After details of a spending spree became public, Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain has resigned from his post at Bank of America, which bought his firm in the midst of the Panic of '08.

They called him "Superthain." John Thain, Merrill Lynch's Clark Kent-lookalike CEO, had the public image of a straight-shooting, clean-living superhero CEO. Billions of dollars in losses haven't stained that, but an $87,000 rug could.