Avengers: X-Sanction #3

The penultimate chapter of this 2012 limited series delivers a cover that says everything without a single word of dialogue: Red Hulk roars in unbridled fury while a steel-hard Colossus is locked in his crushing grip, sparks flying as raw power meets raw power. Ed McGuinness and Dexter Vines bring an almost sculptural intensity to the collision, with Red Hulk's massive frame dominating the composition and Colossus straining against him in a battle of sheer physical force. With the Avengers vs. X-Men crossover just two months away as of April 2012, "Noon" feels like the perfect pressure-cooker lead-in to what promises to be an earth-shaking confrontation.