A squirrel lifts a tiny paw in farewell and is blown away by a tornado. The GIF known as “Squirrel Waving Bye in Tornado” is a crossover joke about two Superman films. By August 2026, it had become a reaction to making a mistake so bad that all you can do is accept defeat.
Where did the squirrel come from?
In Man of Steel (2013), Jonathan Kent gets trapped near a tornado after rescuing the family dog. Clark could save him, but Jonathan signals him to stay back rather than expose his powers in public. That raised hand is meant to be a devastating goodbye.
James Gunn’s Superman (2025) contains a separate moment in which the hero rescues a squirrel during a battle. Fans contrasted the films: the newer Superman saves a random animal, while the older one doesn’t save his father. Replacing Jonathan with the squirrel turns the solemn goodbye into an outrageously elaborate tragedy for a tiny animal.
When did the GIF return?
Know Your Meme documents a Reddit image edit dated July 21, 2025. A July 22 post joked that this was what the newer film would look like if Zack Snyder had directed it. Later versions animated the farewell, letting the wind carry the squirrel away. Those are documented examples, not proof of a single original creator.
A July 2026 TikTok used the squirrel to represent a friend finally logging off Roblox. In late August, X users shared it alongside captions about everyday embarrassment, including making several mistakes on the first day at a new job.
How should you use it?
Picture closing a document without saving it: cue the squirrel. That is an illustrative situation, not a quotation from a real viral post. An August 29 anti-meme went even further by captioning the scene literally as being a squirrel in a tornado.
The joke evolved from an argument about superhero filmmaking into a miniature, cinematic farewell to ordinary failures.
Sources: Know Your Meme (2026-09-14); Know Your Meme explainer (2026-09-14); Weekly Roundup (2026-09-04).
