Avengers: The Initiative #23

Part three of "Avengers The Initiative Disassembled" arrives under the shadow of Dark Reign, and Humberto Ramos's cover captures the tension perfectly — a young woman in an orange jumpsuit caught between a winged, masked hero on one side and a looming dark figure on the other, while a fierce crew of backup allies (including a tiger-striped warrior woman, a suited powerhouse, and several more) press forward behind her. Christos N. Gage's story continues to put the Initiative through its paces at a moment when the Marvel Universe's power structure has shifted in unsettling ways. With Ramos on both pencils and inks and Edgar Delgado's colors setting a moody, charged atmosphere, this 2009 issue delivers the kind of ensemble intensity the series does so well.