G.I. Joe Classified Movie Baroness

G.I. Joe
G.I. Joe Classified Movie Baroness
By Hervé St-Louis
January 22, 2022 - 20:49

Artist(s): Jen Bartel

The Baroness was the main Cobra villain in the Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins movie that was released in July 2021. This new G.I. Joe incarnation is a reboot with new actors in the roles. Úrsula Corberó is the actress selected for the role of the Baroness. Corberó is a Spanish actress known mostly for Spanish-language movies. The Baroness was the face of Cobra in the Snake Eyes movie, although she was not the main villain. She was a perfect counter match to G.I. Joe’s Scarlett.

The Baroness action figure is not the first movie action figure of the character. There was one made for the G.I. Joe Rise of Cobra movie. This is the second Baroness action figure in the Classified line. For many collectors, comparing her with the Baroness that came with a Coil bike is a major concern. Can this stand-alone figure replace the more expansive and, in some areas, (not Canada) rare original Classified Baroness?

Likeness

Corberó is a beautiful woman and unfortunately, this has not been fully captured in the face of the Baroness’s action figure. She looks more like a nerd than a femme fatale. Her hair looks plain and awful. Granted that was the look she sported in the film. But it does not work when rendered in plastic. The costume is the same though. The casting of Corberó might have been wrong for the role of the Baroness in the film as she is spunkier than a seductress. She would have been better as Zaranna, but that is another discussion!

Sculpt

The main problem with the Baroness is her giraffe neck. Had the neck piece been at the base and not just in the middle, it may not have looked so long. It is weird to sport a neck piece that does not rest on the base of the neck. Baroness feels skinny and has a pouty face. There are deep cuts in the back of knee articulation which look awful as they leave a huge gap on each leg.

The entirety of her costume has sculpted in textures that mimic leather and snakeskin patterns. These feel great. The glossy parts make the toy look cheaper than it is. However, there is a good mix with matte parts.

Paint

There is only a paint application on the Baroness’s face. The application is not clean and there are paint spots everywhere. The Cobra logo is painted on her belt but it’s not thick enough and has already faded on my figure. The colour of the neck choker is too thin and, on my figure, applied off the base of the sculpt.

Scale

The figure has a petite frame which makes look puny next to larger Classified Joes like Heavy Artillery Roadblock. However, she does look good next to the other Snake Eyes movie figures, which are all in scale with one another. She is shorter than Lady Jaye. At most, she slightly shorter than Scarlett and the other Baroness action figure.

Stability

Stability can be a problem for the Baroness. She can stand on her own, but her heels are thin, fortunately, there is no gap in her heels, which helps increase the surface of her feet. That helps with stability. The figure is light enough that the torso does not bear down on her body. Even when holding an extended gun, she can maintain some for of stability.

My Baroness can stay up for weeks but if I move her a bit or change something in her pose, it will be difficult to find the right pose where she will be stable again. I must bend the knees slightly to find the right balance for the figure. My solution for this figure is to put her on the Coil bike.

Articulations

Some of the articulations on the baroness are different than other Snake Eyes movie figures. In particular, she has swivels at the shin, which is not something available on the movie Snake Eyes and the movie Storm Shadow. Her neck is on a ball joint and so is her head. So her head and neck rotate 360 degrees but her side to side rocking is limited. It’s odd as it’s not her hair that get in the way. She can look up and down easily though. Her torso can rock and possibly rotate, but her rib cage is so tight that she barely moves. Her waist can also rock and has a swivel.

Her butterfly joints can move a lot but they also encase her arms. Because of the high shoulder pads, her shoulders can move up and down, but their side lift is limited to about 40 degrees. That’s not good. She has a single elbow articulation with a swivel. Baroness has trigger-friendly wrists that move up and down.

Like all G.I. Classified action figures, she has drop down hips that can raise her legs at about 90 degrees. She can do a full split. Her double articulations can be a bit stiff. Baroness’s ankles can bend up, down, and rock. Except for her knees, her articulations are not so bad.

Plastic

Except for her head and hair, Baroness is cast in black plastic with some parts reflective and others matte, within the same piece. I am not sure if the movie Classified used the standard PVC used by the other G.I. Joe figures as the plastic seems less brittle and prone to break. The articulations are smooth without the need to prep the figure. While posing her, I am not worried about breaking a joint. Except for her face, there are no highlights or paint washes on her base plastic.

Props

The Baroness comes with a machine gun that has an extra silencer. If not using the silencer on the gun, there is no place to store it on the figure. The Baroness also has two blades that she can store on her hips behind her. The storage is open sheathe that are part of her belt around her waist. One can count her glasses as a prop as they are removable but attach in her hair.

Packaging

The Baroness comes in the usual G.I. Joe Classified box with original artwork by cartoonist Jen Bartel. It’s beautiful. It’s odd for a movie figure to have such figurative art instead of actual representation from the movie.

Cost

The Baroness is about $19.99-22.99 USD, or $29.99-34.99 CAD depending on the place where you buy your figure. Hasbro increased the price on figures twice in 2021. How much you pay for her depends on the markup desired by the retailer. She can probably be found for a few dollars less than the $22.99 USD/ $34.99 CAD because the figure is not popular, and retailer may want to sell it off. I have seen her for $27.99 CAD on Amazon.

Availability

Baroness was part of a well advertised movie wave so she will be easy to find at most retailers. Like most movie figures, she is a peg warmer. If you want this figure, get her. She is not exceptional. She would be one of the less special G.I. Joe Classified figure released. I bought this figure out of blind faith in the Snake Eyes movie which in hindsight had problems.

In my collection, the movie Baroness has become Chameleon, the Baroness’s younger sister who is also a spy. However, my Chameleon is not a double agent but another Cobra agent that competes for influence against her more established sister in Cobra. There, she can be a baroness but without being the classic femme fatale character that is one of the most popular G.I. Joe characters.

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