Checkmate #32

The cover of Checkmate! #32 says it all with its bold declaration: "Checkmate Goes to War!" — and the imagery delivers, showing armored Checkmate agents charging forward through walls of fire and explosion while panicked civilians scatter around them, a helicopter swoops overhead, and paratroopers descend from a smoke-filled sky. Looming above the chaos is a massive, ghostly villain's face snarling "That's it! No more Mr. Nice Guy!" — a chilling touch that gives the whole scene an ominous gravity. Paul Kupperberg's 1990 series rarely looked more kinetic than on this Steve Erwin cover, which captures the high-stakes, espionage-meets-superhero energy that made Checkmate! a distinctive corner of the DC universe.