Legion of Super-Heroes #21

Two battered, wary figures huddle inside a dark, rocky tunnel while an ominous winged shadow looms over them from above — it's a genuinely unsettling image that sets a moody, pressurized tone for "The Quiet Darkness, Part One." Keith Giffen and Al Gordon's cover work captures that rare quality where the threat feels almost more frightening for being half-hidden, letting shadow do the heavy lifting. Written by Tom & Mary Bierbaum alongside Giffen, this August 1991 issue suggests the Legion's world is about to get a lot more dangerous — and a lot less lit.