Follow TV Tropes

Following

Context Characters / Rocky

Go To

1%%
2%%
3%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample entries are not allowed on wiki pages. All such entries have been commented out. Add context to the entries before uncommenting them.
4%%
5%%
6For the characters introduced in the ''Creed'' films, see [[Characters/Creed2015 here]].
7----
8[[foldercontrol]]
9
10!!Rocky's Family and Friends
11
12[[folder:Rocky Balboa]]
13!!Rocky Balboa
14[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rockybalboacharacter.png]]
15[[caption-width-right:300:''"I was nobody. But that don't matter either, you know?"'']]
16[[caption-width-right:300:[[labelnote:Click here to see Rocky as he appears in ''Rocky Balboa''.]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rockybalboacharacter6.png[softreturn]''"What's crazy about standing toe to toe, saying, 'I am', you know?"''[[/labelnote]]]]
17[[caption-width-right:300:[[labelnote:Click here to see Rocky as he appears in the ''Creed'' films.]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rockybalboacharactercreed.png[softreturn]''"Time takes everybody out; time's undefeated."''[[/labelnote]]]]
18!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/SylvesterStallone
19!!!'''Voiced in French By:''' Creator/AlainDorval
20!!!'''Voiced in Japanese By:''' Michio Hazama (I-IV, TBS dub), Creator/TesshoGenda (III, NTV dub), Creator/IsaoSasaki (IV onwards, TV Asahi dub)
21!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Film/{{Rocky}}'' | ''Film/RockyII'' | ''Film/RockyIII'' | ''Film/RockyIV'' | ''Film/RockyV'' | ''Film/RockyBalboa'' | ''Film/{{Creed|2015}}'' | ''Film/CreedII''
22
23->''"Now, if you know what you're worth, then go out and get what you're worth, but you gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain't where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody!"''
24
25The primary protagonist of the series, Rocky begins as a part-time boxer, part-time mob enforcer, and debt collector. Despite his violent occupations, however, Rocky is ultimately well meaning and doesn't want to hurt people, he just happens to be good at it. When world heavyweight champion Apollo Creed plans to have a major match on the bicentennial, (America's 200th birthday) and his opponent pulls out due to an injury, Creed decides to give a local fighter a shot at the title, and picks Rocky. This begins a long roller coaster ride for Rocky, as he goes from the gutter to local, then national hero and back again.
26----
27* TenMinuteRetirement: Becomes a brick joke when Mickey tells Rocky to consider retiring in the first movie. He ends up doing just that in the beginning of ''Rocky II'', only to come out of retirement when he's down on his luck, again. He attempts to retire in the third movie, only to be put into yet another fight, before officially retiring in Rocky V. GW Duke attempts to enforce this trope on Rocky to no success [[spoiler: even when he convinced Tommy Gunn to try to do it for him, only to prove unsuccessful when they fight it out in the alley]].
28* ActionDad: Becomes a father halfway through ''Rocky II'', and will gladly carry fights to support his family.
29* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: ''[[ScaryBlackMan Clubber Lang]]'' in ''Rocky III'', who is stronger and a lot meaner than Rocky.
30* BadassBoast: A few great highlights.
31** Against Clubber Lang in the rematch.
32---> "YOU AIN'T SO BAD. '''YOU AIN'T SO BAD!'''"
33** Half way into the match against Drago, ''he's taunting him!''
34---> '''Duke:''' He's not a machine! '''HE IS A MAN!'''
35** In ''Rocky V'', [[spoiler:Rocky took a rather brutal beating to the head, which seemed to have nearly killed him. Then he stands up after hearing Mickey's words and tells Tommy]]:
36---> '''Rocky:''' Yo! [[spoiler:Tommy! I don't hear no bell!]]
37* BeautyIsNeverTarnished: Subverted. Rocky explains in the first film that despite all the fights he went through, his nose never got broken, only for him to have his face quite ruined in the end of the first film and onward. His nose is mentioned again in ''Rocky II'', where it gets busted immediately at the start of the match.
38* BerserkButton:
39** Want to get on his bad side? Say anything bad about Adrian. Clubber Lang said something bad alright. He was offering her sex back at his crib, at the time that Rocky was just announcing his retirement!
40*** But while anger will draw him back into the ring its repeatedly shown to not be enough to make him train or fight to his fullest. He always needs something more positive than that.
41** His friends being harassed is another good way to get him angry, especially at Paulie.
42*** In ''Rocky V'', [[spoiler: Tommy Gunn should not have punched Paulie.]]
43---->'''Rocky:''' You knocked him down, why don't you try knockin' me down now?
44*** In ''Rocky Balboa'', some punks were harassing him and Marie. Just a dose of Rocky's aggression, and that got them to shut up.
45* BewareTheNiceOnes: His involvment in a sport where it's all fighting already makes this obvious. Although he's gentleman outside the ring, he will become brutal if someone picks trouble with him or someone he cares about.
46* BilingualBonus: Rocky's nickname is "The Italian Stallion", and Sylvester Stallone's last name means "stallion" in Italian.
47* BloodKnight: Zig-zagged. When it comes to fighting in the ring Rocky is mainly ambiguous about how he feels towards it as he's shown to love it at times and he's shown to have disdain towards it. This is mostly due to the fact that he had only fought to make a living for himself but after his first bout with Apollo he had planned on retiring and live a normal life but others have a bad habit on drawing him back into the ring even though he tries to put it behind him. Apollo even calls him out on not being true to himself as he could tell Rocky that both of them will always be fighters at heart. He's later proven to be right as Rocky seems to still enjoy the thrill of boxing secretly even though he doesn't express this side of himself as much until he meets Tommy Gunn and starts training him to where this had become his primary focus throughout his time of knowing the latter. [[spoiler: Even in ''Rocky Balboa'' where he's very nearly lost everything he had from the past (albeit a few people) he ends up getting back into the ring to let out all of his emotions and feel alive once more.]]
48* BoisterousBruiser: He's a pretty jovial guy, and rarely fights with any real aggression.
49* BookDumb: Although by the end of ''II'' he's writing poetry for a comatose Adrian and by ''III'' he's clearly come far in his acting ability, as is evidenced by the many successful commercials he appears in.
50* BreakTheBadass: Even Rocky is prone to this, as he goes through this phase in ''Rocky III''.
51* BrokeYourArmPunchingOutCthulhu:
52** In ''Rocky II'' his right eye vision is impaired after his fight with Apollo. Worse still, he has to fight Apollo again before the eye recovers completely. Fortunately its got better by the next movie.
53** In ''Rocky V'', he suffers from brain damage after fighting Drago. Worse still, this forces him to retire from boxing [[RichesToRags at the worst possible time]].
54* BruiserWithASoftCenter: Rocky could be one of the biggest examples in film history. While he may be capable of beating the tar out of anyone in the boxing ring, Rocky is a gentle soul who holds no real malice towards anyone.
55* ButForMeItWasTuesday: Said word for word in ''Rocky II'', albeit in a much more lighter context.
56* CaptainObvious: In the first film, Rocky watches Joe Frazier enter the ring during introductions and get into a good-natured play fight with Apollo, both with huge smiles on their faces.
57-->'''Rocky:''' They must be friends.
58** ''Rocky II'' features Apollo, incensed at Rocky taking him to the limit in the previous fight, doing all he can to cajole the southpaw to fight him again. The champion, usually a gregarious, flamboyant personality, is all business as he declares his intention to totally destroy and humiliate "The Italian Stallion".
59--->'''Rocky:''' He seems pretty mad.
60* CatchPhrase: "Absolutely."
61* CharacterDevelopment: Rocky becomes better in personality, with some other flaws to iron out in each film.
62** ''Rocky'' had him going from a poor enforcer for a LoanShark who got his shot at the title.
63** ''Rocky II'' has him enjoying his spoils and taking on responsibility for maintaining a home and keeping him and Adrian fed, until he has to fight again.
64** ''Rocky III'' has Rocky's acting greatly improved to where he can star in commercials, and after his downturn phase, has gained so much skill to the point of properly applying strategy in his rematch.
65** ''Rocky IV'' has him at such a high point in his life and career, where he's willing to throw it away if it meant [[spoiler: avenging the very man that got him there to begin with]].
66** ''Rocky V'' goes a little backwards (possibly due to brain damage) as it is an upsetting transition between being rich to going back to rags, as he tries to pass on his talents to Tommy Gunn, but eventually accepts his new life style and lets go his shot back to the ring.
67** ''Rocky Balboa'' has Rocky in his 60s, OlderAndWiser, running a restaurant, owning many pets, and still being his humble self, with the only flaw being that he's holding onto the past too tightly.
68** ''Creed'' has Rocky pretty much out of the boxing game, barring old friends he made along the way, until Donny convinces him to help the young fighter train. When Rocky finds out that he has cancer, it's Donny who rekindles his will the fight on.
69* ChampionsOnTheInside: How he views himself, and his friends view him, in the original ''Rocky'' and in ''Balboa''. He may have lost, but he went the distance with a highly-respected boxer, showing that he isn't just another muscled nobody.
70* CharlesAtlasSuperpower: Not really the case in the first three films, but reaches incredibly ridiculous levels in the latter half of his sextology.
71** ''Rocky IV'' has him beating Ivan Drago, who is clearly- and explicitly- [[SuperStrength superhuman]], basically the Soviet version of Captain America complete with super serum. To wit, Drago can easily punch with over 2,150 pounds of peak force (the strongest punch ever recorded under lab conditions is Frank Bruno's at 1,420 pounds)[[note]]A show called Sports Science claims that various MMA fighters have landed blows in the 3,000+ pound range, but actual scientific tests have not been able to come anywhere close to even half those results with the same or similar fighters, so the show is widely considered unreliable.[[/note]] and [[NeckLift lift a grown man with one outstretched arm]] and toss him. Rocky traded blows with this beast of Soviet super science for 15 rounds before triumphing over him, despite ''also'' being 40 years old and a good 8 inches shorter + 60 pounds lighter.
72** ''Rocky V'' shows him fresh from his fight with Drago with [[DentedIron severe brain damage]] to such an extent that any hard blow to the head is, according to the doctor, potentially fatal. Despite this he still beats the hell out of the much larger Tommy Gunn, the world heavyweight champion and over 25 years his junior, in a ''no-holds-barred street fight''. While getting hit clearly hurts and debilitates him, he doesn't suffer any permanent injury from the dozens of blows he took, while Tommy gets beaten into unconsciousness. In fact, their initial confrontation has Rocky leaving him bleeding on the floor in under ten seconds while having taken no damage himself- the fight only drags on after that because Tommy gets a bunch of cheap shots while Rock's back is turned.
73** ''Rocky Balboa'' features Rocky, as an arthritic 60+ year old man with arteries full of spaghetti and a head full of brain damage that we ''spent an entire movie looking at'' and which was supposed to kill him if he took a strong blow to the head, training for about a month before climbing into the ring with unreasonably successful heavyweight champion Mason Dixon (who A. is half his age, and B. had previously smashed dozens of top-tier fighters with such ease that [[VictoryIsBoring his sponsors were seriously considering dropping him because all his fights were too one-sided]]). Mason proceeds to punch Rocky in the face for an hour until he '''breaks his hands''', then barely remains conscious through the handful of cumbersome blows that the geezer who hadn't boxed in decades lands on him (with Mason wondering if he had hidden bricks in his glove with how insanely powerful his blows were).
74* CombatPragmatist: When Spider Rico pushes him into UnstoppableRage at the start of the first movie. Most seem to forget that Rocky isn't just a trained champion boxer... he was a former enforcer and knows how to throw down in a street fight.
75** Best shown when he fights against [[spoiler: Tommy Gunn]] in ''Rocky V''. Again showing he's just as dangerous in a street fight as he is in the ring, he throws his opponent into walls, throws cheap shots when he's down, trips him over and uses wrestling moves to throw him around.
76* CoolOldGuy: How else can you describe a boxer in his 60s who is able to carry a heavy weight champion in his 20s?
77* DavidVsGoliath: Like his namesake, Rocky was always pretty small for a heavyweight; he's 5'10 and per the announcer he was 191 lbs in the first movie, 202 lbs in the second movie, 191 lbs again in the third, and a similar weight in the fourth.[[note]]Stallone himself was even smaller than this, at 5'8.5 and 160-180 lbs depending on the film, but Rocky was always somewhat bigger than his actor. In fact by 21st century standards (and considering weight-cutting in combat sports), ''Rocky wouldn't even have been a heavyweight''. A fighter in the 190-200 lbs range would either cut weight to fight at light heavyweight, or would fight at cruiserweight (probably after gaining a few pounds to land in the 200-210 lbs range, as cutting 10 pounds before a fight is standard practice at cruiser).[[/note]] In each movie, Rocky's opponents are always taller and heavier than him. The best example is ''Rocky IV'', where Dolph Lundgren had 8 inches and ''70 pounds'' on Stallone. [[ArtisticLicenseSports They wouldn't even have fought in the same weight class!]][[note]]Well, Lundgren and Stallone wouldn't have, as the latter was 170 lbs and the former ~240 lbs. However, Rocky at 191 lbs would have just ''barely'' made the 190+ heavyweight requirement circa 1985 to be able to fight the 261 lbs Ivan Drago. Logical, we know.[[/note]] Meanwhile, in ''Rocky Balboa'' he's not ''that'' much lighter than Mason Dixon/Antonio Tarver (having put on a significant amount of weight to make up for his lack of speed), but this is more than made up for by him being over twenty years older.
78* DefeatEqualsFriendship: Rocky usually gains the respect of his opponents through their fights, including Spider Rico, Apollo Creed, Mason Dixon, and even Ivan Drago.
79* DentedIron: A theme present across the series.
80** The first major plot point of the fifth film is that his body is so broken down that he has to retire from boxing, and in ''Film/RockyBalboa'', Duke runs down a laundry list of Rocky's injuries, explaining why he has to train for pure power.
81** Ultimately subverted, in relative terms. At 70+ in the ''Creed'' films, Rocky is still coherent and able-bodied despite taking thousands of punches to the head throughout his career, to the point that Rock developing ''cavum septi pellucidi'' from cranial trauma was what triggered his retirement in ''V''. When you compare him to real life boxers who suffered severe CTE like [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8DXiCr3-jE James Toney]] or [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVOoDdRTAAM Jerry Quarry]], the difference is staggering.
82* {{Determinator}}: As seen in the numerous examples below, this is practically the core of his entire style -- he might not be the strongest offensively, but he can take infinitely more punishment than seems humanly possible, which lets him ride out fights up to the double digit rounds that most of his opponents have never needed to go into. By the final film, Rocky himself (as well as his coach, former bud of Apollo) realizes this and utilizes it to its fullest to capitalize on what he has left, since at his more advanced age, his raw determination is really all he's got.
83* DeterminedDefeatist: In the first film, he knows that he will lose, but decided that he'll go the distance so at least he won't be seen as a bum.
84* DoggedNiceGuy: To Adrian. Unusually for this trope, his persistence pays off, as her shyness is the only real obstacle to their relationship, not to mention it's very obvious that Adrian has somewhat of a crush on him to begin with.
85* FeelingTheirAge: In the sixth film. While Rocky keeps himself in quite good shape for a man his age, and goes through a formidable TrainingMontage to get ready to face Dixon, he ''still'' gets his ass kicked because Dixon is in his prime and faster, while Rocky's age and [[DentedIron injuries]] have slowed him down and taken away the things that made him a great fighter; it isn't until Dixon [[GameBreakingInjury breaks his hand]] that Rocky actually stands a chance.
86* FriendToAllLivingThings: He loves visiting the pet shop in ''Rocky I''. He even has his own pet turtles, goldfish, and finally a dog. By the time of ''Rocky Balboa'' he's feeding the birds, keeping numerous pets, and adopting a new dog.
87--> "I love almost everybody" (''Rocky V'')
88* FriendToAllChildren: In ''Rocky II'', he's playing stick ball with the children on the streets. He was also being chased by an army of children while going for a run.
89* GameBreakingInjury: In ''Rocky V'', he was forced to retire from boxing after suffering brain damage from Drago.
90* GeniusBruiser: During the fight with Clubber Lang, Rocky uncovers Clubber's weakness (i.e. he burns out quickly) and gets Clubber to throw everything at him in the second round by taunting him excessively. It works rather well to Rocky's advantage and is the shortest climax fight in all the films, closing out in the third round.
91* TheGlovesComeOff: In ''Rocky III'', Rocky had to go bare-fists in order to really bring down Thunderlips. Also in ''Rocky V'', where [[spoiler: Rocky and Tommy are in a street brawl.]] In ''Rocky Legends'', the first fight in career mode is a bare-fist street brawl.
92* GracefulLoser: Both the first and sixth film end with Rocky losing but not being bothered by it at all, 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 happily returns.
93* HandicappedBadass:
94** ''Rocky II'' had Rocky being forced to fight right-handed due to his bad right eye, and the possibility of going blind or even killed.
95** Again in Rocky V. Despite sustaining brain damage, [[spoiler: he can still brawl down with a heavy weight champion of the world. In the back alley. Barehanded!]]
96* HappilyMarried: To Adrian. They're consistently shown to have a very close and loving marriage that lasts through all the difficulties thrown at them.
97* AHeroToHisHometown: In ''Rocky V'' and in ''Rocky Balboa'', rich or not, Rocky is well respected by just about everyone in Philadelphia. In ''Rocky V'', it gets to the point where some of his fans ended up trying to defend him from [[spoiler: Tommy Gunn]].
98* HeroicBSOD: Has gone through a few of these
99** In ''Rocky II'', he was doing poorly in his training, until he flat out stops after hearing about Adrian going into a coma. He doesn't say a word, and only stays to her side and read stories to her until she recovers.
100** In ''Rocky III'' with a bad case of BreakTheBadass, where he suffered from the triple whammy of Mickey's revelation that the ten title defenses Rocky is so proud of were all handpicked opponents while Mickey carefully steered Rocky away from anybody that could actually be dangerous, his crushing loss to Clubber Lang, and [[spoiler:Mickey's death]]. This sends Rocky into a tailspin of depression and questioning not just whether he'll ever be capable of beating Clubber, but whether he was ever any good and his worth as a fighter in the first place.
101** Goes through another in ''Rocky V''. See MyGodWhatHaveIDone below.
102* HeartbrokenBadass: The death of Adrian nearly sends him into a DespairEventHorizon, and when he contracts cancer, he considers not trying to fight it, just so he can join her.
103* HonorBeforeReason:
104** In ''Rocky IV'', Rocky feels like he has to fight Ivan Drago, even an unsanctioned match for no money, all to [[spoiler: avenge Apollo's honor]]. Even before that, he [[spoiler: chose to honor Apollo's wishes and refused to stop the fight, which allowed Drago to kill Apollo.]]
105** There are times where despite being told to stay down, or to throw the fight, he berates the idea of that and presses on.
106* HonoraryUncle: He's a little thrown when Adonis starts calling him "Unc" but accepts it pretty quickly.
107* KnowWhenToFoldEm: In ''Rocky V'', after finding out he and his family are heading from RichesToRags, he decides that he will accept a match again Union Cane, until Adrian convinces him to see a doctor, in which they confirmed that he has brain damage from his match against Ivan Drago. It takes further convincing from Adrian to finally talk Rocky out of fighting any further, if only to protect himself.
108* LegendaryInTheSequel: In the first film, he was a nobody. By the time of ''Film/RockyBalboa'' and the ''Film/{{Creed|2015}}'' series, he's renowned as one of the greatest boxers in the world.
109* LightningBruiser: After Apollo trained Rocky in all the more complicated aspects of boxing, Rocky becomes a LightningBruiser MasterOfAll with the ability to fight in close and far away, use a fast but strong jab to confuse and wear out his opponent, has agile footwork and the ability to constantly use feints, and both effectively block and avoid his opponent's punches.
110* LikeASonToMe: Mickey Goldmill with Rocky, and more recently Rocky himself with Adonis in ''Creed''. Adonis even starts calling Rocky "Unc", and Rocky doesn't object.
111** He's notably much closer to Adonis Creed than his own natural son, Robert.
112* LovedByAll: Near-universally beloved as one of the greatest fighters of all time, even after his fall from grace in ''V''. By the time of ''Balboa'' he's still considered the hallmark of boxing.
113* MadeOfIron: How else do you describe a guy who goes for 15 rounds with a World Champion and still comes out strong? Drago said it best:
114-->"He's not human. He's like a piece of iron."
115* TheMentor:
116** In ''Rocky V'', he is this to Tommy Gunn [[spoiler: who later betrays him.]]
117** In ''Rocky Balboa'', he employs Steps as his personal assistant, practically being a mentor to him.
118** In ''Creed'', he becomes one (and a surrogate father figure) to Apollo's son.
119* MightyGlacier: What he logically becomes to an extent by the time of his final fight. There's no way he can out-hit or even bother outmaneuvering Dixon at his age, so he trains to outlast and deal as much damage as he can with any hit he does get in. His training does him good, as he goes from his prime weight of 191 lbs to, per the announcer, ''217 lbs'' for the Dixon fight.
120-->'''Mason Dixon''': ''*to his trainer*'' He's got bricks in his gloves...
121* TheMourningAfter: In ''Rocky Balboa'', Rocky cuts short any potential romance with Marie because his reverence for Adrian. Which makes his promises to Adrian in ''Rocky II thru IV'' all the more powerful.
122* MrFanservice: ''Rocky V'' especially treats their audience with a side body shot of Balboa in the shower.
123* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: In ''Rocky V'', he spent most of the movie training Tommy Gunn, and never really paid much attention to his own son, who was trying to win his approval. Adrian and Paulie noticed this, but when Robert disowns Rocky, and [[spoiler: when Tommy Gunn disowns him as well,]] Rocky goes through a HeroicBSOD, having realized that he nearly lost his own son because of his own desire for another chance.
124* NiceGuy: In spite of spending most of his adult life beating people up for a living, Rocky is ''incredibly'' sweet and kind to everyone. It's especially evident in ''Rocky Balboa'' where he puts up with having his picture taken with Robert's boss despite overhearing him berate him earlier, gives former rival Spider Rico free meals at his restaurant, and responds kindly to ''every single person'' who says "Hey, Rock!" or "Hi Champ!" on the street.
125** In ''Rocky Balboa'', after catching up with Marie, Rocky learned that her son, Steps, is without a job, and decided to employ him as his personal assistant. He eventually gives Marie a job as well since one of his waitresses will be on pregnant leave.
126** 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 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]].
127** ''Rocky V'' has a case where Rocky [[spoiler: can be too nice. Adrian had to stop him in the end.]]
128* NiceJobBreakingItHero: In ''Rocky V'', Rocky formed a brotherly alliance with Tommy Gunn, helping to develop him. However, he ends up practically ignoring his own son Robert, despite his bully problems, leading the boy to take matters into his own hands (although it ended quickly due to a DefeatEqualsFriendship moment), and even that didn't get Rocky's attention. Paulie notices this is happening, and when Paulie sees that [[spoiler: Tommy is in the process of being bought by GW Duke]], he tries to warn Rocky that the boat's sinking. Unfortunately, [[spoiler: Rocky's son disowns him, and Tommy disowns Rocky as well. He did manage to fix things with Robert, thankfully.]]
129* 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 6'3", 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.
130* OlderAndWiser: In ''Rocky Balboa'', he is in his 60s, and is able to maintain a restaurant successfully, and has gotten more intelligent by then. This continues in ''Creed'' where Rocky has matured enough to become a good mentor for Adonis.
131* ParentalSubstitute: To Adonis Creed. It's particularly poignant since Rocky and his own son Robert had grown distant and this relationship encouraged him to reconnect.
132* RagsToRiches: Takes this trope on a roller coaster ride. In ''I'', it's rags. He does better for a while in part ''II'', but quickly goes through the money from fighting Apollo and doesn't catch on doing other things. After winning the rematch with Apollo, he's solidly rich through ''III'' and ''IV''. ''V'' sees him [[RichesToRags going back to rags]], and by the 6th movie he seems to have found a happy medium, making a decent living as a successful restaurateur.
133* RageBreakingPoint: Remains calm, and genuinely compassionate after him and Tommy fall out, despite how deep it obviously cut him. It's only when Tommy goes after Paulie that he wants to put him through the street.
134* RealMenLoveJesus: Is a devout Catholic and often has a Padre pray with him, or ask for a blessing, before a big fight.
135* RedBaron: The "Italian Stallion". Probably one of the most important nicknames in the series, as it's what causes Apollo to choose him as his opponent in the first movie.
136* RetiredBadass: Briefly in ''Rocky II'', and definitely in ''Rocky V''. Also in ''Rocky Balboa''. Fully cemented by ''Creed''.
137* {{Revenge}}: His main motive in ''Rocky IV'' is to [[spoiler: avenge Apollo's death at Drago's hands]].
138* ShellShockedVeteran: In ''V'' after his fight with Drago, he displays pretty clear-cut signs of PTSD, having flashbacks of their fight at several points in the movie.
139* SingleTargetSexuality: The series shows that the only woman Rocky has ever loved is Adrian and even after her untimely death he is still devoted to her.
140* SkewedPriorities: After taking the heavyweight champ to the limit during the fight of a lifetime, when his girlfriend Adrian fights her way through a wild crowd to express her undying love. His immediate reaction?
141-->'''"Where's your hat?"'''
142* SmokingIsNotCool: Played with in the first movie. Rocky was a smoker, and then he lectures young Marie about hanging out with the wrong crowd and smoking. However, he drops the habit when he has to train for the match against Apollo, and seemed to have never picked it up since (unless you count ''Rocky V'' [[SubvertedTrope in which he picks the habit back up]]). However, he appears to put it back down when he trains Tommy Gunn.
143* TechnologicallyBlindElders: In ''Creed'', when Adonis uses his smartphone to take a picture of his paper training schedule.
144-->'''Rocky:''' Wait, don't you want this?\
145'''Adonis:''' I got it right here!\
146'''Rocky:''' What if you lose that there or it breaks?\
147'''Adonis:''' It's already up in the cloud!\
148'''Rocky:''' ''[[[LiteralMinded looks up at the sky in confusion]]]'' What cloud? What cloud?
149* TranquilFury:
150** Rocky's fight with Drago after Apollo's death.
151** On full display in ''Rocky V''. [[spoiler: A punch to Paulie's face had Rocky try to open Tommy's head.]]
152** In ''Rocky Balboa'', he gives a punk a dose of his fury when he insults Marie.
153* UnskilledButStrong: He has a cast iron jaw, incredible punching power, was a southpaw, and a real talent for the sport, but for most of his history that was mostly all he had going for him as he was still a brawler at heart and couldn't even defend himself properly and allowed himself to be punched in the head repeatedly. Then first Mickie and later Apollo trained him and converted all of that raw talent into true skill and ability, transforming him into TheAce.
154--> '''Mickey:''' Ya got a lot of heart, but you fight like a goddamn ape!
155* VirileStallion: Invoked, Rocky is called "The Italian Stallion" because of his Italian-American heritage. Rocky had to work hard to be a champion, he trains in a barn, and he returned to the ring in the 2006 film in order to prove himself yet again.
156* WarriorTherapist: On full display by the time of ''Creed''.
157-->'''Rocky:''' (points to Adonis' reflection) This guy right here is the hardest opponent you'll ever have to face. That's true in the ring and I think that's true in life too.
158* WorldsBestWarrior: Rocky is arguably the best boxer in the entire franchise being able to overcome many challenges in his path against stronger opponents such as Apollo Creed, Clubber Lang, and Ivan Drago, who were all able to outclass him in terms of boxing prowress, (or out right physical strength) at first until he was able to turn the tables to win through his adaptability by becoming TheAce through training to counteract their styles thus becoming more skilled, and sheer determination in order to push through the pain.
159[[/folder]]
160
161[[folder:Adrian Pennino-Balboa]]
162!!Adrian Pennino-Balboa
163[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/talia-shire-as-adrian_5088.gif]]
164[[caption-width-right:320:''"I'M! NOT! A LOSER!"'']]
165!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/TaliaShire
166!!!'''Voiced in French By:''' Béatrice Delfe (I to IV), Françoise Dorner (V)
167!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Film/{{Rocky}}'' | ''Film/RockyII'' | ''Film/RockyIII'' | ''Film/RockyIV'' | ''Film/RockyV'' | ''Film/RockyBalboa'' (flashback)
168
169->''"All those beatings you took in the ring, '''I''' took them with you!"''
170
171Paulie's sister, a painfully shy woman who runs a local pet store and that Rocky has had a crush on for years, although she has never responded to his flirting and such. They begin to connect romantically during the build up to Rocky's first fight with Apollo, as Adrian also begins dealing with her own issues and putting her overbearing brother in his place.
172----
173* BeautifulAllAlong: Even before the end of the first film, it turns out that the mousy and shy GirlNextDoor had been a beautiful woman all along.
174* BewareTheNiceOnes:
175** While not a fighter like her husband, thanks to a confidence boost by Rocky she is often considered very tough. Rocky even [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] it in III.
176--> '''Rocky:''' When did you get so tough.\
177'''Adrian:''' I married a fighter.
178** In ''Rocky V'', she does this again, fed up with how Rocky is practically giving a lot to Tommy, while leaving his own son out of the equation. Rocky finally snaps out of it shortly after.
179* BrutalHonesty: Rocky knows that he can always go to his girlfriend and future wife for honest criticism and the unvarnished truth. When in the second film Rocky tries his hand at commercial endorsements and asks her if he looks stupid in his costume, she readily admits he does. In the fourth film, she straight up tells Apollo that fighting Ivan Drago is a bad idea, as it would be foolish to risk his health and all he has at this stage of his life. Later in that same film, she pleads with her husband not to take the fight with Drago as well, straight up ''screaming'' at her husband '''"YOU CAN'T WIN!!!"'''. Rocky [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] the trope by saying "Adrian always tells the truth."
180* ChangedMyMindKid: Adrian spent a good chunk of the second film forbidding Rocky to take up the rematch against Apollo. She was quite unsupportive at first [[spoiler: until her water broke and she gave birth to Robert (Rocky Jr.). After waking up from a short-term coma and spending a heart warming moment with Rocky, she is suddenly supportive of him, motivating him to train at full force.]]
181** We see this again in IV, where her very reasonable fear that Rocky will be killed in the ring at Ivan Drago's hands [[spoiler: just like Apollo]] spurs her to ''plead'' with her husband to reject the fight with the towering Russian. To punctuate her protest, she refuses to travel with Rocky to Russia. But somewhere during his training, Adrian suddenly pops up, having made the trip after all, to fully support her husband.
182* CharacterDevelopment: With Rocky's encouragement, she becomes less shy, learns to stand up for herself, and even becomes tough enough to give Rocky himself a pep-talk and get him out of his HeroicBSOD in the third film.
183* DeathGlare: Delivers a couple of ''epic'' ones in III. The first instance is when she's introduced to "Thunderlips", the gigantic brute of a wrestler who just tossed her husband around like a ragdoll. And the second is when she spies a female groupie steal a smooch from Rocky during his public training exhibition.[[note]] Said groupie happened to be Stallone’s real-life wife at the time, Sasha Czack.[[/note]]
184* HappilyMarried: Despite she and Rocky being very different people, the sequels make it clear that their marriage is a deeply loving one.
185* LostLenore: [[spoiler:Following her death before the events of Film/RockyBalboa, she's become this to Rocky.]]
186* MoralityChain: In ''Rocky II'', Adrian's unsupportive attitude about Rocky fighting was apparently linked to Rocky's poor performance in training. When Paulie realizes this, he tries to get Adrian to support Rocky.
187* NotAfraidOfYouAnymore: For a good chunk of the first movie, Paulie will throw her around (figuratively, never physically) and ridicule her for being too shy. Halfway in, after spending the night with Rocky, she stands up to her brother the moment he starts getting aggressive.
188* OneTrueLove: Rocky is the only man who ever looked at Adrian. Adrian is the only woman Rocky ever loved.
189* PowerOfLove: Rocky's love for her can make him accomplish miracles. ''Adrian!''
190* PhraseCatcher: "Yo, Adrian!"
191* ProgressivelyPrettier: Goes from dressing and styling herself in frumpy, unattractive ways to more and more flattering styles with each passing movie.
192* ShrinkingViolet: At first, she was a painfully shy woman, used to being domineered and controlled by her brother. That didn't last long.
193* SuddenSequelDeathSyndrome: [[spoiler:She dies of cancer four years before the events of Film/RockyBalboa. This was enforced, as Stallone and Shire both agreed that having Adrian's death would add more drama and be more empowering for Rocky to be in mourning.]]
194* WetBlanketWife: In every Rocky film (except III) Adrian is strongly against Rocky engaging a certain foe. But considering the nature of Rocky's opponents ([[TheAce Apollo]], [[TheBrute Clubber]], [[SuperSoldier Drago]]), this could very well be seen as an example of..
195%%* WomenAreWiser: Often portrayed this way.
196* YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre: As well as BeautifulAllAlong, Adrian does this trope to a T. She starts out as a shy, meek woman who constantly keeps her appearance covered. But after her first date with Rocky, she gets a big boost of confidence and stands up to Paulie. In later films, she becomes the voice of reason.
197[[/folder]]
198
199[[folder:Paulie Pennino]]
200!!Paulie Pennino
201[[quoteright:266:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rocky_paulie_3120.jpg]]
202[[caption-width-right:266:''"I don't sweat you."'']]
203!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/BurtYoung
204!!!'''Voiced in French By:''' Creator/SergeSauvion
205!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Film/{{Rocky}}'' | ''Film/RockyII'' | ''Film/RockyIII'' | ''Film/RockyIV'' | ''Film/RockyV'' | ''Film/RockyBalboa''
206
207Adrian's older brother and Rocky's long time friend, he begins the films as a drunken, overbearing lout who tries to lord over his sister and hopes to use Rocky in order to make connections with Rocky's mob boss. At first he is resentful of Rocky due to Rocky's great success and popularity, but eventually Rocky's always being there for him turns Paulie into a true friend.
208----
209* AdaptationalBadass: He is a secret character in ''Rocky Legends''.
210* TheAlcoholic: Peaks at the start of the third film; afterwards the focus on it dies away.
211* BigBrotherBully: He's not the best brother to Adrian when he's first introduced, taking her for granted and insisting that "she owes him". And on Thanksgiving Day, he snatches the turkey out of the oven and throws it out of the house, ruining Adrian's dinner. However, as the films progress, Paulie subverts this trope and shows that he really does care about her.
212* BigBrotherMentor: Shows up in ''Rocky V'', where he is this to Robert (Rocky Jr.) when helping him with his bully problem.
213* CharacterCatchphrase: "I don't sweat you!"
214* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: He made an attempt to fight Rocky, who had defended his title several times, for making him mad. While he never really landed a hit and Rocky stayed on the defensive (easily dodging or just side-stepping Paulie's wildly telegraphed swings), Rocky told him that he "fought good". Attempting to take on [[Wrestling/HulkHogan Thunderlips]] in ''Rocky III'' while trying to get him to let go of Rocky is another great moment. And another moment in ''Rocky V''. See ShutUpHannibal below.
215* DeadpanSnarker: If he's not saying something stupid, he's making snide jokes at someone's expense.
216* FreezeFrameBonus: A look at the counter in the first movie shows Paulie wearing some sort of an officer's uniform. Possibly an ActorAllusion, since Burt Young served in the Marines in RealLife.
217* HeelRealization: In ''Rocky Balboa'' he reveals how deeply he regrets his abusive and controlling behavior towards Adrian, and that he doesn't want to have to think about her anymore because he doesn't have good memories with her.
218* HiddenDepths: He can be a total jerk, but he can also be a genuinely good guy, as each film progressively shows. It's also implied (thanks to the FreezeFrameBonus above) that he may have been an officer of a sort once, though that was never elaborated on.
219** Related to the above: notice that during his drunken rage in the first film, he smashes several other objects in the house with a baseball bat (including an expensive looking tea service set), but refrains from smashing the navy picture, which is right nearby. It wouldn't be too outlandish to infer that the picture obviously means a great deal to him.
220* ItsAllAboutMe: Paulie is extremely self-centered, something that doesn't quite go away even as he develops over the films. By the time of ''Rocky Balboa'', however, he's become empathetic enough to deeply regret how he's treated Adrian and Rocky.
221* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: After going through an emotional breakdown with both Rocky and Adrian, he decided to be a little nicer to Rocky the next day, and (to be fair about him making money off of Rocky) asked him to advertise the meat factory on Rocky's name. He also becomes like any other good friend to Rocky beginning at ''Rocky II''. He shows further shades of this when he attempts to rescue Rocky from Thunderlips. Then he flat out admits it in Rocky IV.
222* {{Jerkass}}: Especially in the first movie. He uses Rocky just so he can get work from a loan shark collector, and later profits off of his match with Apollo, not to mention calling for a news interview with Rocky without his consent. He also tosses Adrian's Thanksgiving turkey in the yard in a fit of pique. It works, until the third movie where he is just a bum now, that is until he confronts Rocky, where Rocky lets him in his home with open arms. Afterwards, he does gradually become more of a JerkWithAHeartOfGold, though his issues don't fully go away until ''Rocky Balboa''.
223* MadeOfIron: Takes a shot to the head from [[spoiler: Tommy Gunn (the World Heavyweight Boxing Champion)]] and just ''shakes it off.'' He also took quite a punch to the head by Thunderlips, a heavy weight wrestler, and he can still stand up afterward.
224* TheMillstone: Often a burden to Rocky, he becomes this especially in ''Rocky V'' where he loses all of Rocky's money due to his incompetent financial management.
225* MySisterIsOffLimits: Subverted. Paulie encourages Rocky to take his sister out, despite her resistance, but is quite surprised when he learned implicitly (based on her NotAfraidOfYouAnymore moment) that he had sex with her, and bursts into tears.
226* NiceJobBreakingItHero: In ''Rocky V'', Adrian and Paulie got into an heated argument early in the film about Paulie signing power to attorney to their accountant. It turns out he ''thought'' he was signing a tax form. It can be assumed that he was simply tricked into signing something he shouldn't have.
227* NoodleIncident: Between ''Rocky II'' and ''III'', there is no mention of Gazzo, and Paulie is down on his luck as he descended into alcoholism, and he suddenly resents Rocky.
228* OlderAndWiser: In ''Rocky Balboa'', where his angry and resentful tendencies have completely faded and he's a voice of reason to the depressed Rocky.
229* PoliticallyIncorrectHero: In ''Rocky III'', he makes a lot of bluntly racist commentary on the folks in Apollo's old gym.
230* TheResenter: To Rocky in ''Rocky III''. Like his alcoholism, it reaches a peak at the start of the third movie and dies away when the two bond after that. In the deleted scenes of ''Rocky Balboa'', he fully resents what kind of a person Paulie himself had become and wishes [[spoiler: he would have died in Adrian's place.]]
231* ShutUpHannibal: In ''Rocky V'', he gives this, full force, to [[spoiler: Tommy Gunn, when he insulted Rocky's honor. This resulted in getting punched.]]
232* SpellMyNameWithAnS: ''Rocky Balboa'' gives Paulie's (and Adrian's) last name as "Panina'. However, for years it was said their surname was "Pennino", based on Talia Shire's grandmother's surname. To make matters even more confusing, ''Creed'' uses "Pennino" [[spoiler: on Paulie's headstone]].
233* SuddenSequelDeathSyndrome: [[spoiler:Passes away a few years before the events of ''Creed''.]]
234* TookALevelInKindness: He becomes nicer with each installment despite his flaws never really going away. It's best demonstrated in ''Rocky V'' where, despite losing all of Rocky's money due to his incompetence, he helps Rocky Jr. deal with his bullies and [[spoiler:tells Tommy Gunn off for tossing Rocky away after the latter took him in and practically treated him like family.]]
235* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Four Roses Bourbon. [[spoiler:Rocky even leaves a bottle on his gravestone in tribute after he passes away.]]
236* YouOweMe: Paulie sees himself as giving a lot to Rocky, and felt like he wasn't given the same care that he gave to Adrian and Mickey, gets mad at Rocky, and tried to fight him because Rocky tells him, straight up that nobody owes him anything. He got better after asking Rocky for a job.
237-->'''Paulie:''' ...can I have a job?\
238'''Rocky:''' ...all you had to do was ask me.
239[[/folder]]
240
241[[folder:Mickey Goldmill]]
242!!Mickey Goldmill
243[[quoteright:230:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mickey-goldmill-burgess-meredith_1162.jpg]]
244[[caption-width-right:230:''"GET UP, '''YOU SON OF A BITCH'''! 'Cause Mickey loves you!"'']]
245!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/BurgessMeredith
246!!!'''Voiced in French By:''' Maurice Chevit (I and V), Jacques Dynam (II and III)
247!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Film/{{Rocky}}'' | ''Film/RockyII'' | ''Film/RockyIII'' | ''Film/RockyIV'' (archive footage) | ''Film/RockyV'' (flashback)
248
249->''"I got all this knowledge, I got it up here now, I wanna give it to you... I wanna take care of ya, I wanna make sure that all this shit that happened to me doesn't happen to you... Ya can't buy what I'm gonna give ya. I've got pain and I've got experience."''
250
251A former fighter and the owner of the local boxing gym where Rocky trains during the first movie, he begins the first film unsympathetic, and even antagonistic towards Rocky, angry at Rocky squandering his talent and working for the mob. He has to eat crow later when Rocky is picked as Apollo's opponent, and begs Rocky to let him be Rocky's trainer, because he knows he can turn Rocky into a dangerous opponent instead of a no hope challenger. Rocky, remembering all of Mickie's slights, almost turns him down, but accepts in the end, and a deep relationship forms between the two as Mickie becomes mentor, trainer, and even to a degree a father figure for Rocky.
252----
253* BrooklynRage: He's certainly got the accent, and the old man grouchiness and sudden bursts of anger (see SuddenlyShouting below) certainly covers the rage part.
254* CoolOldGuy: He's been part of the boxing world for decades, and still has that certain something that inspires youngsters and makes them love him like a father.
255* CynicalMentor: He starts the first film, all but openly antagonistic towards Rocky and all but kicking Rocky out of his gym because of Rocky's mob ties and loan sharking. The sequels turn this into a subversion, as he and Rocky become very close.
256* DeadpanSnarker: Mickey makes quite a number of witticisms mixed with the occasional StealthInsult.
257* DrillSergeantNasty: Takes on this role from I through III, as he's training Rocky for big fights.
258* DyingDeclarationOfLove: [[TearJerker "I love ya, kid."]]
259* InformedJudaism: There are no real clues about him being Jewish until [[spoiler:he receives a proper Jewish funeral]].
260* IWasQuiteALooker: In ''Rocky Legends'', his young self, while in his prime, is a playable character. Not a bad looking guy for his time. Although averted in the Rocky game for [=PS2=], where it's his old self as a playable character.
261* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He is a gruff and cynical mentor who makes it clear that he doesn't like how Rocky is a collector, but he proves to be very loving and protective father figure towards people he cares about, especially Rocky.
262* TheMentor: Older, wiser figure who knows better than the protagonist, has become too old for the sport and imparts skills and knowledge that allow the protagonist to become TheHero and fulfill his destiny? A big check to everything.
263* MentorOccupationalHazard: [[spoiler:In the third movie he shows signs of heart trouble and failing health and then suffers a heart attack just before Rocky's first fight with Clubber Lang.]]
264* PapaWolf:
265** He becomes protective of Rocky in ''Rocky II'' like a father would. He even decides to train Rocky again after getting fed up with Apollo giving him a bad name.
266--> "I say we bash his his head in."
267** In ''Rocky III'', he revealed that in Rocky's rise to fame, he went so far as to ensure he picked fighters he knows Rocky can beat, in order to secure Rocky's successful future. This is because he believes that Rocky's prime as a fighter is in danger of passing quickly, and he wants to make sure Rocky makes the money he'll need for the rest of his life without being badly hurt before his career is over.
268* RedBaron: He was apparently called Mighty Mick, judging by the name of his gym.
269* {{Retirony}}: [[spoiler: Mickey plans to retire from being Rocky's manager after his fight with Clubber Lang. On the night of the bout, Lang just so happens to accidentally and indirectly cause cardiac arrest, which later claims Mickey's life.]]
270* SourSupporter: Despite letting Rocky use that one locker for six years, he has another fighter take it over and practically abandons Rocky due to his affiliation with Gazzo. Then he swings right back to him the moment he learned about his match with Apollo Creed.
271* SpiritAdvisor: [[spoiler: Not emphasized, but he does appear in a flashback, and says a line near the end of Rocky V where he says to Rocky "Get up you sonavabitch! Because Mickey loves you!"]]
272* SuddenlyShouting: His normally gravelly low voice often blows up into ''extremely'' loud outbursts.
273* TrainingFromHell: Or at the very least, very unorthodox. Not only does he drive Rocky to surpass his physical and mental limits (greatly increasing his strength, toughness and stamina), he forces Rocky to develop speed by having him '''chase a chicken(!)'''.
274[[/folder]]
275
276[[folder:Robert "Rocky" Balboa, Jr.]]
277!!Robert "Rocky" Balboa, Jr. (sometimes called Rocky Jr.)
278[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/milo_ventimiglia-rocky_balboa_1945.gif]]
279[[caption-width-right:350: As he appeared in ''Rocky Balboa'']]
280!!!'''Played By:''' Seargeoh Stallone (II), Ian Fried (III), Rocky Krakoff (IV), Sage Stallone (V), and Creator/MiloVentimiglia (Balboa, Creed II)
281!!!'''Voiced in French By:''' Creator/JackieBerger (III), Rachid Ferrache (IV), David Lesser (V), Creator/AlexisTomassian (Balboa and Creed II)
282!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Film/RockyII'' | ''Film/RockyIII'' | ''Film/RockyIV'' | ''Film/RockyV'' | ''Film/RockyBalboa'' | ''Film/CreedII''
283
284The son of Rocky and Adrian who was born in the second film. He has an expanded role in Rocky V where he was close to Rocky until Tommy Gunn came into their lives, causing them to drift apart. Robert attempts to win his father back, even deciding to learn how to fight (with Paulie's help) so he can stand up for himself against bullies, but gives up when even THAT didn't get his father's attention. In the end, Rocky makes it up to Robert, and the two get close again. But ''Rocky Balboa'' sees that they've ultimately become quite distant from each other, with Robert pursuing a career in business, and attempting to escape his father's huge shadow so he can build his own life.
285----
286* AlwaysSomeoneBetter:
287** In ''Rocky V'', Robert resents Rocky when he's training Tommy Gunn, giving him more attention than his own son.
288** In ''Rocky Balboa'', he is always compared to his father, causing him to resent him (again if you count ''V'').
289* TheCameo: [[spoiler:Shows up at the end of ''Creed II'' when Rocky heads to Vancouver to mend their relationship.]]
290* DefeatEqualsFriendship: Despite beating one bully and watching the other run off, he asks him to be friends with him so they both don't have any more problems. He agreed, and the other one comes through as well.
291* TheDogBitesBack: In ''Rocky V'', after getting beaten up by a pair of bullies, twice, he takes up training and beats them both to the ground.
292* AFriendInNeed: [[spoiler: To his father, where he decides to quit his job after taking his dad's words to heart; he comes to him to support him for his exhibition match.]]
293* GeniusBruiser: In ''Rocky V'', he is said by Rocky to be really smart. When bullying becomes a problem, he takes up training, and can punch as well as he can think.
294* IAmNotMyFather: In ''Rocky Balboa'', he becomes incensed when people bring up his father in relation or comparison to him, feeling he's suffering in Rocky's considerable shadow. He blames his father for Robert's having it easy in life, and yet never really being able to make a name for himself, and even goes so far as to give Rocky TheReasonYouSuckSpeech. But Rocky turns it around on him, telling his son that he's looking for someone to blame because he couldn't make his own way. [[spoiler: By the end Robert comes through by taking responsibility for his own failures, realizes Rocky was right, and learns to respect his father again.]]
295* LikeFatherLikeSon: Shown in ''Rocky V''. Robert can be as humble as Rocky, but when he gets picked on by bullies, he takes up fighting just to beat them up. But thankfully, his humble side shines through, and the youngsters become friends afterward.
296* LikeFatherUnlikeSon: While his dad was a high school dropout who had to fight for a living, Jr. grows up in what appears to be an upper middle class household, is an honor roll student from grade school, graduates from a presumably good university, and works as an accountant at a big firm in his adulthood. This was enforced by his parents.
297* MoralityPet: To Paulie in ''Rocky III''. Paulie may still be a {{Jerkass}} for the most part, but he clearly loves his nephew and enjoys babysitting him.
298* OvershadowedByAwesome: He comes to feel this way about his father, as his father's legend will always be hanging over him and he'll always be compared to his dad and, he's sure, found wanting. These issues finally appear to be dealt with in ''Rocky Balboa'', and healing begins between father and son.
299* PlotRelevantAgeUp: He was a little boy in ''Rocky IV''. He suddenly ages a year or two by the time of ''Rocky V''. Somewhat justified since the actors changed. Again. But still...
300* PutOnABus: In ''Creed'', he is mentioned to have moved to Vancouver with his girlfriend.
301* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: In ''Rocky V'', he gives one to his dad, fed up with him spending all of his time with Tommy Gunn. [[spoiler: This leads into a RandomSmokingScene when Rocky finds him. Thankfully, it doesn't become a habit after him and Rocky reconcile.]]
302* TrainingMontage: In ''Rocky V'', even Robert gets one.
303* WellDoneSonGuy: In ''Rocky V'', he appeals to his dad, surprising him with a trophy collection stand he set up, drawings, and even tried to talk to him about how he reclaimed his stolen coat, but Rocky never really returned a meaningful affection.
304* WhosLaughingNow: A non-villainous example. [[spoiler: Near the end of ''Rocky Balboa'', Robert gives Rocky a prep talk before the final round, telling him that people thought of both of them as a joke, but nobody is laughing now.]]
305[[/folder]]
306
307!!Rocky's Opponents
308
309!!!''Rocky'' & ''Rocky II''
310
311[[folder:Spider Rico]]
312!!Spider Rico
313[[quoteright:323:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/604433-604432-spider_rico_pedro_lovell_large_4870.jpg]]
314[[caption-width-right:323: Left: ''Rocky Balboa''. Right: ''Rocky I'']]
315!!!'''Played By:''' Pedro Lovell
316!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Film/{{Rocky}}'' | ''Film/RockyBalboa''
317
318The first opponent we see Rocky take on in the first movie. We don't see him again until ''Rocky Balboa'', where he is an employee and friend of his old opponent.
319----
320* AscendedExtra: He goes from being a fighter irrelevant to the story that goes uncredited, to being Rocky's old friend.
321* TheBusCameBack: He returns in ''Rocky Balboa'' after being absent in all the other sequels.
322* CoolOldGuy: Even though Rocky beat him long before, he's still the only guy to backtalk Rocky without getting hit.
323--> '''Spider:''' [[CallBack Don't make me fight you again.]] Last time you got lucky.
324* RealMenLoveJesus: By ''Rocky Balboa'', he appears to be a devoted Christian and prays with Balboa before his match with Mason.
325* SuddenSequelDeathSyndrome: A deleted scene in ''Creed II'' reveals that he passed away recently.
326[[/folder]]
327
328[[folder:Apollo Creed]]
329!!Apollo Creed
330[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ApolloCreed_2964.jpg]]
331[[caption-width-right:350:''"See, be a thinker, not a stinker."'']]
332!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/CarlWeathers
333!!!'''Voiced in French By:''' Creator/MedHondo (I to III), Sady Rebbot (IV)
334!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Film/{{Rocky}}'' | ''Film/RockyII'' | ''Film/RockyIII'' | ''Film/RockyIV'' | ''Film/{{Creed|2015}}'' (flashback)
335
336->''"We always have to be in the middle of the action 'cause we're the warriors. And without some challenge, without some damn war to fight, then the warriors might as well be dead, Stallion."''
337
338Rocky's opponent in the first two films and friend in the following two films. Creed begins the series as the reigning heavyweight champion, and between his dazzling skills, speed, and power, no one has ever managed to go the distance with him. When an opponent pulls out a fight set for January 1, 1976, Creed, realizing no other top level contender will be free to fight by then, and unwilling to change the date, instead comes up with a gimmick: to give an unheralded local fighter an opportunity to reach the top ala UsefulNotes/TheAmericanDream by fighting him. He then picked Rocky as his opponent, and the rest was history...\
339\
340In the third film after Rocky loses to Clubber Lang, Apollo trains Rocky for the rematch with Lang, beginning what fans have called "an epic bromance" with Rocky that lasts through the end of the third film and into the fourth.\
341\
342A previously-unknown liaison with another woman between ''III'' and ''IV'' conceived his illegitimate son, Adonis, who would go on to be the protagonist of ''Creed''.
343----
344* TheAce: Apollo is considered by many the single greatest boxer in the entire franchise, with Rocky himself calling him a "perfect fighter". His record in the first movie? 46-0, with ''46 knockouts''. [[ExpyCoexistence Note that Joe Frazier, Muhammad Ali, and George Foreman all fought in his era, and thus likely are among those knockouts.]] [[spoiler:''Creed'' even reveals that Apollo won his secret rubber match against Rocky, establishing Apollo as the superior boxer.]][[note]]Rocky was in substantially worse shape than he was in ''II'' or ''IV'', which is noted by the announcer in his first bout with Clubber ("Rocky's slimmed down so much he looks like a middleweight"), but you can't exactly call it an unfair match-up considering Apollo had been retired for six years at that point. Then again, it's entirely possible that Rocky was just talking Apollo up for Donnie's sake.[[/note]]
345* AllAmericanFace: Taken to a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PH9AB16Crjk hilariously awesome and ridiculous extreme]] in ''IV''.
346* ArrogantKungFuGuy: He believes that no one can defeat him, and takes Rocky so lightly that he doesn't even bother to train in the lead-up to their fight. To be fair, he WAS the world heavyweight champion going up against a no-name and reportedly won all of his previous matches with ease, so his arrogance is not unwarranted.
347* AntiVillain: He's Rocky's main opponent in the first two movies, and while he might lay the trash talk on a bit much, he's a 100% fair fighter, and is respectful of his opponent when they're not battling it out in the media.
348* BigBrotherMentor: Becomes this to Rocky in the third film.
349* CasualtyInTheRing: [[spoiler:Takes a fatal beating from Drago.]]
350* DefeatMeansFriendship: After being defeated in ''II'', he befriends Rocky and co. in ''III''.
351* DentedIron: The real reason he was [[spoiler:killed against Drago isn't a lack of skill, it's that he got old. Combining a fast fighting style with age is simply not possible]].
352* FamedInStory: In the '' Creed'' movies, he's held up by sports commentators and other athletes as one of the greatest boxers of all time.
353* FamilyThemeNaming: His two legitimate kids are named Alexander and Artemis, his illegitimate son is named Adonis and his granddaughter is named Amara. Notice a pattern?
354* FatalFlaw: Pride is Apollo's biggest weakness. Every time he has gotten in trouble or found himself defeated, it was a direct result of his pride.
355** In ''Rocky I'', he underestimates Rocky's tenacity and how hard he's training. His trainer Duke picks up on it immediately when he sees Rocky training in a meat locker, noting that Rocky looked "serious". Apollo dismisses Duke's concerns which leads to Apollo getting downed by Balboa in the first round and afterwards Rocky becomes the only fighter to ever go the distance with Apollo.
356** In ''Rocky II'' Apollo is obsessed with the need to beat Rocky decisively. He even states that he while he won their first fight, he didn't feel as though he beat Balboa (knocked him out), and relentlessly seeks a rematch, training hard this time. During the bout, while he is more serious, his desire to knock out Rocky makes him fight in close quarters rather than just maintaining his distance and taking points using his longer reach and obviously superior jab. Apollo was good but there was no way he could avoid all of Rocky's hits at close range and slowly gets severely beaten over the course of the fight. In spite of his trainer, Duke, pleading with him to stay away from Balboa, Apollo is so intent on knocking Rocky out that he won't listen. This costs him the second fight in the end.
357--->'''Duke:''' You got him beat on points, now just stick and move! This man is breaking you up inside! Stick and move!\
358'''Apollo:''' ''[hurt and exhausted]'' He's gonna fall, he's gonna fall. Ain't gonna be like last time, ain't gonna be like last time.
359** When he challenges Russian fighter Ivan Drago (despite being older and out of his prime) he believes his skill can let him outclass the Russian. [[spoiler:Tragically, this leads to Creed's death after it becomes painfully apparent that the former champ seriously underestimated Drago.]] This mistake is particularly egregious because considering Ivan's size and power alone, it was unlikely that Apollo would be able to knock him out, meaning that Creed would need to win by decision. And even a layman would realize that the odds were greatly against the older and out of condition Apollo to last 12 full rounds against someone so powerful and younger, with an overwhelming advantage in height and reach to boot.
360* GeniusBruiser: Emphasized more in the novelization and other background materials, but Apollo isn't just a boxer, he also entirely runs, markets, and manages an entire business empire based around himself. He's also a keen tactician, identifying the weaknesses of fighters like Clubber Lang and figuring out how to counter them.
361** He is wearing a [[BadassInANiceSuit stylish business suit]] and sitting behind a desk in his office when we first see him in I.
362* 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 ''Rocky IV'', where [[spoiler:he's badly hammered by Drago and ''dies'' in Round 2]].
363* GracefulLoser: At the end of ''Rocky II'' he raises Rocky's hand after the latter beat him fair and square in their rematch.
364* HeelFaceTurn: A mild example, as he [[NoAntagonist was never really a villain]], just Rocky's opponent, and the worst that could be said about him was his original intention of using Rocky as a publicity stunt for what he assumed would be an easy win. After ''II'', he drops all his lingering arrogance and animosity towards Rocky and even becomes his trainer in the third film.
365* HeterosexualLifePartners: After their relationship had previously consisted of considering each other a WorthyOpponent, the time they spend together in the third film upgrades it to a true, close friendship and this trope.
366* HonorBeforeReason: [[spoiler:A fatal example]] in ''Rocky IV''. Even sadder after seeing the salute he gives his wife; Apollo knows damn well what's coming.
367* HotBlooded: "''It's time to go to SCHOOL!''"
368* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Cocky and arrogant, and even goes as far as to berate Rocky publicly to goad him into a rematch, but underneath it all he's not really a bad guy.
369* LargeHam: Actively cultivates this as part of his image.
370* LateArrivalSpoiler: The plots of ''Film/{{Creed|2015}}'' and ''Film/CreedII'' hinge upon [[spoiler:his death in the ring]] early in ''Film/RockyIV''.
371* LetsGetDangerous: While it's understood that Apollo is far, far out of Rocky's league, Apollo treats the fight very much as a joke and spends his entire entrance showboating to the crowd. In the first round Rocky actually manages to knock him down (the first time this has ever happened to him) and gets him literally on the ropes. Apollo decides to quit playing around and easily breaks Rocky's nose.
372-->"He doesn't know it's a damn show. He thinks it's a damn fight."
373* ManlyFacialHair: Sports a pretty nice 'stache and is considered [[Film/Creed2015 even years later]] as one of the best boxers of all time.
374* ManipulativeBastard: In the second film. Frustrated by the fan response to his first fight with Rocky, he decides to provoke Rocky into getting back to the ring for a rematch by playing the role of the {{Heel}} in the media and angering him. [[GoneHorriblyRight It works]].
375* 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, undefeated reputation, 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.
376* NothingPersonal: Deconstructed. While Apollo doesn't hate the ''people'' he goes up against, he's too eager to play the heel to goad them to fight, and at the same time too easily baited into falling for trash talk or convincing himself that his opponents are soft and undisciplined. He underestimates Balboa the first time, leading to a brutal match and a win for Apollo by decision that gets overshadowed by Rocky going the distance. Come ''Rocky II'', Apollo's scant victory weighs so heavily on his pride that he more or less ''forces'' himself into hating Rocky, a guy he now knows is a tough fighter and a big sweetheart, and getting him to take Creed's challenge seriously in return; it backfires, in that Rocky wins by willing himself to continue when Apollo can't even manage to stand up. [[spoiler:In ''Rocky IV'', his belief that the fight with Drago will just be a harmless, showy exhibition match against an up-and-comer gets him ''killed''.]]
377* OnlyInItForTheMoney:
378** His main reason for promoting the first match with Balboa. His original opponent had to back out, and rather than lose the payday from a big fight, he dreams up the "give a title shot to a nobody" match as a ticket-selling gimmick.
379** Averted for the rematch, when it's more personal. He's getting hate mail and death threats from people thinking the first match was rigged, and he wants to prove to the world that he's still the real champ. Money doesn't come up at all in his decision to set up a rematch.
380* PapaWolf: He's somewhat okay with the fans giving him grief and sending him hate mail (claiming he didn't beat Rocky fairly and/or decisively in the first bout), and he's even willing to risk truly earning the public's ire by goading and insulting Balboa as a means of getting him back in the ring. However, what really pisses him off is when he finds out his kids are getting picked on over the whole thing.
381--> '''Apollo:''' There's a lot of people out there accusing me of having the fight fixed, accusing me of being a fake, and insulting my kids at school.
382* PresentAbsence: He's talked about constantly throughout the ''Creed'' movies.
383* {{Pride}}: Apollo puts on quite the theatrics before and during the first match, but the next movie shows that his pride was seriously wounded by the outcome, to the point where he changes his mind about the no-rematch and demands (as the champion!) an immediate rematch with Rocky. Sometime later, the hate-mail starts to pour in and he becomes obsessed over fighting and cleanly beating Rocky. The next time they're in the ring, [[LetsGetDangerous he's no longer putting on a show]].
384* RedBaron: "The King of Sting, the Doctor of Destruction, the [[Literature/TheCountOfMonteCristo Count of Monte 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.
385* SacrificialLion: [[spoiler:Killed in the ring by Drago in ''IV''.]]
386* TrainingFromHell: Puts Rocky through a particularly grueling regimen in ''III'' to get back that "eye of the tiger" for his rematch with Clubber Lang. It's also heavily implied that this is the same way Apollo trained to become as good as he is.
387* UnderestimatingBadassery: Was guilty of this against both Rocky and Drago.
388* WearingAFlagOnYourHead: His trademark shorts.
389* TheWorfEffect: Seeing a master fighter like Apollo get utterly ''destroyed'' in the ring hammers in just how dangerous Drago is.
390* WorthyOpponent: More than any other opponent, he has this relationship going on with Rocky.
391[[/folder]]
392
393!!!''Rocky III''
394
395[[folder:Thunderlips]]
396!!Thunderlips
397[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/thunderlips_1.png]]
398[[caption-width-right:200:''"No one can believe the superhuman strength of Thunderlips! I am the man!"'']]
399!!!'''Played By:''' Wrestling/HulkHogan
400!!!'''Voiced in French By:''' Jacques Richard
401!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Film/RockyIII''
402
403->''" To all my love slaves out there: Thunderlips is here. In the flesh, baby. The ultimate male versus... the ultimate meatball."''
404
405A wrestler who participates in a charity event boxer vs wrestler match. He puts on quite a show against Rocky, and by extension, the immediate crowd that participated. In the end of it, he compliments Rocky and his pals and has a photo shoot with him.
406----
407* TheAce: He IS the wrestling world champion at the time of ''Rocky III''.
408* AtrociousAlias: His lips are made of thunder? Does he emit thunder when he kisses? A reference to his trash talking, bombastic personality? Whatever the truth might be, there were better names out there.
409* TheGiant: 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.
410* {{Heel}}: He antagonizes the crowd before his charity match with Rocky, and acts like a dangerously violent lunatic in the ring.
411* LargeHam: Par of the course, and Hogan doesn't disappoint. He's also this InUniverse, since he adopts a completely different, over the top persona for his matches and in hyping up the crowd.
412* LightningBruiser: He's a full head taller than Rocky, able to pick him up and throw him around with ease, and so tough that a chair to the head merely gets his ''attention''. Yet as Rocky himself notes, he's very fast for his size; he nearly blindsides Balboa at the opening bell.
413* MeanCharacterNiceActor: He spends the entire match playing the {{Heel}} to the hilt, but afterwards he breaks {{Kayfabe}} to shake Rocky's hand, congratulate him on a good match and take some promotion photos, and goes to great length to ensure that there are no hard feelings. There's also the fact that the match was a charity bout that raised nearly $75,000.
414--> '''Rocky:''' Yo why were you so rough out there?
415--> '''Thunderlips:''' ''[[ItsWhatIDo That's the name of the game.]]''
416* RedBaron: The Ultimate Male, A Mountain Of Molten Lust.
417* WrestlingMonster: Oh hell yeah.
418[[/folder]]
419
420[[folder:Clubber Lang]]
421!!Clubber Lang
422[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/clubberlang_6561.jpg]]
423[[caption-width-right:300:''"I am ranked #1. 1! That means I'm the best."'']]
424!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/MrT
425!!!'''Voiced in French By:''' Pierre Garin
426!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Film/RockyIII'' | ''Film/RockyIV'' (archive footage) | ''Film/RockyV'' (archive footage)
427
428->''"This country wants to keep me down. Keep everybody weak. They don't want a man like me to have the title, because I'm not a puppet like that fool up there."''
429
430The antagonist of the third film, he is a brutal {{Jerkass}} of a fighter shaped by the streets into a fearsome opponent. While Rocky enjoys the high life as champion, Lang cuts a swath through the heavyweight ranks, mercilessly knocking out anyone he faces. Mickey quickly becomes aware of what a dangerous man he is, and desperately wants to avoid a bout between him and Rocky.
431----
432* AnimalMotifs: Numerous. His bizarre haircut, leather jacket, and feather earrings make him look like an animal, he roars when he throws a punch, and during the intro, a tiger's roar is played several times while the camera is on him.
433* AntiVillain: Quite obviously a villain from the audience's perspective, but in the greater scope of things, he's just a guy wanting his shot at the title. He may be a huge asshole, but he fights and trains fair. He doesn't even have any personal grudge against Rocky, he just happens to be the guy Clubber needs to beat.
434* ArrogantKungFuGuy: His arrogance is off the charts, and he seems to truly believe that no one can possibly defeat him.
435* AxCrazy: He wanted to tear Rocky apart, and you better hope he's in a good mood if you get in his way.
436* BeardOfEvil: He's plenty badass and a major jerkass, and that beard only enhances both of those traits.
437* BerserkButton: Being stared at.
438* TheBrute: Much like Rocky, except much stronger and very relentless.
439* CatchPhrase: "I pity the fool." Mr. T would keep using this long after Clubber Lang
440* ContrastingSequelAntagonist: Apollo was a truly [[StrongAndSkilled well-rounded fighter]], while Lang is [[TheBerserker all about aggression and power]]. Creed was also image-conscious to a fault, [[note]]both fights with Rocky were ultimately about bolstering Creed's reputation[[/note]] while Lang ''doesn't give a shit'' about public opinion of him--he just wants to dominate, and Rocky is the man to beat.
441* CripplingOverspecialization: He is focused solely on getting fast knock-outs with left hooks (he rarely uses any other punch and throws a bare handful of jabs). His style seems to be keyed solely on destroying Rocky and once Rocky starts outfighting, Clubber is outclassed and decimated in three rounds. It's very likely that the retired Apollo Creed, who specialized in outfighting and was much better at it than Rocky, and whom Clubber repeatedly insulted, threatened, and even attacked, would have beaten or even humiliated him in the ring. ([[FridgeBrilliance Which would also correspond to the inspirations for the 3 characters]]. Rocky primarily borrows from Rocky Marciano and Joe Frazier, Creed from Muhammad Ali, and Lang from George Foreman. In real life Frazier won his first bout with Ali, then was brutally destroyed by Foreman in two rounds, and Foreman was then outclassed, knocked out, and demolished mentally, physically and psychologically by Ali.)
442* CurbStompBattle: The first fight between Rocky and Clubber is one, as Clubber demolishes an overconfident and ill-prepared Rocky in two rounds, [[CurbstompCushion although Rocky does manage to get a few good blows]]. [[spoiler:The rematch is also one, this time with Rocky defeating Clubber, although like the first bout with Clubber does have his moments and gives both Rocky and the audience some scares.]]
443* DarkAndTroubledPast: The novelisation gives Clubber Lang a backstory. As an orphan at an early age, he spent most of his childhood on the streets of Chicago's Southside, as well as time in orphanages and juvenile facilities. Later as an adult, Clubber was sent to prison for five years, for one possible count of a felony and/or assault charge. During his time being served he discovered boxing as a way to let out his frustrations and find his true talent.
444* DumbMuscle: He's 220 pounds, heavily built, and hits like a truck, but he's really a rather bad fighter. After Rocky starts exploiting his weakness, he has no counter and is easily defeated. He also chooses to train alone and not even try to patch over his weaknesses with a skilled instructor. Outside of the ring he's shown to make some poor decisions and clearly has poor impulse control (see for instance him snubbing Apollo before the match for no reason); it's implied that this is because of his upbringing, as he dropped out of school and lived in various orphanages and juvenile halls for most of his life.
445* EvilCounterpart: To Rocky in the first two films. Both are hard hitting southpaw brawlers from the streets and expanded materials give Clubber a criminal past. ''Rocky III'' even shows Clubber training alone and pushing himself to his limits, in contrast to Rocky who had been pampered and grown complacent as a champ. Clubber just takes it all up to eleven and has a {{Jerkass}} personality.
446* EvilVirtues: Clubber is not a pleasant fellow to be sure, but the film makes it clear that he took his training seriously for his first bout with Rocky, while his overconfident opponent squandered his preparation with a glorified circus with endless distractions.
447* GlassCannon: [[PlayingWithATrope Kinda]]. Stamina is more his weakness than an inability to take a punch, but still, he's the only one of Rocky's challengers to suffer an early KO. See also: Uniquely among Rocky's opponents, he actually knocks the Italian Stallion out, ''in the second round.'' [[spoiler:In their rematch, rather than a dramatic fifteen-round battle, Rocky manages to fell him in three.]] He plays the "cannon" part straight, as he hits like a mack truck and usually demolishes his opponents in very short order.
448%%* GoodHairEvilHair: A Mohawk.
449* HairTriggerTemper: Consistently angry and violent.
450* HatedByAll: During his brief tenure as World Champion, it's clear nobody likes him. The audience boos him, the commentators are unflattering and someone even tries to heckle him, due to a combination of his jerkass personality and having knocked out the extremely popular Balboa.
451* HeelFaithTurn: [[WordOfGod According to Stallone]] he became an evangelist in the aftermath of his defeat (another [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed parallel]] with George Foreman). [[WhatCouldHaveBeen He would have mentioned this had he appeared in Rocky Balboa as planned.]]
452* {{Jerkass}}: Arrogant, cocky, and disrespectful to just about everyone he comes across throughout the film. Not only that, he violently assaults both a seventy year old man (resulting in the latter's death) and a former heavyweight champ who was just trying to be polite to him, nearly starting a brawl in the ring. He's just about the only person who can make the cool Apollo lose his patience.
453* JerkassHasAPoint: Lang may be a massive jerkass, but he was indeed right about initially being denied his title shot. He fought his way to being ranked #1, and was deserving of the same chance that Rocky got (and Rocky didn't even have to fight for his first chance). Meanwhile, Rocky, while he wasn't fighting tomato cans, was fighting [[{{Jobber}} hand-picked boxers that Mickey figured would not win]]. Mickey outright admitted to protecting him to keep him champion. Which was not only unfair to Rocky, but also to Lang. Like him or not, Lang earned his title spot fair and square.
454* LargeHam: "''I'm gonna crucify him! '''Real bad.'''''"
455* LightningBruiser: His entire fighting style - he throws brutal, hard punches and relies on power and speed over endurance. The "lightning" part could also be applied to his matches, as his trademark is to destroy his opponents very quickly.
456* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: '''CLUBBER LANG!''' He also has quite a personality to match. Even Mickey doesn't want to mess with him. (According to sources outside of the movie, his birth name is James.)
457* 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 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 Liston 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.
458** To a lesser extent, elements of his personality were also taken from Larry Holmes, particularly the chip on his shoulder and his relentless quest for cache at the end of the 1970s era of boxing. His vicious trash talk also resembles a younger Ali's somewhat, more accurately than Creed's trash talk did.
459** WordOfGod indicates that Clubber later became a born-again Christian and a ringside announcer, which again mirrors Foreman's life.
460* 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, less muscular, and older than he was in any other movie), he puts Lang down in three rounds. [[ButtMonkey Tommy Gunn]] put up a better fight. Ancillary materials revealed that Clubber lost to Union Cane after the events of ''Rocky 3'', despite Cane being a paper champ blasted out by Tommy in one round.
461* NothingPersonal: While he is an all out {{Jerkass}} to Rocky, he doesn't really hate him. He's just utterly obsessed with becoming champion, and Rocky is the one with the belt.
462--> '''Clubber:''' I don't hate Balboa, but [[CatchPhrase I pity the fool.]] And I will destroy anyone who tries to take what I got.
463* PunchPunchPunchUhOh: He has this when he keeps clubbing Rocky but can't knock him down.
464* ScaryBlackMan: Absolutely plays this role to the hilt, as an ex-street fighter turned into a ruthless knockout machine of a boxer who trash talks and attacks anyone around him on a moment's notice. Really, it's the inevitable end result of casting Mr. T as the bad guy in something.
465* SincerityMode: During an interview with the upcoming rematch against Rocky, Lang admits that he doesn't hate the guy, but he "pities the fool!" When he was asked about his prediction for the match, without any personal bias, he tones down his usual attitude and simply responded with "pain."
466* ToughActToFollow: [[invoked]] InUniverse, 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.
467* TrashTalk: Par excellence. In fact, it was his trash talking that got him a shot at the title, since Mickey made sure the match wouldn't be made and Rocky was about to retire before Clubber's trash talking caused Rocky to lose his cool and make the match.
468* UnskilledButStrong: Fittingly enough as an EvilCounterpart and foil for Rocky, he also starts as this, but never progresses further, whereas Rocky does.
469* VillainForgotToLevelGrind: How he got outclassed in the rematch. See UnskilledButStrong and especially CripplingOverspecialization above.
470* VillainHasAPoint: He's outraged that Rocky won't allow him a shot at the heavyweight championship title and publicly accuses him of only ever taking easy matches. He's actually right: it turns out Mickey has quietly been refusing all challenges to the title except those he knows Rocky can beat. Not pushovers, but nobody in the same class as Apollo or Clubber.
471* VillainousBreakdown: He has a minor one in the rematch after getting floored by Rocky in the first round.
472* WhatCouldHaveBeen: An InUniverse example, he would have been TheUnfought had Rocky decided to retire.
473[[/folder]]
474
475!!!''Rocky IV''
476
477[[folder:Ivan Drago]]
478!!Ivan Drago
479[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/20110605181422ivan_drago_2041.jpg]]
480[[caption-width-right:350:''"I fight to win for '''me'''! For '''ME'''!"'' (Russian: Я борюсь, чтобы победить! Для '''меня'''! Для '''МЕНЯ'''!)]]
481!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/DolphLundgren
482!!!'''Voiced in French By:''' Creator/JacquesFrantz
483!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Film/RockyIV'' | ''Film/RockyV'' (flashbacks) | ''Film/CreedII''
484
485->''"You ever see stray dogs in Ukraine? They go for days without food. People spit on them, they have nothing, no home. Only will to survive, to fight."''
486
487A Soviet amateur fighter who, due to being unable to compete as a professional, (Eastern Bloc athletes of the time did not compete in professional leagues, only in the Olympics and other amateur leagues) is touted as a potentially awesome but unproven boxer. Apollo sees this and is convinced he can defeat him, and challenges Drago to an exhibition fight. After Apollo loses (and ends up dying in the ring), Rocky challenges Drago to an unlicensed bout in Russia that is not recognized as legitimate by boxing authorities.\
488\
489An older Drago shows up in ''Film/CreedII'', with his son Viktor being the rival boxer Adonis Creed faces.
490----
491* AllThereInTheManual: According to ''Rocky: The Ultimate Guide'', Drago's career stalls until the fall of the USSR five years later, and he turns pro, winning one of the World Title belts (which one is not specified), and amassing a record of 31 straight wins by KO. He never unifies the World titles or fights the top contenders of the early 90s due to promotion politics. His only loss in his entire career was against Rocky. ''Creed II'' would {{Retcon}} this, as his life was basically completely ruined by that defeat.
492* ArchEnemy: Drago casts a long shadow in Rocky's life. From killing Apollo Creed in the ring, to causing Rocky severe and lasting brain damage, Ivan Drago has the biggest claim to being Rocky's most personal enemy. Highlighted in ''Creed II'':
493-->'''Drago:''' Nice pictures.\
494'''Rocky:''' Yeah, they're okay.\
495'''Drago:''' No pictures of me?\
496'''Rocky:''' No, there's no pictures of that.
497* AntiVillain:
498** Granted, he ''did kill'' Apollo in ''Rocky IV'', 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.
499** While he definitely is the BigBad of ''Creed II'' as he is the one grooming his son to beat Creed, he's really only doing it to gain back the glory from his country.
500* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: Gets this at the end of ''Creed II'' when [[spoiler:Viktor is getting his ass handed to him by Adonis, leading Ivan to throw in the towel for his own safety.]]
501* BadassBoast:
502** To Apollo: "You will lose."
503** And the most famous of them all, towards Rocky: '''"I must break you."'''
504** To Rocky in ''Creed II'', a sort of a call-back to the previous film: "My son will break your boy."
505* BerserkButton: When his handler pushes him too far (striking him across the face), it sends Drago into a rage.
506* BloodKnight: He's revealed to be one when he knocks his Soviet handler on his ass. As this is the first time Drago has shown something resembling respect for an opponent, this is something of a PetTheDog moment. Just look at the picture caption.
507* BreakTheHaughty: After the events of ''Rocky IV'', his life imploded ''spectacularly''; he lost the respect and support of his country [[spoiler:and his wife]], and eventually wound up destitute on the streets of Kyiv with a young son to take care of by the time of ''Creed II''.
508* TheBrute: A much more conventional one; Drago is the musclebound champion sponsored by (or more accurately under extreme pressure from) the USSR.
509* BullyingADragon: 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!
510* TheComicallySerious: The juxtaposition of Apollo Creed's over-the-top PatrioticFervor-filled ring entrance with his confused stoicism at the beginning of their match is PlayedForLaughs.
511* ContrastingSequelAntagonist: Clubber Lang was a HotBlooded, angry loudmouth ArrogantKungFuGuy. Drago, on the other hand, is cold, quiet and stoic.
512* CurbStompBattle: He absolutely ''pounds'' Apollo in the first two rounds, actually killing him. He initially has the better of Rocky during the first round of their match, but Rocky manages to turn the tables in the second round.
513* ExtremeDoormat: By the time of ''Creed II''. He's become desperate to get back in the good graces of his country and, most critically, his wife, even though his fans all abandoned him and [[GoldDigger his wife left him to raise their child]] after he became disgraced. Viktor angrily calls him out on this halfway through the film in the only scene where he's ever anything but deferential towards his father.
514* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: He's married to Ludmilla Drago. However, he seems to love her a damn sight more than she ever loved him. He has much better luck with this trope when it comes to his son Viktor.
515* EvilCounterpart: While "evil" is a stretch, he's very reminiscent of Rocky when you think about it.
516** We meet him as an up-and-coming fighter and something of an underdog pitted against the established Apollo Creed in an exhibition match, with the opposition really not taking him seriously. Apollo even enters the fight with an over-the-top patriotic performance, much like he did with Rocky when they first fought. However, Drago surprises everyone by giving Creed a serious fight, and while Rocky lost the fight but gained the respect of everyone, Drago wins the fight ([[CasualtyInTheRing in the worst way possible]]) and finds himself reviled by the American public. The film plays this up even more in the training montage by contrasting Drago's and Rocky's methods, both pushing themselves to the very limit despite the differences in their training. There's also a sharp contrast with their personalities; while Rocky is a very warm, kind individual, Drago is mostly silent, cold as ice, and doesn't seem to have much empathy for his opponents (at least, until Rocky earns his respect in their fight). Drago even has his own Adrian in the form of his wife Ludmilla, but while Adrian is a loving and supportive wife who's always at Rocky's side, Ludmilla deserts him as soon as he shows any weakness.
517** Their similarities are compounded in ''Creed II'', where both are broken men, far removed from their glory days, and who have lost almost everything but are still clinging onto life. The only thing they both have left are their sons (in Rocky's case, son-like figure in Adonis) who are second generation boxers, whom they have difficult but ultimately loving relationships with.
518* GoodParents: It takes a while, but [[spoiler: Ivan reveals he truly, deeply loves his son Viktor far more than he cares about Viktor winning. When Viktor loses against Donnie, Ivan embraces him warmly regardless. He is last seen running alongside his son, to Viktor's joy, showing he is making steps to improve their relationship.]]
519* HeelFaceTurn: {{Downplayed|Trope}}, when he starts fighting Rocky, he becomes arrogant and dominant in the rounds, but when Rocky manages to fight back, he is impressed by his skill and determination. ("He's not human, he's like a piece of iron.") While he does still fight Rocky, he turns against his trainers (and to an extent, his own country) with the following words.
520--> '''Drago:''' I fight to win, FOR ME!!! FOR ME!!!!
521* HeelRealization: In ''Creed II'', Drago realizes how he's prioritizing revenge and his own pride over his son Viktor's life, which finally makes him realize that Viktor is far more important than either.
522* HowTheMightyHaveFallen: Ivan's reputation never recovered from his loss to Rocky, which resulted in [[spoiler: his wife Ludmilla divorcing him, leaving Ivan to raise his son Viktor in poverty in Kyiv]]. Ivan hopes that he can restore both his reputation [[spoiler: and his marriage]] through Viktor.
523* HugeGuyTinyGirl: With his wife. Until you remember that Creator/BrigitteNielsen is about [[StatuesqueStunner 6 feet tall]], to give you an idea about how huge he really is.
524* HuskyRusskie: Standing at 6'5, which almost lost Lundgren the part because he was just too tall.
525* JadedWashout: [[spoiler:As a living Soviet propaganda weapon, his loss to Rocky on Russian soil completely ruined him, costing him everything.]]
526* {{Jerkass}}: Though he shows a bit of honor in the end.
527* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Truly loves his son, and surprisingly, treats Viktor's loss with an unusual amount of kindness.
528* KickTheDog: Shows no remorse for killing Apollo, but what prevents him from crossing the MoralEventHorizon is that he's doing it all for his country and that he shows respect to Rocky in the end of the fight. Still, when he meets Apollo's son face to face in ''Creed II'', he mocks him for being physically smaller than his father was.
529* KnightOfCerebus: Among the franchise's antagonists, he leaves the darkest impact -- namely, Apollo's death and Rocky's CareerEndingInjury.
530* KnowWhenToFoldEm: [[spoiler:When the second fight between Adonis and Viktor turns in Adonis' favor and Viktor loses the will to fight, he decides to throw in the towel.]]
531* 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.
532* LackOfEmpathy:
533** In ''Rocky IV'', his reaction to Apollo's death in the ring with him is "If he dies, he dies."
534** In ''Creed II'', [[spoiler:this is averted. While Drago is cold, he slowly realizes how deeply he loves his son Viktor and has a true respect for Rocky in the end.]]
535* LaserGuidedKarma: His karma for [[spoiler:killing Apollo]] is losing a boxing match to Rocky Balboa... [[YouHaveFailedMe on the soil of the Soviet Union]]. As ''Creed II'' reveals, the results disgraced Drago and he proceeded to lose everything in the following years, including his wife and country. He now lives in Ukraine in poverty, a shadow of his former self. He seeks to redeem his name by having his son take up the mantle.
536* MadeOfIron: Until Rocky managed to cut him. Ironically, he later describes Rocky as this:
537-->'''"He's not human. He's like a piece of iron."'''
538* MeaningfulName: Twofold. "Ivan" means "soldier", specifically a ''Russian'' soldier, and "Drago" is Italian for "dragon", an apellation which suits this fearsome, gigantic, near inhuman ''beast'' to a "T".
539* 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 KO his opponent and cause immediate brain damage, if not outright killing them.[[/note]]
540* MirrorCharacter: Neither Rocky nor Drago recovered from their fight. The former ended up losing his fortune, outlived Adrian and Paulie, and became estranged from his son, while the latter became disgraced by his country for his defeat, [[spoiler:resulting in his wife Ludmilla leaving him]] and leaving him in poverty on the streets of Kyiv. Both men are also seeking to gain redemption through their protege, Rocky with Donnie, and Drago with his son Viktor.
541* MotherRussiaMakesYouStrong: This is the Soviet PR about him, but it's not just Mother Russia at work, judging by the syringes he's injected with during training...
542* 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).
543* NoSell: When Apollo touches gloves with Drago, they barely move an inch.
544* NoSocialSkills: The man doesn't speak much.
545* NotSoInvincibleAfterAll: He initially has the better of Rocky during the first round of their match, seemingly unfazed by Rocky's punches... until the second round, when Rocky lands a punch that cuts him below his left eye- after which things even out.
546* OldMaster: In ''Creed II'', he's shown to still be in good shape, sporting a muscular build and exercising every morning in Kyiv. This contrasts quite strongly with the [[DentedIron worn down, brain-damaged, cancer-recovering Rocky]].
547* PapaWolf: [[spoiler:When he saw that Viktor lost his motive to fight, he threw the towel to keep his son from getting hurt.]]
548* ParentsAsPeople: He's trained Viktor to follow him as a fighter and his desire for Viktor to earn back the family honor has left him with a notable inferiority complex. But Ivan does love him deeply and ultimately proves Viktor is far more important to him than winning.
549* PlayingWithSyringes: With lots of steroids... possibly.
550* PunchClockVillain: Despite his {{Jerkass}} qualities, he's a pawn of the Soviet government rather than deliberately vicious (unlike, say, Clubber Lang or the villains in ''Rocky V'').
551* TheQuietOne: His handler and wife do the talking. He does the punching. It's established that while he does speak and understand English, he's just a man of few (if any) words. He speaks a lot more in ''Creed II''.
552* ShockingDefeatLegacy: His loss to Rocky essentially destroyed his reputation and his life.
553* SilentAntagonist: He's a man of very, very few words.
554* SilentSnarker: During the prefight trash talk with Creed. He's the only one to catch on that the argument between his handler and Creed is simple trash talk to psych each other out and simply pushes Creed as his own way of snarking back.
555* SoProudOfYou: [[spoiler: He is last seen embracing his son Viktor with pride and warmth as a father, regardless of Viktor winning the match.]]
556* TheStoic: [[NotSoStoic Until he's in the ring.]]
557* SuperSoldier: His intense [[SovietSuperScience super-sciencey training]] mixed with heavily implied steroid use.
558* TookALevelInKindness: [[spoiler:At the end of ''Creed II'', he decides to put his family over his pride and desire for revenge.]]
559* UnskilledButStrong: Major subversion. Apollo thinks he is this, due to the limited number of Drago bouts that Apollo can view footage from. Apparently, Drago's skill and form had improved by leaps and bounds since the last bout of Drago's that Apollo saw.
560* {{Ubermensch}}: Fits most of the criteria, being a freakishy tall, well-built, borderline invincible fighter, further augmented by the Soviet Union's rather dubious training practices.
561* VillainousBreakdown: Drago's inability to break Rocky steadily wears at his psyche until he assaults his handler and roars at the Politburo that he only fights for himself.
562* VillainousValor: After a series of devastating rounds in which he and Rocky go toe to toe with nothing held back, Drago, at the start of the final round, salutes Balboa with a sincerely respectful "To the end".
563* 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]]An erroneous claim, considering that most heavyweights punch at about 1200-1700, it's actually closer to 1.45; still, 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 Rocky permanent injury. In fact, it's later revealed that Drago took no lasting injuries from the fight despite losing, while Rocky most definitely did.
564* WorthyOpponent: He quickly comes to respect Rocky's toughness and determination during their bout, ("He's not human. He is like a piece of iron") and shows that respect near the end of their bout.
565* YouveGottaBeKiddingMe: His expression for most of the rounds in his fight with Rocky, when Rocky gets back up, knockdown after knockdown.
566** Also his expression while watching Apollo Creed's ''five minute'', James Brown-starring introduction.
567[[/folder]]
568
569!!!''Rocky V''
570
571[[folder:Union Cane]]
572!!Union Cane
573[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/unnamed_254.jpg]]
574!!!'''Played By:''' Michael Anthony Williams
575!!!'''Voiced in French By:''' Creator/MarcAlfos
576!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Film/RockyV''
577
578A heavyweight champion who claims the belt shortly after Rocky retires. He is eager to challenge Rocky, but the fight never happens due to the health problems Rocky developed after the fight with Drago in ''Rocky IV''. He eventually takes on Tommy Gunn, only to be knocked out in the first round.
579----
580* AdaptationalBadass: In ''Rocky Legends'', he is a playable character, and predictably, can last much longer in the ring then he does in the movie.
581* BreakingOldTrends: He was initially meant to be the opponent Rocky would train to fight against, just like the many opponents before him. But in the end, Tommy's the one who fights Cane, and Cane is ultimately defeated and forgotten, while [[spoiler:Tommy becomes Rocky's ''real'' opponent]].
582* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Probably inspired by Michael Spinks and Trevor Berbick, who were very talented but retrospectively considered as paper champions in the late 1980s after they were easily destroyed by a younger hard-hitting boxer in the form of Mike Tyson, which is all similar to Cane's role in Rocky V. There's possibly a bit of Tim Witherspoon in there too, as reflected by Cane being all but in the pocket of the film's Don King-expy, similar to Witherspoon's relationship to King.
583* PaperTiger: He became a top contender for the world championship before Rocky retired and becomes champion by default once Rocky is no longer in the way, so you'd think he'd be able to put up a good fight. Tommy Gunn floors him in the first round after dominating him. (This could be a bonus intended for boxing fans, as Duke's real life counterpart Don King frequently used his influence to get his fighters titles and spots as contenders ahead of more deserving fighters.) The reporters lampshade this when they're deriding Tommy's achievements in the ring.
584--> "The guy's a paper champion!"
585* RedHerring: Set up to be Rocky's main opponent in ''Rocky V'', only for Tommy Gunn to be the one to not only face him, but knock him out with virtually no effort.
586* ReplacementFlatCharacter: Cane is this to all of Rocky's past opponents. He has significantly less screentime and development than Apollo, Clubber, or even Drago, and he serves as little more than a minor obstacle to Rocky and Tommy's goals. Though it is {{Justified|Trope}} given that the film's main conflict is actually between Rocky and Tommy themselves, and Cane is ultimately a RedHerring.
587* TheUnfought:
588** Rocky never got to fight him, leaving the title belt his for the taking.
589** Applies even in ''Rocky Legends'', where none of the characters in career mode get to face him. Ouch.
590[[/folder]]
591
592[[folder:Tommy "The Machine" Gunn]]
593!!Tommy "The Machine" Gunn
594[[quoteright:272:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tommygunn_8294.jpg]]
595[[caption-width-right:272:''"I ain't nobody's robot! Nobody's boy!"'']]
596!!!'''Played By:''' Tommy Morrison
597!!!'''Voiced in French By:''' Franck Capillery
598!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Film/RockyV''
599
600A 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.]]
601----
602* AbusiveParents: His father used to beat him and his mother until he grew up and left his home. His first instance of fighting prowess was giving the old man a taste of his own medicine. This is where all of Tommy's aggression and rage comes from as he pictures his opponents as his father to unleash all of his wrath upon.
603* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: At first he is delighted to be Rocky's pupil and the two become friends, but when he finds Rocky gets more attention than he does and the media always compares the two, he begins to resent Rocky... see also DudeWheresMyRespect below.
604* AntiVillain: [[spoiler:Sure, he handles the situation with Rocky ''horribly'', but at the end of the day, he's a poor kid desperate for a chance in the limelight. When he eventually ''does'' go somewhere, he's immediately manipulated by Duke, who buys his loyalty with money. Not to mention, when he wins the title his whole life's been building up to, he's met with nothing but hate, being constantly judged (negatively) against Rocky, with his accomplishments being pretty much worthless, since the public considered Union Cane an easy win. Taken further in one alternate ending, where Rocky offers a truce to Tommy after their fight, which he accepts.]]
605* AllForNothing: [[spoiler:Becomes the heavyweight champion, like he dreamed of, but is booed off the stage, considered more of an extension of Rocky than a fighter in his own right, and presumably ends up losing it all after George Washington Duke cuts ties with him following his street brawl with Rocky.]]
606* AscendedFanboy: Tommy has been a big fan of Rocky when he was younger. He took a trip to Philadelphia, with risks included, just so he could ask Rocky if he can be trained. He sure is gleeful when he accepts.
607* TheBerserker: During his first sparring session, he literally [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown beats the crap out of his sparring partner]]. His fighting style is extremely aggressive; he also goes into UnstoppableRage during his fights. Rocky compares his boxing style to that of a street fighter.
608* BreakingOldTrends: [[spoiler:He's the only opponent of Rocky's that Rocky doesn't spend the movie physically training and mentally preparing to fight in an offical match for some sort of title. Instead, Rocky fights Tommy in a no-holds-barred street fight for punching Paulie.]]
609* CorruptTheCutie: [[spoiler: He may be aggressive, but at one time he was a genuinely nice guy who just had some personal issues that needed to be ironed out. Then GW Duke got ahold of him. Paulie even saw this coming.]]
610--> [[spoiler: '''Paulie:''' The ship's sinking, Rocko.]]
611* TheDogBitesBack: He notes the first person he punched out was his abusive dad.
612* DudeWheresMyRespect: The news media relished making him out as if he's Rocky's puppet. [[spoiler: Even after winning the title, everyone ''still'' berated him for a variety of reasons, almost all of which Rocky related (he can never measure up to Rocky, leaving Rocky for GW Duke, etc.); this eventually fuels his need to take Rocky on.]]
613* FaceHeelTurn: [[spoiler: From humble, eager, and respectful with Rocky, to mean, angry, and irrational with Duke.]]
614* FreudianExcuse: Tommy definitely has Daddy issues, as he elaborates early on. [[spoiler: He may have projected some of them onto Rocky by the end of the movie.]]
615--> "My dad was the first guy I punched out. Every time I go into the ring, I see him again."
616* FromNobodyToNightmare: From a poor kid with daddy issues alone on the streets of an unfamiliar city to World Heavyweight Champion to [[spoiler:a crazy aggressive punk willing to attack his former father figure, (and anybody that tries to help said father figure) in public.]]
617* HairTriggerTemper: Tommy easily loses his temper and can never really control it.
618* HotBlooded: His passion for fighting and to become champion makes him an aggressive fighter.
619* IgnoredEpiphany: Tommy has a visible moment of doubt when Rocky lectures him about how Duke is using him and only cares about the money. It's clear that the remark briefly gets Tommy thinking, but he quickly pushes it aside because he's too lost in his anger.
620* {{Irony}}: His main reason for turning on Rocky is his rancor at being regarded as "Rocky's puppet", and to get out from under that perceived slight, he comes under the wing of [[ManipulativeBastard G.W. Duke]], who '''TRULY''' makes him a puppet.
621* LonelyAtTheTop: [[spoiler: Thanks to Rocky, he becomes a contender for the heavyweight belt, but dumps Rocky for GW Duke just so he can get the fame and money he wants faster. He gets his title, but gains no respect from anyone, mostly because he abandons Rocky. When he takes on Balboa in the street fight and loses, he may still be the champion, but only on paper to many, MANY people as an aging Rocky can still beat him down. Being arrested and having Duke disown him afterwards also doesn't help his case.]]
622* MeaninglessVillainVictory: [[spoiler:Tommy casting Rocky aside in favor of sleazy promoter George Washington Duke gets him fame, the heavyweight title, and presumably money, (although considering that the man Duke is an analogue of is absolutely ''notorious'' for cheating and ripping off his fighters, that last one probably shouldn't be automatically assumed) but Tommy's fame is short lived; betraying Rocky makes the press and fans alike turn on him, and getting arrested after losing to an aging Balboa in a street fight probably means that Tommy won't profit from his actions nearly as much as he expected to, if at all.]]
623* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Likely inspired by Mike Tyson, a wrecking ball of a boxer who burst into the scene in the late 1980s during a weak era of boxing, who quickly cleared out the division; he also shares Tyson's troubled background, hot temper, and self-destructive tendencies (which were apparent even by early 1990 when Rocky V began filming, not long before his first loss to Buster Douglas).
624* NormalFishInATinyPond: His critics in-universe contend that he wouldn't have been particularly special in Rocky and Apollo's era, and that he only ascends to the heavyweight championship of the world because Union Cane was a PaperTiger of a champ compared to the former. This is proven more or less right by the end of the film, where a middle-aged Rocky decks Tommy in a street fight, with the bout only being close because Tommy [[DirtyCoward throws a sucker punch to Rocky's back]] after he was knocked down the first time.
625* NiceJobFixingItVillain: [[spoiler: Duke encourages Tommy to get angry and get Rocky to fight him. Punching Paulie in the face gets Rocky angry all right; angry enough to get a street brawl going on. Not ''quite'' the type of fight Duke had in mind...]]
626* OnlyInItForTheMoney: [[spoiler:A big reason why Don King [[CaptainErsatz ersatz]] George Washington Duke convinces him to dump Rocky as his manager is because Duke can get Tommy much more cash than Rocky.]]
627* PaperTiger: Like Rocky, Tommy doesn't really bother defending himself during fights. Unfortunately for him, he's nowhere near as durable as Rocky.
628* PassingTheTorch: Rocky provides Tommy the same shorts Apollo gave him later in his career.
629* PunnyName: Referring to the Thompson submachine gun, or tommy gun as it's often called.
630* APupilOfMineUntilHeTurnedToEvil: [[spoiler: Starts the film pleading with Rocky to have Rocky train and teach him, eventually sells out and throws Rocky aside. He even refused to thank Balboa for his success at getting the title belt.]]
631* RedBaron: Tommy "The Machine" Gunn.
632* TrueFinalBoss: [[spoiler: In ''Rocky Legends'', Career mode for Rocky went on and on until he takes on Tommy in a street brawl match, much like how career mode started.]]
633* UngratefulBastard: Tommy casts Rocky aside even though Rocky supported him in his career and let him stay in his house free of charge. To be fair, the media and Duke turned him against Rocky by making him believe that Rocky was only using him to regain his glory.
634* UnskilledButStrong: His natural approach is to simply brute force his way through fights, though he gets a bit more skilled after Rocky starts training and managing him.
635* UnstoppableRage: The first time we see him fight, he is shown to be overly aggressive and gives a sparring partner a nasty beating. Thanks to Rocky, he's managed to control it [[spoiler: until the street fight scene where the press, GW Duke's speech to him, and Paulie calling him out all lead to him wanting to draw Rocky's blood.]]
636* WalkingSpoiler There's only so much you can say about him without spoiling his [[spoiler:FaceHeelTurn, and subsequent actions]].
637* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: After his arrest and (presumed) loss of his title, it isn't known what became of Tommy. He isn't mentioned in ''Rocky Balboa'' or the ''Creed'' movies. Stallone stated that Tommy's offscreen fate was getting a career as a third-rate wrestler.
638[[/folder]]
639
640!!!''Rocky Balboa''
641
642[[folder:Mason "The Line" Dixon]]
643!!Mason "The Line" Dixon
644[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/masondixon_1791.jpg]]
645!!!'''Played By:''' Antonio Tarver
646!!!'''Voiced in French By:''' Daniel Lobé
647!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Film/RockyBalboa''
648
649->''"You want me to fight a guy I can beat with both hands tied behind my back?"''
650
651A successful and dominant heavyweight champion from the 2000s, he has everything (money, friends, women, etc) except the respect of the people, who see him constantly winning his fights with such ease that they assume his opponents must be hopeless bums. As a result, the only people who seem a fair match for Dixon are the greats of the past, and when a computer simulation shows Dixon losing by KO to a prime Rocky Balboa, Dixon's management sees it as an interesting chance for an exhibition just as Rocky is looking at getting his boxing license back.
652----
653* TheAce: He's the ''undisputed'' heavyweight champion of the world, meaning that he either defeated ''all'' the world champions before him and unified the belts or defeated the guy who did it. He's so good that nobody takes him seriously because he doesn't appear to have faced any real challenges.
654* CurbStompBattle: Apparently every single one of his fights, [[DeconstructedTrope which the audience finds boring]].
655* DiabolusExMachina: The fight with Rocky is only challenging because he accidentally breaks his hand early on with a poorly-thrown jab in a freak accident.
656* DudeWheresMyRespect: Despite being the current Heavyweight champion and undefeated, he didn't got any respect from the crowd. He did get it after his fight with Balboa. There's a bit of TruthInTelevision here. There have been many fighters who didn't get the respect they deserve because the guys around are nowhere near their level. Therefore, it creates the illusion that a dominant champion is fighting nothing but bums. In contrast, Muhammad Ali received plaudits not just because of his tremendous skills, but because of the high level of the other heavyweights around, nearly all of whom Ali fought and beat.
657* EarnYourHappyEnding: Mason spends much of the movie bitter about being disrespected by the general public due to constantly never having gone up against someone who could really challenge him. After achieving exactly that against Rocky the crowd finally gives him the respect he deserves.
658* HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: In rewrites to the script, it's fairly clear that the writers didn't know what direction to take his character. Throughout the movie, he pinballs back and forth between an egotistical athlete looking out for his legacy, to an honest boxer fed up with the chicanery and politics in the boxing promotion world, to a prima donna with no respect whatsoever for Rocky and his accomplishments. [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools Surprisingly, it accidentally develops a very three dimensional character.]]
659* HeroAntagonist: He's only really the film's antagonist by virtue of being Rocky's opponent and is otherwise just a guy trying to make his way in the boxing world. Rocky and him ultimately end the film on good terms.
660* InvincibleHero: The exhibition fight against Rocky goes down largely because Dixon's winning streak against perceived weak opposition has boxing fans bored.
661* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He's a bit cocky but he's not a bad guy and shows Rocky the utmost respect after their fight, thanking him for the challenge.
662* LonelyAtTheTop: Heavyweight Champion and undefeated, but is anything but loved by the crowds. Not because he's a bad guy, but because his fights are too easy. It doesn't help that his managers also don't respect him very much as they're more motivated by [[OnlyInItForTheMoney money than gaining him respect.]]
663* 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[[note]]By the time Foreman met Moorer, he was well aware of the fact that he no longer had the speed to counter the younger boxer, so he pulled his punches for nine rounds to lull Moorer into believing he’d lost his legendary strength and ended up eating a knockout blow[[/note]]). 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).
664* OlderHeroVersusYoungerVillain: [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]] in that Mason isn't truly a "villain" but he is the chief opponent Rocky faces. A major advantage he has is that he's young and in his prime while Rocky is old and [[DentedIron worn down]] from his repeated battles.
665* OpposingSportsTeam: PlayedWith. In-universe, he is seen as such, as his extreme talent has made him an unsympathetic wrecking ball whose fights are never even close - yet put up against Rocky, with a broken hand and completely out of shape, he proves as much a {{Determinator}} as the titular underdog and wins the respect of the crowd in doing so.
666* PunnyName: For those who don't get the joke, the Mason-Dixon line was the result of a compromise in 19th century American Politics on where slavery would be legal. South of the line it was legal, north of the line it was not.
667* VillainsOutShopping: Not really a villain, but we first see him playing basketball with some friends.
668* WorfHadTheFlu: Despite showing up to the bout “out of shape” (as he didn’t train as strenuously as he would’ve for a younger opponent), Mason ''still'' schools Rocky for the first part of their fight. Had he not turned his wrist and broken his hand with an unlucky punch (which gave Rocky the chance to do some real damage to Dixon and slowed him down for the rest of the bout), it’s likely Rocky wouldn’t have been able to go the distance with him.
669* WorthyOpponent: Mason treated the idea of fighting an old Rocky as a joke, but he does respect him on a personal level, and later respects him as a great fighter during the match.
670[[/folder]]
671
672!!Trainers and Managers
673
674[[folder:Tony "Duke" Evers]]
675!!Tony "Duke" Evans
676[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tonyduke_1764.gif]]
677[[caption-width-right:320:''"No pain! No pain!"'']]
678!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/TonyBurton
679!!!'''Voiced in French By:''' Robert Liensol (I and IV), Daniel Gall (II), Georges Atlas (III), Michel Vocoret (V), Emmanuel Gomès Dekset (Balboa)
680!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Film/{{Rocky}}'' | ''Film/RockyII'' | ''Film/RockyIII'' | ''Film/RockyIV'' | ''Film/RockyV'' | ''Film/RockyBalboa''
681
682Apollo's trainer and friend, he also trains Rocky for the bout with Drago in the fourth movie and returns to train Rocky again in ''Rocky Balboa''.
683----
684* AscendedExtra: In the first movie, he is a secondary character who goes unnamed in the film. In the sequels, he gains a more prominent role and is the only character besides Rocky and Paulie to appear in every movie, not counting the ''Creed'' films.
685* BadassBoast:
686** In ''IV'': "No pain. No pain. ''NO PAIN''.
687** In ''Balboa'': "Let's build some hurting bombs!"
688* BigNo: When [[spoiler:Drago lands the fatal punch on Apollo in ''IV'']].
689* BlueOni: To Apollo's red. Duke always tries to be the voice of reason whenever Apollo's hotheaded ego gets the better of him, with mixed results.
690* BrutalHonesty: He was one of the few people (in Apollo's camp or out of it) who realized just how serious a potential threat the previously unknown underdog Rocky really was, and tried to warn Apollo not to take the challenger lightly. And in II, when Apollo is relentlessly pursuing a rematch against Balboa, Tony tells his protege' that in no uncertain terms a Creed victory in the second bout would by no means be certain:
691-->'''Apollo:''' What are you afraid of, Tony?
692-->'''Tony:''' Honest?
693-->'''Apollo:''' Yeah, honest.
694-->'''Tony:''' I saw you [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown beat that man like I never saw no man get beat before]]...and '''[[TheDeterminator the man kept coming after you.]]''' We don't '''NEED''' that kind of man in our life!
695* TheBusCameBack: In ''Balboa'', he may have returned half way in, but man does he leave an impression.
696* BusCrash: [[spoiler:He dies in-between ''Creed'' and ''Creed 2'']].
697* CoolOldGuy: His moustache has turned grey by the time of ''Balboa'', and he retains his sage awesomeness.
698* DefeatMeansFriendship: In the video game: ''Rocky Legends'', Duke is the first opponent Apollo fights. Winning has Duke telling Apollo that he plans to retire, but is willing to train him all the way through.
699* DemotedToExtra: In ''Rocky V'', he only briefly appears at the beginning and disappears from the rest of the film after the main plot kicks off.
700* HonestAdvisor: To both Apollo, and to Rocky in ''III'', ''IV'', and ''Balboa''.
701* LargeHam: Downplayed, but it's there. Duke is usually calm and softspoken, but get him fired up and he'll explode with raw intensity. Watch his reaction when Rocky starts to put the serious hurt on Drago (''Rocky IV'') or listen to him sum up his gameplan for Rock's last match in ''Rocky Balboa''.
702* LikeASonToMe: Duke confines with Rocky in ''IV'' that [[spoiler: Apollo was like a son to him]].
703* OlderAndWiser: In ''Rocky Balboa''.
704* OnlySaneMan: In both ''Rocky I'' and ''II''. While neither Apollo nor anyone on his team is insane, Duke is the only one who sees how dangerous Rocky is. He's trying to do his job as Apollo's manager (protect Apollo and plan his schedule very carefully so that there are no surprises). Throughout ''I'' and ''II'', Duke tries to warn Apollo about the dangers that Rocky will give him, to no avail.
705* RetiredBadass: Former professional boxer turned trainer.
706* SmartPeoplePlayChess: IV sees Duke beat a Soviet handler in a game.
707* TrainingFromHell: In ''IV'', he acknowledges to Rocky that his training will be tougher than ever, and is happy to provide such.
708[[/folder]]
709
710[[folder:Ludmilla Vobet Drago]]
711!!Ludmilla Vobet Drago
712[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/415299-ludmilla_vobet_drago_3806.jpg]]
713!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/BrigitteNielsen
714!!!'''Voiced in French By:''' Michelle Bardolet
715!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Film/RockyIV'' | ''Film/CreedII''
716
717Ivan Drago's wife, who basically acts as manager and mouthpiece for Ivan Drago, helping to guide her husband's career.
718----
719* AdaptationalBadass: It says something when being a playable fighter in ''Rocky Legends'' means she can take on Rocky or her own husband in a fair fight. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnCiZfdSdOc See for yourself.]]
720* AscendedExtra: In the X-Box version of ''Rocky Legends'', she is a playable character, making her the only female boxer in the game.
721* BitchInSheepsClothing: During the intro to the fight between Drago and Creed, Ludmilla approaches Creed's wife and states that she hopes they can be friends afterwards as this is meant to be a friendly match. However, when Drago lands the killing blow, she gives a very sadistic smile when Creed falls.
722* BlatantLies: In response to widespread rumors that her husband obtained his inhuman power via doping and steroids, she denies this vehemently and jovially tells reporters that "Drago is naturally trained"... right before Drago exhibits a [[MegatonPunch punch]] ''three times more powerful than the boxing heavyweight average''. And Drago is shown being injected with ''something'' during his later training montage....
723* FairWeatherFriend: [[spoiler: To her own family. She abandons her husband and son when Ivan loses to Rocky, and only returns when their son Viktor, (who she hadn't seen or spoken to in years) becomes a successful boxer, and then abandons him again when its clear he will lose.]]
724* GoldDigger: Strongly implied, [[spoiler:with how ''Creed II'' revealed that she ditched her husband post-victory and remarried someone successful later.]]
725* HappilyMarried: Whatever else, she and Drago appear to care for each other. [[spoiler:Subverted in ''Creed II'' where it's revealed she abandoned him and their son Viktor after his loss.]]
726* HateSink: In a series full of good parents, Ludmilla not only left Ivan due to losing to Rocky, but abandoned their son, then only returned when it seemed that Viktor may be successful again, [[spoiler: only to ditch Viktor for good, even when he seems poised to take serious damage in the ring, all without a care.]]
727* {{Hypocrite}}: In addition to lying about Ivan taking steroids, all while making a joke comparing him to WesternAnimation/{{Popeye}}, her loving supporting wife persona is ultimately revealed to be an act for the sake of convenience.
728* InformedAbility: She is labeled early on as a Soviet Olympic swimmer, but this is a series about boxing, and as such this isn't shown.
729* ParentalAbandonment: [[spoiler:Walked out on Drago and their young son Viktor after Drago's disgrace. She walks out on them again after Adonis starts laying the smackdown on Viktor during their second fight.]]
730* TheSmurfettePrinciple: She is the only female fighter in ''Rocky Legends''.
731* StatuesqueStunner: A given as she's played by the 6'1'' (185 cm) Brigitte Nielsen.
732* SuddenSequelHeelSyndrome: [[spoiler:While she and Ivan were already antagonists in their first appearance in ''Rocky IV'', it was subtly implied that they were still HappilyMarried and Ludmilla [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes loved and appreciated her husband regardless of his athletic achievements]]. Their re-appearance in ''Creed II'' completely does away with this, revealing that Ludmilla turned on Ivan just as the rest of the country did after his loss to Rocky, abandoning him ''and'' their infant son. She later [[GoldDigger remarried a rich guy]] and, while she came back to meet Viktor again and tell him she's proud of him in between his two fights with Adonis, she walks out again when it's apparent he's about to lose the second fight.]]
733* VoiceForTheVoiceless: {{Subverted|Trope}}. It's not that Ivan never speaks, but she speaks for him when she needs to, mostly when in front of the press.
734[[/folder]]
735
736[[folder:George Washington Duke]]
737!!George Washington Duke
738[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/287151443c.png]]
739[[caption-width-right:300:''"You say you a fighter, then fight! And I'll make you so much money you can swim in it. You can swim, can't you?"'']]
740!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/RichardGant
741!!!'''Voiced in French By:''' Creator/PatrickFloersheim
742!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Film/RockyV''
743
744->''"You've got to challenge that man to fight, Tommy Gunn. And if he refuses, you gotta INSULT him, YOU GOTTA DOG HIM, you gotta humiliate him! You gotta do WHATEVER you got to do to get him into that ring! BUT THAT'S WHAT YOU GOT TO DO."''
745
746A powerful and extremely unprincipled boxing promoter who is trying to capitalize on getting current Heavyweight Champion, Union Cane, into a match with the legendary ex-champion, Rocky Balboa. Due to Rocky's injuries, both he and Adrian decline to take the bout, but Duke tries anything, and ''everything'', he can to coerce Rocky into it.
747----
748* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Duke wanted a sanctioned fight between Rocky and Union Cane. When he didn't get that, [[spoiler: he tries to get one for Rocky and Tommy Gunn. He got it, but it wasn't sanctioned...]]
749* TheChessmaster: The man has schemes on top of schemes, and there's always a fall back option when one of those schemes doesn't work out. [[spoiler:Until his attempts to get Rocky and Tommy so angry at each other that they'll do anything to fight each other winds up in them getting into a ''street fight'' rather than a boxing match.]]
750* ContrastingSequelAntagonist: In all the other ''Rocky'' and ''Creed'' films, the main antagonist is another boxer that Rocky (and later Adonis Creed) spends the film training to fight. Rather than posing a physical threat, Duke is a scheming fight promoter and manager who tries to convince Rocky to come out of retirement, and resorts to various underhanded, manipulative tactics to do so.
751* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Of the fight promoter variety. He spends much of the film trying to bribe and harass Rocky into coming out of retirement, showing little to concern to the threat it may pose to Rocky's life. It is also heavily implied that Duke pull strings behind the scenes to get title shots for Tommy Gunn, Union Cane and other clients he promotes, giving them shortcuts to success ahead of more deserving fighters.
752* {{Determinator}}: He tries everything he can think of to get Rocky back into the ring. Get him to lose all his money? Check. Try to convince him that he doesn't have brain damage? Check. [[spoiler: Steals away Tommy Gunn for a more elaborate scheme later? Check. Bribes Rocky and his family with birthday gifts before rubbing in his face that Tommy Gunn is now with him? Check. Finally has Tommy humiliated just so he can personally force Rocky out of retirement?]] Ccccheck!
753* DidntThinkThisThrough:
754** [[spoiler:Duke ultimately succeeds in getting Tommy and Rocky to fight each other, but he never counted on Rocky convincing Tommy to fight him there and then, instead of waiting for an official boxing match.]]
755** [[spoiler:After Rocky beats Tommy and approaches him in a threatening manner, Duke threatens to take him to court if he lays a finger on him. But since Rocky no longer has his fortune and is right back where he started, he has nothing to lose, so he ultimately decides to give Duke exactly what he deserves.]]
756--> [[spoiler:'''Duke:''' Touch me and I'll sue.]]
757--> [[spoiler:'''Rocky:''' ''(uppercuts Duke, launching him onto his car)'' Sue me for ''what?!'']]
758* EvilMentor: [[spoiler: He steals Tommy Gunn away from Rocky, with promises of fame and fortune. He even intentionally stages the championship fight just so Tommy can garner ridicule, driving him to challenge Rocky, as Duke knew that a "master versus apprentice" battle is much more profitable than a regular title bout.]]
759* FauxAffablyEvil: He acts friendly but it's all an act.
760* HateSink: He's a greedy, self-serving promoter who is determined to make money at all costs, even if it means risking the lives of the fighters he promotes, and he displays no shame in this whatsoever. As a stark contrast to the many other antagonists of the ''Rocky'' series (the ''Film/{{Creed|2015}}'' films included) G.W. Duke is the only one so far that lacks ''any'' [[LikableVillain redeeming or sympathetic qualities]].
761* {{Jerkass}}: '''''And how!'''''
762* KarmaHoudini: His punishment for turning Tommy against Rocky and ruining Tommy's career is... to be punched by Rocky onto the front of a car. Though this feeling is somewhat softened by the fact that he has presumably also lost Tommy's trust and respect. Also Rocky and Tommy having the street fight at the end of the climax ruined Duke's chance of making money off a boxing match between the two which had been his primary motive through out the second half of the movie.
763* KnowWhenToFoldEm: Near the end of Rocky V, he tries egging Rocky on to fight Tommy in order to make more money. When Rocky made it very clear that his fighting days are over, Duke then tells the camera crew to back up, seeing as he's wasting his time, and had Tommy not earned Rocky's rage and punch Pauly, that would have been the end of it.
764* LargeHam: A larger than life attitude is all part of the game for a fight promoter.
765* LaserGuidedKarma:
766** He spends the whole film trying to convince Rocky to come out of retirement and face one of his fighters, first Union Cane and later Tommy. [[spoiler:Rocky ultimately does fight Tommy, but does so in an unsanctioned street brawl that Duke can't promote or profit from]].
767** [[spoiler:After spending the whole film downplaying and dismissing the health risks faced by boxers, Duke is given a small taste of what fighters can go through when Rocky uppercuts him onto the hood of a car.]]
768* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: He was based on Don King, right down to using his CatchPhrase "Only in America".
769* NonActionBigBad: The sole ''Rocky'' antagonist with no fighting ability at all.
770* OnlyInItForTheMoney: He doesn't care if one last match could possibly disable Rocky, or even kill him. What matters to Duke is that he profits from the match, and he'll do anything to make that happen. Sometimes, he's so ''open'' about his greed and the pursuit of money that he sounds like a CardCarryingVillain.
771* 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.
772* RichesToRags: It's implied that he was the cause of Rocky losing his fortune.
773* ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney: As far as he's concerned, money is more powerful than rules any day, and he assumes that everyone else thinks this way too.
774* SmugSnake: Cocky enough to threaten Rocky to sue if he gets hurt. [[spoiler: Rocky wipes the grin off his face.]]
775* VillainHasAPoint: Tommy should have listened to Duke when he warned that Rocky has more experience in street fighting than him.
776* VillainousBSOD: [[spoiler:His one humanizing moment in the whole thing is when the aged Rocky makes a comeback against his champ in the street, and while everyone else is cheering, he reacts with a stunned, "God-damn... only in America." For once, he sounds like he means it.]]
777* VillainousRespect: While his public praise of Rocky is clearly insincere showboating, after Tommy's disastrous press conference Duke admits to him to private that Rocky is still a more legitimate champion, noting that the latter "fought wars in the ring" compared to the easy opponents that Tommy has now.
778[[/folder]]
779
780!!Others
781
782[[folder:Tony Gazzo]]
783!!Tony Gazzo
784[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tony-gazzo-foto_2821.jpg]]
785!!!'''Played By''': Creator/JoeSpinell
786!!!'''Voiced in French By:''' Marc de Georgi
787!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Film/{{Rocky}}'' | ''Film/RockyII''
788
789The LoanShark who has Rocky under his employ in the first movie. He orders Rocky around to collect for him, but he's also a nice guy.
790----
791* AffablyEvil: To Rocky. He's also nice enough to allow Paulie to take Rocky's place in the second film. And while he offers Rocky his job back later, he takes zero offense when Rocky refuses.
792* BenevolentBoss: While he is an unscrupulous criminal, and in his first appearance chews out Rocky for not breaking the thumb of a man he collected from, even though Tony had ordered him to, he's not entirely immoral, and he even gives Rocky extra cash when he feels that Rocky needs it, no strings attached.
793* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: Gazzo is never seen again after ''Rocky II'', although he gets a passing mention in ''Rocky V''. Even with Paulie down on his luck in ''Rocky III'', Gazzo has not been mentioned once. In a deleted scene of ''Rocky Balboa'', he does get mentioned again.
794* DeathByAdaptation: In the novelisation of ''Rocky IV'', it's mentioned that Gazzo was killed sometime before Rocky traveled to Russia.
795[[/folder]]
796
797[[folder:Marie]]
798!!Marie
799[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/68540_16186.jpg]]
800[[caption-width-right:320:''"You hope I don't keep actin' like a whore or I'll turn into one, right?"'']]
801[[caption-width-right:320:[[labelnote:Click here to see Marie as she appears in ''Rocky Balboa''.]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rb_geraldine_hughes.jpg[[/labelnote]]]]
802!!!'''Played By:''' Jodi Letizia (I), and Geraldine Hughes (Balboa)
803!!!'''Voiced in French By:''' Catherine Lafond (I), Léa Gabriele (Balboa)
804!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Film/{{Rocky}}'' | ''Film/RockyBalboa''
805
806->''"It doesn't matter how this looks to other people. If this is something you gotta do, then you do it. Fighters fight."''
807
808Marie is the young girl in ''Rocky I'' who has been hanging out with other juvenile delinquents. Rocky tries to guide her away from them, and it seems he is unsuccessful at first. But as it turns out, she did turn her life around, getting married and having a son. Years later she becomes friends with Rocky and catches up on old times. When we see her again in ''Rocky Balboa'', she is working in a bar to support herself and her teenage son, having broken from her husband. She eventually becomes a hostess at Rocky's restaurant, as well as his moral support.
809----
810* TheNotLoveInterest: She and Rocky clearly have feelings for each other, and there are a handful of instances where it appears they will kiss, but their relationship never graduates to a romantic level.
811* ProgressivelyPrettier: In ''Rocky Balboa'', she becomes less shy and a little more prettier as the movie progresses. Crosses over with SheCleansUpNicely.
812* RandomSmokingScene: The first and last time we saw her in a Rocky movie, til 30 years later...
813* ShrinkingViolet: In a deleted scene, she is implied to be one towards Rocky until the guy in the wheelchair (only present in this scene) convinces her to go with Rocky for a safe ride home.
814* UngratefulBastard: Rocky, in a show of his own inner goodness, convinces Marie to quit smoking and seek out better friends and to stay in school, and he even walks her home. Her response? "Screw you, creepo!" Becomes funny, and tragic when you see her in ''Rocky Balboa''...
815[[/folder]]
816
817[[folder:Steps]]
818!!Steps
819[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/006ryb_james_francis_kelly_iii_003.jpg]]
820!!!'''Played By:''' James Francis Kelly III
821!!!'''Voiced in French By:''' Christophe Peyroux
822!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Film/RockyBalboa''
823
824Marie's son, whom she had to raise in the slums, alone. He is a nice guy who stays out of trouble, and is glad to work for Rocky as his personal assistant. He also helps Rocky him train when Balboa decides to fight Mason.
825----
826* DisappearedDad: His dad left him when he was younger.
827[[/folder]]

Top