An anonymous 4chan user also reposted this that same day to the /tv/ board. The post (shown below) was upvoted over 10,600 times and commented on 102 times. Redditor Pranksmeyster posted a variant using the scene on May 19th, 2020, to the r/PrequelMemes sub.

On May 14th, 2020, Imgur user Kingwyrm20 uploaded one of the earliest meme examples to the site (seen below), receiving over 120,000 views, 1,500 points and 176 comments. Ravenclaw_14's original post received 581 upvotes and 36 comments. On May 12th, 2020, Redditor Ravenclaw_14 uploaded the original template used in this meme to the r/SonicTheHedgehog sub, helping to spread the format in the following days. The first time the scene appears online as a meme comes from a post by Redditor W1zard-101 on March 9th, 2020, to the r/MemeEconomy sub, but does not include the buttons in the top frame. At one point, Robotnik says, “It’s time to push buttons,” briefly before hitting the red button in an attempt to kill Sonic with his weapons. The original clip that the meme is pulled from is seen during Sonic the Hedgehog, released on January 25th, 2020, specifically the scene referred to as “Time To Push Buttons.” During the scene (featured below), Sonic and his friends encounter Robotnik in his ship atop a building. Robotnik himself is also labeled as someone or something that relates to the choices given above.

The format is typically used in conjunction with the top panel of the Daily Struggle meme, with two contradicting objects labeled to each button (one red, one blue) where Robotnik presses the red one in the lower frame. Robotnik Pressing Red Button, also known as Robotnik Pushing Red Button, is an exploitable image macro series depicting Doctor Ivo 'Eggman' Robotnik (played by Jim Carrey) from the 2020 action-adventure comedy Sonic the Hedgehog pressing a red button. Doctor ivo robotnik, eggman, robotnik, pressing button, red button, sonic the hedgehog, jim carrey, movie, film, exploitable, image macro, meme, w1zard-101, ravenclaw_14, kingwyrm20, pranksmeyster, _memes4u

Push red button meme