What Is The 'Spider-Man Pointing At Spider-Man' Meme? The Origins Of The Classic Image Explained

An image of an old-timey Spider-Man pointing at a copy of himself has been used on the internet to symbolize everything from hypocrisy to comradery. The recent resurgence in interest in all things Spidey-related, thanks to Marvel's Spider-Man and the animated Spider-Verse films.

Here's where the image of Spider-Man Pointing At Spider-Man comes from, and how it has been used on the internet over the years.

Where Does The Image Of 'Spider-Man Pointing At Spider-Man' Come From?

The early 2010s saw a rise in popularity of images taken from the animated 1960s Spider-Man television show. Some popular memes from that era include Peter Parker Reading A Book and 60's Spider-Man Rhino. But no meme from the cartoon surpassed the popularity of "Spider-Man Pointing At Spider-Man."

The image shows two Spider-Men standing in front of a police van and pointing at each other, as if to say, "Gotcha!" or "You!" For most of the early 2010s, the image was used in image macro style memes or simply as a humorous self-serving image, but by the mid-2010s, internet users began to get creative with it.

How Did 'Spider-Man Pointing At Spider-Man' Become A Viral Meme?

Around the year 2016, internet users began to use the image of Spider-Man pointing as a way to signify catching someone copying them, or as a way to point out hypocrisy.

What Was The 'Spider-Man Pointing' Meme Referenced In?

Recent Spidey media has made it a point to reference the iconic meme, first during the promotion of Tom Holland's No Way Home, where three different actors who played Spider-Man posed together to recreate the meme. Toby Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and Tom Holland all starred in a multi-verse-themed Spider-Man movie in 2022.

of course, we got THE meme. #SpiderManNoWayHome swings home on Digital March 22 and on 4K UHD & Blu-ray on April 12!

Pre-order now: https://t.co/Rythp0WfkU pic.twitter.com/pOmV6y3lJr

— Spider-Man: No Way Home (@SpiderManMovie) February 23, 2022

More recently, the animated Spider-Man Across The Spider-Verse film saw the meme being referenced on an even wider scale, with hundreds of Spider-Men pointing at each other after being given the vague directive to "stop Spider-Man."

For the full history of the Spider-Man Pointing At Spider-Man meme, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.