Meaning
What does Epic Handshake mean?
Epic handshake refers to a screenshot and meme from the 1987 action film, Predator.
On the shot, we see two well-toned arms meeting in an arm-wrestle handshake.
The image is used both as an object labeling meme, however there are plenty of parodies of the scene on YouTube as well.
Origin
What's the origin of Epic Handshake?
The handshake was first seen at the debut of Predator in 1987, in a scene, where Dutch (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger) is ravished to see his old friend Dillon (enacted by Carl Weathers).
The handshake then quickly turns into an arm-wrestling contest; however, it quickly ends with Dutch winning.
In 2007, a YouTube video was uploaded with the title A tribute to the handshake in Predator.
The video gained a large amount of popularity over the years.
Spread & Usage
How did Epic Handshake spread?
Over the following years, several parodies and remixes had been uploaded to YouTube and in 2012, fan arts were uploaded to Flickr and DeviantArt.
In 2018, these fan arts were used as the base of the object labeling “Epic Handshake” memes.
In 2019, TikTok users also started taking inspiration from “Epic Handshake”.