Psyche-Out is a character from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toyline, comic books and animated series of the 1980s. He is the

G.I. Joe Team G.I. Joe is the code name of a fictional elite covert special operations unit operating under the control of the United States Military in the G.I. Joe universe. In the 1960s and 1970s, a toy military adventure character based on General Jos ...

's deceptive warfare specialist and debuted in 1987.

Profile

His real name is Kenneth D. Rich, and his rank is that of

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

O-3. Psyche-Out was born in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. Psyche-Out's primary military specialty is

psy-ops Psychological warfare (PSYWAR), or the basic aspects of modern psychological operations (PsyOp), have been known by many other names or terms, including Military Information Support Operations (MISO), Psy Ops, political warfare, "Hearts and Mi ...

, and his secondary military specialty is social services counselor. He earned his psychology degree from

Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California * George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer ...

and worked on various research projects involving the inducement of paranoia by means of low frequency radio waves. He enlisted in the Army and was posted to the Deceptive Warfare Center at

Fort Bragg Fort Bragg is a military installation of the United States Army in North Carolina, and is one of the largest military installations in the world by population, with around 54,000 military personnel. The military reservation is located within Cum ...

, and there continued his pioneering work in the field of wave-induced

behavior modification Behavior modification is an early approach that used respondent and operant conditioning to change behavior. Based on methodological behaviorism, overt behavior was modified with consequences, including positive and negative reinforcement continge ...

Toys

Psyche-Out was first released as an action figure in 1987. The figure was repainted and released as part of the Night Force line in 1988, packaged with

Tunnel Rat The tunnel rats were American, Australian, New Zealander, and South Vietnamese soldiers who performed underground search and destroy missions during the Vietnam War. Later, similar teams were used by the Soviet Army during the Soviet–Afghan ...

. A new version of Psyche-Out was released as part of the Super Sonic Fighters line in 1991. When this figure was released the character received a promotion from (First Lieutenant) O-2 to (Captain) O-3.

Comics

Marvel Comics

In the

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

''G.I. Joe'' series, he first appeared in issue #64. He joins the team with multiple Joes, including the undercover specialist

Chuckles Chuckles are jelly candies coated with a light layer of sugar. They come in five flavors: cherry, lemon, lime, orange, and licorice. Each package of Chuckles contains one piece of each flavor. The candies are made with corn syrup, sugar, modi ...

. The two had not quite gotten the clearance to know that there is anything below ground at the new Joe base. They do not understand and are highly suspicious of clues pointing to the official Joe space shuttle, the

USS Defiant The USS ''Defiant'' is the name of several starships in the Star Trek media franchise, most notably a vessel featured in '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (1993–1999). Introduced in the show's third season, it is a warship attached to the sho ...

. Multiple Joes appearing from a secret trapdoor did not help. He appears in #67 to help assist in the difficult tensions that arise when the captured Joes, Quick-Kick, Snow-Job and

Stalker Stalking is unwanted and/or repeated surveillance by an individual or group toward another person. Stalking behaviors are interrelated to harassment and intimidation and may include following the victim in person or monitoring them. The term ...

finally return. He "suggests" that Scarlett and Snake Eyes' defiance of orders that led to the trio's safe return was mental instability caused by a close call with a "land mine" (actually, a rigged explosion). Psyche-Out provides analysis when a Joe team sets up a Sierra Gordo terrorist group to attack the

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Cobra Consulate building. Psyche-Out provides advice based on overhead communications; this allows the team to successfully plant spy equipment inside the building. Psyche-Out,

Lt. Falcon Falcon (also known as Lieutenant Falcon) is a fictional character from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toyline, comic books and animated series. He is a U.S. Army Special Forces, Green Beret with the G.I. Joe Team and debuted in 1987. Profile ...

and Slip Stream go in on foot to

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

to acquire and trick three Russian prisoners into rescuing a C.I.A. chief. Both groups end up tricking each other. Psyche-Out is also accused of (and admits to) being overeager in analyzing his teammates. Psyche-Out leads a secondary assault team during the

Cobra Island Cobra (sometimes referred to as Cobra Command) is a fictional terrorist organization and the nemesis of the G.I. Joe Team in the Hasbro action figure toyline ''G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero'' and ''G.I. Joe: Sigma 6'', as well as in related med ...

civil war. They lose one vehicle, the Slugger, in the swamps, but make their objective, the neutralization of the western defense line.

Devil's Due

Psyche-Out makes a cameo in the Devil's Due Joe series. He is one of many Joes that have been called back to active duty to face the renewed threat of Cobra. The Joes are spread out to many separate bases; all with cover disguises. Psyche-Out is seen working out of the Joe's 'Americana Museum' sub-base. Later, following the return of

Serpentor Serpentor is a fictional character and a recurring antagonist from the '' G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero'' toyline, comic books, and animated series. Introduced in 1986, the character rules as Emperor over Cobra. Serpentor serves as the primary a ...

and the fall of The Coil, he was seen evaluating the young child clones of Serpentor, who were now in the custody of the U.S. government. Psyche-Out assists in routing Joe assets all across the world after Cobra has caused planet-wide damage.

IDW

He is seen supervising a Cobra prisoner at the new desert location of the P.I.T. Psyche-Out is placed in charge of prisoner interrogation during a plan to re-take Joe HQ back from Cobra control. In a separate continuity, he is killed in a battle with Cobra

BATs Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most bi ...

in a Cobra Underwater facility after capture by the

Baroness Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher th ...

and

Interrogator Interrogation (also called questioning) is interviewing as commonly employed by law enforcement officers, military personnel, intelligence agencies, organized crime syndicates, and terrorist organizations with the goal of eliciting useful infor ...

G.I.Joe (2019)

In this alternate universe series, also from IDW, Psyche-Out is a civilian therapist working with military veterans suffering from PTSD. At this time, Cobra is not a problem, the world believes them to be a defense company.''G.I.Joe'' #7 (2019)

Animated series

DiC

Psyche-Out appeared in the DiC ''

G.I. Joe ''G.I. Joe'' is an American media franchise and a line of action figures owned and produced by the toy company Hasbro. The initial product offering represented four of the branches of the U.S. armed forces with the Action Soldier ( U.S. Army), Ac ...

'' animated series.

References

External links

Psyche-Out
at JMM's G.I. Joe Comics Home Page {{G.I. Joe Comics characters introduced in 1987 Fictional characters from San Francisco Fictional lieutenants Fictional military captains Fictional United States Army personnel G.I. Joe soldiers Male characters in animated series Male characters in comics