Green Lantern #9

The cover of this April 2006 issue says it all: Hal Jordan, his power ring glowing an urgent green, has Batman dead in his grip — the Dark Knight bloodied and wide-eyed, fist raised but clearly on the losing end of a brutal confrontation against a stormy twilight sky. It's a striking, tension-loaded image from cover artist Simone Bianchi that makes "Branded" feel like a genuine clash between two DC titans rather than a friendly misunderstanding. With Geoff Johns writing and Ethan Van Sciver on interior art, this mid-2000s run was firing on all cylinders.