The development of Sparta meme was entertaining and educating. First the various caps of Leonidas yelling "Tonight we dine in Hell!", that were still essentially a reference to the upcomig movie. Then the variations and shoops on Leonidas, such as "I forgot where we dine tonight" and "Hello Hell restaurant, I'd like a reservation for 300", and finally just Leonidas' face shooped to whatnot, which essentially isn't a reference to the movie anymore, but to the concept of Leonidas yelling.

I wonder if this is pattern that's applicable to the development of other memes as well?