Dark Reign: Hawkeye #4

The penultimate chapter of this 2009 Dark Reign limited series delivers a striking cover by Clint Langley: a purple-costumed Hawkeye strides forward with a drawn bow amid a storm of fire and smoke, while a massive, glowering skull looms behind him — its hollow eyes burning with orange flame. It's a tense, atmospheric image that captures the Dark Reign era's mood of danger and moral ambiguity perfectly, with writer Andy Diggle and artist Tom Raney steering the series toward its conclusion.