Super-Villain Team-Up #12

Dave Cockrum and Al Milgrom's cover for this 1977 Marvel issue says it all: Dr. Doom stands his ground in full iron-and-green regalia as energy blasts erupt around him, while a space-suited Red Skull bears down on him aboard a sleek vehicle with weapons blazing. The cover copy bills it as "the savage showdown between the two greatest masters of menace," and the image delivers exactly that tension — two of Marvel's most formidable villains squaring off with no heroes in sight to intervene. Super-Villain Team-Up #12 is a fine example of the series' willingness to let the bad guys take center stage and fight among themselves.