The Tickle Me Elmo meme primarily references the 'Elmo Rise' or 'Hellmo' image, which features a puppet Elmo with his arms raised triumphantly in front of a wall of flames. While the original 1996 toy was a wholesome holiday sensation, the internet subverted this innocence, turning Elmo into a symbol of gleeful destruction and anarchy. The 'Hellmo' variant first went viral on platforms like Tumblr and Twitter around 2012, used as a reaction image to describe watching a disaster unfold or being the one who caused it. It perfectly captures the dark humor of modern internet culture, contrasting a childhood icon with an apocalyptic background to express feelings of chaotic neutral energy.