Meaning
What does Careful He’s a Hero mean?
Careful He’s a Hero, also known as Carefully, He’s a Hero refers to a popular reaction image macro meme, taken from a scene in the 2004 Spider-Man 2.
The image is now a popular template used to recognize people who have done something commendable, no matter how small or humorous the deed may be. It’s a fun and lighthearted way to acknowledge someone’s good nature and give them a virtual pat on the back, appearing both on GIFs and image macros.
Although the line is always shown as the captions to the Spider-Man 2 scene, the quote never actually appeared in the movie.
Origin
What's the origin of Careful He’s a Hero?
The origins of the meme can be traced back to a scene from the 2004 movie Spider-Man 2.
In this scene, Spider-Man (portrayed by Tobey Maguire, notorious for the Bully Maguire memes) stops a runaway train with his webs, but he passes out from exhaustion after doing so. The passengers he saved then carry him over their heads, silently.
An isolated clip of the scene was uploaded to YouTube by Movieclips on December 8th, 2016.
The first instance, where the “Careful He’s a Hero” line was captioned on an image macro of the scene was uploaded to the r/dankmemes subreddit by furrutia29 on September 7th, 2017.
Spread & Usage
How did Careful He’s a Hero spread?
“Careful He’s a Hero” would soon turn into a viral meme on Reddit, appearing in a wide variety of subs, including r/memes and r/gaming.
GIFs and image macros of the scene appeared in the following years on a large scale, with news headlines and article snippets occasionally appearing along with the template.
The phrase became widely used to describe someone who has done something heroic or impressive. It’s a testament to the lasting impact that Spider-Man has had on pop culture, and the creative ways in which fans have found to express their appreciation for the character.
