What Is The “Epic Handshake” Meme? Origin, Meaning & Why It’s The Internet’s Favorite Alliance Format

The “Epic Handshake” meme, featuring a muscular handshake from Predator (1987), captures unlikely alliances between groups, ideas, or fandoms with humor and irony.

Born in the 2010s on Reddit and Twitter, it’s a versatile format used to highlight shared traits or absurd commonalities.

This article explores its cinematic roots, cultural meaning, popular formats, and lasting role in online commentary across platforms like Reddit, Twitter, and Instagram.

1. What Is the “Epic Handshake” Meme?

What the Meme Shows and How It’s Used

The “Epic Handshake” meme is an iconic actual scene from Predator (1987), featuring two muscular arms (Dutch (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Dillon (Carl Weathers)) grasping one another in a handshake that flexes and symbolizes strength.

Online, it is used to represent unexpected or laughable alliances of disparate groups, ideas, or personalities, usually with some text explaining their shared characteristic.

For instance, the meme may show two fandoms united by an esoteric interest, or two rivals uniting over some petty grievance.

Is This the Internet’s Most Powerful Symbol of Unlikely Unity?

Quite possibly. The graphic is simple and striking, a strong visual with a beefy handshake motioning unity in sarcasm or sincerity, wherever or whenever you use it.

It recycles well in endless contexts, in politics, and pop culture, thus establishing its presence at the upper echelon of alliance memes.

2. Where Did the Meme Come From?

Movie Scene Source

The meme originates from a memorable moment in Predator (1987), during a scene where Dutch and Dillon meet up and shake hands in an exaggerated, macho show of camaraderie and competition.

The intense energy of the scene and the retro action-movie vibe make it prime material for the internet, and the concept had been turned into a meme that flipped an example of 80s masculinity into a classic meme.

How It Became Viral

The “Epic Handshake” originally emerged as a meme in the early 2010s, when early users on Reddit and Twitter would meme it in an object-labeling format.

It gained virality around 2017, when users began labeling the arms with opposing groups, and the handshake with their shared aspect, such as Marvel fans and DC fans uniting in hating bad reboots.

Subreddits such as r/memes and Twitter threads facilitated this rapid expansion of the meme, making it a widely used commentary meme for the internet.

3. What Does the Meme Mean Online?

Visual Metaphor for Agreement or Collaboration

This is a meme that contextualizes two different parties, often extremely different, coming together over a common interest, struggle, or quirk.

It’s a visual shortcut for any time there has been unexpected unity, such as gamers creating a bond with book lovers over the idea of “staying up all night” or diplomatic rivals uniting for a particular issue niche.

Irony, Sarcasm, or Sincerity

The “Epic Handshake” can convey a sense of sincerity (ex. groups coming together), sarcasm (ex. making fun of our shared pettiness), or absurdity (ex. cats and aliens both “love laser pointers”).

The emotional roof left so leaves room for humor and criticism to take shape using the meme. The versatility of the epic handshake allows it to adapt to whatever tone happens to emerge.

4. Popular Caption Styles and Meme Formats

Captioning Structure

The meme typically follows a clear formula:

• Arm 1: Group A (e.g., “Android users”)
• Arm 2: Group B (e.g., “iPhone users”)
• Handshake: Shared trait (e.g., “Roasting Windows phone users”)

These captions highlight the humor in unexpected common ground.

Variants and Mashups

Creators have remixed the meme by redrawing the arms as characters like SpongeBob or anime heroes, changing the color of the image for visual flair, or flipping the arms for new contexts.

In some versions, the genders have been swapped, or an added aspect of pop culture is placed, whether that be a politician or a celebrity, to fit a given narrative.

5. Cultural Commentary and Symbolism

Commentary on Unity in Chaos

Against the backdrop of a polarized internet, the “Epic Handshake” meme demonstrates unlikely relationships, like rival fan bases or political interests, allowing them to come together.

It takes a tongue-in-cheek approach to comments on unity amongst adversarial conversations or chaotic online spaces.

Is This Meme the Modern Digital Version of a Handshake Agreement?

Absolutely. The meme juxtaposes the unconditional symbolism of a handshake – goodness, trust, agreement – with modern humour and remixness.

Its retro nature and corporeal aspect give it a timeless quality in contemporary digital discourses.

6. Comparison to Similar Visual Meme Formats

Other Collaboration and Agreement Memes

The “Epic Handshake” shares space with memes like:

• “Spider-Men pointing at each other” (shared flaws or accusations).
• “Drake Yes/No” (preferences or alliances).
• “Distracted Boyfriend” (shared desires or betrayals).

Each captures collaboration or conflict differently, but the handshake’s focus on unity sets it apart.

Why Epic Handshake Stands Out

It’s physicality, which evokes a gritty story from the anarchic, visceral, pontificating, and violence-heavy 80s action world, completely in contrast to all the abstraction or cartoonish nature of other memes.

And, it has plenty of masculinity and brashness to make the incongruity, awkwardness, and absurdities of many of the alliances more funny.

Conclusion

The “Epic Handshake” meme, born from a muscle-bound moment in Predator, has become the internet’s favorite way to celebrate unlikely alliances.

From Reddit’s meme hubs to Twitter’s witty threads, it captures the humor and irony of shared struggles or absurd commonalities.

Its retro roots, bold imagery, and remixable format make it a lasting symbol of digital unity, proving that even in a chaotic online world, a good handshake can bring us together.