Meaning
What does These are Confusing Times mean?
These are confusing times refers to a popular quote from Avengers: Endgame, uttered by Hulk.
Online, the line has been used as a reaction image macro to express confusion, similar to Confused Nick Young image macros.
Origin
What's the origin of These are Confusing Times?
Avengers: Endgame premiered in the United States on April 22nd, 2019.
In one of the scenes, Hulk, normally Bruce Banner (played by Mark Ruffalo) is seen explaining that he merged his two distinct alter-egos, leading to a sentient, rational Hulk.
He then comments to this transition with “These are confusing times”.
Although the first image macro that was created from the scene is not known, an early example can be linked to a Reddit post shared by u/thejazz97 on May 3rd, 2019, in the r/MemeEconomy sub.
Spread & Usage
How did These are Confusing Times spread?
Within the following weeks, the “These are confusing times” memes spread to numerous other subreddits, including r/memes and r/thanosdidnothingwrong.
The quote also became a frequently referenced line all across the web and by August 2019, the meme surged in popularity, appearing on sites like Reddit, Instagram, Twitter and 9GAG.
External resources
- Screenrant.com – Avengers: Endgame’s “These Are Confusing Times” Hulk Meme Explained
- Reddit.com – r/memes/