The Baroness
Eric S Brown
G.I. Joe has been around for a long time. When one thinks of the toys and comics, many think of Snake Eyes and Scarlet. However, there are many other “Joes” and members of Cobra. To me, the coolest is perhaps the Baroness (real name Anastasia Cisarovna). She appeared in G. I. Joe # 1, published by Marvel Comics in 1982 and was the first character to move to the animated series. That shows what a great character she is. In fact, an original Baroness action figure can go for as much as $1600 if it’s unopened and mint condition.
The Baroness is Cobra’s head intelligence officer and one of the terrorist organization’s highest ranking members. She is genius level smart, a highly trained soldier skilled in numerous weapons, and is an expert in both psychology and biochemistry. Much like James Bond, but on the side of evil. She has even used as Cobra’s leader in some story arcs. She is not a woman to be underestimated and is both ruthless and relentless. .
Though she has several origin stories, they all state that she is true royalty, born into wealth, and highly educated. In G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, her origin story was once again altered this time including a past romantic relationship with the G.I. Joe, Duke. She has not only survived all of the G. I. Joe franchise reboots, but has also continued to grow in popularity. And since acquiring the rights to the G.I. Joe comic series, IDW has released numerous special variant issues with her featured on the cover with art from such greats as Arthur Adams and Artgerm (aka Stanley Lau).
Sienna Miller does a fantastic job of bringing the Baroness to life in the movie, with her performance becoming one of the high points of the film. When the next G. I. Joe movie is made, hopefully the Baroness will appear in it too as a major character.
