Ultimatum #3

Magneto looms large and menacing at the center of this striking 2009 Marvel cover, flanked by a formidable assembly that includes Storm, Mystique, Sabretooth, Colossus, and a snarling beast-like figure — a gathering that radiates genuine threat. David Finch and Danny Miki bring muscular, kinetic energy to every figure in this dense, brooding composition, making issue three of five feel like a storm that's been building and is finally ready to break. Jeph Loeb's "Heaven on Earth" chapter promises the tension the cover so vividly delivers.