The Dark Reason The Koopa Troopa Dance Is Going Viral On Tik Tok

Anyone fan of the "Super Mario" franchise is likely familiar with the seemingly ageless plumber but also the Koopas. The adorable, turtle-like creatures have been a mainstay in the series since the first "Super Mario Bros." game back in 1985 for the NES and appear in many forms, though its most iconic form is the Koopa Troopa. And despite technically being the minions of the antagonistic Bowser throughout the series, the Koopa Troopas have become beloved amongst the "Mario" fandom in nearly every single Mario game.

In "New Super Marios Bros. Wii" released in 2009, the Koopa Troopas are designed to roam around the map before busting an arm-swinging dance move while looking directly toward the camera at a certain point during the song playing in the background. Known as the "Bah bah" dance, recently this behavior was the subject of a meme that has begun spreading throughout TikTok. However, the meme isn't for the faint of heart and has a pretty dark origin and even darker reinterpretations that other users on the social media platform have created. But how did it start, and how bad has it gotten since it was originally posted?

The general idea of this new TikTok trend involving Koopas is putting them in super serious — and sometimes dire — situations, only to do an obligatory dance in the middle of whatever it is they're doing. The origin of this trend stems from a video made by TikTok user frankiejustchillin where they act out a scene of a male Koopa fighting for custody of his children. In the middle of presumably pleading their case with a judge, the "Koopa" spontaneously begins dancing once the audio playing over the video reaches its climax before resuming his argument.

The audio for the meme, "Bah Bah 2," has also been used in videos even more bleak than that. One user posted a video using the meme depicting a situation in which a Koopa confronts someone accused of murdering their kin in court. Another shows a Koopa on their deathbed, only to hit the "Bah Bah" dance while having convulsions.

By any account, it's quite a dark meme, and there aren't really any "light" versions of it. And while some iterations of it can be considered funny and harmless, others do seem to be in rather poor taste. It's safe to say that unless you have a very dark sense of humor, it's best not to search through "Bah Bah" on TikTok when surfing through the app — especially if you're looking for wholesome Mario content.