I Fear No Man

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Part of a series on Team Fortress 2. [View Related Entries]

About

I Fear No Man refers to a series of exploitable images and YouTube remix based on a promotional video for the character The Pyro from the video game Team Fortress 2. In both the images and the videos, the character the Heavy is seen in the shadow saying, "I fear no man. But that thing, it scares me." In between "that thing" and "it scares me," the author inserts another image, video clip or word.

Origin

On June 27th, 2012, the official YouTube account for Team Fortress 2 posted a video entitled "Meet the Pyro".^[1] At the start of the video, the Heavy with shadows covering his face says, "I fear no man. But that thing, it scares me." The video has become the basis for both picture and video variants of the meme. As of November 2017, the video has been viewed more than 28 million times.

The earliest known instance of the video as a meme occured on June 11th, 2013. That day YouTuber SUPERMARIOGALAXY13 cut the "Meet the Pyro" video with footage of Super Smash Brothers "Villager Comes to Town" advertisement.^[8] The post (shown below) received more than 113,000 views in four years.

Spread

The following year, the audio from the scene was used in a video by the YouTuber The Mantyke in which the Heavy is about to fight the Pyro.^[2] Within four and a half years, the video (shown below) has received more than 2,000 views.

In February 2014, MemeCenter user TheMatriman posted a vertical version of the meme.^[6] In between photos of the Heavy is a surreal version of Woody from the film Toy Story. The post (shown below) received more than 2,100 likes in three years.

Throughout 2014, the line was used as the title for several pieces of fan art on the Steam Community message board.^[3]^[4]
Later that year, on September 15th, FunnyJunk user epicsorpion posted a gif of the moment, along with the quote as a caption.^[5]

On November 11th, 2016, YouTuber Lonetholsskia posted the video with another video called "Funny high guy fighting air" intercut into the action.^[7] The post (shown below) received more than 2,600 views in one year.

On October 21st, 2017, Tumblr user mickeymousesenpai posted a variation on the vertical meme by placing a character from Doki Doki Literature Club between panels of the Heavy.^[9] The post (shown below, left) received more than 1,400 notes in two weeks.

Three days later, Redditor Triplicata posted the same template with a character from Cuphead in the /r/Cuphead subreddit.^[10] Within nine days, the post (shown below) received more than 300 points (100% upvoted).

The following week, on November 2nd, Redditor Arraysion posted a variation with a cancerous cell superimposed over the Heavy's head and Stefán Karl Stefánsson between the two panels.^[11] The post (shown below) received more than 5,700 points (96% upvoted) in less than 24 hours.

That day, two threads were posted to the /r/MemeEconomy subreddit about the potential of the meme.^[12]^[13]