This title includes issues #231-258—what some indices accurately, but unhelpfully, deem a "separate title" called, Superboy and The Legion of Super-Heroes (1977)

This comic, overlooked by many fans in the 21st century, is one of the more important to the development of the DC universe, both in terms of its content and its behind-the-scenes intrigues.

Chief among the latter is the fact that it's this title, and not Action or Superman that proved the legal basis for the original creators of Superman to receive some royalties from DC. So if you're looking for the real reason why Superboy (as the young version of Superman) faded, early issues of this title, More Fun Comics, and Adventure Comics, provided a basis for a character that was distinct enough from Superman to be considered a legally unique creation.

Contenually, though, Superboy, perhaps retroactively, was exploring Earth 1 long before Barry Allen discovered there was an Earth 2. These pages were really the beginning of the definition of the Earth 1 Superman's life. Many of the adventures described here formed the basis for the whole world of Superman as he would come to be known in the 1970s and 80s. The title was especially influential in the development of Krypton, and, of course, the Legion of Super-Heroes. Indeed, it was so tied to the Legion, that at the end of the run, the book concentrated exclusively on telling the tales of Superboy with the Legion.

Here are some key turning points in the title's history:

• Smallville is introduced to the world in issue #2

• Superbaby gets his first story in issue #8

• Lana Lang joins the Kents as a regular from her start in issue #10

• Krypto, though introduced in Adventure, starts making occasional appearances with issue #51

• The title begins exploring Krypton's past with issue #67, in which the criminal Klax-Ar appears

• Legion members first start appearing in the title individually. First on deck: Supergirl in issue #80

• Mon-El makes his first appearance anywhere in issue #89, starting a multi-year story arc with his character.

• The Legion became a regular part of the book from issue #172.

• Superboy's last solo story appears in issue #196. Smallville and its characters are left behind.

• Beginning with #197 the cover title reads "Superboy starring the Legion of Super-Heroes".

• With issue #222 the cover reads "Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes".

• Issue #230 is the last issue which bears the name "Superboy" in the indicia.

• At issue #231, the name "officially" changes to Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes

• After #258, the comic was wholly replaced by The Legion of Super-Heroes and The New Adventures of Superboy.

As this is an anthological series, titles of individual stories are not issue titles. The "issue title" field is being used here to show where the cover title (and in some cases, the indicia as well), significantly changed for a period of several consecutive issues.