The Defenders #20

The cover of this February 1975 issue says it all: the Thing stands defiantly between a snarling, hulking demon and two fallen comrades — Valkyrie and Doctor Strange — sprawled unconscious on the ground, while the villain threatens their lives if he takes another step. It's a wonderfully tense snapshot of Marvel's "non-team" at their most desperate, made all the more fun by Ben Grimm's classic "Clobberin' Time!" battle cry front and center. Gil Kane's pencils and John Romita's inks give the scene real weight and energy, and with Steve Gerber writing alongside Sal Buscema's interior art, this is mid-'70s Marvel at a genuinely compelling moment.