needed
Original: needed on Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
Transcript
Panel 1: A man in a suit carrying a briefcase walks down a dark city street at night. A black car is parked nearby.
Panel 2:
Figure by the car: STEVE JENKINS!
Man with briefcase (Steve): YEAH?
Figure by the car: GET IN THE CAR. YOUR COUNTRY NEEDS YOUR SKILLS.
Panel 3 (Steve seated in the back of the car beside a man in a suit and sunglasses):
Steve: OH MAN... MY WHOLE LIFE I NEVER THOUGHT MY WORK IN FINANCE WAS THAT MEANINGFUL, BUT I ALWAYS WONDERED IF I HAD A SPECIAL DESTINY!
Panel 4 (close on an older man speaking):
Steve: ALL THOSE YEARS OF TOIL AND BOOTLICKING. THEY WERE WORKING TOWARD SOME HIGHER CAUSE. I KNEW IT.
Panel 5 (the man in sunglasses holds a phone/handset):
Man in sunglasses: THAT'S RIGHT, MR. JENKINS. YOUR MISSION, SHOULD YOU CHOOSE TO ACCEPT IT IS...
Panel 6:
Caption (small box): TO HAVE A HAPPY 60TH BIRTHDAY!
Panel 7 (Steve stands with arms spread in front of the car, lit up):
SURPRISE!
Panel 8: A crowd of people stands behind a banner, holding a birthday cake with lit candles, all celebrating.
Panel 9: The crowd in party hats cheers around Steve, who stands in the middle in his suit and a party hat, hands clasped, looking overwhelmed/teary.
Votey:
An extreme close-up of an older man's face, eyes wide and slightly teary, looking stunned and emotional. No text.
Panel 2:
Figure by the car: STEVE JENKINS!
Man with briefcase (Steve): YEAH?
Figure by the car: GET IN THE CAR. YOUR COUNTRY NEEDS YOUR SKILLS.
Panel 3 (Steve seated in the back of the car beside a man in a suit and sunglasses):
Steve: OH MAN... MY WHOLE LIFE I NEVER THOUGHT MY WORK IN FINANCE WAS THAT MEANINGFUL, BUT I ALWAYS WONDERED IF I HAD A SPECIAL DESTINY!
Panel 4 (close on an older man speaking):
Steve: ALL THOSE YEARS OF TOIL AND BOOTLICKING. THEY WERE WORKING TOWARD SOME HIGHER CAUSE. I KNEW IT.
Panel 5 (the man in sunglasses holds a phone/handset):
Man in sunglasses: THAT'S RIGHT, MR. JENKINS. YOUR MISSION, SHOULD YOU CHOOSE TO ACCEPT IT IS...
Panel 6:
Caption (small box): TO HAVE A HAPPY 60TH BIRTHDAY!
Panel 7 (Steve stands with arms spread in front of the car, lit up):
SURPRISE!
Panel 8: A crowd of people stands behind a banner, holding a birthday cake with lit candles, all celebrating.
Panel 9: The crowd in party hats cheers around Steve, who stands in the middle in his suit and a party hat, hands clasped, looking overwhelmed/teary.
Votey:
An extreme close-up of an older man's face, eyes wide and slightly teary, looking stunned and emotional. No text.
Alt text
A nine-panel SMBC comic. A man in a suit with a briefcase walks a dark city street at night. A shadowy figure by a black car calls out 'Steve Jenkins!' and tells him to get in, his country needs his skills. Inside the car, Steve gushes: his whole life he never thought his work in finance was meaningful but always wondered if he had a special destiny, and that all his years of toil and bootlicking were working toward some higher cause. A man in sunglasses lifts a phone and says, 'That's right, Mr. Jenkins. Your mission, should you choose to accept it is...' A caption reveals: 'to have a happy 60th birthday!' Steve stands before the car arms spread as a crowd shouts 'SURPRISE!' holding a birthday cake. In the final panel the partygoers in hats cheer around a teary, overwhelmed Steve. The joke: the dramatic spy-movie 'special destiny' build-up is just a surprise birthday party. Votey: an extreme close-up of the man's stunned, teary, wide-eyed face. No text.
Transcribed by Claude Opus 4.8.