G.I.JOE UNDERAPPRECIATED FEATURING “PSYCHE-OUT”!
Story by Mitchell Smith
Welcome to the Outpost. Today I’m taking a look at a G.I. Joe figure from 1987. Psyche-Out is a figure my brothers and I got for Christmas in 1987. I always thought he was a cool unique figure but may be considered under appreciated. Psyche-Out went to school for Psychology and worked in the Deceptive War team. With all the radar and antennas Psyche Out has I pictured him using his skills like a documentary I had watched about Deceptive Warfare in WWII. In some cases, the US would use prop vehicles and sounds to trick the enemy into thinking their army was much larger than it really was. I pictured Psyche-Out building fake Maulers and adding the sound so Cobra would think twice about attacking the Joe forces.
Psyche-Out did get a Night Force and Super Sonic Fighter figure but I thought he would have also fit into the Star Brigade group as well. He did get a couple late modern club exclusives that looks pretty cool, but I had to stay away from those exclusives. Most of the Joes I got as a kid were at Christmas. My mother knew how much I loved them. I sometimes wonder if there was a thought process splitting them up between my brothers and I or was it all random. Did she say oh I bet he would like this one better. Even though we would share them all maybe I created attachments because I got Sneak Peak and my brother got Fast Draw. I’m not sure it’s making me wonder what the appeal to any figure is. Looks alone, gear, how he was in the cartoon, or who the voice actor was.
I don’t remember Psyche-Out in the cartoon, maybe he had a few parts, but it would have been cool to see him with a main episode to explain who he is and what he is all about. I had to go to some of our lair friends for a little more overview and found some interesting takes on this character. Episode 86 of Half the Battle by Timmer has a lot of interesting info on Psyche-Out, and Shafts breakdown of his file card really brought this character to life for me. For me I have always loved the original head sculpt, and overall his gear and outfit gave him a futuristic look. I guess I was always one who loved the classic military look, but also the sci-fi figures were cool as well. It was something new and interesting to look at. As far as Classified goes I would buy him. I think he would be cool as a mash up between the original and Sonic Fighter version. I have my original still but his gear is a bit beat up but the figure is still in good shape. Who had Psyche-Out as a kid? Make sure to check back for our next discussion.
