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Cobra Intelligence

File Name: Anastasia DeCobray (probable alias)

Birthplace: somewhere in Europe

Primary Military Specialty: Intelligence

Secondary Military Specialty: Fixed Wing Pilot

Status: At Large

First Appearance: G.I. JOE #1 (July 1982)

    The Baroness Anastasia was born somewhere in Europe in 1953 to wealthy aristocrats who spoiled her. Her brother, Eugen, had been part of a humanitarian effort to bring medical supplies to the natives of Vietnam during the Vietnam War. The supplies were to be distributed to the people regardless of their political affiliation. During the Tet offensive, Eugen had been in Saigon and Anastasia, only 15 years old, came along since she was on Christmas break from her boarding school. When they arrived, a warehouse which was supposed to be filled with the supplies was empty. He discovered that his contacts were selling the supplies to buy weapons. When DeCobray found out, the two men shot him dead. At that moment, a young soldier -- Snake-Eyes -- arrived and killed the two men. Anastasia rushed into the room and saw Snake-Eyes there, believing he killed all three men. Taken away before Snake-Eyes was cleared, Anastasia became angry, bitter and disillusioned. She soon became a radical student activist and eventually an international terrorist.

    The particulars of the early years of her career are unknown, but by 1982 the Baroness had became an infamous figure and joined the organization known as Cobra Command. Early in her career with Cobra, she led the team that kidnapped American scientist Dr. Adele Burkhart. The Baroness first dealt with the G.I. Joe team during their rescue of Burkhart. For the next few years, Baroness became an integral part of Cobra and a trusted lieutenant of Cobra Commander. When Cobra Commander brought Destro into the organization, he was surprised to find out the Baroness had already met Destro. It was obvious they had had a past relationship, but the exact circumstances remain unknown. Cobra Commander soon became suspicious of Destro's growing power in the organization and hired the mercenary Major Bludd to kill him. During a battle in Washington, D.C. with the Joes, Bludd took the opportunity to shoot Destro while driving a HISS tank. The Baroness realized what was about to happen and swerved her tank to stop Bludd. Her tank exploded, nearly killing her. Bludd decided to save the Baroness, but they were both captured by the Joe team. Bludd managed to escape the Joes headquarters -- the Pit -- and took a comatose Baroness to the Bern Institute of Reconstructive Surgery in Switzerland where she was healed by Dr. Hundtkinder. When Joes had tracked them to Switzerland, Bludd sent a message to Cobra Commander to ransom the Baroness back to Cobra. Once he showed up, Bludd and the Baroness escaped and left the commander to be captured by the Joes.

    Bludd and the Baroness returned to Cobra headquarters and began plotting with Destro to take control of Cobra. They wanted to eliminate Cobra Commander, knowing that his bodyguard, Storm Shadow, would rescue him. They sent the mercenary Firefly and the Cobra pilot, Wild Weasel, to find the commander. But Storm Shadow was captured, allowing Cobra Commander to escape and return to Cobra headquarters. Firefly and Wild Weasel were captured by Zartan. The Baroness and Major Bludd continued their plan to take over Cobra. Baroness offered freedom to a imprisoned Bludd to help her. Bludd located the young boy Billy, part of the Cobra underground in Springfield, the Cobra-controlled town somewhere in America. They trained him to assassinate Cobra Commander, but when the attempt was made, Destro somehow recognized that Billy was Cobra Commander's son and stopped the boy. When Billy's trial was held, he refused to turn in his accomplices. Bludd and the Baroness were delighted and soon afterward, Storm Shadow rescued Billy and left Cobra. Baroness continued her prominence in Cobra. She and Destro tested the inventions of Dr. Mindbender against G.I. Joe trainees and were defeated, but Mindbender joined Cobra. When Storm Shadow tried to escape Cobra Island, the Baroness shot him, tired of being betrayed by the ninja. Destro and the Baroness helped Mindbender scour the world for the remains of long-dead historical leaders. The scientist used these remains to create Serpentor, the ultimate Cobra warrior. Storm Shadow's body was used as well and he was somehow revived. When Serpentor arrived on Cobra Island, he began to usurp control from Cobra Commander, gaining the support of the Baroness and Dr. Mindbender. Soon afterward, Cobra Commander and Destro attacked G.I. Joe's headquarters, the Pit. The Pit was destroyed, and the commander and Destro were presumed killed in the explosion. The two men had survived, but went into hiding for a short time, away from Cobra.

    Cobra Commander was shot by the Crimson Guardsman Fred VII, who thought the commander had died. He arrived on Cobra Island claiming to be the original Cobra Commander. Serpentor had the Baroness decide if it was truly Cobra Commander, since she knew what he really looked like. When Fred VII revealed his identity, the Baroness did not turn him in, but instead decided to become his "partner," using him to have more control over the organization. The power struggle between Serpentor and the false commander culminated in the Cobra Island Civil War, which split Cobra into two factions, loyal to Serpentor or the commander. The war, in which the Joe team entered on Serpentor's side, ended with the death of Serpentor and the arrival of Destro. Destro's personal army nearly took over the island when Destro claimed the Baroness as his prize, and left the island, taking her with him.

    The Baroness then joined Destro's organization, which soon merged with Cobra. She was teamed up with Zarana to oversee Cobra's Broca Beach operation. The two women constantly fought and the Baroness tried to kill Zarana. The Baroness soon got a call from Dr. Hundtkinder who faxed her a picture of another patient at the Bern Institute. She recognized the man as her brother's murderer, and learned it was Snake-Eyes. She attacked the Bern Institute, shooting Scarlett and capturing Snake-Eyes. She brought him back to the Cobra Consulate building in New York, but Snake-Eyes escaped, causing the collapse of the building. Baroness nearly fell to her death but was caught by Snake-Eyes and Storm Shadow as they hung from the crumbling building. She was about to shoot Snake-Eyes when Destro arrived and told her that he had been in Saigon as a teenager when her brother was killed. His father had dicovered that Snake-Eyes had not killed Eugen. Unwilling to accept this, she let go of Snake-Eyes and fell again. She was saved by Storm Shadow who returned her to Destro to live with what she had done. Destro gave up his weapons business to live with the Baroness in his castle in Scotland. When the real Cobra Commander returned to power, he attempted to kill Destro. He brainwashed the Baroness to kill Destro, but she broke free of the conditioning and defended Destro's castle in Trans-Carpathia from Cobra with the help of the G.I. Joe team.

    When Dr. Mindbender revealed to Cobra Commander that he had placed mind-controlling implants into Destro and Zartan years earlier, the commander returned to Destro's castle in Trans-Carpathia and activated the implants. He soon used the Brain-Wave scanner to control the Baroness, Billy and Storm Shadow as well. With the high command of Cobra back in power, the commander began his plan to take control of the countries surrounding Trans-Carpathia. A short time later, the G.I. Joe team was team was disbanded by the U.S. military. Soon afterward, Cobra forces fell to a unified attack by regular military forces. Most of Cobra's "high command" disappeared in the wake of the conflict, including the Baroness. Some time later, Destro and the Baroness reemerged, once again in control of his weapons manufacturing firm, MARS, and the Iron Grenadiers. A few years later, Destro became sick from a debilitating family illness. His condition worsened for months as the Baroness watched helplessly. In 2001, a young man named Alexander McCullen arrived in Scotland and introduced himself as Destro's son -- a son he never knew existed. Destro took Alexander in as his condition worsened, and soon the young man began to assume his father's identity, and the Baroness helped him accomplish the charade. He enlisted the aid of a British soldier named Lilian Osbourne as he took control of the Iron Grenadiers. Destro had in fact showed signs of recovering from his illness, but Alexander used stolen nano-mite technology to slow the recovery until he could complete his goal of earning the Destro birthright.

    Months after his arrival in Scotland, Cobra Commander sent word to Destro that he was returning to the United States and extended an invitation to meet with him. In the guise of his father, Alexander accepted the offer and planned, with Lilian (now known as his general, Mistress Armada) and the Baroness, to take over Cobra and hatch his plans to take over America. There were many raised eyebrows when "Destro" appeared to have started a relationship with Mistress Armada, even though the Baroness remained at his side. As Alexander battled against the Joe team, his sanity came into question and the Baroness had grown to hate him. Once Alexander's forces were defeated and the nano-mites destroyed, Destro quickly recovered. His son and Lilian made their escape with the help of a helicopter but found the Baroness on board and they were soon imprisoned in the Silent Castle.

    Finally given a chance to relax, Destro and the Baroness were spending a quiet evening alone when Cobra Commander attacked the castle, seeking to kill Destro for his betrayal. Destro explained that it had been his son who had taken control of Cobra from him, and offered to rejoin Cobra to pay Alexander's debt. Lilian was given to Cobra Commander as a servant, while Alexander performed menial tasks for his father. Meanwhile, as the Baroness left on what was to be a shopping trip, she was captured by the Japanese criminal organization, Yakuza and taken to the Czech Republic where she and the Joe named Flint were held prisoner. She and Flint worked well together and escaped, only to find the Joes and Destro had staged a rescue operation. Once their enemies were defeated, the Baroness -- causing trouble just for the fun of it -- kissed Flint to thank him for helping her get through their ordeal. Flint's wife, Lady Jaye, was not amused and gave Flint a punch in the mouth before he could explain.

    Some time later, Cobra Commander was captured by the forces of a revived Serpentor and held on Cobra Island. The Commander sent word to Destro that if he rallied Cobra and his own troops to rescue him, all debts would be repaid. Destro did just that, and took charge of Cobra when the Commander went missing after the battle, the Baroness by his side. Cobra Commander finally returned to resume his leadership of Cobra. Reminding the Commander that all debts were now repaid, Destro once again left Cobra behind. Most surprising to many in Cobra was that the Baroness did not go with him, telling the Commander that she was finished with Destro, thanks to his willingness to leave her behind. Destro was soon captured by G.I. Joe and held by the United Nations. Cobra Commander learned that Destro was being transported on a train guarded by the Joes and launched a rescue operation, along with the Baroness. In reality, Destro and the Baroness had been working together the whole time while Destro made a deal with the Joes and the UN to help capture Cobra Commander. After the Commander shot General Hawk in the back during the fighting, the Baroness shot him in turn and left him to the Joes. She then reunited with Destro as he took control of Cobra, and it was revealed that she and Destro had been married some time earlier. And if those changes weren't surprising enough, the Baroness learned shortly after that she was pregnant.

    As she and Destro began to lead from Cobra Island, the forces of the Coil -- formerly Serpentor's army -- joined Cobra and fought in Europe under the command of Armada and Major Bludd. Soon, it was discovered that Cobra Commander had not been captured by the Joes after all. It had been Zartan in disguise. The real Commander revealed himself and made his way to Cobra Island with troops loyal to him. He arrived with little difficulty, as Bludd, Tomax, Xamot and others had remained loyal to him all along. The Baroness was placed in the care of Destro's new bodyguard, Wraith, and both attempted to escape Cobra Island in a plane. As Destro looked on in horror, Cobra Commander fired a missile at the aircraft, destroying it. The Baroness was presumed dead by everyone, including a grieving Destro. After the G.I. Joe team stopped a plot by Cobra to unleash the weapon known as the Tempest, and defeated a new threat, the Red Shadows, the military again disbanded the team. When the team was reactivated a year later, it was revealed to members of the Joe team that the Baroness had somehow survived the attempt on her life and had been captured by the military. She was being held in the Joes' new headquarters, The Rock, where she was interrogated for information about Cobra. Not even Destro was aware she had survived. The enraged Baroness was unwilling to tell the Joes anything, and was more interested in the fate of her baby. She remained in her cell until the Phoenix Guard (a group of disguised Cobra agents unwittingly led by General Rey) invaded The Rock and unintentionally allowed her to escape. Came face to face with Zarana, who was easily beaten by the infuriated Baroness. The Baroness then fled in a Joe aircraft, vowing to get revenge for all that had been done to her. Her current whereabouts are unknown.

Artwork: G.I. JOE #127 (interior - dossier) by George Perez; G.I. JOE Yearbook #1 by Michael Golden; G.I. JOE vol. 2 #2 (cover) by J. Scott Campbell