Top 10 Most Underrated Lego Themes
Lego has had many unique themes over the years, and sadly, some of them have not gotten the recognition they deserve. This list is dedicated to those themes in Lego sets that have longed for acknowledgement and can finally get it here.This was an underwater theme that focused on several deep-sea factions battling to obtain underwater treasures. The factions included the Aquanauts, their rivals the Aquasharks, the Aquaraiders, the Hydronauts, and their rivals the Stingrays. The figures came with unique helmet and visor pieces that cannot be found anywhere else. The theme was only produced between 1995 and 1999.
The Adventurers theme was the first to have characters set in real-world locations as part of their stories. In this theme, the adventurers are led by Johnny Thunder on a worldwide journey to collect treasures and outwit villains. Despite being referenced in numerous games and sets, the Adventurers theme is not well known outside of die-hard collectors. The theme ran from 1998 to 2003.
One of the more unique sub-themes from Lego Space, Insectoids featured a group of cybernetic beings crash-landing on a mysterious planet and having to survive the wrath of the Insectoid inhabitants. The figures wore some great-looking armor that had only been seen in one other theme prior, as well as some of the best-looking heads in this era of Lego. The Insectoids theme ran from 1998 to 1999.
Prior to the Power Miners, there were the Rock Raiders. This theme saw a group of space explorers who were trapped on an alien planet. Despite having a video game and three books to its name, the Rock Raiders theme is frequently overshadowed by the later Power Miners theme. The theme ran only in 1999 and 2000.
The Agents theme involved a team of top-secret agents working to defeat Dr. Inferno. The theme takes major inspiration from James Bond and other popular spy thrillers. Each set came with a short comic strip on the back of the box. While over-the-top in nature, the unique array of vehicles that could be assembled made it a great buy for collectors. The theme only ran between 2008 and 2009.
This was one of the last space-related themes that Lego would come up with, and it was incredible. This theme featured four squads of space explorers battling bug-like aliens using an array of tools to fend them off. The unique bug figures and spaceships made it one of my favorite Space themes in Lego. One of the spacemen, Solomon Blaze, would also return in the Ultra Agents theme, another greatly overlooked theme. Galaxy Squad only released sets in 2013 before being discontinued.
While most Space themes feature some form of conflict between humans and aliens, this was the only one to feature them living peacefully together on one planet. Despite the sets being notably less colorful than prior Space sets, they did give us some incredible designs that few sets could achieve at the time. The Martian figures also were the first to utilize five special pieces that most figures can't use. Life on Mars only ran between 2000 and 2001.
Another space sub-theme, this one tells the story of astronauts discovering an icy planet called Krysto. The theme features several unique vehicles, both land and air-based, as well as three astronauts with spacesuits that are far different from what had been released prior. One of the sets also features a unique baseplate that can't be found anywhere else. Ice Planet 2002 ran from 1993 to 1994. (Yes, the 2002 is a bit misleading if you hear about it without context.)
The Dragon Masters were a faction from the Lego Castle sets. Compared to other Castle sets that came before it, this was the first sub-theme to take a more fantastical approach. It introduced the world to the iconic Majisto, along with his regiment of uniquely designed knights. The theme was released between 1993 and 1996.
The success of Bionicle led Lego Castle to take their own stab at Bionicle-like sets. In addition to the regular lineup of castles and figures, the theme also released a series of larger action figures for each knight. The knights were more colorful than those in previous Lego Castle themes, each having their own distinct colored armor. Knights' Kingdom II ran from 2004 to 2006.