Batman #497

Part of DC's sprawling 1993 "Knightfall" crossover event, this eleventh chapter presents one of the most arresting cover designs of the era — a stark split between a darkened Batman symbol and bat-signal on the left, and on the right, a massively muscled Bane looming over a battered, barely conscious Batman in the shadow of a roaring dinosaur, with Bane's masked face visible behind them. The bold tagline "You thought it could never happen… The Breaking of the Batman" makes the cover's intent unmistakably clear. Kelley Jones delivers pencils and inks that crackle with dread, while Doug Moench, Jim Aparo, and Dick Giordano bring the interior to life in what is clearly a pivotal chapter of this ambitious storyline.