# Rocky Balboa **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 23, 2013, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocky-balboa/656509 "2013-04-23T17:26:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![vertizontal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ad7895/32.png) [@vertizontal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vertizontal)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocky-balboa/656509/1 "2013-04-23T17:26:51Z")
Was any reason ever given for why the movie is titled \*\*Rocky Balboa \*\*and not **Rocky VI**? ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocky-balboa/656509/2 "2013-04-23T17:42:21Z")
Because it was something of a reboot rather than a sequel, and for all the brief mentions of the intervening movies and bouts, it followed right on the heels of the first film. I loved the bit with the turtles. Said it all. ---
**Author:** ![RogueRacer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7ab992/32.png) [@RogueRacer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RogueRacer)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocky-balboa/656509/3 "2013-04-23T17:46:17Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Because it was something of a reboot rather than a sequel, and for all the brief mentions of the intervening movies and bouts, it followed right on the heels of the first film. I’m not sure how that’s possible given his age in the movie. It sure seemed like a sequel to me. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocky-balboa/656509/4 "2013-04-23T17:49:52Z")
They may have thought nobody would go see Rocky VI. So they tried to make it sound like something that wasn’t a sequel. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocky-balboa/656509/5 "2013-04-23T17:50:34Z")
> [@RogueRacer](#): > > I’m not sure how that’s possible given his age in the movie. It sure seemed like a sequel to me. It was both. It was a sequel that selectively rewrote the history of the intervening four movies (mostly by ignoring their events) and attached itself more directly to the first one. So it’s a sequel to \*Rocky \*and a slight reboot of the whole series. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocky-balboa/656509/6 "2013-04-23T17:51:18Z")
> [@RogueRacer](#): > > I’m not sure how that’s possible given his age in the movie. It sure seemed like a sequel to me. I think the intent was to shed some of the trappings of the intervening films. So, in that regard, it was a “reboot” although it wasn’t attempting to rewrite the original story. Reboot-sequel? They may have worried that “Rocky VI” would make people think of robot butlers and other silly things. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocky-balboa/656509/7 "2013-04-23T18:11:06Z")
They ran out of “ **I’s** ” and “ **V’s** ”. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocky-balboa/656509/8 "2013-04-23T23:10:30Z")
Sometime around the mid to late 90s or so film studios began to think that Roman-numeral clad sequels had become incredibly juvenile & tacky. Also, they started to think that except for the biggest franchises (i.e. _Star Wars_) it was becoming a hindrance because if you hadn’t seen any of the earlier ones you’d be less inclined to see Part III etc. Not having a number in the title gave the film more of its own identity. Although this just begat the age of the colon (’:’) sequels… ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocky-balboa/656509/9 "2013-04-23T23:27:14Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > It was both. It was a sequel that selectively rewrote the history of the intervening four movies (mostly by ignoring their events) and attached itself more directly to the first one. So it’s a sequel to \*Rocky \*and a slight reboot of the whole series. ummm.. I don’t think so. It’s pretty much a straight sequel, Stallone wanted the movie to be taken more seriuosly and calling it Rocky 6 would have hurt it. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocky-balboa/656509/10 "2013-04-23T23:32:16Z")
To lessen the chance that there would be a Rocky VII. ---
**Author:** ![PSXer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocky-balboa/656509/11 "2013-04-24T00:04:23Z")
It’s the way they’re marketing everything nowadays to trick people into seeing sequels ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocky-balboa/656509/12 "2013-04-24T01:01:43Z")
> [@PSXer](#): > > It’s the way they’re marketing everything nowadays to trick people into seeing sequels I can’t wait to see Anthony Stark this year. Wait, they called it Iron Man 3. Never mind. 🙂 Rambo is even more weird. The order goes: 1. First Blood 2. First Blood, Part Two. 3. Rambo III 4. Rambo In Europe, the fourth one was called John Rambo. So first and last names were a thing with Stallone’s recent sequels. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocky-balboa/656509/13 "2013-04-24T01:29:47Z")
Makes it easier to pretend the series goes ROCKY - ROCKY II - ROCKY III - ROCKY IV - ROCKY BALBOA. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocky-balboa/656509/14 "2013-04-24T01:30:21Z")
> [@PSXer](#): > > It’s the way they’re marketing everything nowadays to trick people into seeing sequels I’ve given up trying to figure out the order for the latest Batman movies. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocky-balboa/656509/15 "2013-04-24T01:36:40Z")
I’m still waiting for Oceans 1 through 10 ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Ed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Just\_Ed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Ed)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocky-balboa/656509/16 "2013-04-24T01:45:28Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Rambo is even more weird. The order goes: > > 1. First Blood > > 2. First Blood, Part Two. > > 3. Rambo III > > 4. Rambo The second movie was actually entitled _[Rambo: First Blood Part II](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089880/)_ — which raises the question of whether the third one should have been called _Rambo II: First Blood Part III_. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocky-balboa/656509/17 "2013-04-24T03:20:09Z")
> [@Just\_Ed](#): > > The second movie was actually entitled _[Rambo: First Blood Part II](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089880/)_ — which raises the question of whether the third one should have been called _Rambo II: First Blood Part III_. Thanks for the correction. I knew Rambo was confusing. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Ed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Just\_Ed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Ed)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocky-balboa/656509/18 "2013-04-24T04:05:38Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Thanks for the correction. I knew Rambo was confusing. I only remembered that because I’d read Harlan Ellison’s review of it years ago and his typically vitriolic turn of phrase stuck in my mind: "Sporting a title as graceful as a hyena with a shattered spine dragging itself to a watering hole, _Rambo: First Blood Part II_ … " (he didn’t like it.) (Quote can be found in [Harlan Ellison’s Watching](http://books.google.com/books?id=260On1i5F0oC&pg=PT237&lpg=PT237&dq=%22harlan+ellison%22+rambo+first+blood&source=bl&ots=yJCiLO0qlL&sig=ArNh_h0i_Bs4FoHlyLVCUtl6264&hl=en&sa=X&ei=GVh3UefDD6bT0wGRh4CgAw&ved=0CFUQ6AEwBA)) ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rocky-balboa/656509/19 "2013-04-24T04:38:19Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > To lessen the chance that there would be a Rocky VII. Adrian’s Revenge! Seriously, I agree with the comments about “being taken more seriously,” and “sequel to the first.” I enjoyed _Rocky Balboa_ as much as I did the first film (which was a lot), and I didn’t think much of the numbered sequels. I probably wouldn’t have gone to see another one (i.e. _Rocky VI_). My favourite quote from _Rocky Balboa_: “It’s not how hard you can hit. It’s how hard you can get hit, and still keep moving forward.”