Superman Annual #13 is an issue of the series Superman Annual (Volume 1) with a cover date of January, 2008.
Synopsis for "The Fall"
Superman and the Phantom Stranger have travelled to the distant future, where the Earth has slowly but steadily recovered from the disasters caused after Superman and Khyber's deaths. The Phantom Stranger tells Superman the future they are in right now is one of many possible futures, dictated by humanity's choices. Should humanity give in to Arion's demands, it might be possible for them to survive the catastrophe he foretold, but the price in lives, wisdom and enlightment would be too high. And so, the Phantom Stranger urges Superman to find another way to defeat the coming darkness. Upon returning to the present, the Phantom Stranger bestows upon Superman a shield against magical attacks.
Back in the present, Superman creates a huge whirlpool, causing the entire Atlantic Ocean to crash into Arion's castle and completely shatter its magic shield. Arion sends two monsters to attack Superman, but the Man of Steel quickly discovers these creatures are in fact the two young New Gods that remained on Earth after their companions had left for New Genesis. As Superman calms the creatures down, Arion transforms into a large sea monster and attacks Superman directly. Superman swiftly defeats Arion, reverting him to his original form and removes the magic artifacts that gave the wizard his power.
With Arion separated from his amulets, the protection spells around the castle disappear completely, causing the castle to be destroyed by the ocean's tides. Superman quickly dissipates the tide before it can cause any serious damage while the young gods return to their original forms.
Arion reappears in the 1600s, revealing that he cast a long-term disguise on the "fake" Arion to make Superman think he'd caught him.
Lexcorp's Scramcams are an unexpected success, allowing the company to stave off bankruptcy for a few more months. Lana sits alone on her office, speaking to a photo of her son about how she was able to save families and keep the company afloat. Superman listens to her comments from afar.
Superman looks around the city, seeing Squad K, Prankster escaping, and Lois and Chris waiting on the ground.
Superman attacks two faceless goons and saves a woman.
Meanwhile in Iran, Hassan-I-Sabbah has returned from the dead once more. However, his body has decayed so badly it can no longer endure the touch of open air. Forced to wear a suit of armor to surive, Hassan-I-Sabbah assumes the name "Khyber".
Appearing in "The Fall"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Arion the Immortal
- Khyber (Cameo)
Other Characters:
- Arion
- Perry White
- Sarka
- Turrek
- Squad K (Cameo)
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "The Best Day"
Appearing in "The Best Day"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
Locations:
- Smallville, Kansas
- Terabithia (First appearance)
Items:
Vehicles:
Notes
- "The Fall" is reprinted in:
- Prior to this Annual issue, the original run of Superman had 12 Annual issues as does the second run. Noting that DC Comics does not really use a volume numbering in their series, Superman Annual #13 could be a continuation of either of the two Superman Annual series. For the purposes of this wiki and that the Superman series was renamed back from Adventures of Superman, it is assumed that Annual #13 is a continuation from the first series.
- Turrek was called Varak in his last appearances.
See Also