Aquaman #54

DC's "Year of the Villain" banner looms large over this 2020 installment of Kelly Sue DeConnick's Aquaman run, and Dan Panosian's cover makes the threat immediately clear: a massive, armor-clad Black Manta towers menacingly above the waterline, his red eyes blazing, while a battered Aquaman surges up through churning waves below him. The size difference alone tells you everything about the stakes in "Amnesty, Part 5: Lessons Learned" — the King of Atlantis looks defiant but outmatched, fists clenched as ocean spray explodes around him.