This particular three pack is simultaneously the neatest and yet the most disappointing three pack of this second wave. How does it manage to do both of these things? Read on...

PACKAGING

As we've come to appreciate, the package art is very nicely presented and the mission manuals continue to entertain.

From a presentation point of view and conceptual point of view, this set would seem like a no-brainer. Three popular, iconic characters, including a rare female? This set is probably my favorite figure only set of Wave 2, but it does suffer from the same shortcomings as the others, quite frankly.

The Toys

Upon first glance, this is a pretty neat little set of three central characters to the Sigma 6 mythos. Destro, The Baroness, and Firefly all play important roles in the G.I. Joe mythos over all, but also have some important spots in the short history of Sigma 6. Something that Sigma 6 has done remarkably well that even the new sculpt 3 3/4" stuff had problems with is designing cool, more modern representations of the classic Joe characters that really retain some of the personality of those characters while making the new versions sufficiently different. Someone like Firefly especially shows you just how much Hasbro can kind of mess with a formula, yet still manage to make a great figure and a fun toy.

Considering how cool the designs are for these three characters, I'm really happy they're all being brought together into one three-pack, however the end result does end up being pretty iffy over all. I mean, we know the articulation won't be there, so it's more of a matter of how cool the individual poses are, and there's a mixed bag in this set.

The Baroness' first foray into the Sigma 6 action figure world starts off with a nice bang. She is pretty nicely sculpted and fairly cartoon-accurate in her overall design. However, with her leather garb and that whip tightly clutched in her right hand it's tough to overlook the "dominatrix" vibe from this figure, which as sketchy as it might sound might appeal to some of those twisted older Joe collectors we have around these parts. ;)

She's got a nice silver pistol gripped in her left hand, and she looks relatively threatening. Pre-posed in a permenant side-kick pose and mounted to a silver metallic base, this Baroness "figure" isn't versatile or flexible, but she does at least have a dynamic sculpt. Not something that really appeals to many Joe collectors, but she might look kind of cool on display somewhere (though I'd prefer a more neutral pose than this one myself).

Also in this set we get another Destro figure, the second one seen so far. The first Destro was at least a somewhat neutral pose, though he was slightly contorted to fit into the Mantis Mech. This version is a lot less flexible and like the Baroness is permenantly attached to a metallic base. His left arm is coiled in a fist and a rather large rocket launcher is mounted to his right shoulder. This launcher is only barely designed like the one the 8" version came with (which is too bad, because I LOVED the design of that 8" launcher), and includes a spring-loaded rocket that fires out. Ultimately, this is a kinda neat immobile statue representation of Destro, but again, not necessarily something that will appeal to many Joe collectors who prefer their toys to be able to move. Even though the figure has joints in the shoulders and hips, his overall pose makes those joints fairly non-functional.

As far as static figures go, he's okay, but again, will not appeal to many of the folks reading this review.

I find myself surprisingly intrigued by Firefly, actually, even though he carries a lot of the same downfalls as the other two figures in this set. Maybe it's just my shameless love for this new take on the Firefly character, or the fact that I really like his uniform design...whatever the reason, this little immobile piece of plastic is still pretty neat and makes for an interesting display piece.

Like Destro and the Baroness, Firefly is stuck down to a metallic base which holds him in place, though his pose is a lot more exciting than the other two. Coiled over in a hunch with his machine gun in one hand and an ignited flame stick in the other, Firefly makes for a pretty cool display piece, defiantly returning fire on any Sigma 6 member who might be trying to take him in. He's got hip joints that do nothing useful, but he also has shoulder joints which give him some surprising mobility there, though he is fairly limited to how he can be posed. It's interesting to note that Firefly here is in his Sigma 6 uniform, but is mentioned on the packaging as being a member of COBRA fighting alongside Destro and the Baroness...this must be an "in between uniform change" version.

Not a bad looking mini figure overall.

Overview

Limited articulation hinders the functionality of these figures as you might expect, but the character choices and the overall sculpting make these kind of neat display pieces just the same. Probably the most recommended of the figure only sets in Wave 2, but for folks who are dying to move their figures around, still not much to write home about.

Whatever their poseability is, they still look pretty neat sitting displayed on my bookshelf.