"It burns, sir! It burns!" I can imagine that this is the reaction of a light-sensitive Night Viper upon his first glimpse of the second "Laser Trooper" to grace the GIJoe team. The year is 1986 and GIJoe just had its best year to date (and eventually "ever") and so a new wave of figures is released to take the toy market by storm. It's a year in which some chances were taken and the designs started down the road of "more extreme" and "less green". Characters like Zandar, Zarana, and Dr. Mindbender broke the pattern of dark-hued Cobra villains while Lifeline and Cross Country continued to pave the road for non-standard GIJoe uniforms that was begun by characters like Bazooka. However, no single design from this year was quite as "ground breaking" as that of the new laser rifle trooper on the team. Having the distinction of being the first truly "neon" Joe, Sci-Fi's debut left its mark on retinas everywhere.

Sci-Fi's uniform is a marked departure from those showcased in previous years. Resembling a figure from the yet-to-debut VR Troopers line more than a member of America's elite counter-terrorism unit, he is a character that is immediately out-of-place among his peers. Clad in what appears to be a single piece jumpsuit, Sci-Fi's uniform is an odd mix of contradictions. The over texture of the jumpsuit is surprisingly well-detailed, with an abundance of folds sculpted into the mold which convey the appearance of wrinkled fabric. There is even a sculpted zipper running the entire length of his forward facing, reinforcing the notion of a jumpsuit or set of coveralls. There are small pouches molded onto the outsides of his biceps as well as small pouches apparently sewn into the from of his pants, just above the knees. (More on these later.) His gloves are painted black as are his belt, inseam, and the spare power packs in the leg pouches. Oddly enough, there are two sets of pads located on the character's lower arms-- one at the forearm and one at the elbow. What is unusual about this is that only the forearm pads are actually painted, while the elbow pads remain complete unadorned. While this lack of paint application has become rather routine in terms of the RAH-era reissues from Toys R Us, it is a surprising omission coming from the era that represented the line at the height of its popularity. In many respects I’m surprised that the elbow pads were left unpainted while the forearm pads were as a reversal of these two would seem a bit more logical. Another piece of detailing that is easy to overlook is found just above the character’s knees. As stated earlier, sculpted above each knee is a pouch that contains what appears to be a spare power pack for Sci-Fi’s trademark rifle. Just to the exterior side of these pouches is sculpted a small cable that appears to be attached to the pant leg by a single bracket and ending in what could be a power plug. There are no other visible connections to his power packs anywhere on the character’s mold. However, it’s a pretty interesting yet unpainted detail that is quite easy to overlook with just a cursory glance.

Sci-Fi's torso and boots represent the greatest contradiction in this figure's design; the boots are complete devoid of any sculpted detail while the torso is covered by a padded silver vest. Oddly enough, the raised panels in this armored covered are exactly the same color as the coverall underneath. Black epaulets on the shoulders add a bit more detail to the shoulders. These two aspects of the character's design move it decidedly away from the pseudo-realism that was present in the 1982 -1985 years and push him firmly toward the Battle Force 2000 camp that wouldn't debut for a few more years. The vest and boots take Sci-Fi away from a military toy line and instead drop him into a franchise that is, well, more "sci fi" than military. This is not to say that Sci-Fi is a bad figure or sports a bad character design; Sci-Fi reflects the earliest indication of a shift that would occur over the next few years where GIJoe would shift more toward the fantastic in terms of design. Maybe it’s just me, but I’m STILL not a fan of this figure.

If there’s one thing that I don’t like when it comes to figures based on members of the GIJoe team it’s the molded helmet. I like to be able to display my characters both “in the field” and “back at base” and the sculpted headgear takes that variability and tosses it right out of the window. I don’t mind Cobra characters with the helmet as part of the head sculpt but I like to have some personality when it comes to my Joes. This was one of the reasons that characters such as the original Wet-Suit, Torpedo, Sci-Fi, and Airtight never got much use in my Joe-verse as a young fan. Even then it didn’t make sense for a character to be running around with a mask or helmet always covering up their faces! However, even my general disdain for the sculpted helmets can’t take away from the fact that this is a solid head sculpt. For starters, the helmet is actually bulky enough to be believable for a RAH-era head. There is sufficient protection along the jaw line as well as around the back of the skull. The painted visor affords the wearer a wide range of vision without looking ridiculous. Yet, as well designed as it is, the head sculpt, like the rest of the body design, just doesn’t fit in with the Joes that came before it. The silver reinforced bands that criss-cross the head gear give it a decidedly “B-movie futuristic” look—something that fits in much better with the members of Battle Force 2000 than with the rest of the 1986 GIJoe roster additions. So, while this is a well-designed action figure it just isn’t a well-thought out GIJoe figure.

Sci-Fi does have one shining detail that helps to redeem this classic but inappropriate figure in my eyes—his laser rifle. The weapon is everything that Flash’s original rifle wasn’t—bulky, rugged, and believable in appearance. The original GIJoe team Laser Rifle Trooper came equipped with a small light rifle and a diminutive back pack. Sci-Fi takes this all a set further with a much larger and substantial rifle that includes a small laser sight (Ironic, n’est ce-pas?) and a back pack that looks capable of generating some of the power needed to project a concentrated beam of light across the battle field. The pack also features a bracket on the right side that allows Sci-Fi to sling his rifle when not in use. Traditionally, the rifle has been placed “butt down” but I prefer to mount it 180 degrees in the opposite direction. Doing so will allow the wearer to actually draw the weapon by reaching over his shoulder and grabbing the handle. (It’s a similar configuration to how the pulse rifles were stored in “Roughnecks: Starship Troopers”.) Either way, its little details like this that help to somewhat redeem this version of Sci-Fi in my eyes.

 

I’ll be blunt—I have no idea why Sci-Fi is clad like an extra from “Starlight Express”. His color scheme and garish design were two of the reasons that I never really used this figure much as a child. (It didn’t help that Flash was my favorite of the original 13 and I saw this figure as his replacement!) It also didn’t help that he’s wearing the same helmet as Cannonball in his debut in the X-Men annual. As such, Sci-Fi spent years sitting in my figure case without seeing the light of day. It wasn’t until I managed to snag the 1991 version that I found a real use for the character. The uniform and the color scheme just never managed to fit into my view of the “Joe world”. Had this figure been released in the 90’s, he’d have fit in perfectly—but in 1986 Sci-Fi was pretty much the “sore thumb” of the wave. So, if you’re a Joe completionist then I can say “snag him” and end the review right here. However, if you’re the type of collector who’s looking for the “definitive” version of the character, pass on this figure and go straight to his 1991 release. Between his removable helmet and more subdued color scheme, he’s pretty much everything that this version isn’t.