Astonishing X-Men #41

The cover by Salvador Larroca frames the X-Men — Wolverine in his yellow-and-blue suit, Cyclops, Emma Frost, and a fiery figure — as tiny, defiant figures dwarfed by two massive, brutish monsters looming over them with crushing intent. The sheer scale contrast makes the team's situation look genuinely dire, setting the stage for what the title promises: a "Monstrous Conclusion." Writer Daniel Way and artist Nick Bradshaw bring this 2011 arc home with Rachelle Rosenberg's colors giving the whole scene a vivid, high-stakes energy that's hard to put down.