About

Lex Luthor's "1A! 1A! 1A!" refers to a GIF and viral video from the 2025 Superman film in which the DC Comics character Lex Luthor (played by actor Nicholas Hoult) directs his evil Superman clone (Ultraman) to fight Superman by saying, "1A! 1A! 1A!" as he calls out attack moves. The low-quality camera rip of the scene first began gaining traction in July 2025, while dubs of the scene in different languages began making the rounds online in subsequent weeks, including a French version in which Luthor seemingly repeats, "EUGH! EUGH!" The "1A! 1A! 1A!" scene has since come to be used as an exploitable in a variety of internet memes.

Origin

On July 15th, 2025, Tenor^[1] user @saladmonkey posted a cam rip GIF of actor Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor saying, "1A! 1A! 1A!" and instructing his clone, named Ultraman, to fight and punch Superman. The post is the earliest known upload of the GIF online.

A clear digital version of the scene began making the rounds in August 2025 after Superman 2025 saw a digital release. YouTuber^[2] Captain Ron Lives reposted the scene on August 16th, gathering over 600,000 likes in two weeks.

On July 14th, TikToker^[3] @kjthedrink posted one of the earliest known memes featuring the "1A! 1A!" scene about rage baiting someone, gathering over 120,000 views and 10,000 likes in two months.

Spread

The meme continued to spread in July and August 2025, with X^[4] user @KeiziTV tweeting a photo of Lex Luthor's "1A! 1A! 1A!" in response to a tweet that read, "It starts with 1 and we all love it." The July 15th, 2025, post gathered over 30,000 likes and 1 million views in two months.

On July 26th, TikToker^[5] @vanaveil posted a Red Circle Perpetrator meme highlighting "1A" on a menu and linking it to Lex Luthor, gathering over 200,000 plays and 40,000 likes in two months.

On August 22nd, 2025, X^[7] user @Murdoink posted a video showing a string of "1A! 1A! 1A!" responses to a post about a My Hero Academia video game, gathering over 24,000 likes and 500,000 views in two weeks.

1A!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! https://t.co/kwpDy9YjZ8 pic.twitter.com/8DpRe3WdFg

— Murdoink (@Murdoink) August 23, 2025

Lex Luthor's "1A! 1A! 1A!" French Dub

On August 23rd, 2025, X^[6] account @OutOfContxtDubs tweeted a video showing the French language dub of the scene, in which Lex Luthor repeats "Un," which sounds like "EUGH." The post gathered over 8 million views and 130,000 likes in two weeks.

Movie: Superman (2025)
Language: French
Country: France pic.twitter.com/2VfEXwOsyp

— Out Of Context International Dubs (@OutOfContxtDubs) August 23, 2025

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References