The Sephiroth Impaling Mario meme originated from the December 2020 reveal trailer for Sephiroth as a DLC fighter in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. In a shocking cinematic sequence, the Final Fantasy VII antagonist appears to fatally stab Mario with his Masamune sword, only for it to be revealed that the blade merely caught Mario’s overall strap. The image instantly went viral due to the dark contrast between the gritty RPG villain and the family-friendly Nintendo mascot. It is now widely used as an object-labeling template to represent a looming threat or a sudden, overwhelming force disrupting something innocent or stable.