Peter Parker: Spider-Man #16

The cover of Peter Parker: Spider-Man #16 lays out the stakes plainly and thrillingly: Venom lunges forward with teeth bared and symbiote tendrils whipping through the air, while Sandman rises as a massive wave of churning sand — and a helplessly caught Spider-Man is visible, half-submerged in that sandy tide. John Romita Jr.'s cover art captures a three-way collision where, as the cover itself warns, no matter who wins between Venom and Sandman, the city and Spider-Man lose. It's a genuinely compelling visual threat that makes this 2000 Marvel issue hard to pass by on the shelf.