About

Squirrel Waving Bye In Tornado, also known as Superman Tornado Squirrel or Man of Steel Squirrel Getting Sucked Into Storm, is a viral reaction image and GIF depicting an edit of the "Jonathan's Sacrifice Scene" from the 2013 DC Comics Superman film Man of Steel (the same one used in the Stop, My Invincible Son meme), in which a squirrel is edited in place of Superman's father figure, Jonathan (played by actor Kevin Costner). The meme shows the squirrel holding up its hand before being ripped away into the tornado.

Initially, the meme began as a still image swapping Jonathan with the squirrel in mid-2025, with edits over the following months animating the scene to show the squirrel slowly raising its hand before being whisked away into the storm. In late 2026, the meme saw a resurgence online, particularly on X / Twitter, as people used it in GIF caption memes to show someone accepting defeat and being "cooked."

The edit is a direct reference to the James Gunn 2025 Superman movie, which included a viral scene in which Superman saves a squirrel. The edit contrasts the depiction of Zack Snyder's Superman in Man of Steel, who did not use his powers to save Jonathan from the tornado, while Gunn's Superman is shown saving a random squirrel.

Origin

The original scene referenced in the meme takes place in the 2013 Man of Steel movie, with Jonathan (Kevin Costner) and Clark Kent (Henry Cavill) arguing about him using his powers while a tornado approaches. The car in which the Kents are riding then gets stuck on a highway, which is about to be engulfed by the tornado.

As the Kents help other people escape and get out of danger, they realize they have left the family dog, Hank, in the car. Jonathan goes to Hank's rescue, but after saving him, his leg gets injured, and he is unable to escape the storm. In his final moments, Jonathan waves Clark not to save him, as it would have revealed his superpowers to the people around him.

The other scene referenced in the meme comes from the 2025 Superman film during a part in which Superman (David Corenswet) saves a squirrel about to be crushed by a giant alien, which garnered significant press at the time of the movie's release.^[1]

The earliest known edit swapping Jonathan out for the squirrel in his sacrifice scene was posted on July 21st, 2025, 10 days after the movie's release, to the /r/DCU_^[2] subreddit as a comment with the caption, "No, Clark. Let me die." The post received nearly 40 upvotes in a year.

That same day, Instagram^[3] user hackyandbird posted a similar meme using the same image of the squirrel, garnering over 78,800 likes and 630 comments in a year.

On July 22nd, 2025, X / Twitter^[4] user billythebutcher then used the image in a viral meme, captioning it, "Superman 2025, if directed by Zack Snyder," and receiving over 4.9 million views and 126,000 likes in a year.

On July 26th, 2025, TikTok user notteeenham then turned the meme into a short, simple animation showing the squirrel being sucked into the storm as Henry Cavill's Superman mourns his death, garnering over 730 likes and 10 comments in a year.

The edit primarily used in later memes of the squirrel waving goodbye with its arm slowly lowering then appeared in the following days, with TikTok^[5] user alchemicalphoenix posting one of the earliest examples on August 5th, 2025, using a similar caption about if Zack Snyder directed the 2025 film, receiving over 1,450 likes and 10 comments in a year.

Spread

The animation and meme of the squirrel waving goodbye or holding its hand up to stop Superman continued to spread into 2026 as it became the source for GIF captions and other edits.

For example, on April 28th, 2026, TikToker^[6] ratdrone3 posted an edit that added lightning to Superman's eyes in the original scene, showing him screaming out in pain as he watches the squirrel fly away. The post garnered roughly 4,800 views and 100 likes in five months.

On July 22nd, 2026, TikTok^[7] user g4be2fak used the isolated clip of the squirrel from the edit in a meme about their "hb" getting off after playing games on Roblox for several hours, receiving over 129,400 likes and 690 comments in just over a month.

In late August 2026, the Tornado Squirrel meme saw a significant resurgence online as it was used in memes on X / Twitter, separated from the Superman scene and references.

For instance, on August 25th, Twitter^[8] user girljosefk posted the format captioned with the text, "Me making several mistakes on my first day at my new job," garnering over 1.2 million views, 101,000 likes and 100 replies in a week.

Me making several mistakes on my first day at my new job pic.twitter.com/scnpH12BZs

— meow’dib (@girljosefk) August 26, 2026

On August 29th, 2026, Twitter^[9] user 420masterbop shared an anti-meme using the format, captioned, "me when I'm a squirrel and I'm in a tornado." The post received over 144,300 views and 18,000 likes in three days.

me when im a squirrel and im in a tornado pic.twitter.com/Oy5dwY6iAR

— mad d (@420masterbop) August 29, 2026

Various Examples

Template

Search Interest

External References