Ultimate Spider-Man #6

The cover of Ultimate Spider-Man #6 frames everything through a striking design conceit — Spider-Man's enormous eye fills the image, and reflected within it we see a purple-clad, horned figure crouching menacingly atop a city rooftop, hinting at a villain encounter ahead. Mark Bagley's cover pencils make clever use of that visual metaphor, turning Spidey's lens on the threat so we see exactly what our hero sees. Subtitled "Big Time Super Hero!," this 2001 Marvel series was already carving out its own bold take on the wall-crawler, with Brian Michael Bendis and Bill Jemas steering the story alongside Bagley's kinetic art.