History Characters / Rocky

* IWasQuiteALooker: While still in great shape in ''Creed 2'', he's definitely worse for wear after spending decades living in poverty in Ukraine, having yellowed teeth and fully gray hair despite being in his mid-fifties at most.

* YouveGottaBeKiddingMe: His expression for most of the rounds in his fight with Rocky, when Rocky gets back up, knockdown after knockdown.

* NonActionBigBad: The sole ''Rocky'' antagonist with no fighting ability at all.

* PragmaticVillainy: When Tommy punches Paulie, Duke ''leaps'' in to stop Tommy (although too late to stop Tommy before the punch lands) and then angrily lectures Tommy after the fact. He's not doing this because [[EvenEvilHasStandards he's upset at Tommy for attacking a bystander]] or even the bad press that might come from it, but because he doesn't want Tommy to take any chance on injuring himself and harming his career punching some nobody.
* RichesToRags: It's implied that he was the cause of Rocky losing his fortune.

* BullyingTheDragon: When he starts losing to Rocky, his livid handler lays into him, even shoving him in the face. [[DeathGlare He gets about two seconds to]] [[OhCrap realise what a big mistake this was]] before getting thrown across the stadium by the neck. In fact, "Drago" is Italian for "dragon", making this a near ''literal'' example of the trope!

* ToughActToFollow: [[invoked]] The fans like him nowhere near as much as his two predecessors, Apollo Creed and Rocky Balboa. Nor do his boxing skills measure up to theirs, given his [[CurbStompBattle defeat]] when Rocky goes through another TrainingMontage to recover lost ground.

* WomenAreWiser: Often portrayed this way.

Appeared in ''Rocky V''. A poor young man seeking to become a professional fighter, he has left his home in hopes of being trained by the legendary Rocky. At first Rocky refuses, but eventually agrees. Tommy proves a talented student, [[spoiler: but eventually becomes frustrated at the slow pace with which Rocky insists on developing his professional career, believing that he's ready to be champion. This provides an opportunity for unethical promoter George Washingtion Duke to first sign Tommy, then turn him against Rocky.]]

* GoldDigger: Strongly implied, [[spoiler:with how Creed II revealed that she ditched her husband post-victory and remarried someone successful later.]]

* GlassCannon: Apollo is strong, fast, and has decent stamina but can't take lots of punishment. A downplayed version in that he doesn't really have a glass jaw, however his ability to take damage is merely average. Given the weight class he's in and how powerful some of the fighters are (like Rocky), he can't really afford to let his opponent land many solid shots. Tellingly, every fight he had before Rock he won by knock-out, implying that Rocky is able to outmatch him by withstanding his blows long enough to start outlasting him. Apollo does fine in his rematch with Rocky until about Round 6, when Rocky manages to get in a few solid shots to his body. From Round 7 on Apollo starts taking more and more damage, and by Round 12, he can't use his footwork and his face is severely swollen. He even needs to hold the ropes in the final round to throw some punches. This has fatal results come part 4, where [[spoiler:he's badly hammered by Drago and ''dies'' in Round 2]].

* HonorBeforeReason: [[spoiler:A fatal example]] from part 4. Even sadder after seeing the salute he gives his wife; Apollo knows damn well what's coming.

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Based on Roy Jones Jr. in terms of fighting style and being a smaller heavyweight, as well as Floyd "Money" Mayweather with a bit of Lennox Lewis, due to their reputations as champions fighting against weak opposition. And his penchant for first-round knockouts brings a little bit of Creator/MikeTyson into the character, too. There's also some Michael Moorer in there; Moorer was an undefeated 35-0 (30 knockouts) champion of multiple weight classes when he fought George Foreman, an aging ex champion who came out of retirement in an event initially seen as a joke, only to surprise everyone by ''winning'' against Moorer (albeit, with one good MegatonPunch after getting dominated for ten rounds). This parallels Rocky's own comeback against Dixon, except Rocky was older than Foreman and merely put up a good fight instead of winning. Even their physiques and records are similar- Dixon's record is given as 34-0 with 30 knockouts, and he's played by a light heavyweight and cruiser boxer who has the same build he always had (Antonio Tarver), which could imply some of those fights were held at a lower weight class before he went up to heavyweight (like Moorer).

* CatchPhrase: "I don't sweat you!"

* BloodBrothers: Paulie and Rocky's relationship gets better with each film, with a brief hiccup here and there. ''Rocky Balboa'' solidifies this, with Paulie and Rocky confiding in each other despite some differences.

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Based on a young George Foreman, Sonny Liston, and Earnie Shavers. To an extent the first bout between him and Rocky is a fictionalization of the bout where Foreman defeated Joe Frazier (one of the inspirations for Rocky Balboa) to become world heavyweight champion. In that bout Foreman knocked out Frazier in two rounds and knocked Frazier down '''''six times''''' during those two rounds. Like the film there was a rematch; while unlike the film Frazier did better and lasted longer, Foreman once again knocked him out. By complete coincidence, he'd also have a stunning similarity to Creator/MikeTyson, both in his background and his fighting style. Regarding Liston, Lang bears his intimidating persona, rough background including prison, and, of course, his punching power. As for Shavers, not only does Lang's style and skill bear more resemblance to Shavers' than Foreman's or Liston's,[[note]]Foreman was tall for the time and had a long reach (at 6'3" with an 79" reach), as well as underrated technical skills, a great chin, and decent stamina, having gone the distance many times and scored many later round knockouts. He had a good jab and used a lot of uppercuts in addition to his hooks and crosses. Liston also had an exceptionally long reach (85 inches) and a well-regarded technical ability, particularly his jab, and also got several knockouts in later rounds. Shavers did not have a long reach, nor did he have much technical skill ("a second rate boxer with a first rate punch", as Mike Silver called him), and his stamina was below-average; the bulk of his knockouts came in the very early rounds, while Foreman and Shavers were still dangerous even in the late rounds. He also relied excessively on haymakers and power-punches. Foreman was a heavyweight champion who held multiple titles and was considered the best boxer of the 70s by many, his only real competition being Ali and Holmes; Liston was heavyweight champion in the early 60s who destroyed Floyd Patterson twice in the first round, and was considered largely unbeatable even after being beaten twice by a young Muhammad Ali. Shavers was a "gatekeeper" who scored many notable wins and made it to top contender status (his most notable wins being first-round knockouts against former champs Ken Norton and Jimmy Ellis, plus ko victories over contenders Joe Bugner and Jimmy Young, as well as a victory over Light Heavyweight champion Vicente Rondón), but was never a champion himself and spent the majority of his career beating on bums, club fighters, and journeymen. The plot of Balboa having to suffer BadassDecay to be defeated by Lang and then crushing him in a rematch after regaining "the eye of the tiger" letting him exhaust his stamina in just a few rounds is much more fitting for a Shavers expy than a Foreman or Liston expy.[[/note]] but Shavers was originally supposed to ''play'' Clubber Lang. Can't get any closer than that.

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Drago is similar to heavyweight champion Primo Carnera, an exceptionally tall and muscular European boxer from the 1930s who could hit so hard that he once fatally knocked out an opponent in the ring. [[note]]Ernie Schaaf, though Carnera was much more remorseful than Drago was[[/note]] His role in the story could also be compared to George Foreman, an unbeatable hard-hitting boxer who suddenly and brutally knocked out a former heavyweight champion (Joe Frazier) before later being knocked out by another former champion (Muhammad Ali) in an internationally iconic bout (Rumble in the Jungle).

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Probably inspired by Michael Spinks and Trevor Berbick, who were very talented but retrospectively considered as paper champions in the late 1980s that were easily destroyed by a younger hard-hitting boxer in the form of Mike Tyson, similar to Cane's role in Rocky V.

* IWasQuiteALooker: While still in great shape in ''Creed 2'', he's definitely worse for wear after spending decades living in poverty in the Ukraine, having yellowed teeth and fully gray hair despite being in his mid-fifties at most.

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Based on a young George Foreman and Earnie Shavers. To an extent the first bout between him and Rocky is a fictionalization of the bout where Foreman defeated Joe Frazier (one of the inspirations for Rocky Balboa) to become world heavyweight champion. In that bout Foreman knocked out Frazier in two rounds and knocked Frazier down '''''six times''''' during those two rounds. Like the film there was a rematch; while unlike the film Frazier did better and lasted longer, Foreman once again knocked him out. By complete coincidence, he'd also have a stunning similarity to Creator/MikeTyson, both in his background and his fighting style. As for Shavers, not only does Lang's style and skill bear more resemblance to Shavers' than Foreman's,[[note]]Foreman was tall for the time and had a long reach (at 6'3" with an 79" reach), as well as underrated technical skills and decent stamina, having gone the distance many times and scored many later round knockouts. He had a good jab and used a lot of uppercuts in addition to his hooks and crosses. Shavers did not have a long reach, nor did he have much technical skill ("a second rate boxer with a first rate punch", as Mike Silver called him), and his stamina was below-average; the bulk of his knockouts came in the very early rounds, while Foreman was still dangerous even in the late rounds. He also relied excessively on hooks. Foreman was a heavyweight champion who held multiple titles and was considered the best boxer of the 70s by many, his only real competition being Ali and Holmes. Shavers was a "gatekeeper" who scored many notable wins and made it to top contender status (his most notable wins being first-round knockouts against former champs Ken Norton and Jimmy Ellis), but was never a champion himself and spent the majority of his career beating on bums, club fighters, and journeymen. The plot of Balboa having to suffer BadassDecay to be defeated by Lang and then crushing him in a rematch after regaining "the eye of the tiger" letting him exhaust his stamina in just a few rounds is much more fitting for a Shavers expy than a Foreman expy.[[/note]] but Shavers was originally supposed to ''play'' Clubber Lang. Can't get any closer than that.

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Based on Roy Jones Jr and Floyd "Money" Mayweather. And his penchant for first-round knockouts brings a little bit of Creator/MikeTyson into the character, too. There's also some Michael Moorer in there; Moorer was an undefeated 35-0 (30 knockouts) champion of multiple weight classes when he fought George Foreman, an aging ex champion who came out of retirement in an event initially seen as a joke, only to surprise everyone by ''winning'' against Moorer (albeit, with one good MegatonPunch after getting dominated for ten rounds). This parallels Rocky's own comeback against Dixon, except Rocky was older than Foreman and merely put up a good fight instead of winning. Even their physiques and records are similar- Dixon's record is given as 34-0 with 30 knockouts, and he's played by a light heavyweight and cruiser boxer who has the same build he always had (Antonio Tarver), which could imply some of those fights were held at a lower weight class before he went up to heavyweight (like Moorer).

* NormalFishInATinyPond: Apollo implies this is the case when he tells Rocky that Lang only beat him because he didn't have the "eye of the tiger" he possessed in their fight. Notably, the announcer in the first fight also describes Rocky as having "slimmed down so much that he looks like a middleweight", implying he was much weaker when fighting Lang than he was against his other opponents.[[note]]Indeed, per Stallone's own words, he was 163 pounds in ''Rocky III'', as compared to 178 in the first film, 200 in the second, and 173 in the fourth.[[/note]] When Rocky does regain a bit of the "eye" (while still being smaller and less muscular than he was in any other movie), he puts Lang down in three rounds. [[ButtMonkey Tommy Gunn]] put up a better fight.

* ScaryBlackMan: Absolutely plays this role to the hilt, as an ex street fighter turned ruthless, knockout machine of a boxer who trash talks and attacks anyone around him on a moment's notice.

* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Of the fight promoter variety. He's a greedy boxing promoter, and is notably the only villain in the ''Rocky'' series ''(the Film/{{Creed|2015}} films included)'' that is [[HateSink genuinely hate-able]] and lacks ''any'' [[LikableVillain redeeming or sympathetic qualities]].

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Based on a young George Foreman and Earnie Shavers. To an extent the first bout between him and Rocky is a fictionalization of the bout where Foreman defeated Joe Frazier (one of the inspirations for Rocky Balboa) to become world heavyweight champion. In that bout Foreman knocked out Frazier in two rounds and knocked Frazier down '''''six times''''' during those two rounds. Like the film there was a rematch; while unlike the film Frazier did better and lasted longer, Foreman once again knocked him out. By complete coincidence, he'd also have a stunning similarity to Creator/MikeTyson, both in his background and his fighting style. As for Shavers, not only does Lang's style and skill bear more resemblance to Shavers' than Foreman's,[[note]]Foreman was tall for the time and had a long reach (at 6'4" with an 82" reach), as well as underrated technical skills and decent stamina, having gone the distance many times and scored many later round knockouts. He had a good jab and used a lot of uppercuts in addition to his hooks and crosses. Shavers did not have a long reach, nor did he have much technical skill ("a second rate boxer with a first rate punch", as Mike Silver called him), and his stamina was below-average; the bulk of his knockouts came in the very early rounds, while Foreman was still dangerous even in the late rounds. He also relied excessively on hooks. Foreman was a heavyweight champion who held multiple titles and was considered the best boxer of the 70s by many, his only real competition being Ali and Holmes. Shavers was a "gatekeeper" who scored many notable wins and made it to top contender status (his most notable wins being first-round knockouts against former champs Ken Norton and Jimmy Ellis), but was never a champion himself and spent the majority of his career beating on bums, club fighters, and journeymen. The plot of Balboa having to suffer BadassDecay to be defeated by Lang and then crushing him in a rematch after regaining "the eye of the tiger" letting him exhaust his stamina in just a few rounds is much more fitting for a Shavers expy than a Foreman expy.[[/note]] but Shavers was originally supposed to ''play'' Clubber Lang. Can't get any closer than that.

* RedBaron: "The King of Sting, the Doctor of Destruction, the [[Literature/TheCountOfMonteCristo Count of Monte]] [[JustForPun Fisto]], the Master of Disaster, the One, the Only... Apollo Creed!" That last one (The Master of Disaster) deserves extra credit... the man who inspired the character's creation, Ali himself, noted that that was something he should've used in his heyday.

** Even when he was collecting for LoanShark Gazzo in the first movie, Rocky went out of his way to avert the EvilDebtCollector trope as much as humanly possible under the circumstances: his first scene with Gazzo has Gazzo berating him for not breaking a someone's thumbs for being behind on payment. He doesn't buy Rocky's reasoning [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure that the guy won't be able to work (and therefore pay up) if he's injured]].

!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Film/{{Rocky}}'' | ''Film/RockyII'' | ''Film/RockyIII'' | ''Film/RockyIV'' | ''Film/RockyV'' | ''Film/RockyBalboa'' | ''Film/{{Creed}}'' | ''Film/CreedII''

* LegendaryInTheSequel: In the first film, he was a nobody. By the time of ''Film/RockyBalboa'' and the ''Film/{{Creed}}'' series, he's renowned as one of the greatest boxers in the world.

!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Film/{{Rocky}}'' | ''Film/RockyII'' | ''Film/RockyIII'' | ''Film/RockyIV'' | ''Film/{{Creed}}'' (flashback)

* LateArrivalSpoiler: The plots of ''Film/{{Creed}}'' and ''Film/CreedII'' hinge upon [[spoiler:his death in the ring]] early in ''Film/RockyIV''.

* ManlyFacialHair: Sports a pretty nice 'stache and is considered [[Film/{{Creed}} even years later]] as one of the best boxers of all time.

* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Of the fight promoter variety. He's a greedy boxing promoter, and is notably the only villain in the ''Rocky'' series ''(the Film/{{Creed}} films included)'' that is [[HateSink genuinely hate-able]] and lacks ''any'' [[LikableVillain redeeming or sympathetic qualities]].

* MegatonPunch: He wields a punch force of over 2100 psi.[[note]]His promoter erroneously claims it's three times the heavyweight average (considering that most heavyweights punch at about 1200-1700, it's closer to 1.45); still, that's the force and weight of a speeding car slamming into your head with a four-inch-wide impact radius, and in real life would almost certainly kill his opponent, if not lead to KO and immediate brain damage.[[/note]]

* WorldsStrongestMan: He is said to be the strongest puncher in the world, which is demonstrated early on with his 2,100-pound-force punch, claimed by his promoter to be nearly three times the heavyweight average.[[note]]In real life that would indeed make his punch the most powerful ever recorded under lab conditions.[[/note]] He is also considered to be by far Rocky's toughest adversary, as proven by his demolishing of Apollo and being the only other fighter to cause Rock permanent injury. In fact, it's later revealed that Drago took no lasting injuries from the fight despite losing, while Rocky most definitely did.

For the characters introduced in the ''Creed'' films, see [[Characters/{{Creed}} here]].

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Half Rocky Marciano (Italian-American origin, being relatively short and light for a heavyweight,[[note]]Marciano usually boxed around 180-185 pounds. Like many "heavyweights" from before the 1980s he and the vast majority of his opponents would be considered light heavyweights or cruiserweights today, though he still beat nine opponents over 200 pounds (albeit mostly bums). He was outweighed in 67% of his fights and out-reached in nearly all of them, a fairly unusual situation for a heavyweight champion (the 6'2, 215 lbs Muhammad Ali, for example, outweighed 44 of his 61 opponents, meaning he was only the smaller guy 27% of the time).[[/note]] relying on stamina and punching power), half Joe Frazier (Philadelphian, AHeroToHisHometown, eventually runs his own gym, trains by punching on meat, trilogy of fights with Muhammad Ali/Apollo Creed), and initially inspired by a Chuck Wepner fight. Pretty funny on the Joe Frazier part considering that he makes a cameo in the first film, where he wishes Rocky luck. The Rocky Marciano part is also lampshaded by a poster hanging in Rocky's apartment, and Micky pointing it out in the same film.

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: An {{Expy}} of UsefulNotes/MuhammadAli and George Foreman. He has the showmanship, charisma, outrageous nicknames, floaty style, and rivalry with the Frazier-equivalent of the former, combined with the patriotism, unstoppable reputation, brawling style, and knockout power of the latter.[[note]]Ali was something of a powder-puncher, only knocking out 15 of his 33 200+ pound opponents (45%; he had a better record against sub-200 opponents, but those wouldn't even be considered heavyweights nowadays) and usually relying on out-jabbing (using his relatively long reach) or running (or crooked judges) to take a decision. He often struggled in his fights and could suffer hard licks even against mid-level cruisers like Henry Cooper or Doug Jones. He admitted that Quarry, Williams, Frazier, and Chuvalo, among others, hit harder than him, and none of these men are exactly knockout artists. Foreman on the other hand was a wrecking ball, knocking out 53 of his 64 200+ pound opponents (83%) and demolishing most of his opponents in early round [[CurbStompBattle Curb Stomp Battles]], including guys who gave Ali hard fights that went the distance like Frazier, Norton, and Chuvalo. Ali was notoriously rebellious towards his country's government, famously going to jail for refusing to fight in the Vietnam War and repeatedly proselytizing about black separatism and the downfall of America (though he mellowed out somewhat later in his career). Foreman made repeated statements about how much he loved his country (he got an award from the American Legion) and proudly held up an American flag at the 1968 Olympics, despite this being only a few years after the Civil Rights Act and near the height of American involvement in the Vietnam War. Interestingly, Foreman earned said gold medal by absolutely demolishing a ''Soviet'' heavyweight; yeah, he had better luck in his USA-USSR bout than poor Creed did.[[/note]] He also has 70s Foreman's hairstyle and mustache.

* TheBigGuy: In the mid-ring staredown, Rocky is at eye level with his nipples. He's strong enough to throw Balboa--a ''heavyweight'', mind you--like a ragdoll.

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Based on a young George Foreman and Earnie Shavers. To an extent the first bout between him and Rocky is a fictionalization of the bout where Foreman defeated Joe Frazier (one of the inspirations for Rocky Balboa) to become world heavyweight champion. In that bout Foreman knocked out Frazier in two rounds and knocked Frazier down '''''six times''''' during those two rounds. Like the film there was a rematch; while unlike the film Frazier did better and lasted longer, Foreman once again knocked him out. By complete coincidence, he'd also have a stunning similarity to Creator/MikeTyson, both in his background and his fighting style. As for Shavers, not only does Lang's style and skill bear more resemblance to Shavers' than Foreman's,[[note]]Foreman was tall for the time and had a long reach, as well as underrated technical skills and decent stamina, having gone the distance many times and scored many later round knockouts. He had a good jab and used a lot of uppercuts in addition to his hooks and crosses. Shavers did not have a long reach, nor did he have much technical skill ("a second rate boxer with a first rate punch", as Mike Silver called him), and his stamina was below-average; the bulk of his knockouts came in the very early rounds, while Foreman was still dangerous even in the late rounds. He also relied excessively on hooks. Foreman was a heavyweight champion who held multiple titles and was considered the best boxer of the 70s by many, his only real competition being Ali and Holmes. Shavers was a "gatekeeper" who scored many notable wins and made it to top contender status (his most notable wins being first-round knockouts against former champs Ken Norton and Jimmy Ellis), but was never a champion himself and spent the majority of his career beating on bums, club fighters, and journeymen. The plot of Balboa having to suffer BadassDecay to be defeated by Lang and then crushing him in a rematch after regaining "the eye of the tiger" letting him exhaust his stamina in just a few rounds is much more fitting for a Shavers expy than a Foreman expy.[[/note]] but Shavers was originally supposed to ''play'' Clubber Lang. Can't get any closer than that.

* AntiVillain: Granted, he ''did kill'' Apollo, but Drago himself is really nothing but a tool for the Soviet propaganda machine. He doesn't fight out of hate, he fights because he has a massive entourage grooming him to fight, not for himself, but for the entire country, parading him around as something of a sideshow.

* NoSocialSkills: The man doesn't speak.

* GracefulLoser: Both the first and sixth film end with Rocky losing but not being bothered by it, the first time because he just wanted to show he could go the distance and the second time to show he could still fight, both of which he achieves. Especially notable with Mason Dixon who he hugs and praises, showing him respect which Mason recipricates.