This article is about the boxer who used to punch meat - for the machine gunner who used to surf, see Rock 'n Roll.

Rocky was (not) a G.I. Joe personal combat instructor in the A Real American Hero series.

Rocky Personal information Real name Robert Balboa Gender Male Birthplace Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Alias The Italian Stallion Military information Grade / Rank E-5 (Enlisted Reserves) Specialty Personal Combat Instructor (primary)

Special Services (secondary) Organizational information Faction(s) G.I. Joe Team Media information First comic appearance Order of Battle #2





Robert "Rocky" Balboa was the only child of a Roman Catholic Italian-American family. He never graduated high school, and his father told him he wasn't born with much brain, so he had better use his body. This encouraged him to take up boxing. He trained very hard so he could grow up to be like his idol Rocky Marciano. His nickname is "The Italian Stallion," spawning from his Italian-American heritage.

Fiction

A well-known boxing champion, Rocky enlisted in the military in a secret posting with the G.I. Joe Team. He was specifically recruited by Hawk in order to train the Joes in pugilism and "how to take a beating."[1] It is said that no one could touch him, even with pugil sticks.[2]

Toys

Generation 1 A Real American Hero No toys were produced. A licensing agreement fell through, and development on the Rocky figure was cancelled. According to Action Figure Collector magazine, the figure was sculpted by Bill Merklein. Appearance: black hair; dark headband; tank top; grey sweatpants with red, white and blue stripes around the lower legs; athletic shoes. Accessories: boxing gloves; pugil stick with boxing gloves on each end. YoJoe.com page/Filecard

Background

The Herb Trimpe artwork in Order of Battle #2 was not drawn with Sylvester Stallone's likeness, since the deal was not yet official. In addition to appearing inside the issue, Rocky appears on the back half of the wraparound cover, near Rock 'n Roll, Short-Fuze, and Slaughter's Renegades. Rocky's appearance was retracted in Order of Battle #3 and #4, and removed entirely in the trade paperback. Thus, he no longer exists in G.I. Joe continuity. It is likely that the character art's lack of resemblance to Stallone is why Marvel only had to run retractions, not recall and destroy the issues, since only the name was an infringement.

Big Boa was created as a Cobra nemesis for Rocky. Since Big Boa was not based on a real person, he survived the cancellation of his foe, and was released in 1987.

Notes

While Rocky never made it into G.I. Joe, another Sylvester Stallone character became a competitor of the line. In 1986, Coleco released the toy line Rambo: The Force of Freedom and supported it with a cartoon on the ABC network. In the story line, Rambo led a group of specialists (the Force of Freedom) against an international paramilitary terrorist organization (S.A.V.A.G.E.).[3][4]