Superman "Starman"

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About

Superman "Starman" refers to a series of Superman edits and videos that use the song "Starman" by David Bowie. The memes spread on video platforms like TikTok and YouTube in early 2024. Most of the videos were Slow Fade-In Irony videos or TikTok photo slideshows.

Origin

Currently, this first known creator to combine Superman with the David Bowie's song "Starman" was TikToker^[1] @b3nanas on June 20th, 2022, via a photo slideshow that ranked Superman clones by design alone, including Homelander and Omni-Man, among others. The slideshow received over 308,000 plays and 25,100 likes in two years (recording shown below).

Spread

Going into 2022 and early 2023, Superman edits surfaced using "Starman" as the song, such as an edit posted by TikToker^[2] @soaresskeleton93 on August 7th, 2022, receiving over 80,600 plays and 4,500 likes in two years (shown below, left).

On November 24th, 2022, TikToker^[3] @japithecreator posted a similar edit with an acapella version of 'Starman," receiving over 499,000 plays and 49,200 likes in two years (shown below, right).

@soaresskeleton93 Starman ✨🦸‍♂️ #superman #supermanreturns #dccomics #dc #brandonrouth #clarkkent #davidbowie #bowie #starman #fy #fyp ♬ Starman (2012 Remaster) – David Bowie

@japithecreator starman | não achei o ib | #edit #superman #clarkkent #starman #davidbowie #japithecreator #capcut #wholesome #indomitablehumanspirit ♬ som original – japi 🇵🇸

In 2023, edits following the format continued to surface on TikTok.^[4] On November 19th, 2023, multiple photo slideshows were posted to TikTok^[5]^[6]^[7] that used "Starman" and an image macro of Superman, adding humorous text captions. The most viral of the three was posted by TikToker^[7] @wistful_mist, comprising three memes reading dad-related statements, gaining over 957,300 plays and 202,400 likes in five months (shown below).

"dad I missed the bus" "it's alright I'll drive you there buddy."

"dad I'm failing a class" "is there anything your old man can do to help?"

"dad I'm gay" "Im so proud of you son, I love you more than you'll ever know."

In March 2024, multiple Superman "Starman" memes surfaced on TikTok, predominantly following the Slow Fade-In Irony format. Also, many of the early examples from 2024 were created by Spanish-speaking creators. For instance, on March 8th, 2024, TikToker^[8] @sa1ntzo made a joke about "El pedazo de lija que esta en el suelo," translating to "The piece of sandpaper that's on the floor," gaining over 455,100 plays and 103,200 likes in a month (shown below, left).

English examples then surfaced en masse, like one posted by TikToker^[9] @panday.ltrbx on April 24th, 2024, receiving over 731,700 plays and 163,300 likes in two days (shown below, right).

@sa1ntzo 🗣️#humor #Meme #superman ♬ Starman (2012 Remaster) – David Bowie

@panday.ltrbx The problem is always the school system ☝️ #edit #starman #trend #fyp #fouryoupage #superman #davidbowie #school #capcut #comics #fun ♬ son original – panday

Edits and memes also surfaced on other video platforms in 2024, like an edit posted by YouTuber^[10] Pep Edits on February 12th, 2024, gaining over 297,800 views and 88,000 likes in two months (shown below).