History Characters / Rocky

* TheUnfought: Rocky never got to fight him, leaving the title belt his for the taking.

* FamilyThemeNaming: His two legitimate kids are named Alex and Artemis, his illegitimate son is named Adonis and his granddaughter is named Amara. Notice a pattern?

!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/TaliaShire (1976-1990)

!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/BurgessMeredith (1976-82, 1990) [[note]]appears in the fourth and sixth movies in archive footage[[/note]]

!!!'''Played By:''' Seargeoh Stallone (II, 1979), Ian Fried (III, 1982), Rocky Krakoff (IV, 1985), Sage Stallone (V, 1990), and Creator/MiloVentimiglia (Balboa, 2006, Creed II, 2018)

!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/CarlWeathers (1976-85)

!!!'''Played By:''' Wrestling/HulkHogan (1982)

!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/MrT (1982)

!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/DolphLundgren (1985, 2018)

!!!'''Played By:''' Michael Anthony Williams (1990)

!!!'''Played By:''' Tommy Morrison (1990)

!!!'''Played By:''' Antonio Tarver (2006)

!!!'''Played By''': Creator/JoeSpinell (1976)

!!!'''Played By:''' Jodi Letizia (I, 1976), and Geraldine Hughes (Balboa, 2006)

!!!'''Played By:''' James Francis Kelly III (2006)

* 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 Kiev with a young son to take care of by the time of ''Creed II''.

* 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 Kiev]]. Ivan hopes that he can restore both his reputation [[spoiler: and his marriage]] through Viktor.

* 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 Kiev. Both men are also seeking to gain redemption through their protege, Rocky with Donnie, and Drago with his son Viktor.

* OldMaster: In ''Creed II'', he's shown to still be in good shape, sporting a muscular build and exercising every morning in Kiev. This contrasts quite strongly with the [[DentedIron worn down, brain-damaged, cancer-recovering Rocky]].

!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/BrigitteNielsen (1985, 2018)

!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/RichardGant (1990)
!!!'''Voiced in French By:''' Patrick Floersheim

* ButNotTooBlack: His father was Jamaican, which explains his slightly darker complexion.

!!!'''Voiced in French By:''' Marc Alfos

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

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Based on Chuck Wepner and Rocky Marciano.

* HeelFaithTurn: [[WordOfGod According to Stallone]] he became an evangelist in the aftermath of his defeat (another [[CaptainErsatz parallel]] with George Foreman). [[WhatCouldHaveBeen He would have mentioned this had he appeared in Rocky Balboa as planned.]]

* 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.

!!!'''Voiced in French By:''' Jackie Berger (III), Rachid Ferrache (IV), David Lesser (V), Creator/AlexisTomassian (Balboa and Creed II)

* HundredPercentAdorationRating: 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.

* TheBigGuy: In the mid-ring staredown, Rocky is at eye level with his nipples.

* LightningBruiser: He' a full head taller than Rocky and able to pick him up and throw him around with ease, yet as Rocky himself notes, very fast for his size.

!!Rocky Himself

->'''Played by:''' Creator/SylvesterStallone
->'''Voiced in French by:''' Creator/AlainDorval
->'''Voiced in Japanese by:''' Michio Hazama (I-IV, TBS dub), Creator/TesshoGenda (III, NTV dub), Creator/IsaoSasaki (IV onwards, TV Asahi dub) \\
'''Appearances:''' ''Film/{{Rocky}}'' | ''Film/RockyII'' | ''Film/RockyIII'' | ''Film/RockyIV'' | ''Film/RockyV'' | ''Film/RockyBalboa'' | ''Film/{{Creed}}'' | ''Film/CreedII''

!!Rocky's Family and Friends

->'''Played by:''' Creator/TaliaShire (1976-1990)
->'''Voiced in French by:''' Béatrice Delfe (I to IV), Françoise Dorner (V)\\
'''Appearances:''' ''Film/{{Rocky}}'' | ''Film/RockyII'' | ''Film/RockyIII'' | ''Film/RockyIV'' | ''Film/RockyV'' | ''Film/RockyBalboa'' (flashback)

->'''Played by:''' Creator/BurtYoung
->'''Voiced in French by:''' Creator/SergeSauvion\\
'''Appearances:''' ''Film/{{Rocky}}'' | ''Film/RockyII'' | ''Film/RockyIII'' | ''Film/RockyIV'' | ''Film/RockyV'' | ''Film/RockyBalboa''

->'''Played by:''' Creator/BurgessMeredith (1976-82, 1990) [[note]]appears in the fourth and sixth movies in archive footage[[/note]]
->'''Voiced in French by:''' Maurice Chevit (I and V), Jacques Dynam (II and III)\\
'''Appearances:''' ''Film/{{Rocky}}'' | ''Film/RockyII'' | ''Film/RockyIII'' | ''Film/RockyIV'' (archive footage) | ''Film/RockyV'' (flashback)

[[folder:Robert "Rocky" Balboa, Jr. (sometimes called Rocky Jr.)]]
->'''Played by''': Seargeoh Stallone (II, 1979), Ian Fried (III, 1982), Rocky Krakoff (IV, 1985), Sage Stallone (V, 1990), and Creator/MiloVentimiglia (Balboa, 2006, Creed II, 2018)
->'''Voiced in French by:''' Jackie Berger (III), Rachid Ferrache (IV), David Lesser (V), Creator/AlexisTomassian (Balboa and Creed II)\\
'''Appearances:''' ''Film/RockyII'' | ''Film/RockyIII'' | ''Film/RockyIV'' | ''Film/RockyV'' | ''Film/RockyBalboa'' | ''Film/CreedII''

->'''Played by''': Pedro Lovell\\
'''Appearances:''' ''Film/{{Rocky}}'' | ''Film/RockyBalboa''

->'''Played by:''' Creator/CarlWeathers (1976-85)
->'''Voiced in French by:''' Creator/MedHondo (I to III), Sady Rebbot (IV)\\
'''Appearances:''' ''Film/{{Rocky}}'' | ''Film/RockyII'' | ''Film/RockyIII'' | ''Film/RockyIV'' | ''Film/{{Creed}}'' (flashback)

->'''Played by:''' Wrestling/HulkHogan (1982)
->'''Voiced in French by:''' Jacques Richard\\
'''Appearances:''' ''Film/RockyIII''

->'''Played by:''' Creator/MrT (1982)
->'''Voiced in French by:''' Pierre Garin\\
'''Appearances:''' ''Film/RockyIII'' | ''Film/RockyIV'' (archive footage) | ''Film/RockyV'' (archive footage)

->'''Played by:''' Creator/DolphLundgren (1985, 2018)
->'''Voiced in French by:''' Creator/JacquesFrantz\\
'''Appearances:''' ''Film/RockyIV'' | ''Film/RockyV'' (flashbacks) | ''Film/CreedII''

->'''Played by''': Michael Anthony Williams (1990)
->'''Voiced in French by:''' Marc Alfos\\
'''Appearances:''' ''Film/RockyV''

Appears in ''Rocky V''. A 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.

->'''Played by:''' Tommy Morrison (1990)
->'''Voiced in French by:''' Franck Capillery\\
'''Appearances:''' ''Film/RockyV''

->'''Played by:''' Antonio Tarver (2006)
->'''Voiced in French by:''' Daniel Lobé\\
'''Appearances:''' ''Film/RockyBalboa''

->'''Played by''': Creator/TonyBurton
->'''Voiced in French by:''' Robert Liensol (I and IV), Daniel Gall (II), Georges Atlas (III), Michel Vocoret (V), Emmanuel Gomès Dekset (Balboa)\\
'''Appearances:''' ''Film/{{Rocky}}'' | ''Film/RockyII'' | ''Film/RockyIII'' | ''Film/RockyIV'' | ''Film/RockyV'' | ''Film/RockyBalboa''

->'''Played by''': Creator/BrigitteNielsen (1985, 2018)
->'''Voiced in French by:''' Michelle Bardolet\\
'''Appearances:''' ''Film/RockyIV'' | ''Film/CreedII''

->'''Played by:''' Creator/RichardGant (1990)
->'''Voiced in French by:''' Patrick Floersheim\\
'''Appearances:''' ''Film/RockyV''

Appears in ''Rocky V''. A 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.

->'''Played by''': Creator/JoeSpinell (1976)
->'''Voiced in French by:''' Marc de Georgi\\
'''Appearances:''' ''Film/{{Rocky}}'' | ''Film/RockyII''

->'''Played by:''' Jodi Letizia (I, 1976), and Geraldine Hughes (Balboa, 2006)
->'''Voiced in French by:''' Catherine Lafond (I), Léa Gabriele (Balboa)\\
'''Appearances:''' ''Film/{{Rocky}}'' | ''Film/RockyBalboa''

->'''Played by''': James Francis Kelly III (2006)
->'''Voiced in French by:''' Christophe Peyroux\\
'''Appearances:''' ''Film/RockyBalboa''

--> '''Paulie:''' ...can I have a job?
--> '''Rocky:''' ...all you had to do was ask me.

->'''Voiced in French by:''' Maurice Chevit (I), Jacques Dynam (II and III), Maurice Chevit (V)\\

* 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. Clubber just takes it all up to eleven and has a {{Jerkass}} personality.

* ContrastingSequelAntagonist: In all the other ''Rocky'' and ''Creed'' films, the main antagonist is another boxer that Rocky 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.

* KarmaHoudini: His punishment for turning Tommy against Rocky and ruining Tommy's career is... [[DisproportionateRetribution 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.

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

* 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.

* OnlyInItForTheMoney: He doesn't care if one match with Rocky could possibly disable him, or even kill him. What matters to him 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.

* BrutalHonesty /CassandraTruth: 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:

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

A 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''

** 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.
** 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.

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

* DidntThinkThisThrough: [[spoiler:He intended Tommy to force Rocky out of retirement for a prize fight. He never counted on Rocky to say "my ring's outside."]]

* LaserGuidedKarma: [[spoiler:He's willing to ruin the lives and careers of fighters by ignoring pesky issues like "health risks". At the end of the movie he gets a little taste of what fighters go through, and all his wealth and legal maneuvering didn't help him much. Doubly so if you believe the theory that he was responsible for Rocky losing his fortune, which is exactly what makes his threat to sue Rocky ineffective.]]
--> [[spoiler:'''Duke:''' Touch me and I'll sue.]]
--> [[spoiler:'''Rocky:''' *uppercuts Duke, launching him onto his car* Sue me for ''what?!'']]

* 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 being ungrateful to Rocky for taking him into the family and insulting his honor.]]

* {{Jerkass}}: 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.