A Guide to the Rocky Films, with some Minor Embellishments
Olivia Rutigliano considers one of the largest film franchises ever
There are so many Rocky movies. I know, this is a completely novel and original thought. But there are! Sometimes I have trouble keeping track of them all, so I made a handy guide. I thought I’d share it with you all, in case it’s helpful:
Rocky
Rocky fights the reigning heavyweight champion and loses
Rocky II
Rocky fights the reigning heavyweight champion and wins
Rocky III
Rocky fights Mr. T
Rocky IV
Rocky fights the Russian
Rocky V
Rocky fights his own backstabbing pupil
Rocky Balboa
Rocky, now a senior citizen, returns from professional retirement to fight the reigning heavyweight champion, and loses
Creed
Rocky teaches Apollo Creed’s son how to fight
Creed II
Rocky teaches Apollo Creed’s son how to fight the son of the Russian who killed his father
Creed III
Rocky fights the need to no longer be the center of attention and doesn’t go to any of his protege’s fights
Rocky Balboa II
Rocky fights his grandson’s junior high school principal
Rocky Balboa III
Rocky fights his entire homeowner’s association
Rocky VIII
Rocky fights Philadelphia mayoral candidate Garrison Holiday — but in a democratic election, which he wins
Rocky IX
Rocky fights the President of the United States — in a physical boxing match, which he loses
R
Rocky can’t stay away for long; the President recruits Rocky to fight the favorite boxers of various dictators in zero gravity at a competition held in the International Space Station
RII
It’s up to Rocky to fight that robot that used to serve Paulie beer, which has now been reprogrammed by an evil technology magnate and has kidnapped the President
RII
On his last mission for the President, Rocky agrees to fight a Category 5 hurricane that is heading toward the Eastern Seaboard
A Very Rocky Christmas
In this animated holiday classic, Rocky fights a child who has forgotten the true meaning of Christmas
Balboa
Malfunctioning time machine technology forces an older Rocky to fight his former self
Balboa II
Rocky goes back in time again to fight Apollo Creed and correct the future he has unwittingly altered
Balboa III
Rocky fights the self-checkout machine at CVS
Balboa IV
Rocky fights the nurse who keeps moving his TV guide
See? Helpful!
Olivia Rutigliano
Olivia Rutigliano is an Editor at Lit Hub and CrimeReads. Her other work appears in Vanity Fair, Vulture, Lapham's Quarterly, AirMail, the Los Angeles Review of Books, Public Books, The Baffler, Bright Wall/Dark Room, Politics/Letters, The Toast, Truly Adventurous, and elsewhere. She has a PhD from the departments of English/comparative literature and theatre at Columbia University, where she was the Marion E. Ponsford fellow. She hosts the podcasst "Culture Schlock" at Lit Hub Radio. She is on instagram at @oldebean, twitter at @oldrutigliano, and bluesky at @oliviarutigliano.bsky.social.
