Top 10 Most Expensive Action Figures Ever

Worth: $2,000-$8,000
The 1980s saw a lot of classic action figures appear, and some companies did their best to get a slice of the pie. A Columbian toy manufacturer named Gulliver somehow got a hold of a Superman mold, and decided to develop their own version: a Superman-like figure, donning a Flash-like symbol on his chest. El Capitan Rayo even had a secret identity, and his own superpowers, despite him not existing anywhere but on store shelves. For a strange knockoff, the figure is worth between two and eight thousand dollars nowadays. ¡Mucho dinero, El Capitan Rayo!

Worth: $13,000+
Hold on to your hats for this one. McFarlane Toys has been known to create “chase” figurines before, but none garnered as much attention and worth as Blue-Hatted Babe Ruth. In 2008, the company released a figure of the famous baseball player wearing his white pinstripe jersey and matching white pinstripe hat. The company also produced 5 of the same figurines. However, these were wearing blue hats. They released 3 of these to random stores and kept 2 for themselves. One of the three figures was purchased unknowingly in 2009 and sold for over
$13,000 mere months later.

Worth: $15,000
Ah, “Star Wars.” There’s a reason George Lucas is swimming in a Scrooge McDuck money tank. In 1973, he made a deal with Fox to keep his salary far lower than offered in exchange for all “Star Wars” merchandising rights. Collectors are always eager to add a rare item to their collections, and apparently, 1989 Hungarian Boba Fett is no cause to spare expense. In 2015, renowned auction house Sotheby’s held a “Star Wars” auction in which the Hungarian version of Fett (pristine in-box, of course) sold for a whopping 15 grand. Can you imagine forking over that much money in return for a little rocket man in an old box? The world is a strange place.

Worth: $15,000
Speaking of where you can spend 15 grand, there’s also Elastic Batman. You don’t mess with the best, and smaller toy company Mego learned not to mess with Kenner back in the day. Kenner, makers of Stretch Armstrong, didn’t take kindly to rip-offs, and Mego’s early 1990s line of “elastic” characters was axed quickly. Only 2 Elastic Batman figures survived, hence the value of such rarities. So, if you want to stretch out the Dark Knight, you’ll have to stretch out your wallet. You could always make your own out of plasticine, or paint an old Stretch Armstrong, but it just wouldn’t be the same.

Worth: $3,000-$22,000
Back in 1993, when the WWE was known as the WWF, action figures of wrestlers were plentiful. When Hasbro released a Kamala Krush figurine, however, something was off. The wrestler, who always featured a moon painted on his belly, donned a star instead. The reasons for this are hazy, but ultimately, the star-belly figure was the mass-produced version. It is said that the figures were remade with the signature moon, yet only 24 are known to have been crafted. In a rare case, the accurate figurine is the rarity, and a new one, mint in box, of course, can fetch up to 22 grand. So, check your old wrestler figurines, 90s kids.

Worth: $22,000
“Star Wars” appears multiple times on this list for obvious reasons. In fact, versions of this particular figure appear three times, as they are some of the most valuable figures out there. In 1978, Kenner released a Darth Vader figurine with a lightsaber that was attached to his hand and came out in 2 extension pieces. The second piece, however, was particularly flimsy and a choking hazard, and caused Kenner to change the manufacture to a single-piece lightsaber (saving on cost and providing better, safer quality). This resulted in the rarity of the double lightsaber, and thus the exorbitant price.

Worth: $25,000
Vader wasn’t the only one to have a special lightsaber. Luke Skywalker with the double lightsaber is worth slightly more than Vader, which is odd. Skywalker was the most produced figurine of the three, due to a mail-in offer with Kenner that appeared prior to release. Perhaps collectors prefer to veer away from the Dark Side. Despite the slightly less rare nature of this one, a mint-in-box Skywalker sold at auction in 2015 for $25,000. To think a plastic version of the kid who just wanted to bullseye womp rats with his friends is now worth as much as a fine SUV.

Worth: $50,000
Toy company LJN produced a few wrestler figurines in the mid-1980s, yet went out of business prior to the release of its Hulk Hogan figurine. The prototype version, unpainted and crude, is one-of-a-kind, and is still up for sale on eBay, should any of you have a spare 50 grand hanging around. It was given to the seller by a former LJN engineer. It has poseable arms and legs, if that can serve as a selling point. But it doesn’t have a mint-condition box around it, as it never had one to begin with. If you find yourself suffering from a debilitating case of Hulkamania, perhaps this is a wise purchase for you.

Worth: $76,000
And we’re back to the famous double-telescoping lightsaber. The force is strong with these ones. The most expensive version of the line is Obi-Wan Kenobi, one of which sold at auction in 2017 for 76 grand. This particular one was mint condition, in its box and had… gasp… an unpunched hole at the top! Collection can be a fickle practice, but sometimes the tiniest details are the most valuable aspects of a piece. Imagine if some miscreant had punched that cardboard hole out. The value would have most likely dropped a few thousand dollars.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

Scratch the Cat, Worth: $1,200-$6,500
A Minor, Little-Produced Ninja Turtles Character

Computron, Worth: $1,000-$5,000
A Limited Production Transformers Figurine, Available Only in Gift Sets

She-Ra & Swiftwind, Worth: $100-$4,000
She-Ra & Swiftwind in One Package

Vinyl Cape Jawa, Worth: $3,000-$5,000
An Earlier Version of 1978’s Figurine, With a Vinyl, Not Cloth, Cape

Batman Robot, Worth: $5,000
Battery-Operated & Produced By Nomura in 1966, Unavailable in the US

Worth: $200,000
If “Star Wars” appears most frequently on collectors’ lists, then G.I. Joe is a close second. With such rare collectibles as the female G.I. Joe Nurse, or the Aquanaut Adventurer, among many others, there is one that surpasses every one of them. The one-of-a-kind original G.I. Joe prototype was hand-painted by creator Don Levine in 1964, and was purchased at auction by a toy museum owner in 2003 for the huge sum of $200,000. G.I. Joe is known to be the world’s first action figure, and this one is hand-crafted, complete with hand-sewn uniform and accessories. Yo Joe!