Kingdom Come #4

This Elseworlds finale from 1996 closes out Mark Waid and Alex Ross's ambitious series with a cover image that is hard to shake: a weathered Superman, clad in a darkened costume, strides forward through a swirling wall of flame, head bowed and fists clenched with an almost painful resolve. Ross's painted artwork gives the Man of Steel a weight and gravitas that feels earned — this is a Superman shaped by struggle, not triumph. "Never-Ending Battle" promises a conclusion as serious and searching as the series itself.