Mermaid Man is the retired superhero from Nickelodeon's SpongeBob SquarePants, first appearing in 1999 alongside his sidekick Barnacle Boy. Voiced by Ernest Borgnine, the character parodies classic comic book heroes and treats almost every threat as a battle against evil. His exaggerated cry became a recurring gag on the show, repeated whenever villains like Man Ray or the Dirty Bubble were mentioned. Clips of the shout later spread through meme edits and reaction videos, where it now signals mock horror at anything suspicious, villainous or dramatically overblown.