Guardians of the Galaxy #46

The 31st-century Marvel Universe gets turbulent in Guardians of the Galaxy #46, subtitled "The Living Death of Major Victory!" — and that cover by West and Montano makes the stakes unmistakably clear. Major Victory is depicted front and center, his star-spangled costume being consumed and torn apart by a spreading black substance while he screams in anguish, his red-gloved hands outstretched against a blazing yellow background. With the team's familiar faces lined up in the corner box, this 1994 issue promises the kind of cosmic drama that made this series a genuinely compelling corner of the Marvel Universe.