Spider-Man's Tangled Web #5

Few covers in 2001 could match the disarming charm of Duncan Fegredo's painting here: the Rhino — massive, horn-headed, and clad in his thick grey hide — reclines in a sun-dappled park surrounded by bright yellow flowers, delicately holding a single bloom while Spider-Man swings overhead through the bare tree branches above him. The juxtaposition of one of Marvel's most brutish villains cradling a flower against a cheerful blue sky sets a wonderfully unexpected tone for "Flowers for Rhino, Part 1 of 2," written by Peter Milligan. It's a genuinely intriguing setup that suggests something more thoughtful and offbeat than your average superhero throwdown.