Countdown #13

Subtitled "Obliteration," this penultimate stretch of Countdown to Final Crisis crackles with raw tension — the cover by Stéphane Roux puts a black-suited Superman front and center, grimacing through a storm of electric energy as a helmeted, armored figure grapples with him in a desperate struggle for control. With Paul Dini, Keith Giffen, and Tony Bedard steering the story and Tom Derenick on interior art, issue #13 feels like a series barreling toward the edge with everything on the line.