Ms. Marvel #3

Ms. Marvel faces overwhelming odds on this striking 2006 cover by Frank Cho, as Carol Danvers — in her signature black costume and red sash — stands her ground against a massive, many-tentacled alien creature looming directly above her, its fanged maw wide open and clawed limbs closing in from every direction. The crimson sky and writhing alien forms surrounding her make the threat feel genuinely enormous, yet her defiant stance suggests she's far from finished. With Brian Reed writing and Roberto de la Torre and Jimmy Palmiotti on interior art, this series was already delivering the kind of high-stakes adventure Carol Danvers deserves.