Dark Avengers #182

The cover of this 2012 Marvel issue says it all — the Thunderbolts are squaring off against the Dark Avengers, and the assembled cast of heavyweights, energy-wielders, and shadowy figures crowding the stormy scene makes the collision feel genuinely massive. Luke Cage steps forward at the center-right with unmistakable authority, flanked by a glowing-fisted blonde, a fur-collared figure crouching at the fore, a visor-helmeted member, and a suited man with glowing eyes, while looming behind them a massive creature with red eyes, a stout rocky bruiser, and an armed figure emerge from the lightning-streaked darkness — all rendered with sharp, atmospheric detail by cover artist John Tyler Christopher. With Jeff Parker writing and Neil Edwards on interior art, "Nothing Stops Justice!" promises the kind of team-versus-team tension that this era of Marvel did so well.