Batman: Gotham Adventures #13

Three terrified crooks cower in a spotlight as Batman's enormous shadow looms over them from behind — his bat-symbol stretching across the wall like a trap about to spring shut. The cover's speech bubbles ("That thing! Coming toward us!" / "What is it?" / "It ain't Melvin!") deliver genuine laughs while making it crystal clear that the Dark Knight has all the leverage here. Rick Burchett's clean, animated-series style is perfectly suited to blending comedy and menace, and the banner promising "The End of the Threatening Three!" gives this 1999 issue a satisfying sense of finality.