Captain America #3

Part of Rick Remender's Marvel NOW! run, this 2013 issue puts Captain America — shield in hand, beard grown out — in a fierce, close-quarters struggle against a massive, heavily armored brute crackling with orange energy. John Romita Jr.'s pencils and Klaus Janson's inks give the confrontation raw, kinetic weight, with armored soldiers looming in the background suggesting Steve Rogers is badly outnumbered. It's a cover that makes clear Cap's situation is desperate — and that he's fighting anyway.