| “ | I will break you tomorrow. | „ |
| ~ Viktor to Adonis. |
Viktor Drago is the secondary antagonist of the 2018 film Creed II, and a supporting character in its 2023 sequel Creed III.
He is a young Russian-born Ukrainian boxer who is the son of Ivan Drago and Ludmilla Drago. He becomes a challenger for the World Heavyweight Championship and the primary opponent of Adonis Creed, the son of Apollo Creed, who Ivan killed during a bout in the ring years before. Despite being Adonis's competitor, Viktor never held a personal grudge against him, and only agreed to fight him in order to impress his father, who was determined to restore glory to their family name.
After Creed defeats Drago in Moscow, Drago embraces his former rival, and the two become friends, later helping Creed train against his next opponent, Damian Anderson.
He was portrayed by real-life German-Romanian boxer Florian Munteanu, who also played Razor Fist in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
Contents
- 1 Biography
- 1.1 Past
- 1.2 Creed II
- 1.3 Creed III
- 2 Gallery
- 3 Trivia
- 4 Navigation
Biography[]
Past[]
Viktor was born in 1990 to Ivan and Ludmilla, just as the Soviet Union was dissolved a year later. However, Ludmilla divorced Ivan and abandoned him and Viktor, as Ivan had been disgraced for killing Apollo Creed in the ring and being defeated by Rocky Balboa back in 1985. As such, Ivan raised Viktor to become a fierce boxer in the poor streets of Ukraine. Ludmilla's action also caused Viktor to develop a seething hatred towards her for abandoning him when he needed her the most.
Creed II[]
During the events of the film, upon hearing that Apollo's son Adonis has won the World Heavyweight Championship (with the help from an elderly Rocky), Ivan decided that it would be time for himself and Viktor to take action. As such, Viktor publicly challenges Adonis to a fight, swearing to break him and take the title for himself in order to avenge his father's defeat. Of course, Rocky refused to train Adonis for the fight as he feared that Adonis would suffer Apollo's fate, but Adonis accepts the fight as he intends to avenge Apollo's death.
During the first match, Viktor was able to pound off Adonis with all his strength, as Adonis was suffering through recent developments in his life. This allowed Viktor to finally punch Adonis down on the floor, but this only gets him disqualified for hitting him while he was down, resulting in Adonis remaining as the current holder of the title. However, Viktor's beating left Adonis extremely shattered, prompting Adonis' stepmother Mary Anne to convince Rocky to go back and help Adonis out.
Because of the disqualification, a rematch was set up between Viktor and Adonis, though Viktor and Ivan find themselves in good graces with the Russian delegates due to Viktor's efforts. However, the arrival of Ludmilla drove Viktor away in disgust as he is furious at his mother for abandoning him, even berating Ivan for trying to earn back the respect from the people who abandoned him. To ensure that Viktor wins, Ivan puts Viktor through a series of suffering physical tests to build up more of his strength. However, Rocky gives Adonis special training that requires equal blows, which allows Adonis to regain his confidence and strength.
The rematch is considerably more balanced, as a more controlled and focused Adonis exchanges equal blows with Viktor, allowing himself to gain the upper hand on Viktor. When Ludmilla and several of Viktor's supporters depart away from the scene, this leaves Viktor emotionally demoralized, losing his will to fight and defend himself. Upon witnessing this and realizing now that Viktor will suffer Apollo's fate, Ivan is forced to throw in the towel to spare Viktor from further pain, conceding defeat to Adonis. Viktor is left distraught over his loss, but Ivan comforts him by saying that it is okay to lose and that he is still proud of him, implying that his relationship with Viktor is more important than his former glory.
Viktor returns to Ukraine with his father, having recuperated from his pain as they continued training with each other; even as Adonis paid a visit to Apollo's grave, he credited both Dragos for pushing him the opportunity to prove himself to the world and create his own legacy.
Creed III[]
After reconciling with Adonis, Viktor reforms his villainy and his rivalry against his former opponent, and the two come to cordial terms. When Dame Anderson organizes an assault on Drago, forcing him to bow out of his bout with reigning heavyweight champion Felix Chavez and allowing Dame to rob the title, Drago takes it upon himself to train Creed so he can reclaim the title from Dame.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- In a deleted scene following the aftermath of the rematch, Adonis paid a visit to a moping Viktor in the locker room, where he expressed his sympathy towards Viktor over his loss as he too was disgusted by Ludmilla's departure, which Viktor silently acknowledged as he sees now that Adonis truly understands his plight. Even Drago, who witnessed this, nodded to Rocky for training Adonis to become a better fighter, somewhat hinting at a sense of remorse for killing Apollo.
- The exact reason for the removal of this scene remains unclear, but it appears that a similar scene was subsequently reimagined and incorporated into Damian Anderson's redemption arc at the end of Creed II's sequel Creed III, directed by Michael B. Jordan, the actor of Adonis Creed.
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