Our Favorite Toys of 2023

This year Lego returned to its Lord of the Rings line after years away, and did so in style: Rivendell isn’t just the best LOTR set the company has made, it’s one of the best Lego sets ever made, full stop. Laden with minifigures, full of fascinating building tricks and effortlessly recreated elven architecture, it’s a joy to experience even if you’re not a diehard fan of the films—but if you are, you need to book yourself a ticket to the house of Elrond immediately.

Two things you never in your life ever expected to team up were Aliens, the 1986 James Cameron film, and Nerf, that company that makes foam footballs, but it happened. And frankly, it was freaking glorious. The piece, aimed at adult collectors, had all the bells and whistles of the gun from the movie and works like a charm. Not that you ever really have the time or space to fire it.

We’re confirmed fans of big, shiny collectibles here at io9, things to gawp and have our wallets recoiling at in equal terror. But sometimes, going simpler doesn’t have to mean skimping out on great, fun collectibles. No better line embodied that this year than Playmates’ figures supporting the launch of Mutant Mayhem. Giving us the TMNT and their frenemies in the stylized exaggeration of the animated movie at about $10 a pop, these figures packed a ton of charm that let you overlook some of the expectations you’d usually get out of a collector-focused action figure. Throw in the pizza-firing turtle van on top of it, and you can let your inner child rejoice.

When Disney opened Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge in its U.S. theme parks, who knew it would bring to market some of the highest-quality lightsabers in the history of Star Wars collecting? To date, most major characters, and some minor ones, have been represented—but one of the newest is, for our money, the most beautiful Jedi saber in the prequel trilogy. Holding it, you just feel like you’re about to be stabbed in the gut by Darth Maul.

The launch of Bandai’s Witch From Mercury line of model kits last year was one of the best the company’s ever seen—with the HG Aerial almost immediately topping records as one of the best selling gunpla ever. What could Bandai do to match the unique designs and building advancements this time around for season two? Well, give us almost immediate access to the two new main Gundams, the Aerial Rebuild and the Calibarn, in inventive kits that built on the framework this line had championed from the get-go, while packing in tons of amazing little gimmicks. It’s almost as sad as the show being seemingly over that the HG Witch From Mercury line is at an end now, too.

McFarlane Toys has regularly been releasing kick-ass figures for years and its recent foray into DC has been a collector’s delight. For many DC fans though, Warner Bros.’ Batman movies represent the very best of the brand, so to have a single set that features characters from every single iteration of those movies in the same set is pure magic.

Hasbro’s “Gaming Greats” offshoot of Star Wars Black Series figures didn’t start out as all that much—initially exclusive to GameStop in the U.S., the line was largely for repaints or easy modifications of existing figures, inspired by Star Wars’ gaming history. But this year the line has arguably become the best Star Wars material Hasbro is putting out. From classic heroes and villains like Bastila Shan and Darth Malak from Knights of the Old Republic, to modern hits like Cal Kestis from Jedi: Survivor, more often than not this year Gaming Greats has released new figures of beloved characters and really done them justice with great sculpts, killer articulation, and a chance to let these characters really shine. Special shout out to Hasbro’s PulseCon version of Galen Marek, aka Starkiller, from The Force Unleashed—the company eventually did a normal version with less accessories, but the deluxe set with lightning hands, different lightsaber parts, and alternate heads is probably our favorite Star Wars figure of the year.

Lego has made Indiana Jones sets in the past but they’ve never been quite right. Indiana Jones isn’t a series with big, monolithic ships or structures that necessarily lend themselves to the format. Or so we thought. This new set solved that problem by taking an entire iconic scene from the franchise and making it its own display piece, complete with movements that make it uniquely Indy. It looks gorgeous but also is a ton of fun.

NECA’s revival of the old-school D&D figure line somehow managed to out-do WOTC-owner Hasbro itself when it came to D&D toys (sorry, Honor Among Thieves line, you got done dirty). Not just nostalgic for collectors of the original line, these high-end fantasy figures were packed with detail and extra accessories, and instantly became one of the most fun traditional fantasy figure series around. They’ve all been very good so far, but a particular kudos goes to Sir Strongheart the noble knight, who’s very posable for a guy in big bulky platemail—and comes with a ton of nifty details to boot.

In case you weren’t aware, some of us here at io9 are obsessed with Han Solo in Carbonite. Like, obsessed. Some of us also have an unhealthy addiction to Hallmark Ornaments. Taken together, that made this particular release—which plays out the entire scene in question with incredible detail—a dream come true, and most any Star Wars fan (even those without certain obsessions) will want to move this ornament off the tree and display it year-round.

After a long time away from the world of Super Sentai and Power Rangers, Bandai’s Figuarts series returned in style this year by adding Sentai to its Tokusatsu-themed “Shinkocchou Seihou” line of figures, inspired by working with the actual stunt artists and suit performers behind these legendary heroes. They certainly picked a hell of a hero to start off in with Captain Marvelous, the Red leader of the Gokaiger (or Super Megaforce as it became in Power Rangers). A simple design, executed perfectly, and capable of some really fun movement and poses.

Lego’s first official Ghost set since one released alongside the debut of Star Wars Rebels (give or take a tiny Microfighter version) might have been tied to the launch of Ahsoka and its appearance there, but it was a love letter to Rebels nonetheless. Coming with a ton of smart engineering updates that offered a substantial upgrade to the 2014 set, while being even more faithful to the aesthetic of the ship, the 2023 Ghost became one of the best Star Wars Lego ships around.

What’s better than a Ninja Turtle? A Ninja Turtle that’s also a giant robot. Heat Toys’ mechanized takes on the heroes in a half-shell is one of the craziest mash-ups we saw this year, and it delivered well beyond the novelty of the premise with a figure that felt bulking and imposing yet endlessly posable—and jam-packed with tons of details and accessories.

Earlier this year, after much waiting, Hasbro finally released a No Way Home inspired three-pack of Spider-Men that gave fans plastic takes on Tom Holland, Andrew Garfield, and Tobey Maguire... at least, with their masks on. But this fall a new standalone wave of Marvel Legends returned to the movie and did it justice. The updated releases are all pretty fun (the Green Goblin and his glider is a highlight), but the stars of the show are the new Peters. In Holland’s case, a new unmasked head is paired with the first Hasbro figure based on the “final swing” suit from the end of the movie, making for a great improvement over the Integrated Suit figure. But while the Maguire and Garfield Spider-Men were just repackages with new unmasked heads, it was worth waiting for just those heads—they’re some of the best movie likenesses Hasbro has ever done, and throwing them in on top of two fantastic figure recreations of these legendary cinematic Spider-Men was just icing on the cake. Or webbing, perhaps.

Chainsaw Man tore the anime world apart last year, but it was only really this year we got to see the merchandise drive kick in—and Bandai’s Figuarts take on the titular devil hunter was worth the wait. Prickly and abrasive in all the right ways (literally, in the case of Denji’s various chainsaw parts), the Figuarts Chainsaw Man might look deceptively simple from a design perspective, but it’s packed with a ton of articulation and details that make it an absolute joy to pose. Shredding your hands open on tiny plastic chainsaws has never felt so good.