How Are You Not Dead? Meme Template

Tom asks how Sonic is still alive, and Sonic has no explanation. Label the surprised observer and the unlikely survivor to celebrate an old device, a last sliver of game health, or a plant that keeps going.

The question assumes that something should have stopped working by now. The reply admits that its continued survival is just as surprising to the subject as to the observer.

The format works well for harmless exaggeration about durability. A specific battered object or improbable game moment makes the exchange easier to understand than a vague label.

The exchange appeared in the second trailer for Sonic the Hedgehog, published by Paramount Pictures on November 12, 2019. James Marsden plays Tom Wachowski, who asks the question; Ben Schwartz voices Sonic, whose response supplies the lower panel. [1] [2]

Know Your Meme documents a Reddit example posted that same day, followed by other versions across meme and history communities. The images circulated before the film’s 2020 release. [2] [1]

Put the observer’s name beside Tom in the upper panel, then label the unlikely survivor in the open background beside Sonic below. The printed dialogue already provides the conversation.

Keep both lines of dialogue, Sonic’s shrug, and Tom’s face clear. Short labels make the connection easier to read on a small screen.

The surprised observer

In the open right side of the upper panel.

What is still going

In the background to Sonic’s right.

• Use the upper panel for the observer.
• Use the lower panel for the unlikely survivor.
• Keep the printed question and reply visible.
• Try an old object or an improbable game moment.