History YMMV / Rocky

* CompleteMonster: Clubber Lang and Ivan Drago. They don't just stop at being arrogant bastards; they each end up [[spoiler:killing one of Rocky's friends; granted, both incidents were accidents, but the worst part is that ''they don't give a shit''.]]
--> Drago: "If he dies? He dies."

* {{Sequelitis}}: The franchise was widely accused of this, becoming a frequent source of mockery as the series progressed.

** Though he was a former champion in Balboa, so perhaps the third in a trilogy consisting of Rocky, Rocky II, and Rocky Balboa

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: In the {{MAD|Magazine}} spoof of ''Rocky IV'', after Apollo Creed dies, Adrian mentions being nervous because Mickey died in ''III'', and now Apollo, meaning she's next if there's a ''V''. While she doesn't die in ''V'', she does die between then and ''Balboa''.

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Apollo Creed's nameless trainer in the first film gets an expanded role in all the subsequent ones, including getting a name (Duke). He ends up being the only character/actor other than Stallone and Burt Young to appear in all six films.

** [[MrT I PITY THE FOOL!]]

** Apollo was arguably responsible for his own fate as much as Drago was, given he demanded that Rocky not thrown in the towel for him.

** The GonnaFlyNowMontage is also getting popular...

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* SugarWiki/FunnyMoments: Adrian is clearly embarrassed at being alone with Rocky in his apartment.
-->'''Rocky:''' I can call your brother if that's what you mean. (Opens up the window and yells) ''Yo Paulie, your sister is here with me! I'll call you later, all right?''
** From the fifth movie:
--->'''Rocky:''' I've been running up and down these steps for twenty years, and I never knew there was valuable pictures in this building.

* SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments: "Get up you son of a bitch...'cause Mickey loves ya!"
** Rocky not caring two bits about the judges' decision in the first and last films.
** Mickey's (cranky) concern over Rocky's job as a leg-breaker in the first film - Rocky (sheepish): "It's a living." Mickey: "IT'S A WASTE OF LIFE"
** The end credits of ''Rocky Balboa'', in which we see actual videos of fans running up the stairs at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and dancing triumphantly as the theme song plays. ManlyTears were shed.
** "Rocky!" "ADRIAN!"

** It's hard to call Gorbachev "nice" : he was a pure product of the Soviet Communist Party elite, most of his mentors and people who made him Secretary General were leaders of the KGB and the Soviet Army, he was a Magnificent Bastard who efficiently and ruthlessly eliminated (politically, not physically) many of his opponents in the Politburo and his real primary goal was pure Soviet national interest : preserve the USSR's status as a superpower through intense reforms . However, it is true that he quickly tried to appear as a nice and wise leader, looking only for peace and such. And this worked extremely well in America and elsewhere in the West (the infamous "Gorbymania"), making his depiction in this movie hilariously stand out.
*** Okay "relatively nice", at least compared to Stalin and Putin!

* TearJerker: The Rocky series has many of these, but the one that sticks out the most is Mickey's death in the third movie.
** The video montage of all the people running up the steps at the end credits of ''Rocky Balboa''. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhVjWEZ3s8M See it here.]]
*** Rocky's grief over Adrian's death in ''RockyBalboa'', especially the scene where he confesses to Paulie that he has a "beast inside" him because of it.

*** The steps. Just, the steps.

** Rocky not caring two bits about the judges' decision in the first and last films always warmed this troper's heart.

* TearJerker: The Rocky series has many of these, but the one that sticks out the most in this Troper's mind is Mickey's death in the third movie.
** [[Tropers/StevieWillShowYou This troper]] cried during the video montage of all the people running up the steps at the end credits of ''Rocky Balboa''. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhVjWEZ3s8M See it here.]]

* [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments Crowning Moment(s) of Heartwarming]]: "Get up you son of a bitch...'cause Mickey loves ya!"
** Rocky not caring two bits about the judges' decision in the first and last films always warmed this troper's heart.
** Mickey's (cranky) concern over Rocky's job as a leg-breaker in the first film - Rocky (sheepish): "It's a living." Mickey: "IT'S A WASTE OF LIFE"

* HilariousInHindsight: In ''Rocky IV'', the depiction of the new (at the time) Soviet premiere Mikhail Gorbachev. Probably one of the nicest leaders in Russian history!

** Rocky not caring two bits about the judges' decision in the first and last films always warmed this troper's heart.
** Mickey's (cranky) concern over Rocky's job as a leg-breaker in the first film - Rocky (sheepish): "It's a living." Mickey: "IT'S A WASTE OF LIFE"

** The fight from ''Rocky IV'' scored to a new version of Bill Conti's "Conquest" theme during the opening credits of ''Rocky V''.