Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #208

Batman is caught in a crushing bearhug by a massively muscled opponent, his teeth gritted in fierce resistance as enormous arms pin him from all sides — it's a visceral, claustrophobic image that sells the raw physical danger beautifully. Ariel Olivetti's painted cover work gives the scene a photorealistic weight that makes the Dark Knight's struggle feel genuinely desperate. Part two of "Darker Than Death" arrives in this 2006 installment, with Bruce Jones scripting and Olivetti handling virtually every visual element of the issue.