Soldier X #11

Kicking off the two-part "Dead Ends" arc, Soldier X #11 puts its battle-scarred, shades-wearing protagonist front and center — shirtless, bloodied, and thrusting a glowing weapon directly at the viewer while a second gun smokes at his side, crumbling ruins looming behind him under a bruised sky. Howard Porter's pencils and Mark Morales's inks give the figure an imposing, coiled-spring intensity that makes the "Dead Ends" banner feel entirely earned. With Karl Bollers writing and Scot Eaton on interior art, this 2003 Marvel series continues to deliver gritty, no-exit tension.