Captain America #17

The ominous cover tagline "And One Shall Fall!" sets a tense, high-stakes mood for this 1999 installment of Mark Waid's run on Marvel's Star-Spangled Avenger. Andy Kubert and Jesse Delperdang's cover art puts Captain America at its dramatic center — his costume torn and battle-worn, arms pinned back, gazing skyward while red-clawed enemies press in from both sides and a massive shadowy hand looms in the foreground. It's a striking image of a hero pushed to his limits, perfectly teasing a story subtitled "A Tale of Morality and Failure.