Is This Your King — Killmonger in signature shirtless battle stance with intense expression and aggressive hand gesture.

Is This Your King

2018Snowclone / image macrosemi-active

Published March 31, 2026

"Is This Your King?" is a snowclone meme based on a line shouted by the villain Killmonger during a fight scene in the 2018 Marvel film *Black Panther*. The format took off on Twitter in March 2018, with users swapping out "king" for other nouns to mock disappointing or underwhelming things. It became one of the breakout meme formats tied to the film's massive cultural moment.

black panther memes snowclone memes movie quote memes sarcasm memes

Overview

The meme uses a screenshot of Erik Killmonger (played by Michael B. Jordan) from *Black Panther*, mid-shout during a dramatic confrontation with T'Challa. In the film, Killmonger yells "Is this your king?" to undermine T'Challa's authority in front of the Wakandan people3. The screenshot captures Killmonger's intense, mocking expression, which makes it a perfect reaction image for calling something out as a letdown.

The format works as a phrasal template. Users replace "king" with whatever they want to roast: a paycheck, a sports team, a weather forecast, a meal. The punchline lands because Killmonger's delivery drips with contempt, making even mundane complaints feel dramatic1.

Origin & Background

Platform
Twitter
Creator
@TheyWant_Nolan
Date
2018

The line first appeared in a trailer for *Black Panther*, which hit theaters in February 20181. On March 20, 2018, Twitter user @TheyWant_Nolan posted a screenshot of the Killmonger scene with the caption "Is this your spring?!?!?" The tweet was a jab at disappointing spring weather, and it blew up fast, pulling in more than 20,000 retweets and 41,400 likes within two days1.

How It Spread

The format spread rapidly across Twitter in the days after @TheyWant_Nolan's post. Users grabbed the Killmonger screenshot and plugged in their own targets. Twitter user @VizyLarence posted "Bills: Is this your paycheck?" which racked up over 24,000 retweets and 36,000 likes in just 24 hours1. The template was simple enough that anyone could use it, and the *Black Panther* hype gave it extra momentum.

On March 27, 2018, the Daily Dot covered the meme's spread across the platform3. Their article highlighted a tweet by @Phil_Lewis_ featuring a cat dressed up as Killmonger, showing the format had already moved beyond straightforward text jokes and into photo edits1. The meme thrived during late March 2018 as one of several *Black Panther*-inspired formats circulating on Black Twitter.

How to Use This Meme

The format follows a simple pattern:

1

Take the Killmonger screenshot from *Black Panther* (arms outstretched, face twisted in mocking disbelief).

2

Write a caption using the structure "Is this your [noun]?" where the noun is something disappointing or underwhelming.

3

Common targets include paychecks, weather, sports teams, meals, or anything that fails to live up to expectations.

Cultural Impact

"Is This Your King?" rode the wave of *Black Panther*'s cultural impact in early 2018. The film was a landmark release for Marvel and for Black representation in blockbuster cinema, which meant its dialogue, characters, and imagery were all being turned into memes at a rapid pace. Killmonger proved especially meme-friendly because Michael B. Jordan's performance was both intense and quotable. The "Is This Your King?" format was covered by outlets like the Daily Dot within a week of going viral3.

Fun Facts

The original viral tweet by @TheyWant_Nolan was about bad spring weather, not anything related to the film's plot1.

@VizyLarence's "Bills: Is this your paycheck?" variation nearly matched the original tweet's engagement within a single day1.

The meme format is a textbook snowclone, where one word in a fixed phrase gets swapped out to create new jokes.

Derivatives & Variations

Cat Killmonger:

A photo of a cat dressed up as Killmonger circulated during the meme's peak, shared by @Phil_Lewis_ and featured in Daily Dot's coverage of the trend[1].

General snowclone use:

The phrase detached from the original screenshot over time, with users applying "Is this your [X]?" as a standalone caption format on unrelated images[1].

Frequently Asked Questions