Some monster are driven by a deep seated anger and rage that comes from having a tough and unfair childhood spent on the streets - some find a way to get that anger and hatred out in a socially acceptable way. Having an outlet, such as boxing to get the anger out is a good thing, but it doesn’t make the person less the Monster if they are driven by hurting others without remorse. Some aren’t able to take the negative experiences of a past difficult life and turn them into something positive for others with their success.
This is the case with this week’s Monster, so without any further ado, the Monster of the Week is…
James "Clubber" Lang!
Appearing in 1982’s Rocky III, James “Clubber” Lang is the opponent and antagonist to the great Rocky Balboa. Clubber Lang is an angry man, and as he works his way up the boxing ranks, his anger is fueled by watching Balboa win frivolous title matches against weak and lesser opponents. He see’s someone at the top that in his eyes doesn’t deserve it and it just makes him all the more upset. Lang is played by the great Mr. T and I think I need not explain who that man is (loved his cereal), but I will say that his performance in Rocky III is quite fantastic. We know that Mr. T was a real life tough guy, that’s what got him the role in Rocky III, but the real T is one of the kindest and most noble people to work in film and television, and that is evident from his positive messages to children over the years. His real life persona almost mirrors that of Lang in a sense, but he decided to make a positive impact, instead of a negative one with his success.
Mr. T is as far from Clubber Lang as it gets and that is what makes him so great in the movie…Lang is incredibly intimidating and he’s as scary as a broken condom. Rocky Balboa has faced many antagonists, but what separates Clubber Lang from the rest of the pack is he never shows any signs of kindness, nor is he apologetic for his negative actions. He is just a mean dude that only wants to knock the block off Rocky Balboa out of hatred and jealousy. Even Ivan Drago wasn’t that bad of a guy and in the end, he showed signs of couth, giving respect for Rocky as a fighter, which eventually led to the end of the cold war. Thank god.
Br00tal choice, my friend. You should take all of the Monster of the Week you've highlighted so far and make a tournament to see who the ultimate BADASS is!
ReplyDeletePAIN!
ReplyDeleteAaron: That is a really good idea! That is totally something that could be voted on, or I could make up a story with each of the Monster's fighting...Kumite style! Picture Clubber Lang against a handful of Crites!
ReplyDeletePOT: FUL! Sorry, that was all I could come up with!
Good stuff dude. Clubber's montage is awesome.
ReplyDeleteYeah or just have polls on your site with different brackets and have them up for like a week at a time! I thought about having a tournament like that for greatest 80s slasher movie of all time, but we'll see....
ReplyDeleteBAM, aother awesome winner for Monster of the Week! Itd be a cold day in hell before I would ever get in the ring with that beast.
ReplyDeleteJaded: It is an awesome montage, but then again, aren't pretty much all the Rocky montages simply amazing?!
ReplyDeleteAaron: You totally should do a Slashers one and when you did mention a battle royale of Monsters, I thought a side poll right away too.
Carl: Thanks, Carl! He is a scary ass dude and one of the few opponents that had Rocky scared shitless!
Great post!
ReplyDeleteYou know a dear friend used to send me VHS' of random lesser known b-movies and horror flicks mostly from the 70's and included as an interlude to a film was a Mr. T guide for children to be all they can be... in neon clothing with a New Edition cameo! :) I'm sure you've seen it.
Thanks, Ashlee! That clip you speak of sounds amazing! New Edition is my shit! I am sure I have seen it at one point in my life, but I am about to search the youtube for some sort of clippage!
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