Rocky is arguably the most iconic sports movie franchise of all time, and one of its best characters just hit a major landmark. Despite being fictional, Rocky Balboa is as well-known as some of the most beloved real-world boxers, and he is still Sylvester Stallone’s most famous character. The Rocky franchise has been going since its inception in 1976 to this day, and even if Rocky himself wasn’t in the most recent entry, his name is still all over the series.
However, a story is only as good as its villain, and Rocky has had some great villains throughout its run. Clubber Lang and Ivan Drago were incredible foes for Rocky, and the Creed series was populated by antagonists like “Pretty” Ricky Conlan and Damian Anderson. While these fighters are all great, none of them have had the same impact as The King of Sting himself, Apollo Creed.
Apollo Creed was the first villain in the Rocky franchise, and after all these years, he’s still the best. Born on August 17, 1942, Apollo grew up an athlete, and he began boxing in his 20s. As his career grew, Apollo eventually became the World Heavyweight Champion, and before the events of the first film, he had earned a record of 46-0. At the height of his fame, Apollo planned a bicentennial fight against number-one contender Mac Lee Green. However, it had to be cancelled due to an injury Mac suffered during training. So, Apollo decided to pivot the bicentennial fight to be against an unknown. However, this unknown would eventually go on to become Apollo’s greatest foe: Rocky Balboa.
Apollo won the fight, but only by split decision, meaning that Rocky did the impossible and went the distance against the champion. To that point, nobody had ever gone the full 15 rounds with Apollo, leading the champion to demand a rematch in Rocky II. So, Rocky comes out of retirement, and they have their rematch on Thanksgiving 1976. Creed gets ahead early, putting a beating on Rocky and getting ahead on points. However, he can’t knock the Italian Stallion. They make it to the 15th, and instead of winning on points, Creed vows to knock Rocky out. However, he doesn’t. Rocky hits Apollo, and Apollo hits the mat, giving Creed his first loss and Balboa the World Heavyweight Championship.
This was Apollo’s last film as an antagonist, but it isn’t the end of his role in the franchise. After the death of Mickey at the hands of Clubber Lang in Rocky III, Apollo decides to train Rocky for his rematch against Lang. This was the beginning of a friendship between the two boxers, something that would continue into Rocky IV. There, Apollo comes out of retirement in order to fight Soviet boxer Ivan Drago. Unfortunately, Drago kills Creed in the ring, with Rocky deciding to avenge his friend by fighting Drago himself.
Despite dying in the 1985 film, Apollo Creed is still being developed thanks to the Creed series. The first Creed film reveals that Apollo had a child during an affair, named Adonis Creed. After the death of Apollo and Adonis’ mother, Adonis is adopted by Apollo’s wife, Mary Anne Creed. He learns more about his father through her, as well as his boxing career, with him deciding to become a boxer himself.
Adonis ends up being as talented a boxer as his father, something that is displayed in all three Creed films. Despite Apollo not appearing in the trilogy, he had a massive presence. Much of Adonis’ arc throughout the trilogy has to do with him escaping his father’s shadow, as well as Adonis reconciling Apollo’s celebrity status with his status as a bad father. Later, Adonis is given the chance to fix the mistakes of Apollo, with him having a family of his own that he has to balance with his life as a professional boxer.
The Creed movies give Apollo so much more depth than the Rocky films ever could, making him an even more interesting villain. Apollo was shown through the lens of celebrity in the Rocky movies, while the Creed movies explore the personal side that wasn’t present in the original series. Apollo Creed is easily the best Rocky villain, and he has wound up being equally as important as Rocky throughout the decades.
