What Is The 'Laser Eyes Meme' And How Did It Become Prevalent In Meme Culture? The Meaning Behind 'Glowing Eyes' Edits Explained

In the online space, there's been a growing trend year over year of people photoshopping images with Laser Eyes onto portraits of people. Over time, the meaning and severity of the Photoshop edits have increased, leading to a mixed message of what's going on.

While the trend and visual effect were more sporadic initially, the edits have become increasingly used in political memes thanks to notable memes like DarkMAGA and Dark Brandon — two prominent examples that often make use of brightly glowing red eyes.

Still not quite sure what's going on and how these bizarre laser eyes became so widespread online? We've got you covered in this explainer on the history, meaning and evolution behind the trend.

Where Did 'Laser Eyes' Come From?

The first usage of glowing eyes, which later became the basis of laser eye edits, came from the popular video game series Mass Effect in which (during the events of Mass Effect 2) a character being taken over by the antagonist would have their eyes glow. This, combined with the phrase "assuming direct control" would go on to associate the eye glow with being powered up.

Usage In Memes

Over time, the glowing eyes effect became less attached to Mass Effect and became more of a visual element, meant to enhance an image by multiplying the emotion felt.

This was perhaps most notably done with the "Skeleton Rocking Chair" format, which became a meme itself after commonly being used in memes referencing the lyrics "Wake Me Up Inside" and "Can't Wake Up" from the 2003 alternative rock song "Bring Me To Life" by Evanescence.

The laser eyes were also a big part of the meme I Am Growing Stronger in 2014, which featured Kent Brantley, an American doctor who had contracted Ebola in Africa. At the time, media outlets simply posting his quote, "I am getting stronger," with the headline about Ebola quickly led to edits of him having glowing eyes as if the Ebola powered him up.

In the following years, the effect was then incorporated into well-known memes such as Gordon Ramsay's Lamb Sauce, Whomst and Begone, Thot, among others, which all helped to establish it as a common edit used in memes to evoke exaggerated feelings.

Usage In Political Memes

Starting after the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election, it became commonplace to photoshop figures on the conservative side, specifically those who were seen as anti-establishment, with laser eyes. This coincided with a rise in "based" culture, with Donald Trump being a popular choice for such edits.

Emergence of DarkMaga and Dark Brandon

Following the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election, a push online began with more laser eye edits, creating the DarkMAGA trend. This, depicting a more cyberpunk aesthetic, was quickly countered by Dark Brandon, which attempted to do the same with Joe Biden.

Thanks to these two prominent evolutions in the glowing eyes effect, the trend became much more widespread in political memes, especially with Biden and Trump in the early 2020s.

Laser Eyes Until $100k

Starting in 2021, as part of the cryptocurrency Bitcoin trying to rise in price to reach $100,000, a trend began among Bitcoin enthusiasts photoshopping the laser eyes on themselves while using the hashtag "#LaserRayUntil100k." During this time, Bitcoin did not reach 100k, capping at just below 80k before falling again.

However, there are still some who continue to use the laser eyes in their profile pictures online, many of whom associate heavily with the crypto community.

Red Filter and Lazer Eyes Twitter / X Trend

More recently, the laser eyes effect has been combined with a red filter and edited into the profile pictures (or PFPs) of many on Twitter / X, including high-profile individuals like Elon Musk. While the exact reason for this is somewhat debated, some have presumed the association is tied to users on X who are both proponents of the crypto community (similar to its 2020 usage) and Donald Trump's 2024 presidential campaign, mainly due to the perception that Trump is less in favor of crypto regulation.

Aside from Musk, other notable figures who've recently adopted the PFP effect include businessman Marc Andreessen, Ryan Selkis (the founder of the crypto research firm Messari) and many notable crypto-oriented X accounts.

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For the full history of Laser Eyes, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's entry for even more information.