diff --git a/e2e/topology/basic/test-fixtures/golden/20-deployment.topology-basic-srl1.yaml b/e2e/topology/basic/test-fixtures/golden/20-deployment.topology-basic-srl1.yaml
index b60a3f8..4dc750a 100755
--- a/e2e/topology/basic/test-fixtures/golden/20-deployment.topology-basic-srl1.yaml
+++ b/e2e/topology/basic/test-fixtures/golden/20-deployment.topology-basic-srl1.yaml
@@ -80,7 +80,6 @@ spec:
             - name: LAUNCHER_CONTAINERLAB_TIMEOUT
             - name: LAUNCHER_PRIVILEGED
               value: "true"
-          image: 172.31.254.11/clabernetes-launcher:dev-latest
           imagePullPolicy: IfNotPresent
           name: srl1
           ports:
diff --git a/e2e/topology/basic/test-fixtures/golden/20-deployment.topology-basic-srl2.yaml b/e2e/topology/basic/test-fixtures/golden/20-deployment.topology-basic-srl2.yaml
index e0aa44a..423ab74 100755
--- a/e2e/topology/basic/test-fixtures/golden/20-deployment.topology-basic-srl2.yaml
+++ b/e2e/topology/basic/test-fixtures/golden/20-deployment.topology-basic-srl2.yaml
@@ -79,7 +79,6 @@ spec:
             - name: LAUNCHER_CONTAINERLAB_TIMEOUT
             - name: LAUNCHER_PRIVILEGED
               value: "true"
-          image: 172.31.254.11/clabernetes-launcher:dev-latest
           imagePullPolicy: IfNotPresent
           name: srl2
           ports:
diff --git a/e2e/topology/basic/topology_basic_test.go b/e2e/topology/basic/topology_basic_test.go
index 29af3a2..3462f51 100644
--- a/e2e/topology/basic/topology_basic_test.go
+++ b/e2e/topology/basic/topology_basic_test.go
@@ -96,12 +96,16 @@ func TestContainerlabBasic(t *testing.T) {
 				},
 				"deployment": {
 					{
-						Name:           fmt.Sprintf("%s-srl1", testName),
-						NormalizeFuncs: []func(t *testing.T, objectData []byte) []byte{},
+						Name: fmt.Sprintf("%s-srl1", testName),
+						NormalizeFuncs: []func(t *testing.T, objectData []byte) []byte{
+							clabernetestesthelper.NormalizeDeployment,
+						},
 					},
 					{
-						Name:           fmt.Sprintf("%s-srl2", testName),
-						NormalizeFuncs: []func(t *testing.T, objectData []byte) []byte{},
+						Name: fmt.Sprintf("%s-srl2", testName),
+						NormalizeFuncs: []func(t *testing.T, objectData []byte) []byte{
+							clabernetestesthelper.NormalizeDeployment,
+						},
 					},
 				},
 				"connectivity": {
diff --git a/testhelper/kubernetes.go b/testhelper/kubernetes.go
index db1d7f2..e61c984 100644
--- a/testhelper/kubernetes.go
+++ b/testhelper/kubernetes.go
@@ -127,6 +127,18 @@ func NormalizeFabricService(t *testing.T, objectData []byte) []byte {
 	return objectData
 }
 
+// NormalizeDeployment normalizes a deployment by removing fields that may change between ci and
+// local or other folks machines/clusters (like image/registry)-- so we can compare results more
+// easily.
+func NormalizeDeployment(t *testing.T, objectData []byte) []byte {
+	t.Helper()
+
+	// we dont care about testing that the image was set "right" really, so just remove it
+	objectData = YQCommand(t, objectData, "del(.spec.template.spec.containers[0].image)")
+
+	return objectData
+}
+
 // NormalizeConnectivity normalizes a connectivity cr between ci and local or other folks
 // machines/clusters -- so we can compare results more easily. For now this is just replacing the
 // namespace in the destinations since those will be random(ish) per test run.