Ultimate Captain America #4

The concluding chapter of this 2011 miniseries closes with a cover that speaks volumes without showing a single figure — Captain America's battered, blood-soaked shield lying flat on the ground, a rifle planted barrel-down through it with a soldier's helmet resting on top, the timeless battlefield memorial framed against the suggestion of barbed wire and rubble. Ron Garney's stark, minimalist composition carries a genuine emotional punch, letting the symbolism do the heavy lifting as the four-part story reaches its end. It's a quietly striking finish to what Jason Aaron, Garney, and Jason Keith built across this series.