Why The Predator Takes Off His Mask Before Fighting Dutch

The ending of Predator sees the titular alien hunter taking off his mask to battle Arnold Schwarzenegger's Dutch, but what is the meaning of this gesture? Now the formula of the Predator movie franchise is so established it's almost easy to forget how unexpected the original was. It starts as a bombastic Schwarzenegger action movie, before slowly morphing into a dread-soaked slasher as Arnie's Dutch watches his elite soldiers get picked off one by one. Predator's 1987 ending sees Dutch getting back to basics and exploiting the hunter's weaknesses to kill it.

Dutch essentially goes full Rambo during the final act, setting up traps and ambushes for the Jungle Hunter. It all comes down to a punch-up between Dutch and the towering alien though, and in an uncharacteristic move for Arnold, he gets his ass handed to him for most of their bout. Of course, he still wins the day, though Schwarzenegger later rejected all the Predator sequels. The title hunter takes off his mask before their fight too, which has become a signature move in every sequel.

Related Predator: Badlands - Release Date, Cast, Story & Everything We Know After the success of 2022's Prey, the Predator franchise is moving forward with another standalone film that it tentatively called Badlands.

The Predator Wanted A Fair Fight With Dutch In The Original 1987 Movie

The Jungle Hunter wanted to test Dutch's might

Custom image by Diana Acuña

Throughout the story, the hunter is testing Dutch's group to see who is the strongest. The alien is looking for worthy prey to stalk, and the team leader soon emerges as the only one who will put up a major fight. He even has a chance to outright kill Dutch after all his improvised traps fail, but instead, the hunter strips himself of his weaponry and gear, ending with his bio-mask being removed. The predator does this to give Dutch a fighting chance against him in a one-on-one fight, having marked him as a dangerous foe.

The bio-mask has many functions, including helping the hunter breathe in different atmospheres and enhancing his vision. He's putting himself at a marked disadvantage by taking it off, but if he fought Dutch with all his usual gear, the fight would have been over real quick. It should be noted that even sans its equipment, the Jungle Hunter is still a formidable enemy, with one of the few punches Dutch lands barely fazing it. The alien also towers over the hulking soldier, so the term "fair fight" can only be loosely applied.

Arnold Schwarzenegger eventually reprised his role as Dutch in the 2020 Predator: Hunting Grounds.

It's almost dumb luck that Dutch triumphs - though the hunter setting off its self-destruct device feels like a petty move. Later Predator movies would expand the lore of the alien clan greatly, and how much honor means to them in combat. Within the context of the original, all the alien wants is to fight something that could just as easily kill it in return.

Why Predators Wear Masks In The Franchise

Predator bio-masks are essential gear in any hunt

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No Predator hunt would be complete without their trademark masks, which serve a range of functions. Outside of helping them breathe, the bio-masks contain a range of visual modes to help them see in almost every environment. In Predator, the only mode deployed is thermal vision, though later entries would add far more. The mask also contains a laser targeting device to aim the creature's shoulder-mounted plasmacaster.

... the Jungle Hunter removing his mask was, in its own way, a mark of respect towards Schwarzenegger's Dutch.

Other bio-mask features include the ability to record and playback audio, and it controls both the wrist gauntlet and the Predator's invisibility cloak. In short, the hunters are vulnerable without their masks, and the Jungle Hunter removing his was, in its own way, a mark of respect towards Schwarzenegger's Dutch. Hopefully, as it lay dying following the end of their duel, the hunter took some solace in realizing Dutch really was the superior predator.