Warning: spoilers ahead for Creed 3.
After three movies, Creed 3 finally gave Adonis Creed his Rocky steps moments, but Creed’s version is even better. Despite Rocky Balboa himself not appearing in Creed 3, the film still takes a lot of influence from the original Sylvester Stallone movie, even continuing the trend of every Rocky movie having a training montage. Although it is unlikely to become as iconic as the Rocky steps, Creed 3‘s version of the training montage works even better than the original.
Creed 3 sees Adonis Creed decide to finally step back into the ring after being challenged by a ghost from his past – “Diamond” Damian Anderson. Although Adonis has done his fair share of fighting before, by the time Creed 3 rolls around, Adonis has been retired from boxing for a while, and is not in fighting shape. In order for Adonis Creed to fight Damian Anderson, he has to undergo some serious training, leading to the events of Creed 3‘s training montage.
Adonis’ Training Sequence Repeats Rocky’s Iconic Steps Moment
In the original Rocky, the street-level boxer has to train in order to take on the world heavyweight champion. During the Rocky training montage, one famous sequence shows Rocky Balboa running up the stairs that lead to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. This moment has become iconic, with the Rocky stairs reappearing in Rocky II and Rocky Balboa. Creed 3 homages this moment by having Adonis Creed recreate a similar scene, but on a far greater level, replacing a flight of stairs with a mountain.
In Creed 3‘s training montage, boxing trainer Little Duke puts his own spin on Rocky Balboa’s training method by having Adonis Creed run up a steep mountain. Although Adonis is not running up a staircase, this is clearly meant to draw parallels to the Rocky steps scene. This is just one section in Creed 3‘s training montage, but is easily the most memorable.
Creed 3’s Mountain Climb Is Even Better Than Rocky’s Steps
Although it is not yet as popular as the Rocky steps, Creed 3‘s mountain climb is even better than the original moment. While running up stairs is impressive, sprinting up a mountain is even more so. Not only is the steep, gigantic mountain a difficult task and a fantastic visual, it works thematically as well. In the scene, the training montage for Jonathan Majors‘ Dame Anderson is intercut with Creed’s training. Dame is a tank, whereas Adonis is washed up, making him the underdog. The mountain represents the enormity of the task at hand, as Creed has a long way to go if he wants to beat Dame.
Another reason that Creed 3‘s mountain climb works is the way that it relates to Rocky. Rather than being a direct copy of the moment from Rocky, it is more of a homage, keeping the core idea but giving it a fresh coat of paint. Using the foundation of Rocky but giving the scene a new identity works perfectly for the modern story, making Creed 3 stand out as distinct, but still honoring its Rocky roots.