The Ultimate Guide to Always Has Been Meme

Last Updated: 2026-02-27 09:41:35

That feeling when you finally understand a joke everyone else got months ago? The internet turned that exact sensation into one of 2020's most recognizable meme formats. Two astronauts float above Earth. One makes a devastating discovery. The other stands ready with a gun, prepared to silence them forever.

What started as an obscure 2016 webcomic exploded into thousands of variations across Twitter, Reddit, and Instagram. People used the always has been meme to expose everything from conspiracy theories to uncomfortable truths about French cuisine being 90% butter. The format refuses to die because it captures something specific: that moment when reality clicks into place and you realize you've been looking at things wrong the entire time.

Part 1: What Is the "Always Has Been" Meme?

The Always Has Been meme is a viral format featuring two astronauts floating in space, where one discovers a shocking truth and the other prepares to silence them. The format follows a simple dialogue pattern: the first astronaut says "Wait, it's all X?" and the second responds "Always has been" while pointing a gun.

At its core, the meme plays with the concept of delayed realization. It suggests that certain truths were always obvious, but one person only just figured it out. The humor comes from the deadpan delivery combined with the absurd implication that this revelation is dangerous enough to warrant elimination.

1. Common themes in Always Has Been memes include:

Conspiracy theories and hidden truths
Pointing out obvious patterns people missed
Meta-commentary on internet culture
Existential observations about everyday life
Ironic takes on geography, food, or politics

Visually, the meme uses the iconic space setting with Earth in the background, two astronaut figures, and the second astronaut holding a weapon. The text overlay drives the punchline while the image provides instant recognition.

astronaut meme always has been original format

2. Origin of the Always Has Been Meme

Back in 2016, an artist posted a simple four-panel comic to the Gunshow forums. Two astronauts, one revelation, a gun. Nothing particularly special about it at the time.

For nearly four years, that comic stayed buried in internet archives. People occasionally shared it, but it never caught fire. Most viral content either explodes immediately or dies quietly. This one waited. June 2020 changed everything. Twitter user @SmashBrosOmega posted a version that replaced the original dialogue with "Wait, it's all Ohio?" followed by "Always has been." That single tweet detonated across social media.

Within 72 hours, the astronaut meme template had spread to every corner of the internet. Reddit's r/memes subreddit got flooded with hundreds of variations daily. Instagram accounts dedicated entirely to meme content jumped on it. Even LinkedIn somehow got involved, with people making corporate culture jokes using astronauts floating in space. The timing mattered more than the content. Lockdowns had everyone stuck inside, extremely online, desperate for new formats to play with. The always has been meme origin story happened to intersect perfectly with peak internet boredom and creativity.

3. Why This Meme Works So Well

When one character knows the truth and another just figured it out, you get immediate dramatic tension. We've all been the person who realized something obvious way too late. That asymmetry of knowledge creates a specific type of embarrassment mixed with enlightenment. The second astronaut's delivery sells the whole joke. "Always has been" arrives with zero emotion, zero fanfare, zero apology. Just a statement of fact while holding a gun to someone's head. The contrast between mundane tone and extreme action pushes it into absurdist territory.

But there's something deeper happening. This meme format suggests certain truths were always visible if you bothered to look. People started using it to highlight patterns in politics, corporate behavior, relationship dynamics, personal habits they'd been denying for years. A joke about Ohio becomes a commentary on how arbitrary our assumptions are. A meme about butter transforms into an observation about culinary traditions. The format evolved beyond simple humor into a tool for pointing out uncomfortable realities that society prefers to ignore.

always has been meme template variations and examples

Part 2: How to Reimagine the Always Has Been Meme with AI

Creating your own version used to mean downloading image editing software, finding the template, carefully adjusting text layers, maybe photoshopping custom elements onto Earth, then exporting and hoping it looked halfway decent.

Most people gave up halfway through. The barrier between having a funny idea and actually executing it was too high. You either had design skills or you didn't participate.

That changed when AI generation tools started understanding meme context and structure. Now anyone can create custom astronaut scenes or completely reimagine the format without touching Photoshop.

HitPaw FotorPea: Best Always Has Been Meme Generator

HitPaw FotorPea handles the always has been meme format better than most traditional editing software. The platform combines AI generation with straightforward editing tools designed specifically for quick meme creation.

Features:

Allows you to create always has been meme images quickly with AI
Supports Mac and Windows operating systems
Offers a simple user interface for easy meme customization
Creates meme images in highly realistic image quality
No watermark in the generated meme images
Allows you to create multiple meme variations simultaneously
Select from various astronaut meme generation styles
Helps you enhance the generated images with editing tools
Customize the background of generated astronaut scenes
Eliminate unwanted objects from generated photos

How to Use HitPaw FotorPea to Generate Always Has Been Memes

Step 1.Launch HitPaw FotorPea and click AI Generator from the main menu. The text-to-image creation interface opens immediately.
Step 2.Describe the desired scene in the prompt field. For a standard astronaut meme template, try "two astronauts in space, one looking at Earth, one holding gun, cartoon style." For more creative variations, type something like "two astronauts but Earth is actually made of cheese" or whatever absurd concept fits the joke.
Step 3.Hit Generate. The AI typically takes 10-20 seconds depending on prompt complexity. More elaborate scenes with specific details take slightly longer.
Step 4.Add text using the built-in editor. Position "Wait, it's all ___?" near the first astronaut. Place "Always has been" near the second one. The software defaults to meme-appropriate fonts, but users can change them for different visual styles.
Step 5.Export the finished creation. PNG gives the best quality. JPG creates smaller files that upload faster to social media platforms.

Part 3: Always Has Been Meme Template (Copy & Paste)

always has been meme template blank version

"Wait, it's all ___?"

"Always has been".

Grab this template and plug in whatever revelation works for the joke. The format hits hardest when the discovery is either ridiculously specific or uncomfortably accurate.

Part 4: FAQs

What does the always has been meme mean?

The meme reveals a truth that was supposedly always present but just now discovered by someone who should have noticed earlier. It implies the revelation was obvious to everyone else, and the person discovering it is being "silenced" for finally catching on. People use it for everything from conspiracy theory jokes to pointing out blatant hypocrisy to highlighting patterns that only become clear in hindsight.

Where did the always has been meme come from?

An artist posted the original astronaut comic to Gunshow forums back in 2016. It sat mostly ignored until June 2020, when Twitter user @SmashBrosOmega shared the "Wait, it's all Ohio?" variation. That version went massively viral and triggered thousands of spinoffs across Reddit, Twitter, Instagram, and basically every other platform where memes exist.

Can I remake the always has been meme with AI?

Yes. AI tools like HitPaw FotorPea let users generate custom astronaut scenes without needing design software experience. Anyone can create entirely new visual takes on the format, modify what Earth looks like, or just use classic templates while changing the dialogue. The AI handles image generation while the editing interface gives control over text placement and final output.

Conclusion

The always has been meme keeps showing up because it taps into something universal. That specific moment when you finally see what was right in front of you the whole time. The format works for political commentary, internet culture observations, and completely absurd jokes about everyday life.

Making custom versions got significantly easier once AI generation entered the picture. What used to require Photoshop skills and hours of practice now takes minutes with tools designed for quick creation. HitPaw FotorPea handles the technical complexity while users focus on the actual joke. The AI generator produces custom scenes in seconds. The editing tools let anyone fine-tune everything until it looks exactly right. For anyone sitting on meme ideas but never bothering to create them because the process seemed too complicated, that barrier no longer exists. HitPaw FotorPea turns those ideas into actual shareable content.