Nowadays, memes are the talk of the town. They can be ideas, behaviours, images, videos and any other media content that spreads by means of imitation via the internet and real life. Memes often carry significance and represent a specific individual, phenomenon or theme. In this case, that theme is Marvel and the memes are ripe for the picking. There have been a lot of memorable moments in the MCU and those witty one-liners, fast quips and bouts of sarcasm are shared virally in the form of memes. Most of the time, you can guarantee that either Thor, Loki or Tony Stark will land a zinger that someone transforms into a hilarious snapshot. Here are the best memes that the MCU has to offer, conveniently chosen for you based on levels of hilarity and originality.
1. Get This Man A—
Avengers: Infinity War was one of the wildest rides ever conceived by Marvel Studios; it was utterly bonkers and kept the adrenaline racing throughout, whether it be laughing, crying, or both. Everyone remembers the classic scene where Thanos and his army invade Wakanda, forcing the Wakandans and the Avengers to stand their ground and fight. T’Challa, played by the incomparable Chadwick Boseman (may he rest in peace), utters one of the most famous lines in MCU history: “Evacuate the city! Engage all defences! And get this man a shield!” From there, the internet saw an opportunity to generate one of the most recognizable—if not tremendously overplayed—memes of all time. It often involves switching out “a shield” for all manner of objects, people and places that are relevant to the above character. For example, “Get this man a new dad,” referencing Starlord’s homicidal, celestial father, Ego. Old but gold, even if the meme has been done to death, as the saying goes.
2. I’m Always Tired
How could anyone forget Bruce Banner’s unforgettable transformation into the Incredible Hulk during the climax of 2012’s The Avengers? “That’s my secret, Cap. I’m always angry.” Be honest, it still gives you chills even ten years later. The Avengers gave us numerous zingers, including this absolute gem of a monologue: “There’s no throne, there is no version of this where you come out on top. Maybe your army comes and maybe it’s too much for us but it’s all on you. Because if we can’t protect the Earth, you can be damned well sure we’ll avenge it!” And who could ever forget Captain America’s “Avengers, assemble!” gimmick? Still, Bruce Banner takes the cake on this one. “That’s my secret, I’m always—” became a treasure trove of memes, because why wouldn’t it? The opportunities are endless. “I’m always tired” has topped the variants, especially because it’s relatable on so many levels.
3. Civilian Starter Pack
Number one rule of the MCU: if you need to hide in plain sight, use a hooded jacket, sunglasses and a baseball cap to be undetectable and achieve maximum camouflage. Seriously, these are superheroes and international names, known far and wide across the globe and often fugitives of the law, but as soon as they ditch the skin-tight costumes and spandex for civilian clothing, they become unrecognizable. How does it work? We might never know. Regardless, the internet made a meme out of it, so it’s a win-win situation, if you think about it. Our heroes go incognito and stay hidden long enough to foil the baddies’ schemes and we get to laugh out loud at handmade memes like “civilian starter pack”, a meme that has never seemed to lose its touch.
4. Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2
Poor Chris Pratt. That image of him working up a sweat while jogging will haunt him until the day he dies. Nevertheless, it’s a completely understandable level of exhaustion and we’ve all been there, whether it be chasing the ice cream truck or running for the bus. As everyone knows, the Guardians of the Galaxy are an ‘odd’ group of individuals to say the least; an intergalactic traveler with daddy issues, a green-skinned assassin (also with daddy issues), a talking rodent, a sentient tree (like a literal tree) and a barbarian-looking gentle giant. Who would have thought that the Guardians would become a viral meme? But they did. Someone decided to reinvent the Guardians using pop culture icons, namely “Chris Pratt jogging”, the Wicked Witch of the West (from The Wizard of Oz), Kratos (from God of War), RJ (from Over the Hedge) and the Pokémon Sudowoodo, all of which resemble their Marvel counterparts just enough to be distinguishable. Either way, the outcome is outrageous.
5. An Apple A Day
Remember that age-old saying, “an apple a day keeps the doctor away”? Well, Marvel fans took that idiom and made it into—guess what—a viral meme. The meme itself needs no explaining; if you don’t get it immediately after the first read, go back and read it again. Most often, memes are not only funny, but decidedly clever, and this one is both. Whoever took this tender moment where Tony Stark looks visibly distressed and turned it into a meme has a very dark sense of humor, but isn’t that the best kind? This is one of those memes that could be described as “crude humor,” but it works so well.
6. I Guide Others To A Treasure I Cannot Possess
In Captain America: The First Avenger, everyone hated Red Skull. He was a ruthless dictator and followed Nazi ideals, but as the MCU progressed and more storylines overlapped, Red Skull’s alliances changed. Eventually, after touching the Tesseract with his bare hands, Red Skull was transported to Vormir, where he become a Stonekeeper. He was trapped in a hypothetical purgatory, destined to live as a wraith advising whoever sought the Soul Stone. Red Skull met Thanos after he made the arduous journey to Vormir and confronted Red Skull regarding the Soul Stone. There, he explained his agonizing fate by saying, “I guide others to a treasure I cannot possess.” When you were under the legal age, you couldn’t drink, but you could get everyone else a drink. It sucked, right? Unless you were lucky enough to have parents who slipped you a small sip of Budweiser every now and then, you would have never known how it tasted until you got older. It’s not even just alcohol, either. There were a lot of things we wanted to do as kids that only adults could do. We wanted to grow up so bad, now look at us.
7. Missed My Period
It’s that time of the month and you’re late. You know that that means? One option is that you’re pregnant. Everyone has different views on pregnancy; for some, it marks the beginning of a new era and grants the opportunity to raise a child of their own, but for others, it’s a life-long commitment—to both the child and the mother—that feels like too big of a burden to bear. A lot of times, there are jokes made that relationships are smooth sailing until a pregnancy disrupts the natural order. In Avengers: Infinity War, the “Mad Titan” Thanos was in pursuit of the Infinity Stones and seeking to harness their power to wipe out half of the population. Eventually, he succeeds in causing “The Snap” and random friends, family and loved ones begin to dematerialize. Obviously, the gag here is that when a woman mentions pregnancy, a man leaves due to a fear of commitment.
8. Sony Cuts Ties With Marvel
This one takes a little more effort to comprehend and definitely requires you to have kept updated on all the shenanigans of the Marvel cast, specifically Tom Holland. The 25-year-old made his MCU debut in Captain America: Civil War before appearing in Jon Watt’s Spider-Man trilogy; Homecoming, Far From Home and No Way Home. Since 2017, there has been a running gag that Tom Holland spoils his movies, namely the Marvel franchise entries. During interviews, on livestreams and on social media, Tom Holland usually ends up (completely by accident) spoiling major events, cameos or minor details regarding his Marvel movies. When the Spider-Man trilogy was produced, Sony Pictures—who have previously been involved in every live-action Spider-Man project thus far—announced that they had cut ties with Marvel regarding future MCU projects. We all know the iconic scene in Toy Story, which became a meme of its own, featuring Buzz Lightyear screaming “Years of academy training wasted!” The rest is pretty easy to follow. Either way, this one will have you in stitches.
9. Loki’s Dead
This meme originated with Thor: Ragnarok and it is gold. While Bruce Banner and Thor are discussing how much more helpful and powerful the Hulk is compared to Banner as himself. Bruce retaliates and states that Banner is just as useful, prompting Thor to utter the retort, “Is he though?” From there, the meme was born. There have been hundreds (not really) of memes made from that one scene. Seriously, it’s become legendary. Unfortunately, this was another meme that was metaphorically beaten to death. Speaking of death, during the opening of 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War, Loki was killed by Thanos (Josh Brolin) and Loki’s death had a certain finality to it that is rarely seen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Even so, it never stopped the Tom Hiddleston fans from debating Loki’s death and living in complete denial. Even after confirmation from Thanos, Thor, Kevin Feige and the Russo brothers, Loki fans were adamant that the God of Mischief was still alive and had outsmarted us all yet again. Well, at least the internet gained another meme out of it. If you can’t laugh, you’ll cry.
10. You Have No Idea What’s Possible
Another Thor: Ragnarok classic, delivered by Cate Blanchett’s Hela. When Hela confronts her brothers, Thor and Loki, there appears to be a lot of bad blood and spite between them that results in Thor throwing his hammer towards Hela. Being the Goddess of Death, she stops Mjölnir in its tracks and crushes it with her bare hand. Thor, completely flabbergasted, says, “It’s not possible,” to which Hela says, “Darling, you have no idea what’s possible.” Like so many others, this meme generated a bounty of responses. One of the most common variants involves the relatable experience of teachers telling students that in order to prosper, they need to study hard everyday and can’t simply learn everything in one night. Well, you can figure out the rest from there.
