Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. #1

Nick Fury strides front and center on this 1989 series opener, eyepatch in place and a heavy weapon in hand, flanked by four armed operatives against a full moon breaking through stormy clouds — it's an ensemble that means business. Bob Hall and Kim DeMulder's cover composition gives every member of the team equal weight, conveying the sense that S.H.I.E.L.D. operations are very much a group effort, even when Fury is clearly the one leading the charge. With Bob Harras scripting "The Past Still Haunts," this first issue sets a brooding, espionage-charged tone right from the start.