Avengers Academy #17

Avengers Academy #17 ties into Marvel's "Fear Itself" event with a cover by Billy Tan that makes the stakes immediately, viscerally clear — a massive enchanted hammer crashes downward in a shower of debris, bearing down on two Academy students scrambling to survive its impact. The yellow-armored figure and the snarling, horned young hero straining against the blow convey exactly the kind of desperate, outmatched tension that defines the best superhero underdog stories. Writer Christos Gage and artist Sean Chen bring "Battle Scars" to readers in 2011, promising a chapter where the next generation of Avengers faces threats far beyond their training.