The format is built around Mr Incredible, the hero from Pixar's The Incredibles, reimagined through a series of increasingly distorted images that mark each new phase. It spread through YouTube phase videos and short-form edits on TikTok, where creators extended the progression further and further to see how unsettling they could make the character. Phase 15 sits deep into that escalation, long past the early, mildly odd stages. It remains popular because the structure is instantly recognisable, easy to remix, and lets a creator signal a dramatic turn with a single familiar image and sound.