GI Joe 50th: Social Clash Review

The last review of the 50th Anniversary of GI Joe...

I'm done. Finished. That's it, game over. This set was the last piece of the "amazing" 50th Anniversary collection that I wanted. It finally arrived in the mail today after ordering it 11 days ago. Toys R Us did their part; UPS and USPS screwed it up from there.

Social Clash... Two female characters and it's called "Social Clash." That just seems a bit weird to me; i don't know why, but it's just weird. 

Packaging? Kinda' "meh." Same basic graphics from the standard 50th stuff. Slick graphics, but still ultimately a lie, since the packaging implies a 50th anniversary of these characters and not the entire freaking brand.

Man, I need to stop, I don't need to go off on another rant on the botched handling of GI Joe's 50th Birthday. Again, I don't see it as the 50th Anniversary of the original GI Joe, it's the 50th birthday of the whole freaking brand. 

But Hasbro really screwed the pooch on this one. They could have made some nice bank if there had been at least some kind of nod to the original Joe, even in 3 3/4" scale. Okay, stop it... Let's move forward.

The choice of Lady Jaye and the Baroness is just fine and dandy for this set. Sure, why not? Set two of the most popular female characters against each other in the two-pack. Yeah, great!

But the execution is a bit lacking. Even though I've been a GI Joe fan for pretty much my entire life, I can't claim to be an authority on much of anything related to specifics of GI Joe, regardless of the era of the line. If you want some amazing, knowledgeable reviews or content, go to GeneralsJoes, 3D-Joes, Yojoe.com, Vintage 3D-Joes, AT GI Joe,  to name just a very few. Me? I'm just a fan with his own opinions and thoughts. Right or wrong, that's about all I can offer.
Let's start with the good, before we get to the ugly. There's a decent load of gear with these two figures. Loads of weapons as well as some very odd bits and pieces. I especially like the two painted weapons that, I assume, come with Lady Jaye. The FN Scar is always an awesome weapon. The fully painted versions that came with the Retaliation Lady Jaye kick solid ass. I know there's a specific name for the M-16-ish variant weapon that's painted with green highlights, but I don't know what it is specifically called. It's still bad-ass in painted form, much like the one that came with RET Jaye. 
Lady Jaye is actually a pretty solid figure. The head sculpt... Uh, let's get there later. The actual figure is damn fine. I think the upper body is from the Lady Jaye from the second boxed set of five figures. I'm not sure where the legs originated, but they work.

I much prefer the head sculpt that came with versions 7 and 8. I think the crew at Hasbro did a much better job with the head sculpt. I really don't care about a Lady Jaye with a hat on her head.

The hands seem decent enough; I haven't really tried many weapons poses yet with this figure. Time will tell.


Now let's move to the Baroness. Just damn. She's actually a straight reuse of Baroness V12, which is a damn fine figure. The body sculpt is exceptional and the head sculpt just rocks as well. But something just didn't work with the reuse for the 50th Anniversary version.

The plastic is a bit too soft and the paint apps, like much of the 50th line, are a bit sloppy.

And what's with those lame ass accessories? Yeah, she's holding a bigger rifle, but these other bits on her side of the package just really suck. There's no other way to describe them; they suck.

Rise of Cobra weapons? Seriously? Both pistols have pegs on their sides for mounting in the holes on the Rise of Cobra Baroness' legs. And does this new version have these holes? Nope.





Seriously, look at this crap. An empty case and a grappling hook w/ platform that worked with that weird-ass RoC flying thing.

I never bought one of those and I really don't have any regrets.


Let's take a look at these lovely ladies up close, shall we?






The Baroness is just a bit odd. I've seen other examples of this particular figure and I've got to say, I got off easy.

The paint apps are pretty decent.

The only odd bit is just the little dash of lipstick (I guess) on her lower lip.

Or is she sticking her tongue out at all of us?

I'm reminded of an obscure Monty Python track from the "Matching Tie & Handkerchief" album. It was on side three of the album. Yes, I said side three of the vinyl album. Don't believe me? Go look it up.

Anyway, the skit was called "First World War Noises" and had two soldiers talking in the trenches during the war. 

The key part of the bit went like this:





Sergeant: You married sir?
Officer: Yes, yes, rather. Did I ever show that picture of my wife, Sarge?
Sergeant: Ah, no sir.
Officer: Where is the damn thing? Yes, here we are. Pretty nice, eh?
Sergeant: Ah, a bit ugly though, sir.
Officer: Ugly?
Sergeant: You know, I mean, not attractive to men, sir.
Officer: Well, I suppose that's rather a matter of taste, Sarge.
Sergeant: Oh no, no, she's ugly sir.
Officer: Its not a very good picture actually, it makes her nose look too big.
Sergeant: No, the nose is alright; it's the eyes.
Officer: What's wrong?
Sergeant: Well, they're crooked sir.
Officer: They're not crooked.

It's the eyes... They're crooked... <sigh>

I think the head sculpt is actually pretty damn good. The biggest problem is that the head was molded in brown plastic, thereby relying on a paint job for the skin. Unfortunately, the paint job gives her the complexion of Tammy Faye Baker on a non-crying, good day. No, I can't go there. She was ultimately a decent sort and fought the good fight against cancer. 

Anyway, Lady Jaye just looks like she has too much make up on. And those eyes... Yes, they are crooked. I think they are well painted, but they are just so off. There's probably a medical term for someone with wide set eyes like this. I had a friend who's eyes were a bit more wide set than usual. Don't know what is is, but, sorry, I really didn't expect it on my my action figures.

Hasbro's quality control just sucks with a large part of the 50th Anniversary "collection".

Final opinion on this set? Decent enough, but not terribly exciting. Lackluster, that's about all I can say.

The Baroness will probably get a new head, since I already have the stellar original version of the figure.

Lady Jaye? Don't know yet. The body sculpt and the web gear really kick ass and I'm interested to see what some head swaps will do. I really don't see that weird head staying with this figure.

The final tally for the 50th Anniversary collection - 

"The Eagles Edge" with Hawk, Leatherneck, and Destro
Beach Head from "The Viper's Pit"
"Social Clash" with Lady Jaye and Baroness

That's it, I'm done.

Dammit...