They Shrank His Shoulders Made Him Look Soft

2020Copypasta / image macro / before-and-after comparisonsemi-active

Published March 31, 2026

Also known as: Shrank His Shoulders · Made Him Look Soft

"They Shrank His Shoulders, Made Him Look Soft" is a copypasta and meme format that originated from a Reddit post criticizing the character model of Joel in *The Last of Us Part II*. Posted on May 28, 2020, the original complaint about Joel's supposedly diminished physique was quickly turned into a joke, spawning hundreds of parody "before and after" comparison images on r/Gamingcirclejerk and beyond1.

character design memesgamingtwo panel memescopypasta memes

Overview

The meme follows a simple two-panel format: a "before" image of a character, person, or object looking tough or imposing is placed next to an "after" image where the same subject appears softer, smaller, or less intimidating. The caption reads some variation of "They shrank his shoulders, made him look soft." The humor comes from applying this hyper-specific gamer grievance to absurd, unrelated comparisons where the "softening" is either wildly exaggerated or completely nonsensical1.

The format works as a satire of a specific strain of gamer outrage culture, where minor character design changes in video game sequels get treated as deliberate attacks on masculinity1.

Origin & Background

Platform
Reddit (r/TheLastOfUs2 original post, r/Gamingcirclejerk viral spread)
Key People
u/thisuseriswaiting, u/Sons-of-N7
Date
2020

On May 28, 2020, Reddit user thisuseriswaiting posted a side-by-side comparison of Joel as he appears in the 2013 game *The Last of Us* and his updated model in the 2020 sequel *The Last of Us Part II*2. The post, made to r/TheLastOfUs2 subreddit, carried the caption: "That's weird. They shrank his shoulders, made him look soft.." The implication was that developer Naughty Dog had deliberately weakened Joel's appearance, a complaint that fit into a broader wave of backlash against the sequel from certain corners of the gaming community1.

The post received 76 upvotes in its original subreddit2. That same day, Reddit user Sons-of-N7 crossposted it to r/Gamingcirclejerk, a subreddit dedicated to mocking gaming community overreactions. The crosspost blew up, pulling in over 17,000 upvotes within a month2.

How It Spread

The mockery started almost immediately. On May 28, 2020, the same day as the original post, Reddit user Wehdeo created the first known parody in r/Gamingcirclejerk. It used the same before-and-after format but applied it to Leon Kennedy's character models from *Resident Evil 2* (1998) versus its 2019 remake, earning over 7,200 upvotes in one month2.

The next day, May 29, user PowerfulCoward escalated the joke further by comparing Marvel's War Machine to actor Don Cheadle, who plays the character. That post pulled 15,700+ upvotes2. On June 11, SuperTeddyRoosevelt applied the format to the PlayStation 5 console itself, comparing it unfavorably to... itself. That version hit over 19,100 upvotes in two weeks, making it one of the most popular entries2.

The meme spread primarily through r/Gamingcirclejerk but also appeared in other circlejerk-style subreddits2. eBaum's World covered the trend, framing it as a case study in gamer overreaction, describing the imagined scenario of someone raging about their "favorite Male character" getting "a new shirt and sunken shoulders"1.

The format's appeal was its flexibility. Anything with two images could be compared: video game characters, real people, animals, inanimate objects. The punchline always landed the same way, mocking the idea that slightly different proportions constituted some kind of cultural attack1.

How to Use This Meme

The format typically follows this pattern:

1

Pick any two images of the same subject where the second looks slightly different, smaller, or "softer" than the first. The more ridiculous the comparison, the better.

2

Label the first image as the original or earlier version.

3

Label the second image as the "updated" or later version.

4

Caption the whole thing with some variation of "They shrank his shoulders, made him look soft" or adapt the phrasing to fit your subject.

Cultural Impact

The meme captured a specific moment in gaming culture during the lead-up to *The Last of Us Part II*'s June 2020 release. The game had already been a lightning rod for controversy due to leaked plot details, and complaints about Joel's character model fit into a larger pattern of backlash that critics saw as rooted in culture war anxieties rather than genuine design critique1.

eBaum's World described the original post as representative of gamers who believed "the SJW's have come for our video games," treating a minor character model update as evidence of a broader political agenda1. The meme's rapid adoption as a joke format effectively neutralized the original complaint by turning it into a punchline.

The format also served as a template for broader mockery of "they changed it, now it's bad" arguments across gaming, film, and media fandoms.

Fun Facts

The original complaint compared Joel across a five-year in-game timeline. Joel is canonically older in the sequel, making the "softer" appearance a deliberate character design choice, not a political statement2.

The r/Gamingcirclejerk crosspost got over 200 times more upvotes than the original sincere complaint2.

The three biggest parody posts (War Machine, PS5, Resident Evil 2) all outperformed the original post by at least 100x in upvote count2.

eBaum's World openly admitted their writer had never played either Last of Us game but still found the gamer outrage worth covering1.

Derivatives & Variations

Console comparison edits:

Users applied the format to gaming hardware, with the PS5 version earning 19,100+ upvotes[2].

Actor-to-character comparisons:

The Don Cheadle/War Machine version flipped the format by comparing a real person to their fictional counterpart[2].

Cross-game comparisons:

The original parody by Wehdeo compared *Resident Evil 2* character models across a 21-year gap between the original and the remake[2].

Non-gaming applications:

The format spread to circlejerk subreddits outside gaming, applying the "made him look soft" complaint to subjects completely unrelated to video games[2].

Frequently Asked Questions