Venom Dunking on Spider-Man

About

Venom Dunking on Spider-Man is an exploitable image taken from the 200th issue of Venom #35 (Kael Ngu slam dunk basketball variant) that was initially popularized through the This Pic Goes Hard, Feel Free To Screenshot trend in late 2021. The illustration shows anti-hero Venom dunking on Marvel superhero Spider-Man with a basketball. In mid-2022, the image went viral on TikTok in bait-and-switch memes and skits, similar to Deez Nuts jokes.

Origin

The earliest example of the Venom Dunking On Spider-Man image that can be found was posted on March 4th, 2021, by Twitter user and artist @kaelngu,^[1] who posted Venom dunking on Peter Parker's Spider-Man that received over 4,400 likes and 1,180 retweets in roughly one year (shown below). The illustration was made for Venom #35 issue 200, specifically Kael Ngu's "Spider-Man Basketball Slam Dunk Variant."^[5]

TikTok Bait-and-Switch Trend

On July 1st, 2022, TikToker dxrkvsthewrld^[2] uploaded a meme that used the apparel brand Puma as the setup before posting the Venom Dunking On Spider-Man image. The meme uses the audio clip"_Goodwill Pants Section" by Misery, which became the chosen audio sound for the majority of the memes going forward (shown below).

Spread

The sound and meme format spread quickly on TikTok with others attempting to use it as a revival of bait-and-switch Deez Nuts jokes and seeing who they could get using the same setup but with a different picture as the punchline. Due to the overuse of the meme in early July 2022, many began to get annoyed by the trend, leading to a counter-meme in which people, such as TikToker @ItsKibs,^[3] made responses and skits to the backlash the meme received, earning over 102,000 likes in five days (shown below).

Anti-Meme Variations

As the meme continued spreading on TikTok, many users began creating parodies in clips that build suspense, only to break it with a completely out-of-the-blue statement such as "I fucked your father," reminiscent of the Unexpected John Cena trend. Instead of using it for Deez Nuts jokes, another use of the meme was simply using it as a Mic Drop moment, as can be seen in the TikTok posted on July 4th, 2022, by TikToker iheartjocelyn_^[4] in which the punchline was simply dismissing what the other person in the conversation said (shown below).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References