Rocky / Creed

Creed was never the bad guy! Even calling him the antagonist would be a stretch.

In Rocky, he's just the insurmountable obstacle Rocky wanted to stand toe to toe with.

In Rocky II, Creed had to goad Rocky into the ring, but he had his own honorable reasons for wanting that fight.

That's part of what made the first two movies brilliant.

Apollo Creed was never the bad guy - he was merely challenge that Balboa had to overcome. In fact, They become very good friends as the series progressed. Awesome characters that are timeless.