Avengers #16

Tied into Marvel's Fear Itself event, this 2011 issue of Avengers presents a cover charged with kinetic energy — Captain America and a glowing-fisted Nova charge forward through a debris-strewn industrial setting of chains and broken machinery, while a female hero fires her weapon in the background. The interior team of Brian Michael Bendis, John Romita Jr., Klaus Janson, and Paul Mounts brings the same intensity to the story, while the cover itself is rendered by the skilled pairing of Alan Davis (pencils) and Mark Farmer (inks). A strong entry in this era of Avengers storytelling, with a cover that makes the stakes of Fear Itself feel immediate and personal.