About

Before vs. After Secret Wars is an AI TikTok trend in which popular characters are shown before and after the "secret wars," referring to Marvel Comics' "Secret Wars" storyline, where heroes from across the multiverse are sent to a planet called Battleworld to fight against villains. The trend was started by TikToker @warpintime5 in late January 2026 and became increasingly popularized throughout early February, inspiring Accuracy Reenactments and other memes referencing the format.

Origin

On January 21st, 2026, TikToker^[1] @warpintime5 posted a video set to "Words" by F.R. David that shows several Family Guy characters hugging themselves, one representing the character before participating in the "secret wars" and one representing the character after, often beaten up or dead. The video gained over 3.1 million views in two weeks.

The trend references Marvel Comics' "Secret Wars" storyline, in which heroes from across the multiverse are sent to the Battleworld, a planet made up of chunks of other planets, to fight their biggest villains and cosmic threats.^[2]

Spread

The Before vs. After Secret Wars trend spread over the following weeks in early 2026.

On January 22nd, 2026, TikToker^[3] @axium_history posted a version of the meme with SpongeBob SquarePants characters, garnering over 740,000 views in two weeks.

On January 28th, TikToker^[4] @skibidilord3000 posted a video parodying and recreating the trend, garnering over 804,000 views in a week.

On February 1st, 2026, TikToker^[5] @kurtpsl posted a similar video parodying the trend, garnering over 104,000 views in three days.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References