Superman #212

Superman #212 brings readers part nine of Brian Azzarello's ambitious "For Tomorrow" arc, with a cover by Jim Lee that is genuinely arresting: a figure in Superman's suit writhes in agony, engulfed in crackling red lightning that illuminates the iconic S-shield against an otherwise pitch-black backdrop. The raw, almost tortured energy Jim Lee captures here — the clenched fists, the screaming face consumed by that violent crimson glow — conveys a Man of Steel pushed far beyond his limits. It's a striking 2005 image that makes it very hard to set this issue back down on the shelf.