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| “ | You mad? Try spending half your life in a cell, watching somebody else live your life. You turned your back on me, homie. Hey, but look, don’t trip. Hey, come here. Remember this? This title? All this? Hey, I’m just getting started, little brother. I’m coming for it all. | „ |
| ~ Dame to Donnie. |
Damian "Dame" Anderson, also known by his stage name "Diamond Dame", is the main antagonist of the 2023 sports drama film Creed III, the overall ninth installment in the Rocky film series.
He is the childhood best friend of Adonis "Donnie" Creed and an aspiring professional boxer with a distinct aggressive fighting style. At eighteen, Dame took the fall for Donnie by serving a prison sentence after being involved in an assault against their abusive caregiver. Furious that Donnie appeared to have shut him out from his life, Dame engineered a scheme to cheat his way up to the title of World Heavyweight Champion as revenge for Donnie's neglect and abandonment during his jail time.
He is portrayed by Jonathan Majors, who also plays all variants of Kang the Conqueror in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As a teenager, he was portrayed by Spencer Moore II.
Contents
- 1 Personality
- 2 History
- 3 Quotes
- 4 Gallery
- 5 Trivia
- 6 Navigation
Personality[]
As a young man, Damian was ambitious and driven, with dreams of becoming the greatest fighter in all of boxing filling the void caused by the lack of a stable family or living situation. He valued his friendship with Adonis greatly and shared a close bond with the young Creed, seeing each other as brothers.
After being locked up for 18 years combined with the perceived abandonment of his only family, Dame's demeanor changed drastically. He became bitter and jealous, envying Adonis’ success and fame, living the life he had always aspired to live. Despite this Damian is initially cordial to his old friend, thanking him whenever he attempts to help him, such as allowing him to fight in the gym free of charge, taking him to meet his family and inviting him to a party hosted by Bianca, Adonis’ wife. However the pain of being unable to become the Heavyweight Champion along with his growing resentment of Adonis led to another side of Damian: his ruthless, cutthroat and manipulative side.
His desire to reconcile with his friend and move on from trauma from being locked up was ultimately consumed by his singular goal of becoming the Heavyweight champion at any cost, no matter the consequences. This was reflected in his no-holds barred beatdown of Felix the former Heavyweight Champion as well as his overall Unorthodox fighting style.
After the revelation that Damian was behind the assault that injured Viktor Drago and defeating Felix, Dame boasted a more co*cky yet bitter persona showing that he has not forgiven Adonis for abandoning him as kids, soiling his name and his father’s name Apollo Creed on national television, antagonizing him to the point where Adonis challenges him.
After his defeat Dame finally forgives Adonis even admitting that he should not be blamed for what happened, the two men reconcile and Dame agrees to reach out to Adonis if he ever needs him.
History[]
Damian Anderson was a childhood friend of Adonis "Donnie" Creed, who befriended each other while spending time in group homes and detention centers in the Crenshaw district of South Central Los Angeles. As they grew older, they became the best of friends, and Creed was supportive of Dame as he pursued his ambitions of becoming a professional boxer. Dame made a name for himself as a local Golden Gloves champion, sneaking out to participate in underground matches under the moniker of "Diamond Dame".
One fateful night at a liquor store, Donnie and Dame came face-to-face with Leon, an abusive caregiver from their childhood. When Donnie attacked Leon, Dame came to his defense armed with a gun and fought off Leon's thugs. While Donnie managed to escape as the police arrived, Dame was caught and received a harsh sentence of eighteen years in prison.
Donnie's adoptive mother, Mary-Anne (the widow of Apollo Creed), determined that Dame was a bad influence on Donnie, so she withheld Dame's letters mailed to Donnie from prison. Meanwhile, Donnie felt remorse and guilt over the incident so he deliberately cut out any memory of it, leaving Dame behind from his life in the process. Dame took this as a sign of betrayal, interpreting Donnie's silence as him turning his back on him. Robbed of his chance of going pro, Dame lived out his prime years serving the rest of his prison sentence, growing even more resentful of his former best friend after Donnie found success as the WBC World Heavyweight Champion.
Having never fully lost sight of his goal to become a professional boxer, he schemed to rob the champion title for himself.
Upon his release from prison, Dame tracked down Donnie, who has since retired from boxing. Under the fabrication of wanting to genuinely reconnect with his long-lost friend, the two discussed Dame's aspirations to continue his passion for boxing. After sparring with Donnie's protégé, the current heavyweight champion title holder Felix "El Guerrero" Chavez, Dame attempts to convince Donnie to set him and Felix up in a match, with stakes similar to the matches that defined Donnie's career, as well as Rocky Balboa's. When Donnie is reluctant, Dame conspires to assault Felix's opponent Viktor Drago by sending an accomplice of his to hurt him at a record label party hosted by Donnie's wife Bianca.
With Drago's arm now fractured, rendering him unable to fight, the assault opens up an opportunity for Dame to replace him in the match. Reluctantly, Donnie allows it to avoid losing the money spent on the event. In the bout, Dame's aggressive fighting strategy gives him the edge over Felix and mercilessly takes him out in a no-holds-barred beatdown, earning him newfound fame, riches, and the title of the undisputed champion. Despite his victory, he earns the scorn of Donnie for his ruthless and unorthodox tactics of winning.
Donnie discovers soon after that Dame orchestrated the entire incident at Bianca's party, identifying his cellmate as the man who attacked Drago. Confronting him on a beach, Dame reveals his true motives and intentions, expressing his deep-seated grudge against Donnie stemming from their past. He disowns Donnie as a friend since he has no use for him anymore and delivers him a black eye.
Dame challenges Donnie to fight him in the ring after slandering him and publicizing their grudge on national television, calling him a fraud. Donnie accepts the challenge, and both fighters train rigorously for the upcoming showdown, which becomes known as the "Battle of Los Angeles". On the night of the match, Dame fails to defend his short-lived title of heavyweight champion and loses to Creed via knockout in the final round, echoing a strategy Dame had once bragged about to Adonis when they were kids.
Dame and Donnie speak shortly after the fight. Donnie apologizes to Dame for never checking up on him. Dame, however, says it's not Donnie's fault because they were just kids. Both Donnie and Dame come to terms with the past not being entirely their fault, and they forgive each other. Dame renounces his revenge and realizes the error of his ways, leading to a resolution and reconciliation between the two former friends.
Quotes[]
| “ | sh*t, man. Before I got locked up, I was the highest-ranking amateur in boxing. Ever. It’s the longest hiatus in the history of boxing ’cause I’m back now. | „ |
| ~ "Diamond" Dame Anderson announcing his official comeback |
| “ | You think I need you? No. When I got locked up, I needed you. When I came home, yeah, bro, I needed you. But look around, bro. I’m the champ! Yeah! And I don’t need you for nothing or... or nothing. Who alone now? Yeah, that’s right. Run away. Run away. That’s the one thing you still good at, Baby Creed! | „ |
| ~ Dame taunts Donnie at the beach |
| “ | Hey, what up, little homey? You want a tissue? Want me to come on there and give you a hug? Aight, look, I’m just telling everybody who you really are. How you run out on family. Oh, bad news, bro. This is live. So, I mean, this how we gonna handle it now. Little Donnie ain’t got nothin’. He a coward. You a coward, bro, and a fraud. I know it. Everybody else know it. Hey, Apollo Creed would be ashamed. | „ |
| ~ Dame Anderson provokes Donnie into challenging him for the championship. |
| “ | "Guess you did learn a few moves without me." "Dame, I’m sorry. All those years… I never checked up on you. That’s on me." "We were just... kids, bro. It ain’t on you. None of it." "Hey, D. It wasn’t on you either." "Aight, go ahead then, man. Family and everybody waiting on you. Champ. You know where to find me if you need me." | „ |
| ~ Dame and Donnie coming to terms and forgiving each other |
Gallery[]
Dame is reunited with Donnie for the first time in years
Dame is brought by Donnie to the latter's boxing gym
Dame reveals his true colors to Donnie
Dame training for his upcoming fight with Donnie
Dame prepares to fight Adonis
Dame prepares for his fight
Dame faces off against Donnie in the Battle of Los Angeles
Trivia[]
- Damian Anderson is the first central antagonist in the Creed trilogy to not be portrayed by a real-life boxer. "Pretty" Ricky Conlan is played by Liverpool professional boxer Tony Bellew and Viktor Drago is played by Florian Munteanu, who has an established history as a heavyweight boxer in Germany.
- Throughout Creed III, several things hint towards Dame's betrayal mid-way through the movie.
- He is seen talking to his accomplices in the background of Bianca's party and instructing them to attack Viktor Drago.
- When Mary-Anne shows Damian's letters to Donnie, the letters begin sincere and gradually over the passing years turn to hate and jealousy.
- Throughout the final showdown, there are various homages to many hero-vs-villain anime fights inserted by director Michael B. Jordan. The symmetrical cross-punch sequence between Dame and Adonis was directly inspired by Naruto Uzamaki and Sasuke Uchiha in Naruto: Shippuden, and Dame's gut-punch towards Donnie reminisces Goku's meteor-smash punch against Frieza in Dragon Ball Z.
- Dame's path to redemption in the final moments of the movie bears a striking resemblance to an alternate ending in the series' previous entry Creed II, where Adonis seeks out his opponent, a dejected Viktor Drago in the locker room to offer his condolences for his loss. The parallel between Dame's arc of reconciliation and this omitted scene from Creed II is evident as both scenes underscore the theme of forgiveness and understanding in the face of personal tragedies. It is highly likely that the director, Michael B. Jordan (who portrays Adonis), was dissatisfied with the removal of the scene in the second film, and thus incorporated it into the third movie instead.
- Creed III was released on the same year as Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023) where Jonathan Majors also plays the main villain.
- Jonathan Majors has expressed interest in reprising his role as Dame in future films.
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