Action Comics #23

From the New 52 era of Action Comics, issue #23 drops Superman into what the cover boldly calls a "Cosmic Deathmatch!" — and the image makes the stakes immediately clear. Tyler Kirkham's cover depicts a colossal, spiked mechanical behemoth looming over a comparatively tiny Superman, who recoils from a blast of explosive energy in the vastness of space. The sheer scale of that towering, glowing-eyed machine against the Man of Steel makes this one of the more visually striking covers Scott Lobdell and Kirkham delivered in their New 52 run, with a bonus "World of Krypton" backup promising even more for readers.