Batman #23.4

Part of DC's 2013 New 52 "Villains Month" event, this issue hands the spotlight entirely to Bane — and Guillem March's cover makes an immediate case for why he's one of Batman's most formidable foes. The massive, masked villain lunges forward with coiled Venom tubes snaking from his skull, heavy chains framing a darkened cityscape behind him, every muscle radiating barely contained menace. Inside, writer Peter J. Tomasi and artist Graham Nolan dig into "Dark Destiny," promising a story as brutal and purposeful as the figure looming on that cover.