Universe X: Iron Men #1

A striking vision of the Universe X landscape, this 2001 Marvel special presents a sleek black-and-red armored Iron Man standing front and center, flanked by an ensemble of wildly reimagined figures — a serpentine winged creature, a ghostly white female form, a small winged figure, and two heavily armored beings rendered in gold and purple. Alex Ross's cover art gives the whole assembly a painted, almost cinematic weight that immediately signals this is no ordinary chapter in the broader Universe X saga. With writing by Ross and Jim Krueger, art by Brent Anderson, and inks by Tom Palmer, this special carries the same ambitious, world-building energy that made the Universe X series such a compelling Marvel event of its era.