TikTok's 'canon event' meme explained

Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse droppedearlier this month and has already done record-breaking numbers at the box office.

The animated film is centred on 'canon events," the idea that some unfortunate situations that are often unavoidable.

TikTokers have since put their own spin on the concept, racking up over 150 million views under the hashtag alone. Users are taking the phrase and using it to share a nostalgic look back at some of the weird phases in their lives.

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The canon event TikTok takeover has left some blissfully unaware users baffled, prompting them to turn to the app to ask the all-important question: What does it mean?

Luckily for Bex (@bex392) and her 1 million viewers, people were on standby to help out.

"Canon event= something that is going happen regardless of space, time and dimension in order to keep the balance. It’s basically fate," one person responded, while another reiterated: "Canon event is something that has to happen in the universe because it’s part of the universes canon, it’s from Spider-Man so it's a multiverse thing".

It didn't take long for fellow TikTokers to share their very own canon events.

One TikTok user under the username @bonnieaustinnnnnnnn wrote: "Me watching every teenage girl getting into her first relationship with a medium ugly guy that bares a striking resemblance to the rat from flushed away. (I can not interfere, it is a canon event)."

Meanwhile, another earlier example saw @greekos_nikos share: "Realising it was never trauma, just a canon event."

His video went viral across the platform with 5.2 million views and thousands more comments.

"Getting hit on the leg with a firework gotta be a canon event," one person shared, while another joked: "Gonna start calling all my trauma canon events just to make it seem less serious."

"It's a plot twist, gotta keep the audience on their toes," a third added.

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