Aquaman #20

This April 1965 DC issue puts Aquaman in an agonizing bind: knife in hand, he hovers over a massive two-headed sea beast while Aqualad pleads with him to strike — yet the cover caption reveals the King of the Seven Seas can't bring himself to do it, because this very creature once saved his life. Meanwhile, a desperate Mera is caught in the monster's grip below, making the stakes devastatingly clear in "The Sea King's Double Doom." Nick Cardy's cover art wrings every drop of tension from the scene, rendering the snarling dual-headed beast and its imperiled captives with vivid, kinetic energy that perfectly captures the impossible choice at the story's heart.