Superboy # 209 Starring the Legion of Super-Heroes

Superboy # 209 Starring The Legion of Super-Heroes, " Who Can Save The Princess?" Art by: Mike Grell, Story By: Jim Shooter Cover date: June 1975 Cover price: .25 cents.
  On the Spaceport deck of Legion Headquarters Timber Wolf is watching  a returning space craft make an approach for landing but it is out of control. Thinking quickly he grabs a tow hook and lassos the craft and with all of his strength stops it from crashing out of control. Karate Kid arrives and they find Princess Projectra stumbling out of the plane. Flying to the Legion's medical lab, they meet with Saturn girl who already used her telepathic powers to sense the trouble and has placed a call through to Brainiac-5 on the monitor. Under Brainiac-5's direction they use the analyscope to find out she has the pain plague. The fever is not fatal but the pain it causes is, it only last 6 hours but know one has ever lasted that long. Brainiac tells them that the pain cannot be stop but he thinks there is one chance. He sends Saturn Girl and Timber Wolf off to get some equipment and tells Karate Kid to put her on the Pain Monitor. Brainiac's plan is to transfer the pain into the other Legionnaires bodies. The princess has already gone through 2 hours of pain and that the 3 other legionnaires can get her through the next three, Superboy who is on the planet Fangmar with Brainiac should arrive in time to take the last one. Just in case Superboy does not make it in time Saturn Girl uses the Maximum Emergency Signal to try and get any other Members or reserve members to come to headquarters as soon as possible, but apparently they are the only Members of the Legion on earth at the moment.

Old Uniform
 

New Uniform
 

Not wasting time Timber Wolf goes first and touches the controls that will transfer the pain into his body. He goes out of control with pain using his super strength to destroy parts of the medical center. Fearing that he will hurt himself Karate Kid using his knowledge of Super-Karate tries to takes him down, but needs Saturn Girl to mind control him long enough to put him into a cell. During the fight Karate Kid's normal brown uniform is ripped so he take a moment to change into a new white and black uniform. While changing he discusses with Saturn girl about how the pain is growing constantly worse, and He offers to take her hour as well. But she declines because it could mean his death, but she is worried that while under the influence of the pain she could use her power to take control of the kid and order him to smash, kill or destroy. Or even go as far as ordering him to end her pain by killing her or the cause of the Pain his own beloved Princess.
So with that in mind when it comes time to begin Saturn Girl's hour they place her in chains and a Helmet that will block her powers. Karate Kid has her touch the probes that will transfer the pain and then carries her writhing form to a couch to rest through the pain.
In Deep Space Superboy is watching via his telescopic vision, it is almost Karate Kid's turn and Superboy is worried that if the agony drives him mad he could kill someone. Superboy pours on the speed and bursts into the headquarters to find Karate Kid Sitting Lotus style using his super karate to master his body and reject the pain. The kid is struggling but makes it through. Superboy grabs the probes and tries to bring the pain into his body, but since he is invulnerable the pain will not enter his body. With seconds before Princess Projectra starts suffering again he goes to check the experimental lab for something to save her. As Superboy leaves Karate Kid drags himself over to the probes to take the next hour, and possibly sacrifice his own live to save his loved one. but just as he about to touch the probes he is hit from behind and knock out. A woman grabs the probes at the last instant and the torturous pain, pain more than a single human can endure floods the intruder's body. But the intruder is not just any woman she is Duo Damsel, former member of the Legion. She splits her self in two dividing the pain between her two bodies. Still suffering form excruciating pain the two damsels fight each other, but Superboy puts an end to the cat fight and keeps them from hurting themselves until their hour is up. When the ordeal is over Lluornu Durgo Taine explains that she got the maximum emergency call and came as soon as she could. Karate Kid explains what went on to a recovering Princess as this tale ends.
Bits of Legionnaire Business
Roll Call

• Timber Wolf
• Karate Kid
• Princess Projectra
• Saturn Girl
• Brainiac-5
• Superboy
• Duo Damsel

Rooms in the club house

• Legion space port
• Medical center

Planets visited

• Fangmar

Equipment used

• Pain Monitor
• Saturn girls bondage devices
• Flight Rings

Firsts

• Karate Kid's New Uniform

Notes:
Page 2:

• Timber Wolf makes a woman driver joke, showing that the 30th century is still chauvinistic.
• This is the 2nd time that Princess Projectra came down with a fever, you think she might start wearing clothes that covers her body up?

Page 3:

• Brainiac-5 plays doctor from millions of miles away.
• Timber Wolf one of the simpler Legionnaires put together the complicated device.

Page 5:

• The worlds greatest Martial artist can not stop Timber Wolf rampage he needs Saturn Girl to mind control him.

Page 7:

Karate Kids chains up Saturn Girl
 

• Where did Saturn Girl get the telepathic bondage gear? Dose she use this on week ends with Lightning Lad?

Page 10:

• Superboy stops a Cat fight before clothes can get ripped off, in the Silver Age they use to call Superman a dick, now you can see he started when he was young.

Welcome Back Jim Shooter, this was a great first story by an amazing writer who first wrote the team when he was 14 years old. This story had every thing; An interesting plot, good fight scenes, a new costume (one of Mike Grell's better designs) Saturn girl in bondage, and the return of Duo Damsel. Good job Jim I look forward to more. In the next issue we start covering Issues I owned at the time they were first released. More on that when we cover Superboy 210, but.......
Next time: The second story of this issue " Hero for a Day" I am skipping the member profile for this issue because I want to do 2 for 210.