Superboy # 210 starring the Legion of Super-Heroes

Cover date: August 1975, Cover price .25 cents. 
First Story: "Soljer's Private War" Art by Mike Grell and Story by Jim Shooter.
   We open to Phantom Girl watching Lighting Lad hit a flying figure with what he calls a death bolt.
That figure turns out to be Superboy, and the 3 members of the Legion of Super-heroes are in a area out side of Metropolis practicing using their powers. Lighting Lad shoots another lightning bolt at Superboy, but the teen of steel super-speeds out of the way and the bolts just blasts dirt. A weather controlled scheduled rain shower interrupts the training session and the 3 heroes fly off to Legion HQ. Just as the three are out of sight a body dressed in a military uniform crawls out of the still smoldering crater caused by the powerful lightning blast. The lightning bolt ignited a spark of life in what was once a soldier from 2783 who was fighting in world war VI. The soldier and his squad were ordered

Mike Essad
 

to take metropolis, when the enemy spotted them and launched a gamma grenade, with out thinking the soldier, named  Essad dived on the Grenade and absorbed the gamma charge while at the same time was struck by a lightning bolt. His squad buried the still glowing body right where he laid, the same spot that was struck 200 years later boy Lightning Lads bolt. His Sergeant called him a good soldier and that is what was once Private Mike Essad calls him self as he a wakens from the grave Soljer. Not much more than a zombie, Soljer walks stiffly uncertainly in a direction of a city, when he spots a sign that says metropolis one mile he remembers his mission of long ago.
 A little while later the rain has stopped and Lightning Lad and Superboy are all set to go back to practice when Brainiac-5 tells them that they are needed, and the 3 heroes join Chameleon Boy, Princess Projectra and Phantom Girl near the outskirts of metropolis, where Soljer is firing an unseen pistol and is destroying buildings. Brainiac-5's analymeter says that there is nothing in Soljer's hand and that he is firing an imaginary gun. Superboy runs out to stop him but Soljer pulls out an imaginary rifle and shoots the boy of steel. Lightning Lad blasts him with a bolt but it has no effect, Brainy tells him that he is already charged with pure energy so a little more will not faze him. Phantom Girl thinks maybe the physical approach will work and turns into a phantom to approach Soljer, but he sees her and pulls an imaginary knife out off an empty scabbard and stabs her. The team is shocked that Phantom girl was injured while immaterial. With Superboy down and Phantom Girl possibly dying Brainiac-5 orders the team back to headquarters to regroup. In the medical center Brainy diagnoses that Superboy will recover in a day or two but Phantom Girl is critical and does not know where to begin on helping her. She shows no wound but keeps moaning and clutching her stomach but there is nothing there that Brainiac-5 can detect. Chameleon Boy enters the room and updates Brainy on Soljer activities, he has reached the heart of the city and is blasting the buildings with his invisible weapons. That gives Brainiac-5 an idea he instructs Chameleon to use his powers to become a phantom and see if he can locate the source of Phantom Girls problems. He does as asked and feels a handle of a knife coming out of phantom girl's body. Cham very carefully removes it and Brainy puts the healing machines on Phantom Girl. The injured heroine starts breathing easier and they think she will pull through. Chameleon tells Brainy that this thing is like a WW VI knife that he has seen in a museum. Brainiac tells him that make sense the weapons and uniform that Soljer uses is of the same vintage. Chameleon does not believe him but Brainy tells him to get solid and hold on to the knife. He does but the knife vanishes. Brainiac comes to the conclusion that Soljer's body got charged with super energy and that he creates his own weapons and that is why they could hurt a phantom. Brainy tells Cham to check the history tapes about the invasion force that attack Metropolis back in 2783 while he will try to get a first hand look using the Time Scanner. Later Soljer is approaching the residence of the United Planets President leaving a trail of destruction behind him. He goes to fire his weapon but before he can fire he sees Metropolis destroyed, the whole city in ruins and a Sergeant appears and orders him to attention, Sergeant Richter asks him to look around, to see the ruins of Metropolis, he tells Soljer that his mission is complete and that he is a good soldier. Soljer snaps to attention for a moment, pride sweeps through the less than human being, a tear trickles down his cheek and a great weariness clouds his eyes. Suddenly, his legs buckle and he sags to the ground his duty done, welcoming finally the arms of death.
  Brainiac has Projectra drop her Illusion while he examines the dead body of private Essad, and Chameleon changes out of his Sergeant Richter disguise. The team then all meet up in Phantom Girl's hospital room to tell her the story and that Private Essad would be getting a monument to document his dedication and sacrifice by throwing himself on that Gamma Grenade to save his friends.

Bits of Legionnaire Business
Roll Call

• Lightning Lad
• Superboy
• Phantom Girl
• Brainiac-5
• Chameleon Boy
• Princess Projectra

Legion equipment

• Analymeter
• Healing Machines
• Time Scanner
• Flight Rings

Rooms in the Headquarters

• Medical Center
• Tape Library

Page 1:

• Lightning Lad uses what he calls a death bolt, now does that go against the  Legion's code against killing? Yes he was firing at Superboy who it will not hurt, but what if he missed?
• I said this before but they seem to pair Lightning Lad up with Phantom girl a lot, am I reading to much into this?

Page 2:

• Nice to know that we will have control of the weather in about 1,000 years.

Page 3:

• So world war VI is directed by computers, so rivalry between Mirco soft and Apple finally became violent, way to go Bill Gates and Steve Jobs.

Page 4:

• 30th century has what looks to be wooden hand made road signs?

Page 7:

• Chameleon becomes a phantom... wtf, I know that he can change his appearance but how can he duplicate powers?

Nice use of Projectra's powers to show Essad what he wanted to see and to end the story with out a fight scene.
Next time: Member Profile on Lightning Lad