I'll kill you! I'll kill you to death!!! 
Countdown to Final Crisis #13 is an issue of the series Countdown (Volume 1) with a cover date of January, 2008.
Synopsis for "Abandon All Hope"
While the Challengers from Beyond and the Myrmidons fight against the Monitors, Monarch battles against Superboy-Prime. Superboy is thrown into a frenzy now that he has finally found his "perfect Earth" only to see it torn apart by war. Determined to "kill Monarch to death", he blasts him with wave after wave of heat vision. Monarch taunts Superboy, telling him that he is only a boy pretending to be a man. Superboy threatens to tear away Monarch's armor, mistakenly believing it to be the source of his power. In truth, his armor is actually containing the awesome energy that resides within it. Monarch sets off a nuke spreads across Gotham City.
At the Multiversal Nexus, Monitor Solomon defends himself against Forerunner who has come to kill him. He easily overpowers her, and Forerunner drops to the floor. From out of the shadows steps Darkseid who reminds Solomon of the game that they are both equally invested in.
Back in Gotham, the Challengers from Beyond continue their struggle against Monarch's army. The Earth-51 Batman finds an alternate variant of the Joker and pounces on him. Ultraman flies down and punches Batman through the back of the head, killing him. Kyle Rayner grabs Ultraman with his power ring and flings him across the burning city. Donna Troy sees a mysterious message on a wall, beckoning her to go to Apokolips. Monitor Nix Uotan sees it as well and determines that it is a message from the Source. He tells them that he has the power to teleport them to Apokolips. Jason Todd, now garbed in the costume of Red Robin has one last order of business to take care of before he leaves. When nobody is paying attention, he kills the Joker by smashing his head in with a large rock.
Meanwhile, Superboy-Prime continues to pummel away at Monarch. Despite Monarch's warning, Superboy breaches his armor, releasing a massive wave of energy. This energy spreads across the entire planet, consuming it, and goes even further, destroying everything in the solar system.
Monitor Nix Uotan returns after depositing the Challengers on Apokolips. He half-expected to die along with his reality, but upon inspecting the scarred ruins of the planet Earth, he discovers a single, growing plant. Reaffirming himself, he recognizes that with life comes hope.
Appearing in "Abandon All Hope"
Featured Characters:
- Challengers from Beyond
- Donna Troy
- Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner)
- Ray Palmer
- Red Robin (Jason Todd) (First appearance)
Supporting Characters:
- Batman (Earth-51) (Final appearance; dies)
- Monitors
Antagonists:
- Darkseid
- Monarch (Apparent Death)
- Monarch's Army
- Batman (Earth-43) (Cameo)
- Johnny Quick (Earth-3)
- Joker (Reality Undetermined) (Single appearance; dies)
- Extremists (Earth-8) (Cameo)
- Ray (Earth-6) (Cameo)
- Scarab (Earth-26) (Cameo)
- Ultraman (Earth-3)
- Wonder Woman (Earth-34) (Cameo)
- Superman-Prime (Apparent Death)
Other Characters:
- Forerunner
- Myrmidons (Final appearance)
Locations:
- Multiversal Nexus
- Earth-51
- Apokolips (Behind the scenes)
- The Source (Behind the scenes)
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "The Origin of Cyborg Superman"
Hank Henshaw was once an astronaut along with his wife Terri, and his best friends Jim and Steve. Their space shuttle, the Excalibur, came to close to a solar flare and the ultraviolet radiation mutated them. Their ship crash-landed back on Earth and Henshaw seemingly died from his injuries. In truth, Henshaw transitioned to a higher state of being and could download his consciousness into any electrical or cybernetic system. Driven mad from the experience, he became a deadly foe of Superman and an ally of Mongul, and later, Darkseid. His current whereabouts are unknown.
Appearing in "The Origin of Cyborg Superman"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
- Excalibur
Notes
- Issue shipped on January 30th, 2008.
- Keith Giffen is credited as story consultant in this issue.
- "Abandon All Hope" is reprinted in Countdown to Final Crisis Vol. 3.
- Donna Troy is briefly seen wearing the costume of an alternate-reality Wonder Girl whom she previously fought against. She disguised herself as Wonder Girl in order to get in close to Queen Belthera as revealed in Countdown to Final Crisis #14.
- "The origin of Cyborg Superman" is recapped from events first chronicled in Adventures of Superman #466. His origin is a pastiche of the origin to the Marvel Comics super-team The Fantastic Four.
- This story includes flashbacks from the "Reign of the Supermen" story-arc, the Superman/Doomsday: Hunter Prey limited series and the "Sinestro Corps War" crossover.
See Also
Recommended Reading
Links and References
