When to Use
- Waking up suddenly realizing you forgot an important deadline.
- Reacting to a bizarre or unsettling dream you just had.
- Representing the shock of being abruptly woken from a deep sleep.
Source: Justice League (2001–2004 American animated TV series)
This clip features Superman waking up in a cold sweat after a nightmare, taken from the animated series Justice League. It is widely used in meme culture to depict the feeling of jolting awake from a bad dream, or to represent the shock of a sudden, unpleasant reality.
Superman wakes up in bed with a start, clearly disturbed and sweating after having a nightmare.
This meme is used to visually represent waking up from a disturbing nightmare or experiencing a sudden, intense realization.