Apollo Creed is a fictional character from the Rocky franchise, portrayed by Carl Weathers. He appears in the first four Rocky films, serving as the main antagonist in Rocky and Rocky II, and later becoming one of the protagonists in Rocky III and Rocky IV. Sylvester Stallone, the writer and star of the Rocky series, stated that Jack Johnson was the inspiration for the character of Apollo Creed.[1]
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| Apollo Creed The Master of Disaster | |
|---|---|
| Rocky character | |
 Carl Weathers as Apollo Creed in Rocky IV | |
| First appearance | Rocky (1976) |
| Last appearance | Rocky IV (1985) |
| Created by | Sylvester Stallone |
| Portrayed by | Carl Weathers |
| In-universe information | |
| Nicknames | The Dancing Destroyer The King of Sting The Count of Monte Fisto The Thane of Pain The Prince of Punch The Master of Disaster The One and Only |
| Title | World undisputed Heavyweight Champion |
| Occupation |
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| Spouse | Mary Anne Creed |
| Children | Adonis "Donnie" Creed Alex Creed Artemis Creed |
| Relatives | Amara Creed (granddaughter) Bianca Creed (daughter-in-law) |
Protagonist Rocky Balboa—Creed's rival in Rocky and Rocky II—faces underdog odds, but he views Creed with respect, pointedly refusing the prodding of a reporter to trash-talk Apollo Creed, even after he publicly taunts Balboa by remarking "he's great."[2][3][4][5]
In Rocky, Creed cleans out his division of serious challengers but decides to fight Balboa for the fan spectacle as well as for the implied symbolism of fighting a man with an Italian background.[6] In the sequel film Rocky II, Balboa and Creed find themselves evenly matched in the ring, becoming friends in Rocky III. Creed had many nicknames, including "The King of Sting," "The Dancing Destroyer," "The Prince of Punch," "The Count of Monte Fisto," and most prominently "The Master of Disaster."[2]
- ^ "Trump pardons late black boxing champion Jack Johnson". Reuters. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
- ^ a b Jacobson, Matthew Frye (2009). Roots Too: White Ethnic Revival in Post-Civil Rights America. Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674039063.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
google1was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Soto, Isabel; Johnson, Violet Showers (2011). Western Fictions, Black Realities: Meanings of Blackness and Modernities. LIT Verlag Münster. p. 277. ISBN 9783643901095.
- ^ Briley, Ron; Schoenecke, Michael K.; Carmichael, Deborah A. (October 17, 2014). All-Stars and Movie Stars: Sports in Film and History. University Press of Kentucky. p. 211. ISBN 9780813159836.
- ^ Crosson, Seán (July 18, 2013). Sport and Film. Routledge. p. 1937. ISBN 9781135167455.