About

Traumatized Mr. Incredible refers to a series of comparison memes based on two images of Mr. Incredible, one an official art for The Incredibles 2 and the other a "reverse toonified" and black-and-white version of the character that gives him an expression of a man experiencing emotional pain, similar to Withered Wojak. Starting in September 2021, the format was used together with the caption People Who Don't Know / People Who Know in comparison memes.

Origin

On October 15th, 2020, Twitter^[1] user @CitizenPlain tweeted a series of four "reverse toonified" characters from The Incredibles, including a two-panel image of Mr. Incredible's official concept art and its "reverse toonified" version created using StyleGAN network (shown below). The tweet received over 640 retweets and 3,100 likes in one year.

Spread

On November 5th, 2020, Redditor^[2] rugerbe reposted the image to the /r/blursedimages subreddit, where it received over 51,900 upvotes in six months. On November 8th, 2020, Redditor^[3] WaLrUS_4 posted a comparison meme based on the image that gained over 57,200 upvotes in /r/memes in six months (shown below, left).

On November 10th, 2020, Redditor^[4] PARILIZEDpArrOT243 posted a The Teacher's Copy vs. What They Give You meme based on the image, editing the reverse toonified image to look like it was created by improperly using a photocopier. The post gained over 67,900 upvotes in six months (shown below, right).

Prior to June 2021, the image saw limited use in memes, primarily on Reddit. For example, on January 1st, 2021, Redditor^[5] marcandero posted a meme that received over 9,900 upvotes in /r/dankmemes in six months (shown below, left). On March 23rd, 2021, Redditor^[6] slap-that-bass posted a version that gained over 84,000 upvotes in /r/memes (shown below, center). On May 11th, Redditor^[7] PotatoBunny9519 posted a meme that accumulated over 48,400 upvotes prior to being removed (shown below, right).

The format achieved its viral point in late June 2021 after on June 18th Redditor^[8] a_cuppa_java posted a version of the meme that gained over 39,000 upvotes in three months (shown below).

In the following months, the format maintained an active presence on Reddit,^[9][10] also spreading to Twitter.^[11]

People Who Don't Know vs. People Who Know

On September 5th, 2021, Redditor Dapper_Dildo posted a four-panel Table-Kun meme that used the Traumatized Mr. Incredible format, with the panels captioned "People who don't know" and "People Who Know." The post received over 15,400 upvotes in /r/animemes^[12] in two weeks (shown below).

In the following weeks, the captioned format largely replaced the standard version of the format, with users posting memes containing references to various shock content such as shock sites and plot twists from anime, video games and movies. For example, on September 5th, Redditor superJ123456 posted a When They Cry meme that received over 10,200 upvotes in /r/goodanimemes^[13] (shown below, left). Versions in which the captions were switched also saw use. For example, a meme posted by Redditor Iwprecixx on September 9th received over 9,500 upvotes in /r/memes^[14] in two weeks (shown below, center).

Mr. Incredible Becoming Uncanny

On September 27th, 2021, YouTube^[20] user músicos Cínicos 鯉 uploaded video titled "mr incredible becoming unncanny". In the video, it showing photo of Mr. Incredible from the original to the eeriest version of it. The video received more than 470,000 views (shown below).

On December 8th, 2021, TikTok^[15] user @fishystik1a uploaded the clip and added caption "hearing your name called at:", from the normal one, until the creepiest place. The video received more than 60,000 views in ten days (shown below). On December 14th, 2021, Facebook^[16] page Pains of Hell Wellness Clinic reposted the video, it received more than 5,800 reactions and 3,800 shares in four days.

Days later, the format became popular on Facebook. For example on December 14th, 2021, Facebook^[17] user Vici uploaded the Touhou Project variation (originally from Rizuki Noka). The video received 236 reactions and 400 shares (shown below, left). On December 16th, 2021. Facebook^[18] user Gabriel DG Karlsefni reposted the Houseki no Kuni variation. The video received 537 reactions and 682 shares (shown below, right).

On December 19th, 2021, YouTube^[19] user Lessons in Meme Culture uploaded video that explaining the meme. The video received more than 150,000 views in less than one day (shown below).

Mr. Incredible Becoming Ascended

On December 31st, 2021, Redditor insaneliving_ uploaded a reversed version of Mr. Incredible Becoming Uncanny format to /r/MemeTemplatesOfficial.^[21] In the video, 10 increasingly positive (in later stages, grinning and hyped-up) versions of Mr. Incredible follow each other as music progresses from calm melody to heavy metal. The post, titled "Mr Incredible Becomes Ascended," gained over 8,000 upvotes in four days. On the same day, TikTok^[22] user @nobleretat reposted the video, with the post gaining over 2.4 million views and 394,000 likes in four days day (shown below).

In the following days, Mr. Incredible Becoming Ascended memes achieved popularity across all major platforms.

Related Memes

The Teacher's Copy vs. What They Give You

The Teacher's Copy vs. What They Give You, also known as Teacher's Copy vs. Student's Copy, refers to a phrasal template and series of memes that parody the poor quality of copied materials handed out by teachers in schools. The two-panel format utilizes a high-quality image and its cursed black-and-white version that represents the textbook owned by the teacher and poor-quality student copies made from it.

Various Examples

Templates

Search Interest

External References