I had complete creative freedom over this variant cover, and set out with an idea already in mind. The flow of the composition was most important to me, and I knew I wanted the sweeping cape to form a spiral for the eye to follow. I chose to include some symbolic story elements, but to focus on the action of taking off the helmet as a key moment for a character wrestling with himself and his alter ego.

I started with a loose sketch and roughly defined the values before launching straight into the digital painting, using blending modes to imitate the glowy light from a stained-glass window.