Bruce, It's Been 5 Years, You Still Owe Me 16 Dollars

Submission 13,853

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About

Bruce, It's Been 5 Years, You Still Owe Me 16 Dollars is a catchphrase said by YouTuber eyezayar during his Lego Batman 2 Let's Play video in which he dubs a short exchange between Superman and Batman. The catchphrase was popularized during summer 2021 with users editing it into various videos such as clips from The Avengers and Invincible.

Origin

On April 25th, 2021, YouTuber^[1] eyezayer posted a Let's Play of Lego Batman 2. At the 9:47 mark during a cutscene, Superman is shown flying down from the sky towards Batman (Bruce Wayne) and Robin. Eyezayer dubs the dialogue between the characters with Superman saying, "Bruce, it's been 5 years, you still owe me 15 dollars," and Batman responding "Fuck off." The video received over 837,000 views in four months (shown below, left).

In the original cutscene,^[2] Superman asks Batman and Robin, "Hey, guys! Need a hand?" to which Batman responds, "With what? Parking?" (video shown below, right).

Superman: Bruce, it's been 5 years, you still owe me 16 dollars.
Batman: Fuck off

On May 4th, 2021, YouTuber^[3] MrStickanime posted the earliest known meme based on the dialogue, a Persona edit that gained over 20,000 views in four months (shown below, left). On May 30th, 2021, YouTuber^[4] Merijn posted a clip with the catchphrase from eyezayer's video. The video received over 2.2 million views in four months (shown below, right).

Spread

The dialogue did not see viral spread until July 10th, 2021, when YouTuber^[5] kringefest posted a clip of Batman killing Professor Zoom from the Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox animated film dubbed with the catchphrase (shown below). The video received over 1.4 million views in three months. The character and the scene saw previous use in memes in June 2020.^[6]^[7]

In July and August 2021, multiple viral clips were dubbed with the dialogue. For example, on July 28th, 2021, YouTuber^[8] Nishit Dua posted an Invincible meme that received over 1.2 million views in one month (shown below, left). On July 29th, YouTuber^[9] 3003 studios posted a Justice League edit that gained over 407,000 views in one month (shown below, right).

On September 9th, 2021, YouTuber^[10] Lessons In Meme Culture posted a video about the meme. The video received over 176,000 views in less than 24 hours (shown below).