Before the Fantastic Four: Reed Richards #2

The second chapter of this 2000 Marvel miniseries puts a young Reed Richards center-stage in a tense confrontation, as a massive armored fist reaches menacingly toward him and two companions — a dark-haired woman and a blonde figure in red — while a sinister, bandaged face with glowing eyes looms large in the background. Duncan Fegredo's cover work captures the threat bearing down on this pre-Fantastic Four version of Richards with real kinetic energy. If you've ever wondered what shaped Marvel's greatest scientific mind before the cosmic rays, this Peter David-penned series is a genuinely compelling place to look.