The New Adventures of Superboy #41

The cover of this 1983 DC issue sets up an unsettling scenario: a wide-eyed Superboy, his hands encased in what appear to be mechanical devices, looks genuinely alarmed as a hulking, insectoid-masked villain in orange armor looms menacingly behind him — and the cover blurb teases that he's now "the Boy of Steel... for real!" The cover art by Gil Kane and Howard Bender makes the threat feel visceral, with Superboy's usual confidence replaced by something far more vulnerable. Writer Paul Kupperberg and artist Kurt Schaffenberger bring the interior story to life in what promises to be one of the more intriguing issues of this run.