Batman: The Dark Knight #12

Scarecrow dominates this unsettling New 52 cover, his burlap-masked face looming large as he thrusts a glowing vial of fear toxin toward the viewer — and trapped within that syringe, a tiny Batman struggles helplessly against the amber liquid. David Finch and Richard Friend deliver genuinely skin-crawling work here, capturing both the villain's grotesque menace and Batman's desperate predicament in a single striking image. With Gregg Hurwitz writing "Mirror Mirror," this 2012 issue makes a strong case that Scarecrow is one of Gotham's most psychologically compelling threats.