New Avengers: Illuminati #3

The third chapter of this 2007 Marvel limited series brings the Illuminati together in a surge of crackling energy, with Iron Man front and center, flanked by a bald, anguished figure — almost certainly Professor X — and a powerfully built man at his side. Behind them, Mr. Fantastic, Doctor Strange in his signature cloak and Eye of Agamotto, and Captain America press forward in a dynamic charge rendered with sharp, kinetic energy by cover artists Jim Cheung and Mark Morales. Brian Michael Bendis and Brian Reed are at the helm of this secret-council saga, and this cover makes a compelling case that the stakes for Marvel's most powerful backroom alliance are escalating fast.