HCC788 - The BARONESS - COBRA MONTH vintage G. I. Joe toy review! HD S02E25

[@christianhafer9819]

I like this figure muchly. '84 was a great year for Cobra.

[@3Storms]

The Baroness is still my all-time favorite Cobra in all three aspects of comic books, the cartoon, and the toy. It was just so perfectly done to where even to this day Hasbro has failed to make a better female Joe in 3-3/4" size. And I still remember her production run of 1984/1985 where she was definitely a short-pack that was a bit of a pain to find. I only saw it on the pegs in stores ONCE, and that's when I got it.

[@ExUSSailor]

My 8 year old self had a big crush on the Baroness.

[@HCC788]

She is pretty hot. And by 'hot,' I mean hot and sweaty because her leather outfit doesn't breathe.

[@agnethaladuff8559]

@@HCC788 LOL

[@konkyolife]

You and mean both!

[@agnethaladuff8559]

Great review of one of the best action figures of all of the 1980s.

[@PeepshowMenagerie]

Hooray for the Russ Meyer reference!

[@delvis7842]

A buddy of mine had this when we were kids. We would go outside, and he showed me her, and said something like, "she's the Baroness. She doesn't do anything." I remember thinking that was funny, because my Scarlett figure used yo kick the crap out of everyone! Awesome review, and thanks for sharing the video!

[@lazarus30001]

The Baroness introduced an element of Goth to the world of G.I. Joe.

[@woofan25]

After 31 years, I finally picked one up this spring. The figure still holds up.

[@HCC788]

Ben Penserga I'm glad you were able to score one! This is a figure that doesn't seem dated.

[@johnpenguinthe3rd13]

The accent Baroness has sounds very much like a Czech accent from the country of the Czech Republic in Semi-Eastern Europe (with countries like Germany, Slovakia, Austria, and Poland surrounding Czech Republic). However, during the 80's (when the Baroness was created), Czech Republic and Slovakia were together and were Czechoslovakia (which existed from 1918 - 1939, and re-existed again from 1945 till 1992 before Czechoslavakia split into Czech Republic and Slovakia during 1993. There was a period during 1939 to 1945 when it was officially merged into Nazi Germany due to a Nazi hostile takeover combined with all portions of Sudentenland in Czechoslavakia actually wanting to join Nazi Germany because they thought it was a good idea (which ended up screwing over the rest of Czechoslavakia who was against this), which leads me to wonder if the parents to the Baroness gained much of their wealth during that time period. It also makes me wonder if much of the Baronesses' ideology come from the Nazi Germany period of her family and country background. Would make sense).

[@james89302]

I remember traveling on a Greyhound bus in '85, a kid shared his G.I.Joe comic with me. In it, it described the Baroness as 'don't turn your back on her, unless she's dead!'

[@christianhafer9819]

You forgot the '87 girl figure in Jinx, by the way.

[@galaxyoftoys]

1984 is my favorite year. Another fantastic review. See you next week!

[@HCC788]

Galaxy of Toys Thanks! Same Joe-time, same Joe-station!

[@MiKeMiDNiTe-77]

So many cool things came out of 1984 ...Firefly Zartan Storm Shadow Ripcord Wild Weasel Recondo Roadblock Copperhead Duke and The Baroness, she was great in the comics and cartoons and and awesome character overall beautiful deadly smart and allied to Destro himself one of the coolest Cobras ....

[@rtd1409]

Was always a true fave of mine and luckily we saved the entire cardback on mine.

[@joncaulkett5198]

Got to see 2 HCC reviews I had never seen before today: Baroness & Crossfire. Good day!

[@TheChuckGomez]

I used to have this when I was a kid. In fact, I think ai have the complete GI Joe Action Figure collection. But I threw most of them away and the rest, I gave away. Had I known that these toys would have great value someday, I'd take care of them and save them...God knows how much a mint condition vintage action figure is worth today.

[@HCC788]

+Francis Albert Gomez It is true, some of the figures are worth quite a bit. But I think the real value is the enjoyment you get out of them.

[@TheChuckGomez]

+HoodedCobraCommander788 I agree. These toys made my childhood back in the 80s a blast!

[@christianhafer9819]

@@TheChuckGomez You should get them again.

[@kaodik]

I love the Stinger driver as well. the color was just very different. I liked to have multiple stinger drivers and troopers....then later on vipers and BATS.

[@ganimed1976]

The Baroness is one of my top 10 favorite figures from the vintage GI Joe line. The backpack is a great accessory but i don't like that huge rifle. A small laser pistol like destros gun would have done better. Great review btw.

[@mgvillanmp478]

you know that so called laser rifle looked more like a sniper rifle and the handle was a little short but I had this figure and she saw alot of sniper action ... awesome review man I wish the would have gave her a dagger a sculpted knife would have looked nice

[@George-de6hd]

That’s a really mint ,glossy ,clean looking baroness fig

[@hector1011]

Great in-depth review on one of the Key Characters in the G.I.Joe Universe. I don't recall any other cartoon having so many strong female characters. Usually there was one good female character and one bad female character, but G.I. Joe had quite a few. I hope you do a review of the Cobra Maggot or the Cobra Bunker during Cobra Month.

[@HCC788]

sonic360 You're right. For a "boy's" toy line, there were a lot of strong women in the line. You'll just have to wait and see what else I have coming up this month!

[@JRK-wu8ui]

The Stinger Driver was my go to pilot since he was the only character that would fit in my “off brand” F15. So he holds a special place in my collection.

[@newatlantisrepublic6844]

8:30 the hiss tank driver is very happy now 😂😅

[@evanalessi7837]

I started playing with them in 83

[@bobastu]

Good review. I frequently utilized her as disguised spy, one who could escape via a skystriker. I always used her backpack. I consider ARAH Marvel comics to be canon for the toys, more so than the cartoon. Great figure, when you were doing your skit, I could not get the Friends episode about Ross' leather pants out of my head. Lol

[@lazarus30001]

The Baroness's laser rifle is considered high density due to the fact it was forged from the material of a neutron star;-p

[@kaodik]

Baroness can stand on the back of the hiss nicely

[@TheDarthvalen]

Wow that toy is in great shape

[@HCC788]

+TheDarthvalen She spends a lot of time at the gym.

[@TheDarthvalen]

+HoodedCobraCommander788 haha what's up brother

[@TheNightBadger]

Loved the Baroness figure. I got her / Destro / Torpedo / Blowtorch when Palitoy were licensing them for their UK story-based Action Force line. This was well before Hasbro took over Palitoy and started issuing Joes under the Action Force title using the US stories. Only her and Torpedo survived the transition from AF to GI Joe complete in my collection. I really like her little Cobra backpack, but her gun does seem oversized. She seems to endure really well too - mine is still mint.

[@evanalessi7837]

I use to have all the GI Joes

[@rtd1409]

Came back to the review as I now have here with a classic black AK-47 and now noticed the backpack almost looks like a non-opening version of Zartan's backpack used to hide his disguises that she also wore.

[@adamverwolf9499]

Killer Queen by Queen--about the Baroness? I know that the song came first but.

[@astrotrainreviews1355]

Cool! I have this one! I have the file card some ware!

[@toddsimmons9116]

Can't believe that was 1984. I had the mail away Hooded Cobra Commander. Accidentally flushed him down the toilet. I didn't cry often as a child, but I cried that day. Thanks for explaining the story line behind version 3 of Cobra Commander. I hated that version and stopped watching series around that time because of him.

[@favoritemustard3542]

I can relate. Was using the floor vent as a kind of prison? Down went Destro!

[@ZedKaizoku]

Her name Anastasia Cisarovna later Anastasia DeCobray its canon confirmed in comics and media

[@matthewneufer1758]

Baroness is Destros old lady .

[@maxbrandt6]

LOL a Russ Myer reference!

[@captainobvious9233]

"She would not be posing in a Bikini..." Episode - The Gamemaster S1 E26 Bikini throughout the whole episode and even wrestles Flint in it.

[@tikifire]

Great review! I still have my childhood Baroness, I need to review her at some point. She was always one of my fave characters and I was glad when they finally made a figure of her.

[@HCC788]

Tikifire's Retro Clubhouse You should review her! We were fortunate to get a figure. A lot of the characters created in the comic never got figures.

[@tikifire]

Yeah, like Doctor Venom and Kwinn back in the day.

[@scorpiofairy2705]

+HoodedCobraCommander788 l see it the other side of the mirror, a lot of good concepted figures don't get their parts on comics or cartoons

[@charliesintergalactictoybo2282]

Oh man that sexy scene was hilarious

[@johnrosie9769]

Baroness is awesome

[@jmsberetta]

cool review

[@HCC788]

+james strickland Thank you!

[@marcelmoreau2733]

Ridges on boots made to look like rattlesnake rattles. Chest piece looks like snake belly scales.

[@JamesISpalding]

Although I have no idea about the validity of it, I always liked the notion that the character of Baroness was inspired by the Anastasia Romanov revolution survival trope. Aside for the problems with age (she would have been 83 years old in 1984), it kinda makes sense. Descended from royalty, but estranged from her royal family and her position of nobility. It would make sense why she'd have a grudge against people who claim to be fighting on the side of democracy. Anastasia and her family were killed by people claiming to be doing as part of a democratic revolution. Anastasia Romanov was a Grand Duchess, not a Baroness. But maybe having a Joe Character named Duke and a Cobra character named Duchess would have been confusing for kids - possibly would have seemed to allude to some sort of cross-team romantic entanglement or familial connection that creators would have liked to have avoided. In the early 1980s, there was a wave of public interest in the Anastasia survival trope. I recall many tabloid news programs doing stories about the woman (or maybe women) that claimed to be Anastasia Romanov. The concept was clearly in the public consciousness at the time. Although maybe retroactively giving an existing character the name Anastasia in the related media was just a way to retcon some extra zeitgeisty spice into the G.I. Joe mythos.

[@brainysmurf74]

The baroness is Romanian, Transylvanian. The accent is heavily romanian.

[@mangalone4095]

I apologize for all the gang-bangs... lol

[@johnrosie9769]

That's rattler jet is sick as f I had the gi joe ghost x16 jet or something like that it made jet noises and gun and missle explosion noises and projected a light with crosshairs and other targets

[@jasetraber]

13:21 😂

[@impossiblepie]

What about Jinx????????

[@nealg6810]

Wow!!! That was a great review. Creepy though, and I kid you not, an exgirlfriend of mine resembles the Baroness on her file card. Lol

[@HCC788]

Neal G I don't know if that's good or bad, but I'm glad you liked the review.

[@nealg6810]

Lol. It is what it is. No harm or fowl. About version 3 Cobra Commander, I was not aware of that. I thought that was his original battle uniform.

[@HCC788]

Neal G In the comics, that battle armor was created by Fred VII (a Crimson Guardsman from the Fred series). Fred eventually donned the armor and impersonated CC. You can check out the story when I eventually review the comics! Which, at this rate, will be sometime in the year 2035.

[@nealg6810]

Holy Moly. Lol. That's a lot of comics, Sir. Thank you for the info and thanks again for a great review! Can't wait for Firefly. He seems very allusive. Ha

[@lazarus30001]

I'm thinking the girl was probably born somewhere in Romania. It just makes sense somehow.

[@white-dragon4424]

Another irony. As well as Big Ben we in the UK never got the other rare European character in the line. We got both Lady Jaye and Zarana, but no Baroness. We never got Scarlett or Cover Girl either, but I can understand that much more considering their poor quality, but Baroness was actually a pretty good figure, and a central villain too!

[@AgentSmartnumber86]

Which makes us wonder we all know she loves destro and has loyalty to him but what's her loyalty to cobra commander? What does it stem from? Why does she have such loyalty to cobra commander? That's a story I'd love to hear from either you Mr hcc788 or anyone else she seems actually very interesting

[@jamesthompson2329]

I imagine Baroness being Romainian

[@favoritemustard3542]

That has gotta be Max Cannon's "Is it still there?" T! I hate white shirts, but I had to own "Can't talk now Honeycakes, I'm on Nude Patrol!"

[@JoeMotionVideos82]

I never thought of her wearing a dominatrics outfit. Now that you say it, I can see it. But the whole sweat ideah...wouldn't that make Destros mask, pitt and rust?

[@scorpiofairy2705]

Really? l found it this way since l saw baroness for first time when retrinting in the boat from the persecution in Au de cobra, the first gijoe episode l saw, and l got a crush on her

[@robbyritter4245]

A lot of women look great in tight black leather pants but smell horrible when they pull them off.

[@james89302]

Knowing. Destros true identity? He had to take it off sometime.

[@crotchknockerx5730]

your taking uper arms, I think Yojoe doesn't list different feet either on 25th and above

[@lazarus30001]

Nice Natasha reference; LMAO

[@jakubbuszko3089]

Am think that Fang chopter . In old comics ..

[@HCC788]

+Jakub Buszko She does match up with the Fang copter very nicely.

[@thecommaking]

My first crush, sadly.

[@josephnicolino8529]

So the Baroness got breast reduction surgery. I'm with Russ Meyer.

[@Taraka1]

Much as I like the movie (in a lol are you kidding me? sorta way.) I did get disappointed when they turned her into a victim of circumstances at the end. It's like they were scared to have a true villainess in a movie geared towards kids and teens.

[@unlimitedrabbit]

You're standing on my neck La la la la la

A like of honesty if you had a crush on her from the original cartoon series 😍😁 always though she should had had a pair of Uzi' s as her weapons .... but yeah a better rifle could have worked

[@maxbrandt6]

I can see her and Destro having a very kinky relationship, off camera of course.

[@HCC788]

They're both wearing leather. I'm getting the message.

[@guitardudeguy3139]

They kinda ruined her mystique when they portrayed her in GI Joe "the Rise of the Cobra"...I liked some of the movie.. alot of it was ignorant of what GI Joe was meant to be. Alot of forced characters that didn't seem natural. Iron Man meets GI Joe. I like her being an ex KGB Russian agent that joined Cobra. To me that's what I would've wanted her to be. They'd missed out on a great opportunity. She is a very strong character in the GI Joe line. I like her portrayed as the heirarchy of Cobra, next to Cobra Commander and Destro. I like her in the comics as a Counter Intelligence officer...She is my favorite female character...out of all. Scarlett is too gushy over men in general, and The Baronness seems like she can handle herself very well in any combat or puzzling situation. Didn't care for the romance with her and chrome dome Destro. Why does there have to be a love interest with the women of GI Joe? They can leave that out and you wouldn't even notice.

[@scorpiofairy2705]

What do u mean; is it? Don't you find leather jumpsuits are sexy?

[@timf7413]

IMHO this was the only female figure in the vintage line (save for Ninja Force Scarlett, which was a horrible figure in all other respects) to get a decent head sculpt.

[@christianhafer9819]

Lady Jaye and Covergirl aren't too bad.

[@cowpuddles4851]

Gah! I hated this figure and the character she depicted. That stupid accent was annoying and she looked nothing like the cartoon version. The toy had this dopey look that I could not stand. Baroness is right at the bottom with Tollbooth and Windmill.

[@thecommaking]

Her shoulders are too broad.