The Power Transmitter

Lex Luthor's Power Transmitter

A device used by Lex Luthor in a 1983 chronicle to steal Superboy's powers and transfer them to the teenage genius.

Luthor builds the device shortly after he again escapes from the Soames Reform School in his secret hideout in the sub-basement of Smallville Stadium and uses it on the Boy of Steel to steal his powers. The device, which appears to have been constrcted from an old-style canister vacuum cleaner, is imperfect in it's design, and apparently transfers all but Superboy's X-ray vision to the teenage criminal. Using this to his advantage, Superboy employs several of his Superboy Robots to lure Luthor into a trap at the stadium, where he convinces Lex to use his X-ray vision on the hero. When Luthor realizes that he does not possess this power, he again uses the device to transfer the power into himself. Superboy, having theorized that the device causes a second of weakness in both himself and Luthor, uses that moment to knock Luthor unconscious with a well tossed rock to the villain's head as Luthor is vulnerable to attack at that time. With Luthor unconscious, Superboy uses the device to return all of the stolen powers back into himself and return Luthor to his incarceration in reform school (NSB No. 48, Dec 1983: "One Super-Power Too Many!").