Brickset Awards 2017 - Best Minifigure
Posted by CapnRex101,
2017 is nearing its end so the time has come for Brickset's annual awards! The awards have been divided into three categories for 2017, the first of which concerns the 'Best Minifigure of the Year'.
A total of 830 minifigures have been released during 2017, more than in any previous year, so choosing just one has proven to be extremely difficult. Nevertheless, the Brickset team has been tasked with selecting their favourites. Find out which minifigures we chose and let us know what you would have picked after the break...
CapnRex101
sh334 The Riddler
The Riddler is probably my favourite comic book villain and all six editions of the character have been great. However, the 2017 minifigure found in 70903 The Riddler Riddle Racer is definitely the best yet in my opinion, sporting a suitably garish green suit which is decorated with bright green question marks. I like the printed designs on the arms and the combined hair and hat piece looks excellent too.
Furthermore, the double-sided head perfectly reflects the Riddler's acerbic personality, featuring a sneer on one side and a frustrated expression on the other. I always enjoy minifigures which convey some character so this is superb.
MeganL
All four minifigures from 21312 Women of NASA
As a woman in engineering, this was an easy choice for me. Having four technical women minifigures is fantastic. Yes, I've heard the critiques. However, the fact remains that women make up only 13% of all engineers and the proportion is not much better for other science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields.
We are still hearing from little girls that "math is too hard" or "science isn't cool". Kudos to LEGO for showcasing that women doing math and science is possible and very cool. From a purely LEGO standpoint, all of the minifigures in this set are fantastic with terrific detail. My particular favourite (if I had to choose just one) would be Margaret Hamilton wearing the stripy dress and buckled shoes from her iconic photograph with the Apollo guidance software.
TheBrickPal
colttlnm20 N-POP Girl
The LEGO NINJAGO Movie offered many unique and beautifully-designed minifigures this year: from Garmadon, to Wu, to Misako, to any of the secret ninja force variants. However, the best minifigure doesn’t relate to any of those characters.
Indeed, the one I am talking about is none other than the Collectible Minifigures series N-POP Girl - a background extra who only appears for a few seconds in the film itself. However, she is definitely my favorite of the year, with a pastel color scheme certain to brighten up any collection. Add to that all of the detailed printing and dual-molding, and an awesome recolor of the Batman Movie Harley Quinn hair. Plus, who doesn’t love a pink teddy bear? Adorable.
I am also a huge Unikitty fan, so that might have played a bit of a role in my choice. A huge winner, in my book!
FlagsNZ
idea032 Captain (Anton)
I am not a minifigure collector and am usually happy with the minifigures that come in sets. However, this year one set stood out due, in part, to one of the minifigures in particular. I really love the 21310 Old Fishing Store and being a former sea captain, I love the Sea Captain minifigure with his Sea Captain’s hat and Arran jumper.
What appeals to me about the Sea Captain is that he is in working clothing and not in a formal uniform. That cable knit Arran jumper is just the right thing for the Captain to wear in any rough sea conditions.
iso3200
coltlbm22 Easter Bunny Batman
There’s been so many minifigures released this year it’s hard to know where to start. I thought it best to discount the ones I don’t actually own to make the process easier and look at what I have on display.
My pick is Easter Bunny Batman. It’s a figure that shouldn't really exist - I mean it’s bonkers right? But then again most of the CMFs were too. Part of the appeal was also the anticipation. There’d been quite a few leaks and fakes from the cloners early on - so to finally get the official product in it’s limited TRU release was most excellent.
To be honest I liked all four of the figures in the TRU pack, but this one jumps out when viewing them side by side. I didn't especially rate the movie, and I think the theme has been milked, yet they still keep releasing figures that look great and sets I’d like to build!
Huw
sh376 Roller Disco Batman
I'm not a huge minifigure fan nowadays but one of my favourites released this year is Disco Batman!
2017 is the 40th anniversary of one of my favourite -- and one of the most influential -- films of all time, one that had a huge impact on popular culture and continues to do so today. No, not that one, I'm talking about Saturday Night Fever, of course.
What could be better, then, than a minifigure influenced by John Travolta/Tony Manero in his classic white suit!
What is your favourite minifigure released in 2017? Let us know in the comments and check back tomorrow for our favourite themes and sets of this year.
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80 comments on this article
My favorite mini figure I got this year was either stay puff or slimed Peter Venkman
I love all of the choices listed, and agree with CapnRex about this Riddler.
I think my favourite was either Tartan Batman or John Stewart. Probably John Stewart, though, because there has been a dearth of GL figures, I'm glad at least he's been made.
Ahem! TLG! Carol Ferris, please.
From Licenced: GREMLIN
From Original themes: General nr. 1
Ben, those came out prior to 2017.
Mine would be N-POP Girl, or probably one of the side characters of NinjaGo. LEGO does a great job with them.
My fav was Lobster-Lovin' Batman.
I really liked Poison Ivy from The Scuttler and the Retro Spaceman. Number one would be Misako in her lady iron dragon outfit , if it weren't for the opacity problem in the faceprint.
Admiral Raddus (Sw816) looks good! ...as a minifigure that is ,:p
Poison Ivy with Baby Groot a close second.
Love all of the selections here. Just got Women of NASA, the minifigs are outstanding.
Personal favorites for this year: Two-Face, Hela, Beetlejuice, Lester, Hermione, Tartan Batman, Mighty Micros Bizarro, She-Hulk, U-Wing Microfighter pilot, Rocket Boy, GPL Tech, Christmas Barista, Finn from Resistance Transport.
4 Favorites - Glam Metal Batman, Corn Cob Guy, Rocket Boy, Hela
And My award already decided for next year - FIRESTORM!!
They got the likeness spot-on for Rose from TLJ, but I must admit, I'm a big fan of the driver from the city buggy...
While I do agree about the Riddler figure being right up there, I much prefer Mr Freeze. Maybe its because he's my favourite villain from the Batman mythos.
Other choices... personally, I like Red Hood from the Lego Batman series. Its a good use of the shoulder armor to look like a cape, plus, it represents both the Joker and Jason Todd incarnation of the character well.
Eraser and Vaction Batman with his duck rick from he same series also rank highly. Though from the Ninjago series, I quite like the GPL tech with her cheeky nod to Batman with her T-shirt.
I love the 2 Face figure from the demolition set, menacing with a good dash of humour. Next up N-Pop girl.
Lando Calrissian from set 75175 with his wonderful sleazy grin and a very nice cape.
March Harriet, Nurse Harley Quinn and Lobster lovin' Batman! I think the Batman movie minifigs were all really nice, but these stand out.
I liked 4-LOM, John Stewart and DCAU Mr. Freeze from the Juniors-Set.
Worst: Dimensions Raven
From your picks, I would go with Megan L. as well. For me though, through limited purchases this year, I would vote for Retro Spaceman from the S17 minis.
My favourite is clearly Baby Groot from Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 :D
I'd nominate Poison Ivy, the Penguin, and Two-Face from the LBM sets, and the N-POP Girl. Ivy is gorgeous and especially welcome after four years of no new ones, the Penguin is perfectly solid and really interesting, and Two-Face's design is so wonderfully meta per the movies' universe, plus he's the role Billy Dee Williams never got to play. N-POP Girl is just a lot of fun to look at, representing the outlandish fashion culture we haven't seen before, and she makes an excellent opposite to the Spooky Girl.
I don't know how the 'fig collectors keep up. Also, knowing that "Roller Disco Batman" exists has really brightened my day!
Favourite- the advent calendar Stephanie. It's almost a reason to get the calendar, almost. Magpie a close second
Least appropriate- Lashina
Most disappointing- U-wing Microfighter & Y-Wing Microfighter. If you go to all that trouble to get the helmets right, at least put the right pilot head in there too.
Great picks from everyone imo! My picks would be the Hands of Time from Ninjago’s 70626: Dawn of Iron Doom set, and just about every baddie from the LEGO Batman Movie :)
I managed to somehow only get 10 2017 Minifigures and one of them was the N-Pop girl! So I would agree with her being my fave. I also love the new Lloyd figure from the movie, the new hairpiece and mask are great!
My favourite one definitely is the new version of Jack Sparrow that came in the Silent Mary Set. It's very detailed but still fits in with other figures from the old PotC Theme.
Probably Scarecrow! Some this about him I just keep going back to. Lots of good ones. Hard to choose.
4-Lom. Finding out that an official minifigure of him was being produced and sold in an inexpensive set was a nice surprise. Flying Monkeys were also great.
I like creating my own.
Big fig Bane from the lego Batman movie, followed closely by Riddler. Its been too many years without Bane getting produced as a big fig. Thank goodness for 2017 and the lego Batman movie.
830 figs eh? Still plenty more we could use.
It has to be baby groot.
I think Lego did a good job of making the LBM Poison Ivy minifigure radiate beauty and pure evil.
Mine would probably be either a Batman Movie Villain or a Ninjago Villain
Neat choices! I think my personal favorite is https://brickset.com/minifigs/njo279/ (Nya from the Dragon's Forge set). Not only does she have two fantastic expressions (one normal, one magically energized), but she has a fantastic costume that brings together both new and old characteristics — a Titanium Metallic primary color and Dark Azur secondary color, black armor and sleeves, subtle Dark Red accents, her classic shirt collar and phoenix emblem, an armor skirt and very ninja-like sandals, and a cool belt/harness that mirrors her brother Kai's from the same wave. As a bonus, the set comes with both her ninja hood and her hair, which is always a treat. All six ninja's fusion armor from the Hands of Time wave was quite good but I think Nya's is especially outstanding.
For Christmas I got the plush version of this Nya minifigure, which is not quite as detailed but very huggable! It even has weighted feet so it can stand up easily on flat surfaces, which was a nice surprise.
It's hard to pick an overall fave, but one of my higher fave minifigures of 2017 would probably be TLNM Garmadon (the one from the Mech Dragon), mainly cause I like the updated design for an old and iconic Ninjago villain and the cloth piece makes it all the more better.
As for 2018, once every set/minifigure is out or revealed by the end of that year, then I'll be able to decide.
All the last jedi minifigs
First year buying lego - never even had it as a kid in the 60s / 70s - so a limited exposure to minifigs, but my favourites have to to be Rocket Boy and Retro Spaceman from Series 17!
Maybe Thor from Ragnarok...or maybe Thrawn.
@SpartanGhost - I think it's the look of it with the bondage overtones (The whip not entirely helping either) given the overall DCSHG range is aimed at pre-teen & young teenagers - 6-12 is the stated group
It's a decent figure & is accurate to her appearance in the series, I'm just not sure they wouldn't have been better doing a different villain.
Or maybe that's just an adult concern & the target age group wouldn't see any issue with it.
Vice admiral Thrawn. When Disney axed the extended universe I was upset that we were losing such an interesting character. Was thrilled that they made him canon with the Rebels.
Lobster Lovin' Batman!
Either Robin or batgirl from the lego batman movie,
My kids would probably say the ski resort themed minidolls from lego friends..
Also I got lobster batman today from argos & I love it, great idea especially with that salad printed white plate ??
I also love fairy Batman and Bunny Batman because they are so insane and useless and I can't not love them.
Carina (from set 71042)!
My Favorites are Rey or Captain Poe from 75189, Iron Man from 76083, or Thor and Loki From the Thor: Ragnarok sets
I personally love the Riddler, mainly because he reminds me of Greg Cupollo"s version of the Riddler from the Batman Zero Year comics.
I own disco Batman
Got to be N-pop girl for me, with Garmaddon in his pajamas a close second.
Most of my top pics have already been mentioned, so I'll have to pick a few more overlooked faves.
HS outfit Nya: just a really well done civilian fig with an urban vibe you don't see often in Lego. TLNM had a ton of great civilians: the other ninjas in their HS outfits, the sushi chef and the crab cook, Gong and Guitar rocker...
The Highwayman: how has he not been mentioned yet?
The Eraser: such an absurd villain, yet so well done.
Thrawn was my favorite this year by far, but that is probably because I love the Star Wars EU.
4-LOM and the new Bossk are probably my favorites.
I agree with BrickPal; N-Pop Girl is my fav. Heavy metal/KISS Batman is a very close second.
Whoever designed those two lines of minifigures did a bang up job!
Aira Windwhistler from Raganas Magic Shadow Castle. Very high quality cape and nice detailing.
https://brickset.com/minifigs/elf019/aira-windwhistler-long-cape-and-hood-(41180)
I haven't had time to read every comment so far but seriously? No one else's (at least no Star Wars fan's) favourite minifigure is the Resistance Bombardier? I don't know how you could get a more detailed minifigure, assuming arm printing and dual moulded legs are out of the running. That bombardier helmet must be one of the best helmets we've had in Star Wars sets.
As a slightly more left field choice (but still SW) I'd go with Moroff from the Y-Wing. The Thrawn minifigure is nice but not very interesting visually in my opinion.
For other non-collectible minifigures that aren't Star Wars, my favourites include Poison Ivy from The Scuttler, all the Secret Ninja Force for the Ninjago Movie and perhaps the 'Combover Scientist' from the City Jungle subtheme.
My left field UNLICENSED choice goes to Lord Krakenskull from Nexo Knights (70355) - the waves this year were overall not that great but this minifigure as a villain is fantastic - with an interesting shaped cape and helmet. It's an easy figure to overlook.
I would say either Garmadon from 70612-1, Spider-Man from 76083-1, or Bossk from 75167-1
When I saw these awards I instantly thought of Anton. Completely agree with everything FlagsNZ said.
I'm going with BrickPal's selection as N Pop girl would be vote as well.
Best Minifigure of 2017 in my opinion has got to be Lord Krakenskull from set 70355. A fairly crap set but with the details of the prints, custom helmet and custom cape make the set worth a purchase just for this nexo bad dude alone. Naturaly duel moulded legs or arms would be the only way to improve this make superb looking fig but I still give him a solid 5 stats.
mine is definitely pajama garmadon
There are so many great ones, but two that come to mind are Batgirl and Catwoman, both in 70902. The designs just pop in a great way.
Favorite licensed: TLBM Batgirl. (My longstanding crush on Barbara Gordon may be a factor here.)
Favorite original: Either Retro Spaceman from CMF Series 17, or Volcano Garmadon from CMF TLNM Series. I love retro space stuff, but an evil overlord in his pajamas? Too funny.
Favorite minidoll: Sophie Jones. She's just adorable, and the Wyldstyle hair piece with no printing is a nice thing to have.
Favorite Batman: Baturion. Most of the TLBM Batsuits are funny, but I love the idea that Batman is prepared for an occasion when he might have to dress as a Roman Legionnaire.
March Harriet and Easter Batman are my standouts this year. I missed out on the Bunny Suit Guy from Series 7 all those years ago and now he goes for outrageous prices on the aftermarket, so I was really happy to have TWO minifigs bring back the bunny ears piece, and in two new colors no less. Easter Batman squeaks ahead just a bit more for being pastel and colorful and ridiculous in premise.
Apparently there will be an iconic easter bunny minifig bringing back the white bunny ears in 2018, so I'm glad this year heralded the bunny resurgence.
My favorite figure of the year has not been said by anyone yet I believe, and it's a bit shocking. I thinks the reason is because it is a bigfig but I do count those. My favorite Minifigure is the bigfig Gladiator Hulk from the Thor: Ragnarok set. Honorable Mention and my favorite non bigfig is Two-Face from the Double Demolition set.
Remarkable and beautiful figures growing more in diversity every year. I do hope there will be a small space left for the classic minifig smile.
Happy New Year.
Captain Salazar from POTC Silent Mary - that windswept hair was awesome :-)
The fig that immediately sprang to mind was N-pop girl. She could only have been made better by including a pair of blue and pink roller skates.
And I'm glad to hear that Crackenskull is getting some love in the comments. I just picked that set up in a Lego store mainly for him as it was 30% off.
So many lovely figures made this year.
Think I'd have to say Ivy Walker from Ninjago city is my favourite. Think her torso printing is lovely and I have a soft spot for green on Minifigures.
N pop girl, Poison Ivy and Vixen I love too.
The "Ideas" NASA figures were the best this year IMO
Other great ones:
SH339 Aaron Cash
SW833 Aayla Secura
SW816 Admiral Raddus
SW850 Shoretrooper
SW811 Grand Admiral Thrawn is not very good, for three reasons:
1) Wrong rank insignia
2) The hairpiece - and that's a personal preference. At least it's accurate to the Rebels TV show.
3) The rear face print....should have been a SARDONIC smile, not a snarl. Hoping for a better one in the future.
Some excellent figs this year, especially from the Batman movie line, Nexo-Knights and NinjaGo.
My top 10 pics are figs with some great details on the heads, arms, legs as well as incredibly detailed helmet and shoulder elements...
My 1...
-COMMANDER RAGGMUNK from the NinjaGo line.
The incredible graphics and detailed helmet and shoulder pieces are just superb!
Honorable mentions...
-Captain Salazar from Silent Mary
-Disco Batgirl from The Joker Manor
-Cyborg from Flying Fox Batmobile Airlift Attack
-Harley Quinn (with pigtails) from The Joker Notorious Lowrider
-Jestro 'Electrified' from The Stone Colossus of Ultimate Destruction
-Lord Krakenskull from Aaron's Rock Climber
-Magpie from The Riddler Riddle-Racer
-Parademon 'extended wings' from Knightcrawler Tunnel Attack
-Rocket-Boy series 17 Collectable Minifig
Resistance Bombardier from 75188. The helmet print especially looks amazing. I think he is marginally better than the minifig I'd put in second place, the First Order Tie Pilot from 75179.
The Lego Batman Movie figs were awesome. My favourite is lobster-lovin' Batman but I also really like disco Batman, Vacation Batman and Tartan Batman cos I'm from Scotland.
Rocket Boy! No minifig beats him this year.
My favorite minifigure was Captain Salazar from The Silent Mary. His clear head+hair combination is so dope!
so far it's Commander Raggmunk from ninjago, great details, pearl dark grey color and maybe the best mould for an armour Lego has ever made.
I have high hopes for Salazar, Jack Sparrow and in particular, Aquaman, but haven't seen them in the flesh yet.
Admiral Thrawn (hope Lego fixes his rank), Baby Groot, Yondu, Death Trooper, Misako.
70907's Killer Croc is my favorite figure of 2017.
Haven’t got many sets this year so dunno.
I am a fan of minifigs that suit my favourite theme CITY.
TLBM gave me a couple of nice minifigs - Alfred Pennyworth, Dick Grayson. Custom grandpa minifigs look much better with Alfred's flesh coloured bald hairpiece.
Ninjago Movie Jay in civilian clothing. Nice new hairpiece and orange scarf. Ivy Walker in beautiful oriental attire.
Pizza Van Customer Female (cty710).
Dimension Fun Pack Hermione Granger.
Idea's Women of NASA - Nancy Roman.
I like the CITY Coast Guard range. This year's minifig is nice with the orange crew neck sweater under a sand blue jacket.
Glam Metal Batman outshines everything on this list.
I refuse to pick a favorite. I loved quite a lot of them and rather liked all the rest.
My favourite: Elf Girl from Series 17 CMFs. I'm surprised no one else picked it.
My favourite bigfig: Hulk from the Hulk vs Red Hulk set (76078), though all the figs, mini and big, in that set are impressive. Hulk is the perfect representation of this character; I don't see how LEGO could ever do a better one.
Honourable mention: Lord Krakenskull from Nexo Knights.