Fandoms often use memes to lovingly poke fun at their favorite franchises, and Screen Rant is highlighting the best memes of the week. Running the gamut of popular franchises from Spider-Man, Super Mario Bros., Harry Potter, and everything in between, memes have almost become a second language for fan cultures. Memes can serve a host of purposes from poking fun at aspects of movies, shows, and books that don't make sense to simply referencing moments that have become beloved, infamous, or just hilarious. Regardless of their ultimate goal, memes are a helpful way for audiences to show their appreciation for their favorite properties.
Usually steeped heavily in the lore of whatever piece of media is being referenced, memes often range from deep jokes with rich meaning to silly puns to a gag that is only funny because of sheer absurdity. Though the entire point of a meme is for it to be as accessible as possible to the masses, the use of referential humor makes them special for the fans of whatever franchise is in the meme's crosshairs. The circulation of memes also reveals which new franchises and trending, which old ones remain popular online, and what fans really think of popular movies and series.
10 Oscar Isaac And The Multiverse Of Madness
- Source: u/Hdhs1
Sometimes, it's best to start the best memes of the week list with what is essentially a great infographic about one of the biggest actors today. As the meme points out, Oscar Isaac has been seemingly setting up his own multiverse with the number of roles he's landed in recent sci-fi and superhero movies. Indeed, apart from playing three different personalities in Moon Knight, Oscar Isaac was also Duke Leto Atreides in Denis Villeneuve's Dune, the rebel Poe Dameron in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Most recently, Isaac voiced Miguel O'Hara, one of the 56 Spider-Man variants Across the Spider-Verse.
9 Spider-Woman Is No Damsel-In-Distress
- Source: u/therealcharmingSun
Apart from being among the best memes of the week, this is also one of the best Spider-Man memes ever for hijacking an old meme format for modern, woke times. Indeed, the meme stays very close to the spirit of the movie that inspired it: Spider-Man: Across the Universe, which subverts the typical tropes attached to Spider-Man stories. In this case, the meme is referencing how Across the Spider-Verse has a very different love interest for the titular hero compared to the live-action movies. Rather than the classic damsel in distress, Miles Morales in Across the Universe falls for a version of Gwen Stacy who became Spider-Woman after also being bitten by a radioactive spider.
8 I Don't Feel So Good Professor Lockhart
- Source: u/jodibwithoutane
When the half-blood Hogwarts teacher Professor Gilderoy Lockhart said that he knew the exact counter-curse that could've saved Mrs. Norris, it was a somber and memorable scene in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Likewise, it was stunning to see Tony Stark being unable to do anything as his protégé Peter Parker disappears to dust after Thanos' snap during the MCU's Infinity War. This is one of the best memes of the week for its sheer irreverence toward these notable moments. It's a great reminder that nothing is safe from being turned into a meme — especially the most well-crafted moments in cinema.
7 The One Thing Captain America And Dormammu Have In Common
- Source: u/PrimaryHungry6790
Captain America: The Winter Soldier balanced its dark overarching themes with humorous moments like Super Soldier Serum success story Steve Rogers literally running circles around Sam Wilson. Steve repeatedly says "on your left" to warn Sam about passing, to the point that Sam retorts with "don't you say it!" upon hearing Steve's steps nearby. As one of the best memes of the week hilariously points out, the eldritch evil Dormammu went through a similar test of patience when Dr. Strange kept turning back time and saying the same thing to him repeatedly. Like Sam, Dormammu could do nothing against the Avenger he faced off against, though Sam eventually became Captain America himself.
6 Lord Of The Rings: Drunk Dwarves Tell No Tales
- Source: u/TheMeisterofMemes
Lord of the Rings: Return of the King includes a drinking contest between Gimli, Legolas, and some men at a tavern, and this is one of the best memes of the week for giving that scene an even more hilarious ending. Notably, Legolas out-drank everyone at that table, with Gimli becoming too hammered to even sit straight. If Gimli wanted to see alcohol take some effect on the typically reserved and well put-together Elf, maybe he should've served Legolas some rum. Unlike Legolas, Pirates of the Caribbean's Will Turner hasn't been drinking the strongest Elven wines for decades.
5 Harry Potter And The Dark Side Of The Force
- Source: u/TheManOutofReddit
This one deserves a spot among the best memes of the week for being just silly at first glance, but increasingly complex upon closer examination. It points to the meaning of certain colors in popular movie franchises like Star Wars and Harry Potter, and the absurdity that occurs when one's rules for color are applied to the other. While the in-universe explanation for why Sith lightsabers are red in Star Wars means that red is associated with the Dark Side, red is associated with Gryffindor, fire, and passionate heroism. However, it's going to take more than that to convince Mace Windu that Harry is no Sith Lord, especially since Harry's soul is attached to you-know-who.
4 The Best/Worst Comic-Con Costume Of All Time
- Source: fandomwirenews
Some of the best memes of the week are just outright savage. Ever since Stan Lee and Steve Ditko created Spider-Man, Uncle Ben has been repeatedly dying in every succeeding installment or version of Peter Parker's story. For decades, whether in the movies, shows, or comics, Uncle Ben's death has never been a surprise, a pattern that was only broken by the MCU's version of the web-slinger. Replacing the tired old Ben Parker story, it is Marisa Tomei's Aunt May who died in Spider-Man: No Way Home, a brilliant moment hinged on Uncle Ben's repeated deaths throughout the franchise. Unlike Aunt May, Uncle Ben memes can't be accused of being "too soon."
3 The Strongest Spider-Man Is Miles Morales
- Source: u/Unlikely_Ad6338
One of the best memes of the week birthed from the release of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and recent events in Marvel Comics, this meme remix is courtesy of Miles Morales' new superpowers. Indeed, Miles's interdimensional adventures have resulted in new powers that would make the three live-action Peter Parkers envious, such as shooting electricity from his hands and turning invisible. As the meme points out, these new developments pretty much catapult Miles to the top of the list when it comes to debates about who the strongest Spider-Man really is. If and when Miles Morales crosses over into the MCU, these powers could really be put to the test.
2 The Most Useless Trivia About Marissa Tomei
- Source: u/pryn511
Arguably the best Spider-Man meme about Aunt May ever, this one ranks highly among the best memes of the week. For starters, this meme makes fun of the most heartbreaking moment in Spider-Man's entire run in the MCU. If that wasn't enough, it also deposits the most useless but un-erasable bit of pop culture trivia for the unfortunate reader. Literally no one needed to know that Marisa Tomei is an anagram for "It's-a-me, Mario." However, the whole world may soon be cursed with knowing about this very silly connection between the Spider-Man and Super Mario Bros. franchises — through a meme that takes irreverent brain farts to the next level.
1 Avengers: Secret Wars: Coming Soon-er Or Later
- Source: u/No_Nerve5055
At the top of the list of the best memes of the week, this one is not only informative, but also perfectly expresses what audiences feel about the Avengers: Secret Wars release date being moved all the way to May 1, 2026. Initially, Secret Wars or Avengers 6 was slated for release on November 8, 2025, with the new target release date pushing the schedule back for six full months. With Avengers 5 or Avengers: The Kang Dynasty scheduled for theatrical release on May 5, 2025, Marvel was initially supposed to give audiences two Avengers movies that year. While memes can do very little to change upcoming Marvel movies' release dates, the humor does help audiences cope with Marvel's unpredictability.