There he is. Paul Dano. Smug. Does he know? What does he know? Why is this image being posted all over social media? Allow us to sort this all out.

What Is The "Does He Know?" Meme, And Where Does It Come From?

Over the past year and change, an image of actor Paul Dano looking smug, captioned, "Does he know?" has been a popular reaction image on social media.

The image of Dano comes from his performance as The Riddler in 2022's The Batman. The caption "Does he know?" comes from the pop culture essay channel and unwitting meme hub New Rockstars, who are also the originators of the What was he cooking? meme.

New Rockstars' thumbnails have become something of a comedy goldmine, as they seem destined to become reaction images in the modern meme landscape.

In the case of the "Does he know?" meme, the thumbnail represented a video on whether The Riddler knew that Batman and Bruce Wayne were the same person.

How Is The "Does He Know?" Meme Used?

Usually, "Does he know?" is employed by thread-repliers, implying a poster has made an egregious error they hadn't considered, and Paul Dano seems to conspiratorially be asking fellow visitors to this unfortunate thread if they think the OP is aware of their mistake.

That's about the extent of how "Does he know?" is used, but it's worth noting that it will often get blended with other New Rockstars thumbnails, making for great reaction images like "Does he know what he was cooking in his mind?" It's also been used in some exploitable variations, where Dano or other characters will appear in other media franchises, accompanied by the caption.

What Are Some More Examples Of The "Does He Know?" Meme?

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For more information, check out the Know Your Meme entry for Does he know?