SOON

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About

SOON is a common caption in image macros that typically feature a creepy looking figure peering out of a dark enclosed space or a figure looking out from a a window or closed door. The caption implies that the figure is plotting some sort of devious scheme, intended for either the viewer or a person or object in the foreground.

Origin

One of the earliest online references to a menacing "soon" appears in the webcomic The Parking Lot Is Full^[21] in an installment posted on March 27th, 2001. The comic, captioned, "Quiet Ambition," features Jesus behind God's shoulder thinking, "Soon."

Spread

One of the earliest known images utilizing a SOON caption featured an angry looking orange cat glaring at a small Chihuahua puppy. It was posted to I Can Has Cheezburger^[1] on April 12th, 2007, but has since been removed.

The cat image was reposted on the science fiction message board Chronicles^[7] on April 22nd, 2007 in a Photo of the Day thread. Throughout 2007, the image appeared on The Brand Builder Blog^[8], FARK^[9] and the Democratic Underground.^[10] One of the first derivative images depicted a number of cats sitting on a rooftop, staring at city lights. It was posted to I Can Has Cheezburger at an unknown date and reposted to CheeseDS^[11] on February 11th, 2008.

In June 2010, the captioning technique saw renewed interest after someone submitted an image of a bear-shaped honey container that looked as if it were peering out from the cupboard with evil eyes to Reddit.^[2] Based on an original photograph titled "Honey Bear Sweet Honey Bear" by artist Brock Davis^[3], the image macro received 1397 upvotes and 627 points before it was archived. Later that month, the honey bear image was featured on The Chive.^[4]

Throughout late 2010 and early 2011, there were a handful of SOON images shared on Reddit.^[6] In April 2011, Buzzfeed^[5] compiled a series of 13 of the "most menacing" SOON image macros. In January 2012, a Facebook fan page for the series launched.^[16] Throughout 2012 and early 2013, additional compilations of these image macros have been featured on humor sites including Izismile^[12], Amazing Creatures^[13], Bite^[14] and Dump A Day.^[15]