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'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 or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

O-3. Psyche-Out was born in

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. Psyche-Out's primary military specialty is psy-ops, and his secondary military specialty is social services counselor. He earned his psychology degree at

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 to ...

and spent time working on several research projects experimenting with stimulating paranoia using low frequency radio waves. He enlisted in the Army and received a post to the Deceptive Warfare Center at

Fort Bragg Fort Bragg (formerly Fort Liberty from 2023–2025) is a United States Army, U.S. Army Military base, military installation located in North Carolina. It ranks among the largest military bases in the world by population, with more than 52,000 m ...

, and there continued to work in the field of behavior modification using waves.

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. 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 a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

''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: lime, orange, cherry, lemon, and licorice. Each package of Chuckles contains one piece of each flavor. The candies are made with corn syrup, sugar, mo ...

. 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 two starships in the Star Trek media franchise, most notably featured in the television series '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (1993–1999) and the film '' Star Trek: First Contact'' (1996). Introduced in ' ...

. 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 or contact 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 t ...

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 (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Cobra COBRA or Cobra, often stylized as CoBrA, was a European avant-garde art group active from 1948 to 1951. The name was coined in 1948 by Christian Dotremont from the initials of the members' home countries' capital cities: Copenhagen (Co), Brussels ...

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 and Slip Stream go in on foot to

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

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 ...

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 where most versions are depicted ...

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 flying mammals of the order Chiroptera (). 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 birds, flying with their very long spread-out ...

in a Cobra Underwater facility after capture by the

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

and Interrogator.

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), A ...

'' 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 television series Male characters in comics