Yobama meme · memes.md

7 images

The original full-size Yobama composite image showing the Obama/Yoda facial blend in greater detail, widely shared as the base image for subsequent meme formats.
An example of the 'Me, an intellectual' format praising Yobama as the ultimate crossover character, one of the earliest viral meme uses of the image.
A 'Baby Yobama' variant extending the meme to The Child from The Mandalorian, using the 'therapist/can't hurt you' format.
An expanded four-way Venn diagram placing Yobama alongside other character mashups like Obamos, Keanos, and Yodanu, illustrating how the Yobama composite inspired a broader family of crossover edits.
A Venn diagram variant placing Yobama at the intersection of Yoda and Obama alongside related Thanos crossovers like Obamos and Yobamos.
A webcomic edit depicting the pure joy of receiving a FaceTime call from Yobama, exemplifying the meme's wholesome-absurd humor.
A spoofed YouTube trending screenshot joking that Yobama is the god children described to an illustrator, playing on the 'Kids Describe' Cut.com video series.

History

Yobama is a face-swap image that pastes Barack Obama's features onto Yoda, born in a 2009 Photoshop contest and dug back up by Instagram meme pages in late 2018. The absurd crossover powered a wave of ironic edits, Crab Rave remixes and 'perfect crossover character' jokes that spilled onto Reddit's r/dankmemes.

Origin

The original Yobama image came from a June 2009 Worth1000 Photoshop contest called 'Celebrity Star Wars 5,' where user Fichtenbrenner submitted the Yoda-with-Obama's-face composite[3]. It sat largely unnoticed for nearly a decade as one entry in a themed contest among many.

The meme life of the picture started on May 11th, 2018, when Instagram user @vert_pio_ reposted the Photoshop with the hashtag #yobama, which other meme pages then started using to tag their own edits[3].

Platform: Worth1000 (origin) / Instagram and Reddit (viral spread)
Creator: Fichtenbrenner
Date: 2009

Overview

Yobama is a portmanteau of Yoda and Obama attached to one specific image: a face-swap where Barack Obama's grinning face sits on Yoda's green, wrinkled head[3]. The joke works because the two subjects have nothing to do with each other, and the edit treats the mashup with mock reverence as if it were a legitimate crossover character.

Most Yobama posts lean into shitpost energy rather than political satire. The image gets paired with Crab Rave as a music video gag, dropped into 'Me, an intellectual' templates calling it the perfect crossover, or wedged into 'Name a More Iconic Duo' responses alongside the related Obunga edit[1]. Urban Dictionary entries from the same wave treat Yobama as a fake deity to invoke for random nonsense, which matches the ironic worship tone of the Instagram posts[4].

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Yobama?

Yobama is a Photoshopped face swap that puts Barack Obama's face on Yoda, named by fusing the two characters' names[3].

Where did Yobama come from?

The image was first made by Worth1000 user Fichtenbrenner for the June 2009 'Celebrity Star Wars 5' Photoshop contest[3].

What does Yobama mean?

The name is a portmanteau of Yoda and Obama, used ironically for the crossover character and sometimes as fake-deity shitposting[4].

How do you use Yobama?

People typically drop the image into Crab Rave edits, 'Me, an intellectual' macros, or 'Name a More Iconic Duo' jokes alongside Obunga[1].

Is Yobama still popular?

Yobama peaked on Instagram and r/dankmemes in December 2018 and is now treated as a classic deep-fried face-swap entry rather than an active trend[1].