The character and accompanying meme originated after the extremely controversial ending to the Mass Effect trilogy, which proved to be very divisive among the fanbase due to it's seemingly rushed and contradictory ending that also had little to none of the choice that was such a major part of the series up to that point. As a result people began to joke that the mysterious Marauder with shields, the last enemy the player ever fights, was in fact trying to "save" us from the terrible ending to the game. As a result Marauder Shields is viewed (albeit sarcastically) as a heroic figure despite being a Husk.