100 Men vs. 1 Gorilla Meme: Origin and Debate
See how a 2020 Reddit question became the 100 Men vs. 1 Gorilla meme, why it exploded in 2025, and why the rules keep changing.
One gorilla enters an imaginary arena. One hundred unarmed men wait on the other side. Nobody agrees on whether they coordinate, panic, attack at once, or volunteer someone else to go first. Those missing rules are why the argument never stays settled.
“100 Men vs. 1 Gorilla” is a viral debate meme asking whether 100 ordinary, usually unarmed men could defeat one adult male gorilla. The earliest verified exact-match record found is a July 5, 2020 Reddit thread, but that post says similar questions had already been asked with different numbers. It is an early record, not a proven invention.
The earliest verified exact version is from 2020
On July 5, 2020, Reddit user u/probablycashed posted “100 men versus 1 silverback gorilla” to r/whowouldwin.[1] The setup used ordinary untrained men, no weapons, several arenas, and different attack arrangements.
The author also wrote that the question had been posed many times with different numbers of men. The Reddit thread is the earliest exact-match artifact verified for this article, not proof that nobody asked it before.
Know Your Meme documents an exact TikTok version from @yuri5kpt2 on February 22, 2022.[2] The live TikTok was not retrievable during this review, so the account and date remain a secondary-source attribution rather than a better primary origin.
The question broke out in April 2025
Several 2025 TikToks argued for the gorilla before the wider breakout. Know Your Meme records examples from January 28 and April 20, followed by reaction memes around April 24.[2]
Michael Sherrills, posting as @DreamChasnMike, then argued on X that 100 men could win if everyone remained committed.[3] X timestamps the post to April 25, 2025 at 05:30 UTC, which was late April 24 in parts of the United States. NBC News interviewed Sherrills and reported that a gorilla TikTok prompted his post.[4]
The argument quickly moved through TikTok, X, Facebook, Reddit, podcasts, simulations, strategy threads, brand accounts, and celebrity posts. Sherrills helped accelerate the 2025 wave, but the earlier Reddit and TikTok records show that he did not originate the question.
How the meme works
Each side has an easy argument. The gorilla has individual strength, reach, teeth, and intimidation. The humans have numbers, coordination, endurance, and the possibility of surrounding or restraining one opponent.
The question does not define enough rules to end the debate. A new post can change the arena, fitness level, fear response, preparation time, attack order, or willingness to accept injuries. Every changed assumption creates another version.
- Hot takes: Pick Team Gorilla or Team Human with complete confidence.
- Battle plans: Divide the group into waves or assign roles.
- Roster drafts: Replace ordinary men with athletes, fighters, celebrities, or fictional characters.
- POV jokes: Imagine the first casualty, last survivor, or person refusing to go first.
- Simulations: Stage the fight through animation or video games.
- Mock analysis: Use charts, brackets, animal facts, and tactical diagrams.
- Institutional remixes: Brands and game publishers adapt the matchup to their own characters.
Participation is the format. A creator does not need a standard image; choosing a side or changing one rule is enough to produce a new entry.
The meme became a game event
Blizzard turned the premise into an Overwatch 2 event on May 6, 2025. One Winston, the game's gorilla hero, faced 100 Soldier: 76 characters. The official promotion asked, “One Gorilla, 100 Soldiers: Who Wins?”[7]
A later Steam game used the exact title 100 Men vs 1 Gorilla and presented the contest as a 100-player match.[8] These adaptations show that the wording remained recognizable beyond one week of social posts. They do not prove a specific search volume or grant permission to reuse game characters.
What an expert said about the real animal
This debate is hypothetical. MemeMeet does not encourage anyone to test it with people or animals.
Tara Stoinski, president, CEO and chief scientific officer of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, told NPR that gorillas are powerful but generally “gentle giants.” She expected coordinated human numbers to prevail eventually, then redirected attention toward the conservation risks gorillas face.[5]
Other answers change when the assumptions change. Coordination, attack order, arena, fitness, and fear would all matter. The meme lasts because it invites certainty without providing a testable shared scenario.
Why the question spread
The matchup combines power scaling, sports-style drafting, animal awe, macho confidence, and morbid slapstick. It also makes the comment section part of the performance. One person proposes a plan, another finds the weak point, and a third changes the roster.
The Guardian described the argument as a humorous distraction that could bring participants together differently from more hostile online disputes.[6] The conflict stays imaginary, while the real activity is collaborative rule-making and one-upmanship.
Image, product, and merchandise rights
The featured image is Blizzard promotional artwork republished by Esports Insider and is used here only for attributed editorial context. Blizzard's characters, artwork, logos, and the source image are not cleared for MemeMeet merchandise, product packaging, or unrelated advertising. Merchandise rights status: NEEDS_PERMISSION.
No verified live MemeMeet product matches this meme, so this article includes no sales link. For more sourced histories of internet formats, browse MemeMeet's Meme Culture archive.
Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| July 5, 2020 | The earliest verified exact-match Reddit thread found asks about 100 men versus one silverback gorilla. |
| February 22, 2022 | Know Your Meme attributes an exact TikTok version to @yuri5kpt2. |
| January to April 2025 | TikTok arguments and reaction posts revive the question. |
| April 25, 2025 at 05:30 UTC |
@DreamChasnMike posts the statement that helps drive the broad breakout. The same timestamp fell on late April 24 in parts of the United States. |
| May 2, 2025 | NPR publishes a primatologist's answer and conservation context. |
| May 6, 2025 | Overwatch 2 stages one Winston against 100 Soldier: 76 characters. |
| October 1, 2025 | The Steam game 100 Men vs 1 Gorilla receives its full release. |
Frequently asked questions
Where did the 100 Men vs. 1 Gorilla meme start?
The earliest exact-match artifact verified here is a July 5, 2020 r/whowouldwin thread. Its author said similar questions already existed, so it should not be called the undisputed first version.
Why did 100 Men vs. 1 Gorilla go viral in 2025?
TikTok videos revived the argument, and a late-April X post from @DreamChasnMike helped move it into a broad cross-platform debate. Users joined by choosing sides, changing rules, or building simulations.
Could 100 men really beat one gorilla?
There is no real test, and the answer depends on assumptions such as coordination, arena, attack order, fitness, and fear. A gorilla expert interviewed by NPR expected coordinated numbers to win eventually but stressed that gorillas are generally gentle and face real conservation threats.
Is there one official 100 Men vs. 1 Gorilla image?
No. The stable unit is the question, not one image template. Screenshots, diagrams, game scenes, wildlife photos, and character substitutions all appear in the format.
Did MrBeast start the meme?
No. His mock challenge joined the 2025 wave. The exact question is documented on Reddit in 2020 and on TikTok in 2022.
Sources
- “100 men versus 1 silverback gorilla,” u/probablycashed on Reddit, July 5, 2020
- “100 Men vs. 1 Gorilla,” Know Your Meme
- April 2025 post by @DreamChasnMike on X
- “The internet is brawling over whether 100 men could fight a gorilla,” NBC News, May 1, 2025
- “Gorillas have a big fight ahead of them, and it's not against 100 men,” NPR, May 2, 2025
- “100 men v one gorilla: who would win – and why has the question gone viral?” The Guardian, April 29, 2025
- “Overwatch 2's 1 Gorilla vs 100 Soldiers event kicks off today,” Esports Insider, May 6, 2025
- 100 Men vs 1 Gorilla, Steam