What is Stand Back, I Am Beginning to Morb!?

It is a fan art trend in which Jared Leto's Michael Morbius character warns nearby characters or the viewer that he is about to "morb," a nonsense verb carried over from the "It's Morbin Time" Morbius meme cycle.

Where did Stand Back, I Am Beginning to Morb! come from?

It started on May 19, 2022, when Twitter user @iinogang posted edited Chainsaw Man manga pages with a spliced-in Morbius panel that read, "Stand back! I am beginning to morb!".

How do you use Stand Back, I Am Beginning to Morb!?

Artists draw or photoshop Morbius addressing another character, often inside a parody of an existing manga or comic panel, with the catchphrase in a speech bubble.

Is Stand Back, I Am Beginning to Morb! still popular?

The trend had its biggest run in late May 2022 alongside the wider Morbius meme cycle, with @xyanaid's and @KAI_SHMUPER's early fan art each clearing tens of thousands of likes in four days.

Stand Back, I Am Beginning to Morb!

Q: What does Stand Back, I Am Beginning to Morb! mean?

The phrase is a joke warning, with "morb" used as a fake verb for whatever Michael Morbius does when he transforms into a vampire in the 2022 Morbius film.

2022catchphrasedeclining

Published November 14, 2026

"Stand Back, I Am Beginning to Morb!" is a fan art trend featuring Jared Leto's Michael Morbius from the 2022 film Morbius, where he warns bystanders of an impending "morb" transformation. It started in late May 2022 with a Twitter post of edited Chainsaw Man manga pages in which Denji and Makima attend a Morbius screening and a spliced-in panel delivers the catchphrase. By May 22, Twitter artists were drawing their own versions of Morbius crouched and ready to morb.

fan art memes catchphrase memes marvel ironic memes dialogue edit memes

Overview

Across the fan art, "morb" stands in as a fake verb for whatever Michael Morbius does when he turns into a vampire, borrowing from the "It's Morbin Time" cycle of ironic Morbius jokes7. Each image typically shows Morbius in a dramatic pose, warning nearby characters or the viewer to clear a safe perimeter before he starts to morb. Some artists keep the delivery earnest while others lean into absurdity, with Morbius addressing anime protagonists, random bystanders or the audience directly5.

A common convention places the catchphrase in a speech bubble styled to match the source media being parodied, whether a manga panel, a comic cover or a screenshot6. The original Chainsaw Man edit set the template: a straightforward cutaway to Morbius mid-sentence, interrupting another scene to announce that he is about to morb1.

Gallery

Origin & Background

Platform

Twitter (origin edit) / Tumblr, Reddit (viral spread)

Date

2022

On May 19, 2022, Twitter user @iinogang posted four Chainsaw Man manga pages in which Denji and Makima go to a movie, three of which were edited to depict them watching Morbius1. One panel on the first page was replaced with a stylized frame of Michael Morbius in a vampire pose, with a dialogue bubble reading, "Stand back! I am beginning to morb!" The original artist behind that edited panel is unknown7. A day later, on May 20, Twitter user @LydonCarlile posted a companion page from the same set, and the two posts together collected roughly 5,700 retweets and 29,400 likes within a week2.

How It Spread

Tumblr user arcshikisaybah reposted the edited manga pages on May 21, 2022, and that post gathered over 20,000 likes and reblogs within five days3. The next day, Redditor plotarmor12 cross-posted the first edited page to r/ChainsawMan, where it topped 2,500 upvotes before moderators removed it4.

Also on May 22, Twitter user @xyanaid posted one of the earliest derivative drawings, with Morbius addressing the viewer, which collected roughly 6,400 retweets and 41,700 likes in four days5. Twitter user @KAI_SHMUPER posted a parallel derivative that same day, reaching about 4,100 retweets and 19,900 likes over four days6. @xyanaid's piece in particular circulated as a reusable template through late May, inspiring more "morb" warnings from Morbius across different fandoms7.

Timeline

2022-05-19

Twitter user @iinogang posts four Chainsaw Man manga pages, three edited to show Denji and Makima watching Morbius, with a spliced-in panel where Morbius says, "Stand back! I am beginning to morb!"

2022-05-20

Twitter user @LydonCarlile posts a companion page from the same Chainsaw Man edit set.

2022-05-21

Tumblr user arcshikisaybah reposts the edited pages, reaching over 20,000 likes and reblogs in five days.

2022-05-22

Redditor plotarmor12 cross-posts the first edited page to r/ChainsawMan, topping 2,500 upvotes before removal.

2022-05-22

Twitter users @KAI_SHMUPER and @xyanaid post the two earliest known derivative fan art pieces of Morbius delivering the catchphrase.

2022-05-26

@xyanaid's drawing circulates as a reusable meme template, with more derivative fan art appearing across Twitter.

How to Use This Meme

To make a Stand Back, I Am Beginning to Morb! post, artists typically draw Michael Morbius in a dramatic crouched pose addressing nearby characters or the audience, with a speech bubble telling them to back up before he begins to morb. The template often includes a parody of an existing media frame, such as a manga panel or comic cover, though plain original drawings are also common5.