Rahqi Bal’Boa – Rocky Balboa
https://wiki.wizard101central.com/wiki/NPC:Rahqi_Bal%27Boa
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_Balboa
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_(franchise)
Rahqi Bal’Boa is the trainer of soldiers in the Serpentine Science. He owns his own Gym in Istanboa.
He wants to train your wizard in the art of Serpentine Science by sparring with Qhreed. He also needs your help against Qhreese of the Kobra Kai Dojo.
Robert “Rocky” Balboa (also known by his ring name the Italian Stallion) is a fictional character and the titular protagonist of the Rocky film series. The character was created by Sylvester Stallone, who has also portrayed him in eight of the nine films in the franchise. He is depicted as a working class or poor Italian-American from the slums of Philadelphia who started out as a club fighter and “enforcer” for a local Philly Mafia loan shark. He is portrayed as overcoming the obstacles that had occurred in his life and in his career as a professional boxer.
Rocky is an American sports drama multimedia franchise created by Sylvester Stallone, based on the life of Chuck Wepner, which began with the eponymous 1976 film and has since become a cultural phenomenon, centered on the boxing careers of Rocky Balboa and his protégé Adonis Creed.
The original film (Rocky) was written by Stallone and directed by John G. Avildsen, and was followed by the sequels Rocky II (1979), Rocky III (1982), Rocky IV (1985), Rocky V (1990), and Rocky Balboa (2006). Stallone wrote and directed four of the five sequels, with Avildsen returning to direct Rocky V. All six films were distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. A spin-off film series followed, with Creed (2015), Creed II (2018), and Creed III (2023). The series stars Michael B. Jordan as boxer Adonis Creed, with Stallone as his trainer in the first two films. The Creed films were directed by Ryan Coogler, Steven Caple Jr., and Jordan respectively.
Rocky, Rocky III, and Creed were nominated for Academy Awards, with the first winning Best Picture, Best Director for Avildsen, and Best Film Editing, and is considered one of the greatest sports films of all time. Stallone was nominated for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the first film and Creed, respectively. Rocky has influenced landmarks and popular culture; the entrance to the Philadelphia Museum of Art has become known as the Rocky Steps while phrases like “Yo, Adrian!” and “If he dies, he dies” have become part of lexicon or widely memed. Balboa is also considered one of the most iconic fictional characters, and the franchise is closely linked with its successful theme songs, including “Gonna Fly Now”, “Eye of the Tiger”, and “Burning Heart”.
The current list of all the (known) Mirage references can be found here.
Although I am well versed in Pop Culture references but I do not claim to have caught them all. Let me know your favorites in the comments and if I’ve missed one you caught, let me know so I can add it to the list.
Text for this article is excerpted from the linked wiki pages
Rahqi Bal’Boa image is from Wizard101, and is copyright of KingsIsle Entertainment
All Rocky images are copyright MGM/UA
The Rocky movie poster collage is borrowed from ultimateclassicrock.com
Image usage qualifies as fair use under US copyright law.
Vulcan Stev's Database 