G.I. Joe's new 'Energon Universe' needs to bring back a disgraced soldier: Rocky Balboa. In 1986, Rocky was recruited onto the team, but when publisher negotiations fell through, he was officially disavowed. Now, Skybound can fix that wrong.
Warning: contains spoilers for Void Rivals #1!Rocky Balboa is best known for being one of the greatest boxers in all of fiction, with a film franchise that now spans generations, but few people know he was once a canon member of G.I. Joe, before being unceremoniously kicked off the team. But now, with G.I. Joe’s newly-established continuity on the way, it is the perfect time to bring back the disgraced American hero, Rocky Balboa.
In Marvel Comics' G.I. Joe: Order of Battle #2 by Larry Hama and Herb Trimpe, Rocky is introduced right alongside the other members of the G.I. Joe team. It’s revealed that Rocky was recruited by Hawk to train the other Joes in how to take a beating without being brought down. Unfortunately, Rocky was included pending a deal that subsequently fell through, making it so that he couldn't legally appear on the team.
SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT G.I. Joe Rejected Rocky, But Now He Can Return Recently, the Skybound comic Void Rivals kicked off the Energon Universe - a new continuity which will see Transformers and G.I. Joe merge with the titular sci-fi world from Robert Kirkman and Lorenzo De Felici's new series.
BOOM! Studios' Creed Makes a Rocky Return Simple BOOM! Studios is releasing a four-part limited series Creed comic book with Michael B. Jordan as the series’ creative director. With BOOM! Studios having the license for comics set in this universe, a simple crossover with Skybound could allow Rocky to rejoin G.I. Joe and reclaim his rightful place among some of the world’s greatest heroes.