Superman Unchained #5

Jim Lee and Scott Williams deliver a striking cover for this January 2014 New 52 installment, depicting Superman and a dark-haired young woman facing each other mid-air, their outstretched hands meeting in a burst of energy against a shattered crystalline backdrop. The tension between the two figures — Superman in full costume, cape billowing, and the woman in tactical gear clutching what appears to be a blade — crackles with both conflict and strange connection. Scott Snyder's "A Place Between" promises exactly the kind of layered, charged storytelling that made this series a highlight of its era.