Cover: Mike Grell

Superboy #223

Jan 1977 · DC · 0.30 USD

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“We Can't Escape the Trap in Time!”

★ 1st appearance — Pulsar Stargrave

About this Issue

Superboy #223 (cover-dated January 1977) marks the debut of Pulsar Stargrave, one of the most intriguing and long-running villains in Legion of Super-Heroes history — a powerhouse Coluan who would later be revealed as a future incarnation of the original Brainiac, tying two of DC's most storied villain lineages together across centuries. His entrance here is deliberately mysterious: rather than fighting the Legion directly, Stargrave and his henchmen Holdur and Quicksand observe from the shadows while the Time Trapper battles Superboy and four Legionnaires, a structural choice that announced a new, grander threat looming just beyond the current crisis. The issue also functions as a significant rehabilitation of the Time Trapper as a credible cosmic menace, repositioning him from a Silver Age curiosity into the brooding, reality-bending force he would remain through the Bronze Age and beyond. Coming at the precise moment the book's cover logo was beginning its transition toward the full 'Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes' branding, the issue captures the title mid-evolution, bridging its Silver Age roots with the more serialized, character-driven storytelling Paul Levitz and others would solidify in the years immediately following.

In "We Can't Escape the Trap in Time!", Superboy finds himself trapped in a time-warping nightmare alongside Karate Kid, Chameleon Boy, Saturn Girl, and Sun Boy, as the Time-Trapper sets his sights on erasing them from existence. Written by Jim Shooter and brought to life with dynamic art by Mike Grell—both inside and on the cover—this 1977 DC classic pits the young heroes against a foe who can manipulate time itself, all in a battle for their very futures.

writer Jim Shooter · artist Mike Grell · inker Bob Wiacek · cover Mike Grell

ComicBooks.com Value

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Raw (Fine) $6

CGC 9.8 · 6 in census $192

CGC 9.6 · 10 in census $57*

CGC 9.4 · 10 in census $39

CGC 9.2 · 3 in census $37*

CGC 9.0 · 2 in census $37

CGC 8.5 none in existence

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CGC 8.0 · 1 in census $20*

CGC 7.5 · 1 in census $20*

CGC 7.0 none in existence

CGC 6.5 none in existence

CGC 6.0 none in existence

CGC 5.5 none in existence

CGC 5.0 none in existence

CGC 4.5 none in existence

CGC 4.0 none in existence

CGC 3.5 none in existence

CGC 3.0 none in existence

CGC 2.5 · 1 in census $20*

* estimate — limited direct-sales data at this grade

Our model’s value — refined as new sales data arrives · CGC census counts shown where available

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GD $1.95 VG $2.95 FN $3.95 VG $3.95 FINE $3.95 VG $4 VG $4.49 FN+ $4.95

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History

The story, titled 'We Can't Escape the Trap in Time!', was written by Jim Shooter and drawn by Mike Grell with inks by Bob Wiacek — a creative team at the height of its mid-1970s run on the book. Shooter, who had famously begun writing Legion scripts as a teenager in the 1960s, was now returning to the franchise with a more mature command of long-form plotting, seeding Pulsar Stargrave across multiple issues rather than delivering a conventional single-issue villain debut. Grell had taken over art duties from Dave Cockrum starting with issue #203 (1974) and was defining the visual identity of the Legion through his sleek, fashion-forward character designs; his rendering of Stargrave — an imposing, hairless Coluan radiating stellar energy — immediately communicated the character's scale. The cover logo on surrounding issues had already begun reading as 'Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes,' though the indicia title would not officially follow until issue #231 (September 1977), placing #223 squarely in this transitional editorial window.

Trivia · 8 facts

First appearance of Pulsar Stargrave, a Coluan super-villain who would later be revealed as a future form of the original Brainiac; he appears here 'behind the scenes,' observing the action rather than engaging directly.
First appearance of Stargrave's henchmen Holdur and Quicksand, who accompany him throughout his early story arc.
Written by Jim Shooter with pencils by Mike Grell and inks by Bob Wiacek — the primary creative team on the title during this mid-1970s period.
Story title: 'We Can't Escape the Trap in Time!' — a Time Trapper-centric plot in which five Legionnaires (Superboy, Saturn Girl, Karate Kid, Sun Boy, and Chameleon Boy) are transported to a future where half the galaxy has been destroyed.
The issue serves as part of the cover-logo transition era: the logo had begun reading 'Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes' with issue #222, though the indicia title did not officially change until issue #231 (September 1977).
Cover date: January 1977; on-sale date recorded as approximately October 19, 1976.
Reprinted in Legion of Super-Heroes Archives Vol. 12 (DC), which collects Superboy #213–223 and Karate Kid #1, covering the mid-1970s Shooter/Bates/Grell run.
Pulsar Stargrave went on to become a major Bronze Age Legion antagonist, receiving entries in both Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #18 (August 1986) and Who's Who in the Legion of Super-Heroes #5 (September 1988), confirming his lasting canonical significance.