I have been the Shang-Chi in the room. Thanksgiving, two uncles fighting over who gets to be called Big Mike, and me holding a plate of stuffing and staring at a wall like it owed me money. So I understood these avengers doomsday memes on a cellular level before I even knew the plot.
Here is what happened. In Marvel’s new Avengers: Doomsday TV spot, Ant-Man says “Right, Cap?” in a room that holds Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson, the guy who actually carries the shield now. Scott tries to fix it, John Walker reminds everyone he had the job for a minute too, and Scott lands on “Captains America.” On October 26, Simu Liu posted a still of the moment with nothing but an eyes emoji.
Is Shang-Chi Just Trying to Leave?
Look at his face. That is the face of a man who survived a dragon, a secret cult and his own father, and who now has to stand very still while three grown men work out a job title. Fans clocked it right away, and the “he tryna ignore it” version from @shangchxi went up three minutes after Liu’s post with a wall of crying emojis that says everything I could.
The best take is the sympathetic one. He finally gets called up to the Avengers, the big leagues, and his first day is a naming dispute. I got my first real job and spent day one listening to two managers argue about whose stapler it was, so I feel this one in my chest.
Who Gave the Avengers Memes Googly Eyes?
Then the editors showed up. One version put giant cartoon eyes on all three faces, which somehow makes Sam look even more betrayed. Another gave Shang-Chi a hand behind Sam’s head, throwing up bunny ears at the worst possible moment, and labeled it nothing out of the ordinary.
Those two edits are the purest Avengers Doomsday funny stuff in the whole pile, because they need zero Marvel homework. You do not have to know who John Walker is to know that guy is about to get in trouble.
How Many Captain Americas Is Too Many?
Under the jokes, there is a real fight. The clip spread through DiscussingFilm, and plenty of fans read Ant-Man’s slip as Marvel undercutting Sam Wilson as Captain America again. Others pushed back hard, saying Sam has had every chance and audiences just did not show up.
The defense of Scott is honestly my favorite part. He met Steve as a fanboy, he has called him Cap for years, and he corrected himself immediately, which is more than I do when I call my girlfriend by my ex’s dog’s name. Then there are the optimists, who think Doomsday is the place to settle it once and for all when it hits theaters December 18.
Shang-Chi already fought the Ten Rings, and the Captain America naming committee might be the thing that finally breaks him.
Still not ready to leave the multiverse? Avengers Doomsday Memes: 40 Reactions to the Cast Reveal shows where all this started, Diane Morgan VisionQuest Memes Turned Marvel Into a Cunk Documentary is the funniest Marvel thing this month, and 45 Marvel Memes That Are Perfectly Balanced handles the rest.
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Phil co-founded Thunder Dungeon with Roy in 2012 and has been a meme tastemaker ever since, helping turn a page of funny finds into viral photo and video creations, one of the largest meme community apps and a daily home for memes. He's more than memes, too: Phil is an award-winning comedic actor and director whose feature films are on streaming platforms.
