Editor's Note: This entry contains plot spoilers to Captain America: Civil War.

About

"Mission Report: December 16th, 1991" is a quote repeatedly uttered by the supervillain character Helmut Zemo in the 2016 American superhero film Captain America: Civil War.

Origin

In Captain America: Civil War, the third installment of the Captain America franchise within Marvel Cinematic Universe, Helmut Zemo (portrayed by Daniel Brühl) relentlessly confronts and presses on ex-soldiers of Hydra in pursuit of information surrounding a mission undertaken by James "Bucky" Barnes, a brainwashed super-soldier, which spurs much of the movie's plot. Due to the persistent and detached manner in which Zemo repeats the phrase "Mission Report: December 16th, 1991" without alteration, it quickly emerged as a memorable quote from the film.

Spread

On May 16th, 2016, a Facebook page titled Mission Report, December 16, 1991^[1] was launched to compile various image macros and photoshopped parodies referencing the quote. On May 19th, Twitter user Alina posted a photograph and a quote from a scene from Ant-Man, gaining more than 2,400 retweets and 2,400 likes in 24 hours (shown below).

Usage

The meme consists of phrases and edited webcomics or image sets depicting an ordinary social situation that ends unexpectedly with a request for Mission Report: December 16th, 1991. As of May 20th, the meme mainly seems to satirize Zemo's dogged determination, as his character/catchphrase being used in any/every situation implies that his character essentially has no thoughts, feelings or desires apart from the perpetual inquiry about the mission report. In addition, an exploitable cutout of Zemo has been used as a bait-and-switch device or interruptor in several photoshopped instances, similar to the application in Rickrolling and Unexpected.

Search Interest

External References