Nova #4

Nova – the Human Rocket – finds himself in serious trouble in this August 1999 issue, as the cover tagline promises the whole affair plays out "at the mercy of the Condor!" Erik Larsen and Art Thibert's cover delivers a chaotic, action-packed pile-up featuring Nova in his gold-and-blue uniform grappling with a massive, rocky-skinned Thing, while a red-costumed figure and several other heroes — including what appear to be members of a "Fallen Fantastic Four" — struggle in the melee around him. It's a densely packed scene that makes clear Nova is outnumbered and outmuscled, setting up what looks to be one of the series' most frenetic confrontations.