Avengers / Thunderbolts #2

This 2004 crossover miniseries brings Earth's Mightiest Heroes face-to-face with the Thunderbolts, and issue #2 — "The Fine Line" — sets the tension beautifully with cover pencils by Barry Kitson. The Scarlet Witch crackles with hex-energy at the fore while a white-and-gold-armored Meteorite surges forward amid purple-violet light, both women framed against the looming, shadowed visage of Moonstone's manipulative alter ego dominating the background. With Busiek and Nicieza co-writing and Kitson's clean linework throughout, this is a confident, character-driven chapter in one of Marvel's sharper hero-vs.-antihero team-up series.