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How Creed II References All The Best Rocky Movies (Not Just Rocky IV)

Despite its story picking up Rocky IV‘s loose narrative threads, Creed II actually perfectly references all of the best Rocky movies, making it a perfect sequel and spiritual successor. The Rocky franchise is undoubtedly one of the most beloved and longest-running franchises in all of cinema. Starting with 1976’s Rocky, it has so far spanned over four decades and counting, with its numerous sequels continuing and expanding the story of the titular boxer.

More recently, the Rocky franchise has shifted focus to follow the boxing career of Adonis Creed, the son of Rocky’s one-time rival and later best friend, Apollo Creed. The Creed movies have proved to be a successful revival of the franchise, giving its boxing drama format a more modern facelift. This has allowed for a continuation of Rocky‘s story without the need for a full reboot, as it acts more like a spinoff franchise that has the capacity to show reverence to the original movies through its stories.

After 2015’s Creed established Adonis’s backstory, Creed II followed it up by telling the story of a legacy grudge match between Adonis Creed and the son of his father’s killer. However, Creed II actually did far more than just continue Rocky IV‘s story: it linked back to all of the best aspects of Stallone’s Rocky movies. This confirmed Creed‘s status as the perfect example of how to revive a franchise, using subtle references and homage to both link itself to, and separate itself from, the Rocky franchise.

Creed II Is An Obvious Follow-Up To Rocky IV

The most obvious way Creed II references the Rocky movies is the way that it serves as a sequel to Rocky IV. Revisiting the character of Ivan Drago by bringing him back as a trainer to his son Viktor served as a means of seeing Rocky and his former adversary face their own past while simultaneously forcing Adonis to confront the man who killed his father. In doing so, Creed II made Ivan Drago more human and also allowed Rocky to act as a father figure to Adonis, delivering a satisfying follow-up to the beloved Rocky IV and paying off the unresolved conflict in Adonis’s character. Creed II also sees a trainer finally throw in the towel, which is something Rocky opted not to do in Apollo’s fight with Drago, resulting in the death of his friend in Rocky IV.

Creed II’s Story Is The Same As Rocky III’s

Although Creed II continues the story of Rocky IV, it does so by recycling key elements of Rocky III. This isn’t made altogether obvious, but the subtle parallels between the overall narrative arcs of the two films are uncanny. Both installments see their respective protagonists start the film with a certain status in the boxing world: champions seemingly at the peak of their individual careers. Enter the tough and powerful challenger from a working-class background — Mr. T’s Clubber Lang in Rocky III; Viktor Drago in Creed II — who proceeds to instantly shatter the protagonist’s confidence and reputation.

Both films then concern their protagonists attempting to resolve their shortcomings and reflect on their own privileged lifestyle, training harder than ever before to overcome their toughest challenges yet. Both films end with a victory for their protagonist after a great deal of personal growth both in and out of the ring. Interestingly, Rocky III also sees the final appearance of Rocky’s trainer Mickey Goldmill, who dies shortly after Rocky’s loss to Clubber Lang. Although Rocky is Adonis Creed’s trainer in Creed II and he survives the events of the film, Stallone’s comments regarding Rocky not returning for Creed 3 may make for yet another parallel between the two films due to the apparent loss of their respective coaches.

Creed II Parallels Multiple Rocky II Scenes

The parallels between Creed II and Rocky II are far more subtle, but they’re numerous. Both films see their protagonists propose marriage (Rocky to Adrian; Adonis to Bianca), and this plays out almost identically. When Rocky proposes in Rocky II, Adrian struggles to hear him because of her earmuffs. In Adonis’s proposal, Bianca cannot hear due to turning off her hearing aids. In both scenes, the proposal is awkwardly repeated and accepted. Both films also see their titular characters become fathers, something which raises the stakes for their upcoming rematches against fighters who had previously beaten them.

Creed II Makes Adonis’ Story More Like Apollo’s In The First Rocky Movie

Creed II also sees Adonis become more like his father. Apollo Creed was considered the best fighter in the world at the beginning of Rocky, at the peak of his career. Creed II starts with his son in a similar situation: Adonis starts the film by winning the Heavyweight championship and becoming a global star. After Rocky refuses to support Adonis’s decision to fight Viktor Drago, Adonis moves to Los Angeles and is trained by Tony “Little Duke” Evers, the son of Apollo’s trainer. The father-son likeness doesn’t end there, either, as they apparently share a weakness, too: in Rocky, Rocky breaks Apollo’s ribs with a body punch, and in Creed II, Drago breaks Adonis’s ribs with the same.

The parallels between Apollo and Adonis’s careers and apparent weaknesses are interesting, as is the inclusion of the son of one of the Rocky franchise’s best trainers. These particular aspects of Adonis and Apollo are interesting, as it sets up the ways in which Creed‘s protagonist is different from Rocky. Interestingly, Creed II also sees the return of Rocky’s turtles Cuff and Link from the first film, tying the two together in yet another small way.

Elements Of Rocky Balboa Make It Into Creed II

While they are far less significant than the narrative parallels between Creed II and other Rocky films, there are a number of references to Rocky Balboa. Rocky’s restaurant, Adrian’s, is shown again in Creed II, and Milo Ventimiglia also reprises his role as Rocky’s son. Though they may not be as relevant or symbolic, they are subtle ways of acknowledging and showing respect for Rocky’s last solo film.

How The References Make Creed II The Perfect Rocky Sequel (& Why That’s Perfect)

All of the various parallels and references in Creed II to the rest of the Rocky franchise make the Creed movies better in a subtle but important way. Showing appropriate reverence to the Creed franchise’s roots is key to retaining Rocky‘s audience while moving the spinoff series away from the original, and that’s something that Creed II achieves brilliantly through its use of narrative parallels and overt references. However, there is also another major consideration for Creed II with regards to the wider franchise in that Sylvester Stallone has expressed he will not be returning for Creed III. This potentially makes Creed II Rocky’s final movie, and therefore the subtle revisiting of elements of all of the Rocky franchise’s best movies is a fitting way to see the character off.

Whether or not Rocky will cameo in Creed 3 remains to be seen, but it would seem that Creed II was the character’s last major cinematic appearance in the franchise. In tying the story of the film into almost every previous installment in the franchise, Creed II served as an appropriate stepping stone to the future. Showing proper reverence to the past before beginning to move on was a particularly classy move, and it makes Creed II‘s place in the Rocky franchise all the more bittersweet.