Superman: The Man of Steel #131

Part 7 of the "Ending Battle" arc finds Superman at what looks like a desperate crossroads — fists clenched, eyes burning red, he stands resolute while a fiery, hulking figure writhes in flames at his feet and two menacing adversaries — a skull-faced specter and an armored, mechanical-looking villain — loom in the background. Carlos Pacheco and Jesús Merino deliver a cover that crackles with tension, the blazing oranges and deep blacks making Superman's defiant posture feel genuinely hard-won. With Mark Schultz writing and Brandon Badeaux on interior art, this penultimate chapter of the crossover promises the kind of all-in superhero drama that made 2002 a great year for Superman fans.