Baroness – GI Joe: Rise of Cobra
Normally, collectibles on this site are based on films and TV shows. This summer we are getting a big screen version of GI Joe. The film version is based on the Real American Hero (RAH) animated series from the early eighties. That series was based on Hasbro’s line of action figures. And you know there will be action figures.
The initial GI Joe Rise of Cobra offering has a number of vehicles and figures, with even more to follow. I’ve got a 25th anniversary Stormshadow and Snake Eyes, so I passed on them. I eventually decided to pick up Baroness for a couple reasons. The chief one among them being, I don’t have a vintage one.
Baroness is the token female for the Cobra team. She came along in figure form in the third series of figures, but premiered in the first issue of the comic book.
Appearance:
Baroness has always pretty much had the same look. A skin tight black leather body suit with gloves and boots. She could be any number of femme fatales from a variety of sources. Sidney Bristow to Lara Croft have all sported similar looks.
The one thing that sets Baroness apart is her glasses. You don’t see a big number of action heroes with glasses. However, it seems with her big screen makeover, she has turned in her trademark circular frames for some techy looking sunglasses. They are molded in a smoke plastic and are surprisingly removable. For the scale, they are pretty well done. Keep in mind, they are a bit of a pain to get back on.
The face underneath the glasses is okay. I’m not sure it’s 100% Sienna Miller. To me the action figure version looks a bit older than the screen one. It’s not an unattractive face for a figure, just not a great portrait of the actress. Although, in defense of the sculptors, some of the reference photos look older than others.
Baroness is known for fairly long hair for a military gal. I’m really glad to see they kept that for the film the tresses on this figure look a little more voluminous than the screen caps do. Again this varies from picture to picture.
The one thing I was a bit disappointed in was her Cobra logo. I haven’t found a screen picture yet that shows it. I’m assuming it was added by Hasbro to make her GI Joe specific. I wish I’d paid a little more attention to it in the store, because mine is a little blurry.
The figure also has some other silver accents on her legs and gloves. These appear to be a match to movie costume, as well as the big belt buckle. The silver detailing helps mask what would have been a bigger issue on an all black figure, the screws on the inside of her legs.
I have to give the ‘bro some kudos for not making some really gaudy oversize holsters for this figure’s weapons. Instead they chose to put pegs on the weapons and tiny holes on the outside of her legs.
The one thing I didn’t realize about this figure until opening was she has stiletto heels. I can’t believe they put her in the film like that. While it probably makes for some great photos and fanboy fantasies, it’s not real practical for a military operation. I wonder about long term durability of those heels, as well. Even with the heels, Baroness didn’t seem to have a problem standing.
Other than the face, I really only have one other issue with her appearance. And it’s related to all the articulation. Baroness is fairly slender female with a form fitting outfit that doesn’t offer anyplace to hide joints. As such, in order to make her an “action figure” for the big summer movie she turned out looking kind of spindly. Not every pose looks that way. In some poses, though, she reminds me a bit of a vintage Micronaut. The best articulation point is in fact her ankles, which is normally one of the worst ones to hide.
Fun:
With all the articulation and accessories the movie Joes come with they are built to be fun. I’m guessing all of the accessories are movie based, except maybe the rocket launcher. The green missile comes out when the red button on top is pressed. I got frustrated try to get her to hold it in anything like a realistic pose, so you will have to settle for the top picture.
The accessory that kind of surprised me was the grappling hook. There’s about 18″ of string on mine, which is more than I expected. There’s a platform at the bottom she can grab on to and swing from on the other end of the string. The foot pegs are a bit undersized and don’t hold her feet. I’m curious to see if and how this is used in the film. The top of the grappling hook spins, which allow it to wind / unwind the string fairly easily.
Baroness comes with two pistols. Some of the promo pictures show her using two guns at one time. The pictures show her using two of the same gun, however. There are two different pistols, both look teched out. Personally, I think the one with the right leg peg fits better in her left hand and vice versa.
There is a stand for her as well. This one if fully sculpted on both sides like a techno dog tag. The backside has a raised Cobra logo on it. The stand is a bit more substantial weight wise than it’s Star Wars cousins.
Her last couple of a accessories are the a brief case and a flare glow stick. I’ve got no idea on the flare. But the brief case looks to have four spots for it, just too bad it doesn’t hold it. The case isn’t as much a briefcase, as one of those cases for delicate equipment. I’d look for the film version to have foam inside it.
Not a bad haul, considering some her vintage figure had a backpack and a gun. The only complaint here is the oversize missile launcher. Do kids even play with these things? I’d have rather seen it left out and a buck or so knocked off the overall price. With the price of these figures, I can’t imagine there being a lot of completists out there. The sad thing is the movie has driven up the prices of the Joe figures. Considering they were a toy property first, I was hoping the price would stay down.
Overall:
Overall, Baroness isn’t nearly as bad as I thought she was going to be. Other than the general likeness, I couldn’t really find anything to complain about. Even the likeness, I’m willing to forgive a bit. If you consider her middle ground between the toy and movie, she fits the bill well. I actually think she looks fairly close to the card picture.
Speaking of cards, I don’t like the update to the file card on the back. It’s a shorter card in the style of a modern security badge with very little writing.
Overall, I’m glad I’ve got a pretty close to iconic version of Baroness to drape off of Destro’s arm. She’s not the worst of the film Joes in my eyes. We’ll have to wait and see if the film is a success to see if these end up in the clearance aisle.
Engineernerd Score: 92
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Category: GI Joe, Toy Reviews
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You know, I have to tell you, I really enjoy this blog and the insight from everyone who participates. I find it to be refreshing and very informative. I wish there were more blogs like it. Anyway, I felt it was about time I posted, I
Not bad. To be fair, a lot of places have returned the Joes to the regular price.
The green flare is some sort of nanomite thing from the movie. The back of the cards should mention it I think, but they don’t.
Seems like a fun figure to get. Just last week I started seeing them at stores, and although I’ve not gotten any yet, the Baroness is certainly going in my short list.
You might want to wait for the Paris Pursuit one with the coat possibly, if you are going to only get one.
Ok, confess!
Did you touch up the lip color on your figure?. The one I got (and most of what I’ve seen at stores) had either an incomplete or crooked lip paintjob.
Nope. I actually know that my paint skills would never meet the expectations in my head. So, I don’t really touch up figures.
Also, I would never do touch up a figure for review pictures. I typically adjust the color to get the background to white, and that’s it.
Now, I’ve tweaked some stuff for the comic strips and wallpaper before, but never reviews.
E-nerd
A running change, then. I myself had to correct that on mine (and the left eye too). I do get a bit obssessive like that.
Do you think the glasses are rubber?. They feel rather flexible, but I noticed in the close-up picture that yours has a discoloration on the left side of the glasses, almost as if it were a stress mark on the plastic (although hopefully it’s just a reflection or some mold flashing).
I might have done that to the glasses taking them off and on. I really don’t see myself taking them off of her.
Her eyebrows look a little goofy without the glasses, as well.
I got the action figure and I’m liking it. For me the only shortcoming is that the head looks like it’s stooped forward a little bit, like she has a bad upper spine and neck from sitting at a computer too much.
The paint on the tip of her nose got rubbed off so next time I go to the comic book store where they paint mini’s, I’ll ask if they have a skin tone paint I can use to touch it up. I thought the defined skin folds that from the ends of her mouth up to her nose were a little too deep. But it’s not that bad.
Try to look for the movie still in which she’s wearing black rimmed clear glasses and a gold necklace. I was glad to see that picture and it looks more like the cartoon Baroness compared to the promo pictures for the movie.
I got the 12 inch Baroness from Ebay. The one Hasbro is selling at the San Diego Comic Con. I really think they should mass produce that one and sell it in stores. They would make a LOT of money from it.
Apparently Ms. Miller isn’t very happy with her likeness on this figure:
http://youbentmywookie.com/buzz-pop/sienna-miller-upset-over-the-likeness-of-her-gi-joe-action-figure-6725
Thanks for the photo credit!
I can understand how she felt about the action figure. I still like it though especially with the glasses on.
GI Joe the movie is awesome. it focuses mainly on nanotechnology. this movie should have been made a couple of years ago.
The square jaw kills me, but the rest of the figures is solid.