Meaning
What does Me and the boys mean?
The phrase Me and the boys refers to an image macro/meme which is used when talking about various activities, performed with friends.
Originally it was used on social media sites like Twitter as a hashtag and non-ironic caption, but in early 2019 it gained a huge boost in popularity, thanks to websites like Reddit, Instagram and 9GAG where the pictures from the 60’s Spiderman cartoon villains and their variations made it famous around the internet.
Origin
What's the origin of Me and the boys?
The 1967 Spiderman cartoon series has spawned a multitude of memes in the early 2010’s already, making it a tradition to reach back to the classic for image macro content.
It is from this TV show, that the image depicting four villains with malicious smiles originates from, which appeared in Episode 19, titled “To Catch a Spider / Double Identity”.
The phrase/meme “Me and the boys” was already used a few years before its popularity on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, but people nowadays associate it with characters and pictures from the 60’s Spiderman cartoon.
Despite this, a variety of precursor memes on Reddit have already been using the phrasal template on image macros since 2018, referencing Minecraft as well as Jimmy Neutron and many other popular meme subjects.
“Me and the boys” was first used on the iconic villain image macro on May 25th, 2019, by Reddit user u/cobe1712.
Spread & Usage
How did Me and the boys spread?
“Me and the boys” had rapidly spread across subreddits and 4chan boards, as well as sites like Facebook, 9GAG and Instagram, used as a reaction image macro.
The format proved so successful in 2020, that it also spawned a wide array of other memes, such as the Me and the Boys Looking for Beans, which merges the titular meme with the Beans meme.
Alternatively, the “Me and the boys” template also became a popular meme on YouTube, appearing in parodies and YouTubePoop videos, as well as meme compilations.
The meme still remains a popular format as of 2022, making it one of the longest lived memes.
External resources
- Know Your Meme – Me and the Boys