Are We The Baddies

2006catchphraseclassic

Are We The Baddies is a catchphrase from a 2006 That Mitchell and Webb Look sketch in which two SS officers spot the skull insignia on their caps and question their side. The line took off as a reaction meme in late 2015 and boomed after Brexit and Donald Trump's 2016 election, when people used it to point at their own political camps.

reaction memescatchphrase memespolitical satire memesbritish memesdelayed virality memes

Overview

Are We The Baddies is a line from a That Mitchell and Webb Look sketch in which Robert Webb and David Mitchell play SS officers on a battlefield, and Mitchell's character suddenly notices the death's head on their caps and asks his colleague if they might be the bad guys1. The still of Mitchell in the officer's uniform, delivered with a mild, dawning-realization expression, is what people crop and share.

Online, the format works as a reaction image or copypasta whenever someone in a group, party, fandom, or country stops to wonder whether their own side is the villain of the story2. The gag lands because the officers are decent, chatty, and slow to catch on, so the punchline is about how ordinary self-recognition of wrongdoing feels.

How It Spread

The still began circulating as an exploitable nearly a decade after the sketch aired. An early edit hit Funnyjunk on December 29, 2015, redrawing Mitchell and Webb as First Order stormtroopers from The Force Awakens2. Weeks later, on February 3, 2016, Twitter user @VGFgamers used the picture as a reaction to joining the Brotherhood of Steel in Fallout 4, pulling over 170 retweets and 470 likes2.

Usage jumped after Brexit and Trump's 2016 election win, when British and American users started aiming the line at their own governments and voter bases1. In 2018, The Guardian called the 12-year-old sketch the most fitting clip for the Trump era, arguing that a mood of belated self-recognition matched the politics of the moment1. Popular examples included an /r/comics strip depicting a Trump supporter saying the line, which pulled over 190 upvotes, and a Reddit post pairing the image with a chart of America's shifting allies and enemies that hit over 1,000 points before it was deleted2.

How to Use This Meme

The template typically pairs the cropped still of Mitchell in his SS cap with a short caption where a character or group notices a damning detail about their own side, often the logo, uniform, or list of allies. Common variants swap the SS insignia for stormtrooper armor, corporate mascots, or party symbols, keeping the two-beat rhythm of noticing then asking the question1.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are We The Baddies

2006catchphraseclassic

Are We The Baddies is a catchphrase from a 2006 That Mitchell and Webb Look sketch in which two SS officers spot the skull insignia on their caps and question their side. The line took off as a reaction meme in late 2015 and boomed after Brexit and Donald Trump's 2016 election, when people used it to point at their own political camps.

reaction memes catchphrase memes political satire memes british memes delayed virality memes

Overview

Are We The Baddies is a line from a That Mitchell and Webb Look sketch in which Robert Webb and David Mitchell play SS officers on a battlefield, and Mitchell's character suddenly notices the death's head on their caps and asks his colleague if they might be the bad guys1. The still of Mitchell in the officer's uniform, delivered with a mild, dawning-realization expression, is what people crop and share.

Online, the format works as a reaction image or copypasta whenever someone in a group, party, fandom, or country stops to wonder whether their own side is the villain of the story2. The gag lands because the officers are decent, chatty, and slow to catch on, so the punchline is about how ordinary self-recognition of wrongdoing feels.

How It Spread

The still began circulating as an exploitable nearly a decade after the sketch aired. An early edit hit Funnyjunk on December 29, 2015, redrawing Mitchell and Webb as First Order stormtroopers from The Force Awakens2. Weeks later, on February 3, 2016, Twitter user @VGFgamers used the picture as a reaction to joining the Brotherhood of Steel in Fallout 4, pulling over 170 retweets and 470 likes2.

Usage jumped after Brexit and Trump's 2016 election win, when British and American users started aiming the line at their own governments and voter bases1. In 2018, The Guardian called the 12-year-old sketch the most fitting clip for the Trump era, arguing that a mood of belated self-recognition matched the politics of the moment1. Popular examples included an /r/comics strip depicting a Trump supporter saying the line, which pulled over 190 upvotes, and a Reddit post pairing the image with a chart of America's shifting allies and enemies that hit over 1,000 points before it was deleted2.

How to Use This Meme

The template typically pairs the cropped still of Mitchell in his SS cap with a short caption where a character or group notices a damning detail about their own side, often the logo, uniform, or list of allies. Common variants swap the SS insignia for stormtrooper armor, corporate mascots, or party symbols, keeping the two-beat rhythm of noticing then asking the question1.

Frequently Asked Questions