The Spectacular Spider-Man #45

This August 1980 Marvel issue sets up a genuinely tense scenario right on its cover: a chained and helpless Spider-Man lies trapped in what appears to be a coffin-like container, at the mercy of a snarling, green-winged Vulture looming over him — while flames erupt ominously in the background. The banner says it all: "He's back — the Vengeful Vulture!", and with Spidey bound and the heat rising (as the cover copy warns, "the heat is withering, but Spidey can't feel it — yet"), the stakes feel immediate and real. Alan Weiss's cover art captures the Vulture's predatory menace beautifully, and Roger Stern's "Wings of Fire, Wings of Fear" promises the kind of sharp, character-driven storytelling that made this era of Spectacular Spider-Man so satisfying.