# Are We The Baddies 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. ## 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 guys[1]. 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 story[2]. 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 Awakens[2]. 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 likes[2]. 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 bases[1]. 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 moment[1]. 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 deleted[2]. ## How to Use 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 question[1]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Are We The Baddies? A catchphrase and reaction image from a That Mitchell and Webb Look sketch in which two SS officers realize their side might be the villains[1]. ### Where did Are We The Baddies come from? It comes from the first episode of That Mitchell and Webb Look, which aired on BBC Two on September 14, 2006[2]. ### What does Are We The Baddies mean? It signals self-recognition that your own team, party, or group might actually be in the wrong[1]. ### How do you use Are We The Baddies? Pair the still of David Mitchell as the officer with a caption where someone spots a compromising sign, uniform, or ally about their own side[2]. ### Is Are We The Baddies still popular? The line saw a strong resurgence during the Brexit and Trump years, and The Guardian argued in 2018 it was the defining clip of that era[1]. ## References 1. [https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jun/30/trump-era-mitchell-webb-are-we-the-baddies]() 2. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/are-we-the-baddies]() 3. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h242eDB84zY]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/are-we-the-baddies Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library