Rock

  
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BIO:

Rock was born Nathaniel Williams Adams in England, and received his nickname because of his strength. His father, William Adams, ran a curio store specializing in rare weapons and always had an eye for strange antiquities. His mother loved him very much, and Rock's childhood was as idyllic as one could hope for. That all changed one fateful day.

William had attended a secret antique auction where he had purchased a mysterious sword called Soul Edge. William had been searching for the legendary sword most of his adult life, and was thus proud to show it to his son. He stored it in the ship's cabin for the voyage home. A storm began to brew, and suddenly the Adams' ship became the target of a pirate's attack. Cervantes, the dreaded captain of the Adrian, had been commissioned by Vercci to find the sword. William ran to the storeroom to hide the sword, and Rock's mother ran after to stop him. That was the last Rock ever saw of them.

The cannon fire buffeted the ship, and the ship sank. Rock awoke to find himself alone on an unfamiliar shoreline. Realizing that he had lost his parents forever, Rock learned to survive in the New World by discarding old habits and learning to live off the land. It was many years before Rock ever had any other human contact. After he had grown to adulthood, he came upon a native tribe. The natives were afraid of the "white giant," and the only one who would associate with Rock was an orphan named Bangoo.

Rock found himself drawn to the kind boy, who's parents had been killed during tribal warfare. Gradually, the others began to speak to Rock. From them, he learned of the "land across the ocean." As he listened to their descriptions, he began to remember his former life. Memories came back to him, the most prominent being a mysterious weapon called Soul Edge. Rock came to the conclusion that if he could find Soul Edge, he could recover his past and perhaps even find his parents. So, with ax in hand, Rock set out for the Old World.

Rock was naturally unfamiliar with the European landscape, and had no idea where to begin his search for Soul Edge. He eventually stumbled upon another that was looking for Soul Edge, the Greek warrior Sophitia. Through some misunderstanding, the two began to fight, but then soon realized their mistake and called a truce. Sophitia speculated that Rock's heart was not in the battle, that rather he had left something that was far more valuable than what he was searching for. Her words stuck with Rock, and he came to a realization.

He had ventured to the Old World to find the past, yet it was the present that mattered to him. His thoughts turned to Bangoo, and he realized that this boy was his only remaining family and that is where he should be. He bid farewell to Sophitia, and set sail for the New World, his home. After a year of traveling, Rock finally returned to his life with Bangoo. He knew he had made the right decision, because he never wanted Bangoo to experience the loneliness that Rock had. He decided to stay with Bangoo until the boy became a man.

A few years passed, and a rumor began to circulate about mysterious lizard-like humanoids were wandering the land. Rock ignored the rumors, but one night the monsters attacked. Rock mowed them down easily with his battle ax. Realizing that even their tough scales were no match for Rock's weapon, the lizardmen retreated. Rock was victorious, but when he returned home he discovered that Bangoo was missing. The lizardmen, knowing that they could not capture Rock, had kidnapped the boy to lure Rock.

Even though he knew it was a trap, Rock followed the trail of the lizardmen so that no harm would come to Bangoo. The trail led him once again to Europe, but once he arrived in the Old World the trail disappeared. Thus, Rock wandered the continent searching for Bangoo. He eventually traced the lizardmen back to Kunpaetku, the grand priest of a heretical order called Fygul Cestemus. Bangoo's abduction had been nothing more than an attempt to lure Rock with the ultimate goal of taking the warrior's soul. Rock had never met Kunpatku or had any dealings with the Fygul Cestemus, so it was a mystery to him why he had become their target.

After a grueling ordeal, Rock was successful in rescuing Bangoo and the two returned to their home. Bangoo assured Rock that he could take care of himself, and within a few years the boy had grown into a strong young man. Rock assured Bangoo that when his time came, Bangoo would set out on his own quest.
 
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ORIGIN:
Soul Edge

  

 
 
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OTHER APPEARANCES:
Soul Calibur, Soul Calibur 3, Soul Calibur 3 Arcade Edition, Soul Calibur 4, Soul Calibur: Broken Destiny

 
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Page Updated:  June 23rd, 2024

Rock is the original powerhouse of the Soul series. He was a solid and memorable design in the early part of the series as the classic "barbaric" axe wielder. However, Astaroth's debut in Soul Calibur definitely stole much of Rock's steam, since Astaroth could perform most of Rock's original moves and then some. Astaroth even took Rock's place completely in SC2. In a nutshell, Astaroth ended up being a much cooler "big guy" for the serie,s after the development team decided to continue fleshing him out... instead of Rock. Sorry Rock. :/

In every installment after SC1, Rock became more and more of an underdog character, bearing less-exciting moves and becoming easily outshined by the newer, flashier character designs. Even so, his outfit designs were always pretty good... especially his later ones in SC3/SC4. His collection of animal skins/heads and huge weapons is surely impressive. ;) However, I strongly disliked Rock in SC4, simply because they they gave him some seriously cheesy moves and combos. Unlike many characters in Soul Calibur, Rock's fighting style hasn't developed as much as it should have.

Fighting  Style  /  Moveset
Personality  /  Charisma
Outfit(s)  /  Appearance
Effectiveness  in  series
Overall Score

  
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