The 'Everyone Is Dead Except Kirby' meme originated from the 2018 reveal trailer for the 'World of Light' adventure mode in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. In the cinematic, the antagonist Galeem unleashes beams of light that consume every Nintendo icon, from Mario to Link, leaving only Kirby to escape on his Warp Star. Fans were struck by the dramatic imagery and the fact that Kirby, created by game director Masahiro Sakurai, was the chosen survivor. The template is widely used to represent situations where a single individual, brand, or idea remains standing while everything else is destroyed or rendered obsolete. It often highlights Kirby as a symbol of resilience, luck, or creator favoritism in the face of absolute chaos.