Secret Avengers #21

Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen bring their run on Secret Avengers to a head with "Final Level," and John Cassaday's cover sets the mood perfectly — five covert operatives, including a star-emblazoned Commander Rogers, Black Widow, War Machine, and two others, stand battle-ready inside what appears to be an otherworldly chamber of glistening bubbles and hanging chains. The framing of darkness closing in around the team gives the image a tense, cornered-but-defiant quality that promises high stakes ahead. If you've been following Ellis's sharp, espionage-driven take on this team, issue #21 looks like a gripping payoff.