Action Comics (1938)

Action Comics #1 (June 1938), cover by Joe Shuster The template for superhero strength. Superman holds a green car over his head and drives it into a rock while the men around him scatter in panic, so the whole image reads as one diagonal burst of force. Because the car is the real star, homage artists only need to swap the hero and keep the lift. Todd McFarlane did exactly that on Amazing Spider-Man #306 in 1988, and the pose has been borrowed for heroes and parodies ever since. If a cover shows someone hoisting a vehicle overhead, this is the quote.