Ultimate Spider-Man #7

Part of the acclaimed Ultimate Spider-Man run from 2001, issue #7 carries the pointed story title "Secret Identity" — and the cover by Mark Bagley makes clear that Peter Parker's double life is the least of his worries. Dominating the image is a monstrous, winged creature with razor claws, glowing eyes, and a tattered dark cape, lunging downward against a fiery orange sky with city skyscrapers receding below — an imposing threat rendered with Bagley's sharp, kinetic linework. With Brian Michael Bendis and Bill Jemas at the helm, this chapter of the Ultimate universe promises the kind of tension that comes when a teenager's secrets collide with something genuinely terrifying.