Avengers #8

The banner says it all — the Illuminati are back, and Avengers #8 brings that tension front and center with a striking cover by John Romita Jr. and Klaus Janson. Five figures command the image: a red-haired woman in a purple-black costume stands at the forefront, flanked by a bald man in a suit, a figure in a purple outfit with a circular emblem, Iron Man in his sleek armor, and a fifth figure partially visible behind them — all rendered with Romita Jr.'s bold, dynamic linework. Swirling green energy coils through the right side of the composition, hinting at the cosmic or mystical stakes that writer Brian Michael Bendis is weaving through this 2011 storyline.