Where Does The 'I Think We're Gonna Have To Kill This Guy, Steven' Meme Come From? The Viral Redraw Trend Explained

A popular redraw meme that first went viral earlier this year is experiencing a second wind right now on sites like X (Twitter) and Tumblr. The meme has users redrawing a panel from a parody Steven Universe webcomic and replacing the original characters with their comfort characters. But who drew the original "I think we're gonna have to kill this guy, Steven" comic and how did it go viral? Here's what you need to know.

What Is The 'I Think We're Gonna Have To Kill This Guy, Steven' Meme?

Back in April, the Haus of Decline X page posted a webcomic where Steven from the cartoon Steven Universe tries to convince Adolf Hitler to change his controversial opinions. Steven Universe is known for attempting to approach villains in a non-violent manner and only resorting to more violent methods if those efforts fail. In the comic, Hitler is not convinced by Steven's speech and Garnet tells him, "I think we're gonna have to kill this guy, Steven."

The comic proved popular and gained viral spread over the following weeks. By May, it started inspiring redraws that replaced Steven, Garnet and Hitler with characters from other fandoms to comedically alter the context.

How Is 'I Think We're Gonna Have To Kill This Guy, Steven' Used In Memes?

The panel has inspired a lot of redraws throughout the year, imagining characters from pretty much every movie, video game or TV show possible in the roles of Steven, Garnet and Hitler. The meme was at its most popular throughout the first half of the year and slowed down a bit after May.

Now, it's experiencing a second wind after an artist on X posted a redraw of the panel, writing the caption, "if you're sad this is a sign to draw your two biggest comfort characters as the Steven meme." The post went viral and breathed new life into the format, inspiring users across X and Tumblr to join in on the trend and draw their own versions of the panel featuring their comfort characters, leading to some bizarre and hilarious versions of the meme.

For the full history of "I think we're gonna have to kill this guy, Steven," be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.