“New Guy” has become the first major meme of the decade after internet users banded together and transformed him from a straw-man into a wholesome symbol.
The character first appeared in a controversial December 8, 2019 webcomic, created by Mallorie Jessica Udischas, aka sweetbeans99. The comic featured a purple-haired character laughing about “that millionaire gamer-bro douchebag” getting robbed – a likely reference to YouTuber PewDiePie getting robbed on December 2, 2019.
New Guy responds to the mean purple-haired character by saying: “Hey. How’d you like it if you were robbed?” The purple-haired character then sarcastically remarks: “Oh wow, I can tell we’re gonna be the kind of co-workers who become good friends.”
The webcomic then finishes with New Guy exclaiming, “Wow really?” before the purple-haired character says: “Hell no.”
This original webcomic drew criticism from many who believe the author was celebrating PewDiePie’s misfortune and somehow mocking those who said it was wrong that he was robbed.
However, that criticism quickly transformed into a viral meme movement driven by those who sympathize with the New Guy character and saw him as the rightful protagonist of the comic and want to spread his wholesome message.
Now various artists and meme makers are creating New Guy inspired works on social media which emphasize spreading love and kindness. These memes are proving to be a huge hit and getting thousands of likes and retweets on Twitter.
“We’ve already found a contender for meme of the year ?,” said game developer George Alexopoulos.
Other Twitter users are celebrating that New Guy is being used to share kindness and love with others and to “Meme for good, not evil.”
https://twitter.com/lythnoraxs/status/1212741668736139265
https://twitter.com/randopantsdraws/status/1212689637606674432
Not only has New Guy quickly become a popular meme but it’s also shown just how powerful memes can be when the internet comes together in order to spread a positive message.
