"And I'll call myself... Mr. Fantastic!"

Here's the story: An ego-maniac scientist tricks his best friend, his Girlfriend and her kid brother into joining him on a rocket flight to beat the commies in the space race. After stealing a rocket from the spaceport outside town, the scientist and his friends blast themselves into space where they are exposed to dreaded cosmic rays. Crashing back on earth, the each discover that they've turned into monster with strange and fantastic powers. The best friend becomes a disgusting rock monster. The girlfriend turns invisible. The younger brother cans et himself on fire, and the scientist can stretch his body in a horrifying and unsettling way. 

The scientist says: Listen to me, all of you! That means you too, Ben! Together we have more power then any humans have ever possessed!

The best friend: You don't have to make a speech, bigshot! We understand! We gotta use that power to help mankind!

The scientist: Right, Ben! Right!

The younger brother: I'll call myself the Human Torch, and I'm with you all the way!

The girlfriend: Same goes for me... the Invisible Girl!

The best friend: I ain't Ben anymore, I'm what Susan called me-- The Thing!

The scientist: And I'll call myself... Mr. Fantastic!!

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I first read this when I was maybe 12, and even then I thought it was insane. Lesson learned? If you give your friends cancer AND turn them into monsters AND they still forgive you, you can get away with calling yourself Mr. Fantastic.

What an ego!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Jake

(From Fantastic Four #1, by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee, .