Batman #402

The cover of Batman #402 (December 1986) pulls no punches: a fierce, crouching Batman looms over a collapsed figure in blue, cape spread wide behind him like dark wings, while a discarded bottle lies nearby on the ground — and the stark cover copy reads, "There's Nothing So Savage — As a Man Destroying Himself!" Jim Starlin's cover art gives Batman an intensity that feels almost as much anguished as it is forceful, hinting at a story where the real enemy may be something far closer to home. A compelling issue from a period when DC was willing to let its heroes wrestle with genuinely human darkness.