Legion of Super-Heroes #32

Tragedy strikes the Legion of Super-Heroes!" That stark cover warning, paired with the tagline "The First to Fall!", sets an unmistakably somber tone for this August 1992 DC issue. Jason Pearson's pencils and Karl Story's inks frame a tense group of Legionnaires — two alarmed women, a figure in a distinctive white-peaked costume, and a star-chested hero reaching out desperately — all dwarfed by an ominous cracked black silhouette looming behind them. With writing by Keith Giffen and Tom & Mary Bierbaum backing up that foreboding cover, this is the kind of issue that reminds you the 30th century's greatest heroes aren't invincible.