The 2008 financial crisis looms large in Lehman Brothers' narrative, a catastrophic event that brought the firm to its knees. The subprime mortgage crisis, fueled by the very products the firm had helped pioneer, triggered a domino effect that reverberated across global financial markets. Lehman Brothers found itself mired in an insurmountable web of toxic assets, its balance sheet strained beyond repair. The crisis marked the ultimate test of the firm's storied history, revealing the fragility that can lurk beneath even the most seemingly unassailable institutions.