Superior Spider-Man #23

The "Darkest Hours" arc reaches a harrowing peak in this 2014 issue, with Humberto Ramos and Victor Olazaba's cover delivering one of the most viscerally unsettling images of the run: a massive, slavering symbiote creature looms over a vulnerable, shirtless blond figure scrambling desperately on the ground, its enormous jaws spread wide and dripping with menace. Dan Slott and Christos Gage clearly have something intense in store, and the stark contrast between the helpless human figure and the overwhelming darkness of the beast above him sets an ominous tone that lives up to the story's title. If you've been following Superior Spider-Man, this cover alone signals that things are about to get considerably darker.