The 10 Best LEGO Superhero Minifigures of All Time (10-6)
—by Nathan on December 22, 2014—
So I did a couple of blogs detailing my Top 10 favorite action figures, but I realized that if there's one brand of toy that I enjoy more than action figures, it's LEGO. My history with LEGO is a long and happy one, filled with fun memories of building sets, playing with my sisters, and goofing with them while my dad read books to me at night. But for a while, I stopped getting LEGOs. I played with them still, but didn't collect a whole lot. A LEGO Batman run in 2007 boosted my interest, but it wasn't until 2013 that LEGO started delving more into the DC Justice League and Marvel universes. All of a sudden, awesome characters were opened up to me, and the LEGO bug bit hard.
I've always loved minifigures. I've said it a couple times before, but this is real reason I get LEGO sets. The buildings and vehicles can be cool, but who needs an actual supervillain lair when I concoct one in my head? Who needs to stick to the rules? Minifigs inhabit whatever world or plane of existence I want them to. Being the big comic book geek that I am, it all boils down to "Holy cow, THAT guy's in LEGO! That hero, that villain, that character that I've read about it comics and/or seen on the silver screen is now a plastic figure only a few inches tall!" For a geek, it's awesome. To see how the character is depicted, and to imbue him/her with my own personality and bring that character to life is a cool experience. So here's the first of a two part blog, going through my Top 10 favorite superhero LEGO minifigures.
10: General Zod:
Set: SUPERMAN'S METROPOLIS SHOWDOWN (76002)
Why: LEGO put out a couple of Man of Steel sets in 2013, and I really wanted a Superman. I had Batman, I had Aquaman…I was ready to make a Justice League, but I needed everyone's favorite Kryptonian. However, I prefer Zod a lot more over Superman, mostly because he's a cool DC supervillain. Up until now, I only had Batman villains, so getting a guy who could go toe-to-toe with Superman was neat. Plus, it gave me a character capable of tossing around all the vehicles and trashing the buildings I have. What's also nice about Zod is that he has a dual face, a well-detailed frown on one side and laser vision on the other, so you can see him firing lasers at people and debris. Michael Shannon makes a great Zod, so I enjoy having a figure that embodies his anger and wrath, a villain who wants to completely smash everyone to pieces (which I suppose is a really weak attempt at a LEGO pun).
9: Starlord
Set: STARBLASTER SHOWDOWN (76019)
Why: Starlord is the first member of the Guardians of the Galaxy team that I purchased. The Guardians sets allowed for LEGO to introduce a whole new team—a whole new universe—to their existing Marvel sets. Of the team, Starlord's my favorite, mostly because of his relaxed, obnoxious, and all-around fun nature. However, as a minifigure, he's pretty sweet, too. The character has two main selling points: First, his helmet, a unique piece to the character, which looks pretty awesome, is adapted from the comics, and can be removed to show Starlord's dual face. Like the Iron Man helmet, it could be argued that, proportionally, the helmet's too big, but I think it works, and the look of the thing wipes away all doubt. Second are his weapons, laser blasters that are, again, unique to his character. He carries one in each hand, and they're completely different from other guns. The dude can also fly and comes with some very detailed torso and leg printing. LEGO nailed the movie character, making a fun minifig to lead the Guardians.
8: Magneto
Set: WOLVERINE'S CHOPPER SHOWDOWN (6866)
Why: My first Marvel supervillain on this list, Magneto is a fun figure for multiple reasons. First, of course, is his look. The red suit, the purple cape, the purple gloves…totally comic based. For a geek who enjoys seeing various incarnations of his favorite characters, this guy is perfect. Secondly, the power that the Master of Magnetism possesses makes him fun to have fly around on his metal disk and toss all kinds of metal objects at his foes. He's a powerful supervillain with an equally deadly mission. Thirdly, he's a big bad supervillain, and perfect for the Masters of Evil team I was beginning to dream up, also using my own Doctor Octopus and my sister Abby's Loki. He came with Wolverine and Deadpool, so I already had some guys for him to go up against. Ultimately, it comes down to the fact that he's a perfect representation of a major-league supervillain from the comics. He looks cool, and it's fun to play as him.
7: Spider-Man
Set: SPIDER-MAN: DAILY BUGLE SHOWDOWN (76005)
Why: Spider-Man is a lot higher on this list than he was my action figure list, which may seem strange, given the fact that he's my number one favorite superhero. It's just that there are other minifigures I prefer to use. The figure you see above is actually the newest rendition of the hero; I also have versions from Sam Raimi's Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2, but this one's the best. Taken from the Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon, this version looks less serious than the film minifigures, but that's fine with me. His large eyes are expressive, and he looks more like he came from a comic than the other minifigures do. He also comes with a standard web-line, which the other figures came with, but it's an absolutely integral part to who Spider-Man is. Kinda completes the "spider" part. The movie figures are fun, but the look of the character, again, is more inspired by the comics. Though he is missing some leg printing--which the old incarnations have--it's a small price to pay for a cool figure. But a lot of why I like the character is because I just love Spidey. Being able to have him swing around, dodge enemies, and crack jokes makes me bring his character to life in my own unique way. That's what really makes him great.
6: MODOK
Set: HULK'S LAB SMASH (76018)
Why: What isn't there to love about MODOK, everyone's favorite Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing? I don't think I ever reacted as positively as I did when I saw that MODOK would be coming in a set. He's a dude with a huge head who floats around on a hover chair. That fact alone makes him absolutely wonderful to have. Out of all the supervillains who would get a minifigure, MODOK seems like the least likely as well as the most perfect. Super smart and capable of firing mental blasts from his forehead, MODOK is a constantly cranky, annoying, self-centered Mental Organism. The expression on his face is priceless, super-angry and ready to destroy anyone in his way (fulfilling the "Only for Killing" part of his name). And, like Magneto, he is yet another addition to my Masters of Evil roster, though he's definitely the most unique supervillain out there. What's also cool is that he's been an enemy of both the Hulk and Captain America over the years, so I don't just have him hate one hero like the Mandarin hates Iron Man or Doc Ock hates Spider-Man (however, given the fact I already have a Red Skull as Cap's arch-foe, I use MODOK as more of a Hulk enemy, but it's fun to pit him against either hero). The big head molding is brilliant and unique to really only his character. He's one-of-a-kind, and that makes him pretty cool.
That's the first string of characters. I'll try to have another blog up soon detailing the next five. To be honest, these blogs are difficult to write, mostly because of the fact that I have so many wonderful minifigures to choose from. It's hard to select, but it's interesting as well because it allows me to express just why I enjoy LEGO and what aspects of LEGO I like the most.