is willing to go in creating great new accessories to get a collectible minifigure just right. The helmet and body padding are fantastic, giving the figure a great color scheme and logo. The skates are an innovation, plugging into the bottom of the feet. And along with a new hockey stick accessory, the classic circular Lego piece with one peg gets repurposed perfectly in black as a hockey puck. (Series 4)

15) Musketeer

The inclusion of this character, complete with French royal guard regalia, fencing foil and ridiculous facial hair, was truly genius. How could you not buy three (four if you include d’Artagnan)? (Series 4)

14 and 13) Punk Rocker and Rocker Girl

The Punk Rocker brings a hard edge to the Lego universe, sporting a giant purple mohawk, cut-off skull t-shirt, chains, bobby pins, and the much overdue guitar accessory! Even more impressive is the female rocker from a few series later that displays purple hair, an outfit from Joan Jett’s closet, and a lightning bolt insignia on both her face and guitar. With the Rocker Girl, it also kind of feels like Lego snuck a Jem homage into the series. (Series 4 & 7)

12, 11 and 10) Spaceman, Space Woman and Galaxy Patrol

Back in 2009, I wrote a list for Topless Robot about “The 30 Greatest Lego Minifigs of All Time.” This was before Lego introduced its collectible minifigures, and that list would be hard to write today without it being dominated by them. Lego really upped their game with minifigures in the last few years, a rapid evolution compared to the relatively slow changes in design over the previous 30 years. Still, I stand by the simple yet flawless Classic Space astronaut taking the top spot on my older list. It’s a great design that dominated toy shelves for over a decade and is still fantastic today. So, it was cool when Lego revisited their roots and released an updated version of the Classic Spaceman with white uniform. The new version incorporates the breathing apparatus into the detailed torso pattern, which of course includes the Classic Space logo of a ship rocketing around a planet. Additionally, the new astronaut includes padding details on his uniform’s pants, a Buck Rogers-style laser pistol and a new helmet with visor that isn’t seemingly open to the vacuum of space like the original! Lego followed up the new Spaceman with a Space Woman, which introduces pink as a Lego Space uniform color for the first time and features even nicer detailing. In addition to her helmet, the Space Woman also features her flowing blonde hair as an alternative when the situation calls for style over function! Finally, Galaxy Patrol is clearly from the same space agency as the Spaceman and Space Woman, since he features the same logo on his shoulder. But this space marine is decked out in heavy, mechanized armor that clearly shows his missions are more about combat than exploration. A nifty detail Lego included was a double-sided head that is colored orange on one side to simulate a visor. (Series 1, 6 & 7)

9) Hazmat Guy

Admittedly, Playmobil preceded Lego in introducing the fun field of toxic waste clean-up to children’s playtime. But it doesn’t make this figure any less awesome, all decked out as he is in protective orange gear that nonetheless shows the guy’s completely horrified face through his helmet. Is he witnessing a horde of infected zombies bearing down on him as he tries futilely to shoot them with his foam-spraying gun? We’d certainly like to think so. (Series 4)

8) Spartan Warrior

Clearly a figure of King Leonidas from 300, it’s hard not to want 300 of these figures to create your own Spartan army. Dressed in striking gold armor, a cape and helmet with red crest, this figure helped satisfy Lego fans who had been wishing for sets based on ancient Greece for years. (Series 2)

7 and 6) Robot and Clockwork Robot

It’s impossible to get enough Lego robot minifigures. While past robots had either been constructed from bricks or were just regular minifugres with mechanical patterns on their bodies, these two figures are above and beyond. The first robot in the Collectible Minifigures series was straight out of a 1950s B-movie, with obvious metal plating and a giant head with antennae (the minifig head underneath the robot helmet is also truly terrifying). With some minor tweaking, it also makes a great Cyberman figure from Doctor Who! The second mechanoid seems to be a full-sized version of a wind-up robot, featuring a boxy head and even the wind-up key on its back! Most remarkable, each of these robots manages to be both awesome and unsettling. (Series 1 & 6)

5) Lady Liberty

It seemed like the Statue of Liberty figure released in the Ghostbusters Minimates toyline was the greatest representation of New York City’s favorite statue, but Lego managed to top that with its own Lady Liberty in collectibleminifigures Series 6. On a fairly simple minifigure frame (although with a blocky dress instead of legs), Lego managed to capture the elegance of the statute with its flowing robe and serene face. The spikey crown, torch and tablet are also beautifully rendered. Now, imagine if they would release a large version of her in true scale with other minifigures! (Series 6)

4) Zombie

Nothing fanned excitement for the first wave of collectible minifigures more than the zombie. Maybe that’s why the first series was so frustratingly hard to find in stores for months on end! Not only do people just love zombies and want tons of them, but the idea of a cute, little flesh-eating minifigure is a delightful incongruity. Now, in their promotional materials, Lego claimed the zombie was completely harmless and more prone to zone out while watching TV or other repetitive daily activities (just like the everyday zombies we all are in Shaun of the Dead). But we know better! Sadly, Lego turned down the fan-created Winchester set from Shaun of the Dead that received enough votes on Lego Cuusoo to be considered for actual production. Boo, Lego, boo! But, there are more zombies in the new Monster Fighters series. Yay! (Series 1)

3, 2 and 1) Gorilla Suit Guy, Lizard Man and Bunny Suit Guy

Lego seems to be intent on producing a small series of guys in animal suits within their overall series of collectible mMinifigures, and it is awesome. Who knows why Lego chose to go this route, but it has resulted in the most fun figures in the entire series. So far, there’s been a gorilla, a dinosaur and a bunny. Are they a trio of children’s birthday party performers? The cast of King Kong Vs. Godzilla Vs. The Easter Bunny? The sprites from a really strange version of the video game Rampage? Whatever the case, I just hope Leo keeps releasing collectible minifigures far into the foreseeable future, making these lists even more difficult to narrow down. (Series 3, 5 & 7)