Ultimate Spider-Man #34

The cover of this 2003 Marvel issue says everything you need to know about the tone of "Inheritance" — a black-suited Spider-Man stands silhouetted against a blazing orange inferno, dark symbiote-like tendrils curling up around him in an image that feels equal parts menacing and mesmerizing. Mark Bagley's cover art uses that stark contrast of deep shadow against fiery color to make the figure feel genuinely imposing, the glowing white eyes the only detail cutting through the darkness. With Brian Michael Bendis writing and Bagley and Art Thibert on interior art, this creative team was consistently delivering some of the sharpest superhero storytelling of the era.