Superboy v1 197
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Contents
Timber Wolf, Dead Hero, Live Executioner
Clark Kent and Lana Lang are relaxing under a tree when Lana decides to “let” Clark kiss her. Just then, Clark’s Legion belt signal, which only he can hear, buzzes. As Lana closes her eyes to prepare for the kiss, Clark uses his heat vision to sever a twig, causing two apples to fall and knock her unconscious. Clark then switches to Superboy and travels into the future to answer the Legion summons.
In the 30th century, Superboy finds Legion Headquarters deserted except for one member – Timber Wolf. Superboy is delighted to see the feral Legionnaire, whom he thought was dead. The other Legionnaires emerge from the places where they hid so Timber Wolf could surprise Superboy. Timber Wolf then recounts that six months earlier, he and Superboy were on a mission when a nearby asteroid exploded. Superboy survived, but there was no sign of Timber Wolf, who now has no idea how he survived nor where he’s been for the last six months.
The next day, the President of Earth presents Timber Wolf with a Valor-Star medal, but as they shake hands, Timber Wolf suddenly announces his intention to kill the president and takes off into the sky, dragging the president along. As Superboy and Mon-El follow, Timber Wolf begins swinging the president in a circle and threatens to release him in any direction. Mon-El pulls Superboy’s cape, which stretches in a wide circle around the whirling Legionnaire; when Timber Wolf releases the president, he lands harmlessly in Superboy’s cape. Mon-El uses his cape to restrain the snarling Timber Wolf.
Part 2: The Sinister Secret of Timber Wolf
At Legion headquarters, Brainiac 5 examines Timber Wolf and pronounces him returned to normal. Timber Wolf remembers a little more of the incident six months earlier: Just before the asteroid exploded, he was teleported into another dimension, where a mist-covered figure told him that he had detonated the asteroid and saved the Legionnaire for his own purposes. But that is all Timber Wolf remembers. Satisfied that the danger has passed, Superboy returns to his own time.
That night, Timber Wolf prowls the hallways of Legion HQ, but is observed by Saturn Girl, whose telepathic powers alerted her to his condition. She watches as he enters the Central Control-Complex and activates the headquarter’s destruct sequence. Before she can intervene, she is shot by a ray from a mysterious intruder, who reveals himself to be Tyr, an alien criminal whose right hand consists of a bizarre energy weapon. Saturn Girl deduces that the assassination attempt on the president was a ruse to keep the Legionnaires from guessing that Tyr had brainwashed Timber Wolf into destroying the Legion, so he could invade their galaxy unimpeded.
However, the ray from Tyr’s gun-hand had bounced off of Saturn Girl and struck Timber Wolf in the head, shocking him back to normal. Timber Wolf defeats the villain and shuts off the self-destruct mechanism with seconds to spare. But as the two Legionnaires turn back to their unconscious enemy, they discover that Tyr’s gun-hand is missing.
In orbit, the automated gun-hand pledges that it will soon return to free its master and help him take over earth.
Key Quotes and Catchphrases
"I can't fight an irresistable urge to ... KILL THE PRESIDENT!" - Timber Wolf
Critique
Roll Call
Legionnaires
Feature roles:
- Mon-El
- Saturn Girl
- Superboy (Honorary)
- Timber Wolf
Supporting role:
Cameos:
- Bouncing Boy
- Chameleon Boy
- Chemical King
- Cosmic Boy
- Duo Damsel
- Element Lad (cover only)
- Karate Kid
- Lightning Lad
- Matter-Eater Lad
- Phantom Girl
- Princess Projectra
- Shadow Lass
- Shrinking Violet
- Sun Boy
- Ultra Boy
Villains
- Tyr and his automated gun-hand.
Supporting Characters
Other Characters
- President of Earth (presumably Kandro Boltax, but not named)
Planets and Settings
- Smallville
- Asteroid X52 (destroyed by Tyr)
Technology, Gadgets and Other Neat Stuff
- The self-destruct detonator of Legion Headquarters
Alien Wildlife
- An astral vulture
Notes
Errors and Oddities
- On the cover, Element Lad is shown wearing a Legion flight belt. Flight belts had been discarded years earlier in favor of flight rings.
First appearances
This issues marks the first appearance of the following characters and recurring key Legion story elements:
- Timber Wolf’s feral features and brown and orange costume
- Lightning Lad’s blue, white, and orange (later yellow) costume sans cape
Easter eggs
- Two silhouettes of the starship Enterprise from Star Trek are visible on the wall of Timber Wolf’s quarters.
Powers and abilities
Reboot Reference Kit
Retcon Alert
Other
- This issue launches the Legion's third continuous series (following Adventure Comics and Action Comics), as they are promoted to equal billing in Superboy's title.
Other stories in this issue
There is an additional story that does not feature the Legion - "The Slay-Away Plan".
Reprints
Timber Wolf, Dead Hero, Live Executioner has been reprinted in the following:
