Like all LEGOs, Minifigures have a simple design that inspires endless variation and play.
Since their 1979 release, they’ve turned from simple, yellow figures into sci-fi legends, movie characters, superheroes, pop culture icons, and characters from fantasy worlds.
LEGO has produced over 3655 distinct Minifigures, and this article boils that number down to the rarest, most iconic, most valuable, most fun to play with, most impressive to display, and coolest Minifigures of all time.
These can also help you to distinguish what makes it collectible, rare and possible Lego investments or just plain cool to own.
15 Cool LEGO Minifigures
Let’s take a gander at some cool Lego minifigs and see what makes them so unique, collectible and good Lego investments.
15. Knightmare Batman
LEGO is great at coming up with Minifigures that capture a specific movie scene or piece of backstory, and this battle-hardened Batman is a prime example.
With the goggles printed on his cowl, the trench coat printed on the legs and torso, and the faithful rendering of a Joker calling card from the movie, LEGO didn’t skimp on the detail with this figure.
This Batman made an appearance in a Minifigure pack, so there are plenty of copies out there, which makes it a great option for those who want to add a semi-rare and relatively unknown Batman figure to their collection.
14. Classic Blue Spaceman
The iconic Blue Spaceman is one of the most recognizable yet rarest Minifigures. Originally sold in 1984, the Blue Spaceman is one of LEGO‘s original characters, dating back to the first space-themed sets.
The Spaceman played a major role in the LEGO Movie series, where he got the name Benny and an updated re-release as part of a LEGO movie-themed set.
The newer version of the Blue Spaceman, as a nod to true LEGO fans, is lovingly stylized to look like he’s been sitting in a plastic bin since the 80s—he’s got a snapped helmet strap and a faded logo on his chest.
There are original classic Spacemen out there still in good condition for resale at only $10 to $20.
13. Silver Centurion Iron Man
Of the 35 sets that include Iron Man, this version from Age of Ultron is the coolest of them all.
It’s a rarely seen silver version of LEGO Marvel Iron Man, and it features an opening helmet piece that reveals Tony Stark’s confident smirk. With all that detailed printing, it’s an exceptional display piece—it’s got some of the most detailed arm printing ever.
The breastplate torso is a piece from the discontinued Legends of Chima series, which is a clever way to put an underused mold into service.
12. Penguin Boy
With a pair of special flippers instead of the usual arm pieces, a one-of-a-kind penguin suit helmet piece, and a specially-made penguin torso, Penguin Boy certainly deserves a spot on this list for uniqueness alone, and he comes accessorized with rare fish pieces.
He’s an example of LEGO‘s goofy, hilarious, childlike imagination. Why is there a boy wearing a penguin suit eating raw fish?
No one knows, but there he is!
11. Explorer Minifigure
This cheery English gentleman will accompany you on your adventures to encounter new lands. He comes prepared with a pith helmet to protect against the sun, a monocle on one eye, and a canteen printed onto his chest.
You couldn’t ask for a more capable cartographer to add to your LEGO Minifigure collection, and he’s sometimes sold with both a magnifying glass and binocular accessories
10. Yuppie
The LEGO Yuppie isn’t doesn’t have a competitive job in silicon valley or drive a tesla around town—he’s a blast from the past, and he lives in the world of fancy steak lunches, convertible cars, and fast living.
With aviator glasses, a white suit with a salmon-pink polo shirt, and a cell phone with a big ol’ antenna, he’s the pop-culture ideal of the 80s yuppie.
The LEGO Yuppie is part of a series that includes iconic, goofy, or widely recognized cultural mini-figures, and the members of this series are relatively easy and cheap to come by.
9. Indiana Jones
Featured in his own LEGO video game, Indiana Jones is one of the most iconic characters ever rendered in LEGO.
Since he’s always narrowly escaping danger, he makes for an exceptional play piece to use with the trap functions built into the Indiana Jones LEGO sets, or with your own creations.
He’s got great belt and gun holster detailing on his legs, and his legs are a rare shade of khaki brown. And don’t overlook the great hat design on the figure!
8. Original Phase I Clone Trooper
This Minifigure doesn’t get the love and attention it deserves because LEGO discontinued it quickly and updated the Phase I clone trooper.
It might not be the flashiest LEGO clone trooper out there—LEGO was put out many intricate new clone trooper designs of all types and colors—but it looks great for 2002, and it showed up in the beloved LEGO Star Wars PlayStation game.
Its rarity also means that it’s valuable on the resale market. Like the original Phase II clone trooper, it uses an interesting helmet design that has a hole in it, revealing a fully black head piece that acts as the visor.
While this design does mean that you can’t have much fun taking off your clone troopers’ helmets, it does mean that the space between the helmet and the torso will always be the correct color.
7. Cloud City Luke Skywalker (2003)
This version of Luke Skywalker comes from the 10123 Cloud City set. The batch of Minifigures included in that set are some of the rarest and most valuable that you’re likely to come by, and the cloud city version of Luke is no exception.
This version of Luke is a rendering of Luke’s look during the iconic “I am your father” scene, where Darth Vader reveals his true identity and cuts off Luke’s hand, making both figures that much more significant to a fan of the series.
This figure came out during the LEGO Star Wars PlayStation video game era, and he’s a playable character in it.
6. Cloud City Boba Fett (2003)
Out of any version of Boba Fett ever included with a LEGO set, this one is the rarest and most coveted for its resale value.
The figure itself is a cool take on Boba Fett, with a similar helmet design to the clone troopers of the early 2000s era that uses a black head piece to act as a visor, and it features a combination jetpack-helmet piece.
Most versions of this figure don’t have arm and leg printing, and these are still quite valuable, but those that do are extremely rare and fetch huge resale prices.
5. Boba Fett (2015)
This version of Boba Fett shows what twelve years of development can do for a Minifigure. It’s only found in the Lego Set 75060 Ultimate Collector’s Series Slave I, a massive and complex Minifigure-scaled build, and this figure is the crown jewel of the whole set.
Every millimeter of this flawless Minifigure is covered in details: there’s realistic armor denting, scratches, knee and elbow pads, and even Mandalorian skull symbols.
The helmet has additional printing, and it sports the antenna-like attachment first introduced in the Clone Wars sets (actually a rangefinder).
4. Black Suit Superman (2013)
The only time this figure ever made its way to the public was when it was given away in a raffle at a Comic-Con in 2013.
Talk about rare!
Accordingly, its resale price is completely bonkers. It comes from the Batman V Superman universe, and compared to the other version of Superman, he looks to be wearing a nasty scowl—he’s probably thinking about how mad he is at Batman.
3. Mr. Gold
In terms of rarity and value, there aren’t many Minifigures that top the exclusive gold-chrome plated Minifigure variety, like Mr. Gold.
Every part of him is gold, except for his hands which are covered by white gloves, and the sparkling jewel in his scepter.
He’s the embodiment of wealth in a Minifigure, here to flaunt his riches at you. When Mr. Gold was released, he was surprisingly cheap—5000 Mr. Gold figures were released as a random possible find in a series of individually packaged figures.
2. Light-Up Lightsaber Mace Windu (2005)
Long ago in a galaxy not so far away, LEGO released a series of Jedi equipped with light-up battery-powered lightsabers.
This included Anakin, Obi-Wan, Darth Vader, and obscure Jedi Luminara Unduli, but light-up Mace Windu makes this list because of the iconic purple lightsaber.
You activate the lightsaber by pushing down on the minifigure’s head, and this means that the head and lightsaber stay permanently attached to the figure—a small price to pay for such a cool effect.
These were widely distributed, so it’s not ridiculously hard to find and resell them for a good price.
1. Solid Gold C3P0
Lego was trolling all of us when they decided to make just 5 C3P0s out of 14 karat gold and randomly raffle them away. Bidders went insane on eBay for these Minifigures, with one auction reaching $300,000
I’m passionate about my Minifigure collection, but not enough to remortgage my house over it.
Final Thoughts
You already knew that LEGO minifigures are awesome, but now you have even more reasons to love them.
Not only are they fun to build, but they also come in themes, which means there is probably something that you would like.
And if you’re looking for a new hobby or investment, LEGO minifigures will give you hours of entertainment and can even pay for your hobby.
