As any Rocky fan might gather from the title of this blog...today we pay tribute to ::ahem::...The Dancing Destroyer, The Master of Distaster, the King of Sting, and the Count of Monte Fisto.....the one and only...
Apollo Creed!
Apollo is one of the top characters on my list of all time favorite Rocky characters. I think he brought the flash and color that really brought something extra to the Rocky movies. As a matter of fact, I think a movie about the Apollo Creed character himself would've been great! Through out the Rocky series, i feel that Apollo did get the short end of the stick on more than one occasion. In Rocky 1 we first see Apollo as the flamboyant undefeated heavyweight champion. Who could forget Apollo's entrance as George Washington in Rocky 1? That scene really emphasised how Apollo figured he was the best in the world, and would take care of that chump Rocky with ease. Things didnt exactly work out that way as we know, but Apollo remained undefeated in the end and did get the win over Rocky. In Rocky 2, Apollo is BARELY defeated by Rocky, and if not for the knock out in the last round, Apollo would've taken it by decision again. Now here we are 5 years later for Rocky 3, and Apollo re-appears to help Rocky regain his "Eye of the Tiger." My only problem with this is, where has Apollo been for 5 years? He loses 1 match in his whole career, and by decision at that, so he just retires? Wow. I guess the explanation would be that Apollo was too depressed after that loss, but I just dont see the Count of Monte Fisto giving up so easy. Well he helps Rocky win his title back from the legendary Clubber Lang (who deserves his own blog down the road), and then we end Rocky 3 with the friendly match between Apollo and Rocky, which we'll never know the end of.
Now we come to Rocky 4. We all know the Ivan Drago story, and what better guy to put him up against than Apollo, makes sense to me. Leading up to the Drago vs. Apollo fight, Apollo pulls off what in my opinion is THE best entrance in ANY Rocky movie, bar none! Livin' In America by the late great James Brown, is THE perfect theme song for Apollo, and its shown why in this scene. Apollo with the awesome entrance attire, the showgirls, the lights, its so over the top Apollo style, it just can't be beat. This setting was so perfect, after not seeing an Apollo fight for 8 years, his return in this grand fashion is one of my favorite all time Rocky moments, and is then followed by THE worst moment in a Rocky movie. I understand that they're trying to get the point across that Drago is this super human destruction machine....and that's fine....but your telling me after round 1 in an exhibition fight, with Apollo bleeding all over, that SOMEbody wouldn'd stop the fight? Horrible, just horrible. Rocky is left standing their like a moron watching Apollo's brain get pounded, and everyone else acts like Rocky is the ONLY one who can stop it. I think this was a horrible way to go, so many other options here, Apollo goes into a coma or something, but death? Too far fetched. I think Apollo had a lot more entertaining Rocky movie moments, but it all ended hear because obviously Sylvester Stallone loves death in the Rocky series! I thought Mick's death at least made sense due to his age, but Apollo just wasn't necessary.
In a dream situation, I would've love to see Apollo face off with Clubber somewhere along the line. I think there was a natural tension there from Rocky 3 and would've made for a great side feud in Rocky 4. Drago beating Apollo would be fine.....then Rocky fights Drago in Russia....while Apollo and Lang fight for the vacated heavyweight title. Then in this dream situation, Rocky 5 would've been saved from horrible sequel hell, and we could've seen a scenario where Rocky defeated Drago as he did in 4, and Apollo defeated Lang for the vacant title.....and the door is wide open, for 1 last World Heavyweight Championship Rocky vs. Apollo fight. Sure they would've been older and such, but that could've gone right along with the plot of the movie, and the added intrigue of Apollo fighting Rocky for the title after they had been such great friends for years now! Now THAT would've been better usage of the legendary Apollo Creed! If only I could've stepped in and written Rocky 5 for them, oh well.
Anyone have any thoughts or dream Rocky scenarios of your own? Feel free to share! We'd love to read the feedback!
RockyFigs.com reports that Ringside Collectibles has just announced their latest exclusive in the Rocky Series, which will be Apollo Creed vs. Ivan Drago. This is awesome news, and definitely a deserving exclusive. As I've stated in my original Apollo Creed post, I was less than thrilled with Apollo's death in Rocky 4, but this set honors Apollo's last Rocky movie appearance well. When I first read the story, I figured we'd be seeing Apollo vs. Drago in fight gear, but to my surprise its actually their press conference gear, which is very cool in my opinion. I'm a huge fan of the Rocky series and love when 
Jakks releases figures in different attires from certain classic moments of a movie such as this press conference. The set is up for pre-order now, but won't ship until late June, although you can use the discount code ROCKYFIGS and receive 10% off your pre-order, thanks to RockyFigs.com. This will be the only chance to grab these figures in this attire, so you won't be finding them in stores ever. Jakks does it again, and can't wait to see more exclusives, and we'll have the news here first when more information becomes available on future sets.
