Avengers #10

New York City throws a public celebration for Earth's Mightiest Heroes on this jubilant cover by George Pérez, where Hawkeye, Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, and Scarlet Witch stand triumphantly on a stage before a cheering crowd — while an ominous armored figure looms large in the sky above, hinting that not everyone is in a festive mood. The tension between the hero worship below and the lurking threat overhead gives this 1998 issue a wonderfully charged energy that writer Kurt Busiek and Pérez were clearly having fun with. "Pomp & Pageantry" sounds like exactly the kind of story that earns its title.