Superman #209 (2004)

Father Daniel tells Superman that he wasn't born in Metropolis, but he knows he will die there. He asks Superman if he knows about his disease, and Superman says yes. He has known from the beginning and he can see it growing. Superman tells Daniel to cry, but when the Father asks Superman if he has, Superman says that he can't. The water being strikes the Daily Planet globe with a sword of water and sends the sphere flying. Superman catches it in midair and destroys any debris before it can harm the people below. The entity tells Superman that he shouldn't be there. He has offended its mother, and she wants vengeance. Superman's first assumption was that the creature was Aquaman's doing, but he was wrong. The water being says him and his brothers demand his exile. The creature then says he will slaughter Superman, and the 'dogs' on the planet. Superman tells the monster to leave the dogs out of it as he vaporizes the creature with his heat vision. In the desert a cloaked female begins to rub two pieces of wood together. As the water being boils away, a being of flame suddenly erupts from the ground and attacks Superman. The fire monster says that they will destroy everything to get at him, they will not be denied. Superman says that neither will he as he blows the monster out. Around the world, the hooded woman blows a stream of air. The winds above Metropolis suddenly swirl and coalesce into a monster made of wind. The wind creature tells Superman that the entire country will suffer until they get their way before dispersing to the winds. In the desert, the woman piles sand on the ground. At Mount Rushmore the earth suddenly quakes as the monument suddenly rises up atop a huge stone beast. As he pulls up, his three brothers are reformed by him. Superman dashes onto the scene, prepared to fight them back. They address Superman as a foreigner, telling him that they are the world and that they demanded his exile, and because of his exile there will be death. Superman tells them that yes, there will. The monsters tell him that they will wipe the entire planet clean and begin life anew again. Superman tells them that even if they do, he'll still be there. And then he will burn away the air and smash them each into fragments. And when the elementals are dead and Earth is destroyed, Superman will find a new home. The giants all stare at Superman for a few moments before dispersing back to the planet that created them. Father Daniel asks Superman what he would have done if they hadn't backed down, and Superman says that he didn't give them that option. Superman explains that the world had forgotten its own mortality. Daniel replies if Superman would really have done it. In the desert, the woman pounds at the earth in frustration, tears streaming down her face. Suddenly a figure appears above her, revealing to be Wonder Woman, who crouches down and takes the woman in her arms.