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What Does 'Say That Again' Meme Mean? The 'Fantastic Four' Reaction GIF Explained
A reaction GIF of young Reed Richards from Fantastic Four slowly turning his head towards The Thing and uttering, "Say that again," has been one of the hottest reaction GIFs around in 2025, but what exactly do people mean when they use it?
Learn where the clip comes from and how is it used in memes in this brief explainer.
Where Does "Say That Again" Meme Come From?
The "Say That Again" meme is a short clip of Marvel Comics character Reed Richards / Mr. Fantastic turning towards Ben Grimm / The Thing and saying the line as if in sudden realization. The clip comes from the 2015 film Fantastic Four, which is not a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with actor Miles Teller portraying superhero scientist Reed Richards, who is rather young in the film.
In the scene, as Reed Richards is trying to come up with a name for their yet nameless superhero team, Ben Grimm comments that the team's journey has been "fantastic," with Richards turning towards him and asking him to repeat what he just said.
The scene imagines how the name "Fantastic Four" was conceived, and also provides quite a solid example of what people have dubbed "Millennial Writing."
- We've come a long way since the garage
- Gotta say, it's fantastic.
- Say that again.
- It's fantastic.
- Yes it is. Guys, I got it! Ready?
What Does "Say That Again" Meme Mean?
Starting in November 2023, the clip has been used as a reaction on X. So how is it used exactly?
Just like in the original scene in the film, in memes, Reed Richard has an a-ha moment upon hearing words that would be a perfect name for something … but unlike the scene, all these names do already exist.
“Woah you just got bit by a spider,man!”Peter Parker: pic.twitter.com/rmBUPFLDLM
— 🇵🇷 𝒥𝒶𝓎 🇵🇷 #FreePalestine🇵🇸 (@Parzival_jay) November 19, 2023
In other words, the Say That Again meme is all about spotting the right word at the right time, recognizing what it could be referencing and making a mental connection.
When used as a reaction image, it serves to alert others that a funny coincidence has just occurred.
David Zaslav’s college roommate: “See? If you roll the poster corner instead of yanking it, it takes the tacks right off”David Zaslav: pic.twitter.com/E0dfxIaxZU
— Siddhant Adlakha (@SiddhantAdlakha) August 18, 2024
What Made "Say That Again" Meme Go Viral?
The GIF first went viral on X / Twitter in November 2023 thanks to this post made by user @momoworld__:
Polka Dot Man: I wanna commit s**cideMiles Teller playing Bloodsport: pic.twitter.com/N1oVzu57Y9
— ramona-mgs∆ era (@momoworld___) November 19, 2023
The clip and a GIF based on it both remained in active use ever since — used both as a reaction and for caption memes.
In February 2025 the GIF drew even more attention when the social media account for Unreal Engine made great use of it, with their post going viral on X.
For the full history of Say That Again, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.
