Up for auction on TaoBao is what appears to be an upcoming Rise of COBRA figure of a mystery female character.  Click here to check out the auction.  Keep in mind, the seller has stated this this is not a custom figure.  Of course, there’s no way to know for sure if this is an elaborate custom, or a real figure, but I gotta go with what the seller is saying.  Who knows for sure?

If it is a real figure, it’s quite a departure from the movie style, this particular figure is very bright and unusual.  It would be my guess that it’s a figure that’s not based straight on the movie, but perhaps something that might come in the Headquarters for Heroes line, or it may be a figure as part of the Rise of COBRA toyline that doesn’t necessarily appear in the film.

I actually have my own hypothesis about this particular figure that suddenly came to me while I was writing this…it probably won’t be a popular hypothesis, but my guess is this may be an upcoming Dial-Tone figure.  My reasoning is this:

• Dial-Tone is a female character in the new IDW comic book series
• The Dial-Tone in the comic is more of a general computer expert and not so much a strict communications specialist.
• The “look” of this figure is that of a non-uniform, somewhat “out of the box” team member, which might fit a Hollywood stereotype of your typical “not normal” computer tech.
• Her face sculpt is very similar to how Dial-Tone is depicted in the IDW book, just without the glasses
• Dial-Tone also makes an appearance in the Rise of COBRA video game, and appears there in female form.
• The darker green highlights on this figure are almost a perfect match for the familiar green uniform color of the ’86 Dial Tone
• Hasbro stated we would be getting a Dial-Tone in an upcoming figure assortment in the latest Q & A, and that it would be something fans “didn’t expect”.

To me, the pieces all fit.  I expect some “nerd anger” over this, and to an extent I think some of it is justified.  But this is a “new” G.I. Joe, and apparently in this “new” G.I. Joe, Dial-Tone got himself Starbucked.  In a way they did him a favor, though, I think…  the character of Dial-Tone hasn’t been this much of a focus of attention in twenty-five years! 

EDIT: Just ran this page through a Google Translator.  The title translates as: GIJOE 09 years Special Forces were female version of casual telephone

Guess that settles it.

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