A FAMILIAR MEME. A NEW CONTEXT.
A still from the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate reveal at The Game Awards, where a dark figure with a long sword seems to skewer Mario. The joke lies in the contrast: the scene looks brutal, but the blade only caught Mario's overalls.
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A dark, gloomy scene in deep green tones: stone boulders, haze, and the #THEGAMEAWARDS watermark in the upper right corner. On the right stands a tall figure with long hair and a large dark wing, one arm extended and holding a very long, thin sword. Hanging from its tip, on the left, is a silhouette of Mario in his signature cap, legs dangling in the air.
Everything is lit so that the figures read as dark outlines and no facial details are visible. That is why the first reaction is ominous, and the reveal that follows works even better.
The frame comes from a trailer shown on December 10, 2020, at The Game Awards. In it, Sephiroth, the villain of Final Fantasy VII, was announced as an additional fighter for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. In the trailer he seems to be skewering Mario with his sword, but according to descriptions the blade had actually snagged the straps of Mario's overalls, and Mario is unharmed.
Right after the reveal, the image spread on Twitter. One popular post called it the greatest image ever created by a human and gathered thousands of reposts. People joked about the image itself, without waiting for any explanation.
The first driver of the joke is contrast. A serious, almost cinematic staging, in the spirit of a tragic scene, collides with absurdity: Mario is the cheerful hero of Nintendo's arcade classics, and in the frame he hangs limply on a sword. The viewer reads drama and comedy at the same time.
The second driver is the 'sword and victim' template. The winged character on the right can be anyone: someone who pushes, pressures, or delivers bad news. The one on the sword cannot resist. The caption assigns the roles and turns the frame into a mini scene.
Right: 'Deadline'; on the sword: 'Me.' The arrangement says it all: the figure advances, while the one hanging has no say.
Right: 'Utility bill'; on the sword: 'My paycheck.' The strength of this version is that the power is assigned to the bill, not to a person.
Right: 'Friend: I'll only be five minutes'; on the sword: 'My plans for the evening.' The joke is everyday, but the structure is the same.
Right: 'New episode of my favorite show'; on the sword: 'My sleep schedule.' It works through recognition: the situation is familiar to many.
Sephiroth has long been known to Final Fantasy VII fans, so his appearance in a Nintendo fighting game was an event in itself. But the moment was discussed not only because of the character, but because of a visual accident: the sword catches Mario the way a hook catches an item of clothing.
Because of this, the image lives on its own. You don't need to know who the two are: it is enough to see that one is attacking and the other is caught, and then to fill in your own roles.
Captions go directly on the figures, one word or a short phrase each. The figure with the sword is force, pressure, or temptation; the silhouette on the sword is a victim of circumstances. The reverse also works: swap the roles, and the 'victim' becomes the stronger one.
The background is very dark, so light text with an outline reads best. Don't take the joke as a description of the game: in the trailer itself Mario doesn't suffer, and that is part of the humor.
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