FAQ

When ex-Heavyweight Champion Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers), former nemesis, trainer, and now a good friend to current Heavyweight Champ Rocky "The Italian Stallion" Balboa (Sylvester Stallone), is killed during an exhibition match with 6-foot 5-inch, 261-pound Russian boxer Ivan "The Siberian Express" Drago (Dolph Lundgren), Rocky blames himself and accepts Drago's challenge to fight him. With Creed's former manager Tony "Duke" Evers (Tony Burton), Rocky travels to Siberia to train for the upcoming bout in Moscow.

Yes. Like Rocky (1976), Rocky II (1979), and Rocky III (1982) before it, Rocky IV was written and directed by Stallone. Rocky IV was followed by Rocky V (1990) and Rocky Balboa (2006). A novelization of Rocky IV credited to Sylvester Stallone was released in 1985.

It seems that many fans assume that when Rocky arrives at his house at the start of the film, he is returning from the sparring session with Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) which ended Rocky III, and therefore, no time passes between Rocky III and Rocky IV. However, this cannot be so. Early on in the film, Rocky mentions to Adrian (Talia Shire) that it is nearly their ninth anniversary. They got married early in Rocky II, which was set in 1976 between January 1st and November 25th. As such, their ninth anniversary would occur in early 1985. This places the events in Rocky IV roughly five years after the end of Rocky III (which was set in 1979 and '80), and approximately 10 years after the original Rocky. Furthermore, we know that Rocky and Adrian were married in early 1976 and we know that the match with Drago takes place on Christmas Day. As such, the time frame of the film is from early 1985 to December 25th, 1985.

Rocky (1976): November 25th, 1975 – January 1st, 1976

Rocky II (1979): January 1st, 1976 – November 25th, 1976

Rocky III (1982): early 1979 – early 1980

Rocky IV (1985): early 1985 – December 25th, 1985

We know that Rocky was 30 in Rocky and 34 in Rocky III, placing his date of birth sometime in 1945. If we accept that Rocky IV takes place in 1985, it means he is roughly 40 years old.

"Superman vs. Superhype". After the fight, it is dubbed "Death From Above".

It's not normal, but it's not unheard of either. Both Mike Tyson and Nikolai Valuev have had punches that measured close to that.

They are meant to be KGB agents. During the time the film takes place, relations between the then-Soviet Union and the United States were very tense. The USSR was a communist nation, the US has always been a democracy and both stood in opposition to each other on the world stage: the United States believed that Soviet communism was an oppressive form of government and the USSR believed that American democracy had become decadent and ruled by the rich.

The idea of an American fighter requesting and arriving in the USSR to train, especially a high-profile guy like Rocky, would have immediately prompted the Soviet government to assign state security agents to watch him and make sure he didn't engage in any form of espionage, spying, stealing of government secrets, etc. The suspension of disbelief would revolve around the fact that Rocky is one person, his group is very small & the remoteness of the location he chooses to train in and therefore little threat to Soviet security. However, seeing as how this is a film made at the height of tensions between the 2 countries during the 1980s, it serves to increase the drama.

It is never specified for certain, but the implication is that it is some sort of performance-enhancing drug. Earlier in the film, there is a scene where Drago tries to lift a heavy barbell and can't get it above his shoulders. However, immediately after we see him being injected, we see him easily lifting the same weight above his head. The implication, of course, is that whatever was in the syringe has enhanced his strength or the muscle stress tolerance. During the first of Drago's press conferences after he arrives in the States, one reporter brings up unconfirmed reports of "widespread doping" in Russian athletics. At the time the film was released, performance-enhancing drugs, specifically synthetic and illegal steroids were discovered to have been used by athletes. Several professional athletes later went on record saying they'd either experimented with them or had used them regularly.

This is a subject of much debate amongst fans. Rocky is still the world heavyweight champion at the start of the film. However, because the Boxing Commission will not sanction the Drago fight in Russia, Rocky must relinquish the title. The problem is whether or not his relinquishing of the title is permanent or temporary. Rocky IV would seem to imply it is permanent, but upon his return to America in Rocky V, he is still the champion, suggesting it was only a temporary surrender of the belt. One line in Rocky IV is perhaps the key to this debate. During the newspaper montage prior to Rocky's departure for Russia, a reporter asks Rocky if he no longer cares about the title, to which he responds, "Not until this is over." This could perhaps suggest that Rocky is only giving up the belt temporarily for the duration of his stay in Russia, and would thus explain how Union Cane is able to challenge him for the title at the start of Rocky V. As stated before the fight in Russia this fight is NOT for the Heavyweight championship title

Yes. In the credits, the character is simply called "Soviet Leader", whilst the commentators refer to him as "the Soviet Premier". The the character is played by Mikhail Gorbachev lookalike David Lloyd Austin, (who went on to also play Gorbachev in The Naked Gun), however the character himself is not named Gorbachev, nor does he have the famous "wine stain" birthmark on his head. But the character obviously is supposed to be an allusion to him.

This has become a subject of some debate amongst fans. Some argue that he says, "You're dead", whilst others maintain he says, "To the end". According to the subtitle track on the DVD, Drago actually says, "To the end", implying that, like the Russian audience, he too has come to respect Rocky's tenacity and ability to survive. Drago's tone also appears to be respectful, rather than derogatory. Many fans however, still contend that Drago says, "You're dead," as he has already been known to kill with his punches (i.e. Apollo Creed), and is determined to defeat Rocky in a similarly definitive manner.