10 Movie Villains Who Became Heroes In The Sequel
7. Apollo Creed - Rocky III
While it'd be a stretch to say that Rocky Balboa's (Sylvester Stallone) opponent in the first two Rocky movies is an out-and-out villain, Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers, rest in peace) is in the very least an antagonist who stands in the way of Rocky's quest for victory.
Rocky of course defeats Apollo at the end of Rocky II, and when the third film rolls around, Apollo returns to help train Rocky to take on a powerful new contender, Clubber Lang (Mr. T).
Despite their initial frostiness, Rocky and Apollo develop a bond throughout their training sessions, enough that they become genuine close friends - a friendship which would've likely lasted a lifetime had Apollo not been killed by Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) in Rocky IV.
All the same, Apollo's legacy casts a long, heroic shadow over the rest of the franchise, which of course pivoted to follow his son Adonis (Michael B. Jordan) in the recent Creed trilogy.