Avengers #502

The Avengers Disassembled saga reaches its penultimate "Chaos" chapter here, with David Finch and Danny Miki delivering a cover that crackles with dread — Hawkeye, the Wasp, and the Scarlet Witch stand defiantly against a smoke-choked cityscape, the bold tagline "One of These Avengers Will Die!" hanging over them like a verdict. Bendis's run on the title had been building toward exactly this kind of high-stakes tension, and issue #502 makes no attempt to soften the blow. If you've been following the unraveling of Earth's Mightiest Heroes in 2004, this is the chapter you won't want to skip.