Uncanny X-Men #10

A gleaming, energy-wreathed figure radiates blinding power atop a towering pillar while the shattered remnants of the X logo rain down around it — and below, a group of X-Men lie strewn across the ground, apparently overwhelmed. Adam Kubert's cover composition is genuinely striking, pairing celestial scale with an unsettling sense of defeat that makes this 2012 Marvel issue hard to set down uninspected. With Kieron Gillen scripting and Carlos Pacheco and Paco Diaz sharing interior art duties, Uncanny X-Men #10 promises the kind of high-stakes mutant drama that defined this era of the series.