Robert Downey Jr. Eye Roll

On August 27, 2012, a Tumblr user posted a GIF that would become the internet's universal expression of contempt. Pulled from The Avengers, it captured Tony Stark—arms crossed, eyes rolling heavenward—dismissing Captain America's admission that he "understood that reference." The irony was perfect: a reaction image about not getting references became the most referenced reaction of its era.

The format exploded across every platform that mattered. BuzzFeed canonized it among the 32 Most Iconic Eye Rolls of All Time. Meme Generator spawned over 14,000 variations. Imgflip accumulated 130 pages of "The Face You Make When" captions. For four years, no bad take went un-eye-rolled, no obvious statement went unchallenged by Tony Stark's withering gaze.

At its peak, the RDJ Eye Roll was the nuclear option of reaction images. It said what words couldn't: "I am exhausted by your existence." It was dismissal without engagement, contempt without confrontation. It was perfect.

But the Avengers assembled too many times. By 2017, the eye roll felt dated—a relic of the Tumblr era in an increasingly Twitter-dominated landscape. Fresher reaction formats emerged. The eye roll that once ended arguments now started them, marking its user as terminally online in all the wrong ways.

Even Iron Man rusts. But for one glorious half-decade, Robert Downey Jr. gave us the gift of rolling our eyes without actually having to move our faces. Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, meme.