Rocket

Rocket
Birth	2006
Death	Between 2028 and 2328
Occupation	Second-in-command of the Ape Army
Race	Evolved chimpanzee
Gender	Male
Age	22 (by 2028)
Status	Deceased
Family	Tinker † (wife) Ash † (son)
Continuity	Movies (CE)
Portrayed By	Terry Notary
First Appearance	Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Last Appearance	Caesar's Story

"Feeling better? Good. Then we can talk about... Escape. Apes together strong!"

Rocket's resolve to stand by Caesar

Rocket was a brave and headstrong evolved chimpanzee who was one of the most trusted lieutenants of the late Ape King Caesar during the Ape Rebellion and the Human-Ape War, serving as the second-in-command of the Ape Army.

Biography

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Not much is known about Rocket's past, only that he was sent to San Bruno Primate Shelter and he chose a female named Tinker as his mate. He also established himself as the alpha and demonstrated his strength as a show of superiority.

Bullying the Newcomer

One day as he rested in his cell, Rocket picked up the scent of the new chimpanzee named Caesar and turned to beat his cell and hoot in anger, which was followed by the other apes' hostility to the newcomer. Later on at feeding time, Rocket saw Caesar tossed the makeshift food, which keepers Dodge Landon and Rodney place in the slot of each ape's cell, at Dodge's face, angering him enough to hose Caesar in retaliation. Rocket continued to stare at the shivering Caesar until night fell and he drifted to sleep.

The next day, Dodge and Rodney let the apes out of their cells and into the play area. Resting on the center rock-like structure with his mate and two female chimps, Rocket spotted Caesar enter the area, causing Rocket to grunt at his females to leave and hoot in dominance. Spotting Caesar playing with the ball, Rocket seized it and tossed it aside, keeping his eyes on the newcomer who's behaving strangely by putting his hand forward. Rocket ignored the hand and seized the sleeve of Caesar's sweater, sniffing it before ripping it off and tossing it around and hooting briefly before displaying dominant gestures and screeching. Seeing Caesar confused instead of accepting his superiority, Rocket seized a bucket nearby and ran in one direction around the center tree as Caesar ran the opposite. Spotting an opening, Rocket threw the bucket and attacked Caesar, beating him down with his arms.

As the other apes watched, Caesar managed to slip from Rocket's grasp and climbed up the tree, but Rocket followed him up and seized his foot, which made Caesar kick Rocket in the face. Angered, Rocket continued the chase until he knocked Caesar at the top, forcing him to grab a branch to stop his descent. Spotting another opening, Rocket jumped on the branch Caesar grabbed and bit his left hand, causing Caesar to lose his grip and fall. Jumping down, Rocket prepared to continue his assault until he was struck by a tranq dart, rendering him unconscious.

Submission

Days later, as he sat with his mate on the play area's center rock, Rocket gazed over his apes and spotted Caesar keeping his head down and not doing anything to call Rocket's attention, which Rocket's primitive mind made him believe Caesar acknowledged him as his alpha until the apes' play time ended. As night approached, Rocket slept in his cell until Dodge came in with three friends and shocked the cages, riling Rocket and the other apes. Rocket then spotted Caesar grabbing one of Dodge's friends as he was too close to Caesar's cage until he let the human go, which Rocket jumped on his cell door and startled the human. Rocket watched as Dodge and his friends leave but was unaware that Caesar pocketed the human's switchblade.

In the middle of the night, Rocket slept until he felt dirty food fall on his face, waking him up. Angered, Rocket looked around him to see who threw the food until he spotted his cell's hatch open, which he climbed. Emerging his head from the tunnel, Rocket scanned the play area until he felt the bucket bashed against his head, forcing him to fall onto the floor. Turning his head, Rocket saw Caesar holding the bucket, ready to bash him again until he tossed it aside. Standing up, Rocket prepared to fight Caesar until he heard a grunt and turned to see the gorilla Buck standing behind him. Panicking, Rocket saw Buck gestured his head twice to make Rocket submit his alpha status to Caesar. Rocket turned to see the other apes approaching the backside of their cells to see the commotion, and he knew he couldn't take on Buck alone. Whimpering, Rocket bowed his head and extended his hand to Caesar, surrendering his position to the strange ape as Caesar accepted Rocket's resignation.

Strength through Unity

For the next two days, Rocket was in a slump due to losing his alpha status to Caesar, rarely leaving his cell. At some point in the afternoon, Rocket saw John and Dodge allowing a human to take Caesar until he closed his cell and rejected the human's hand. Rocket was confused until he heard Buck and the others apes, excluding the orangutan Maurice, hooting to Caesar in gratitude. During that night, Rocket woke up to the sound of an object dropped in his cell's slot. Getting up, Rocket saw a cookie and examined it before eating the sweet food. Rocket then turned to see Caesar opening his cell and holding a bag of cookies.

Stepping out to see Caesar walking to the next cell, Rocket saw the strange ape banging on the ape Heston's cell, which Rocket's primitive mind surmised Caesar wants him to give a cookie to each ape. Grabbing the bag from Caesar with a hiss, Rocket reached in the bag for a cookie as he saw Heston moved closer to his cell door. Rocket moved closer to the slot on Heston's cell's slot and dropped a cookie in. Rocket then moved to Maurice's cell and placed a cookie in his slot, and then to Andy's and Vanessa. In his primitive mind, Rocket accepted his new role as one of the apes while continuing to deposit cookies in the other apes' slots as they hooted to get a cookie.

The Awakening

The following night, Rocket and the apes were in deep slumber as Caesar managed to sneak out of the shelter and returned with his human father's ALZ-113 canisters, piercing them with the switchblade and rolled them along the apes' cells. By morning, Rocket woke up and viewed the world around him differently than he did before, for he felt his mind having been expanded and notices the same thing happened to the other apes as well. Walking out of the tunnel to meet Caesar, who was the first one out, Rocket showed Caesar his green eyes before Caesar allowed him to walk onto the play area. After all the apes were out of their cells, Caesar began to teach them Sign until Maurice hooted to warn them that they're being watched by John. Rocket and the other apes dispersed as Caesar kept his eyes on John until he left, and Caesar resumed the teaching.

That night, Rocket and the apes returned to their cells as part of Caesar's plan to escape from the shelter. After Rocket and the apes were in their cells, Dodge noticed Caesar still in the play area and went to investigate. Rocket was one of the apes to move closer and watch Dodge telling Caesar to head back to his cell, but Caesar didn't budge and Dodge attacked him with his prod. Rocket and the apes hooted and screeched in frustration as Caesar held his own against Dodge and was able to seize the human's arm, which angered Dodge and made Caesar do something that shocked Rocket and the other apes: he said "no". After Caesar disarmed Dodge and knocked him out, Rocket and the apes screeched for Caesar's triumph as Caesar spoke again before dragging the unconscious Dodge to the cell room.

After Caesar locked Dodge in an empty cell and began freeing the apes, Rocket stood motionless as Caesar hesitated briefly before opening Rocket's cell, which the gray ape fully acknowledged Caesar as his alpha and gained new confidence. Rocket saw the apes revel in their tormentor's imprisonment until they spotted Rodney enter the cell room, and two chimps dragged him over the steps and began beating him, but Rocket stepped aside as Caesar rushed in to stop them. After Caesar locked Rodney in a cell for the latter's safety, Rocket saw Dodge free himself and attempted to grab the hose, but Rocket seized it and pulled it from the Dodge's reach as Caesar walked toward him. Rocket then followed behind Caesar, who grabbed the hose and sprayed it at Dodge, who took his prod and turned it on, electrocuting him. After Dodge's body fell, Rocket moved forward and examined the body as the other apes riled from Dodge's burnt scent. Rocket then proceeded to hoot and grunt until he saw Caesar heading to the play area and followed. After Caesar freed Buck and gave the signal to leave, Rocket and the apes climbed up the center tree and busted through the atrium-style section.

Liberation

Reaching at an outskirt of the city at dawn, Rocket, with Caesar, Maurice and Buck stood in the front as the remaining apes stopped behind them. After Caesar signaled Buck to lead half of their troop to liberate the apes from the zoo, Rocket and Maurice followed Caesar and lead the remaining half to Gen-Sys. By daylight, Rocket and Caesar smashed through the front entrance of Gen-Sys, terrifying the employees as the apes made their way to the testing lab. After Caesar, Rocket, and Maurice smashed through the glass doors, Rocket and the chimps began to smash each pen the Gen-Sys chimpanzees were kept, freeing them, including Cornelia and a one-eyed bonobo. After the apes at Gen-Sys were freed, Rocket followed Caesar as the alpha gave the call to leave.

Once Rocket and the chimpanzees smashed their way out of Gen-Sys, they rendezvous with Buck's troop, which now included all the chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans from the zoo, with a couple of metal rods from the zoo apes' exhibit. Making their way through the city, one chimpanzee was caught by an animal control employee, but Caesar distracted the officer with two metal rods plunged in the truck, allowing Rocket to rip the back doors open and reclaim the captured chimp. Rocket used the door he still held as a shield as the other chimps from a rooftop flung more rods at the truck until it was disabled. Rocket and the chimp climbed up and followed Caesar, smashing through work offices and startling the humans. Returning to ground floor, Rocket bumped into a streetcar and chose to board it, accompanying Caesar, Buck and Maurice on the top to view their next destination: the Golden Gate Bridge.

Battle on the Golden Gate Bridge

Once at the bridge, Rocket and the apes made their way through the cars, startling the humans inside. Halfway through the bridge as Caesar gave the command to stop, Rocket and the apes halted in place as Caesar surmised both ends of the bridge are blocked by law enforcement officers. Rocket saw Caesar ordering the chimpanzees to go up and over on the bridge's cable suspenders, led by Koba, and the orangutans, led by Maurice, and ape mothers with children went underneath the bridge. Caesar, Rocket, and Buck led the gorillas and remaining chimps through the bridge until a few mounted units began attacking the apes from behind. Rocket and the gorillas and chimps pressed on as Caesar and Buck attacked a few officers on horseback for attacking three chimps.

Reaching a bus sideways, Rocket saw Caesar commanding the gorillas and Buck to bring the bus down, which they slid to the officers ahead of them and shielded their gunfire. As the officers ceased fire and Caesar gave the order to attack, Rocket saw the chimps jumped down from the suspenders and orangutans rose from beneath the bridge, before hooting at the remaining apes behind the bus to charge and join the frenzy. Rocket ducked and jumped through an open car, tackling an officer and dragging him. After the police officers fled from being bested, Rocket hooted in victory while bashing two helmets together before tossing one over the bridge. As the apes hooted in victory, Rocket and the rest spotted a helicopter rising from the bridge's side, with the head of Gen-Sys as one of its passengers, and opened fire, killing several apes. Rocket and many apes took cover as others were shot dead, which made Caesar grab a pair of chains and threw it at the shooter, followed by Buck lunging at the helicopter and bringing it down at the cost of his life. No time for mourning the loss, Rocket and the apes resumed their journey after the bonobo pushed the copter over, killing the head of Gen-Sys, who was the sole survivor on-board.

Freedom at Last

Reaching the Muir Woods, Rocket and the apes began to move freely until they spotted Caesar stopping Koba from harming Caesar's human father, who followed them from the bridge. Rocket and Maurice moved closer as they saw Caesar bid farewell to Will and headed to the apes. As Caesar walked toward his kind, Rocket nodded to Caesar in gratitude as the alpha headed to the same tree, he first climbed five years ago. To express their gratitude for their liberation, Rocket and the apes stood upright on their legs like Caesar before he climbed the tree. Rocket then climbed up a tree close to Caesar and watched the scenery of the sun and the damage on the bridge at the dawn of their new lives.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: Firestorm

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Rocket is first seen when he spots a helicopter hovering above the trees. Caesar commands him to find him six apes and to report back to him. He soon returns with three orangutans, two chimpanzees, and Koba the bonobo. Later in the book, he excitedly reports to Caesar and shows him and his small band of apes a pile of food that he and his own band had found. Caesar sees skins from some of the fruit on the ground and questions Rocket. He sheepishly tells him that he and his band had eaten some of the food. Caesar, suspicious of this mysterious pile of food, has Koba inspect only to find a camera and several other devices.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Time of Peace

Over the following decade, Rocket served as one of Caesar's closest confidants, alongside Maurice, the wise orangutan from the Shelter and Koba, a bitter bonobo who had been experimented on at Gen-Sys. Together, they built a large thriving village in the woods for them and their families to live in. Rocket became a prominent figure among his fellow apes, and he has retained his position as the second-in-command of the Ape Army.

Rocket grew closer to Caesar, who had taken the chimpanzee Cornelia as his wife and had a son named Blue Eyes. They all came to view each other as family, with Rocket serving as an honorary brother to Caesar, with Caesar's eldest son Blue Eyes viewing Rocket as an uncle-figure. Rocket and his wife Tinker have a son named Ash, who grew up with Blue Eyes, with the two young apes becoming best friends and soldiers in the Ape Army. Rocket joined the Ape Council, becoming one of Caesar's most trusted lieutenants and companions.

His Son's Accident

Rocket is first seen during the hunting expedition and is seen again in the forest later on when his son Ash was shot in the shoulder while out on a fishing trip with Blue Eyes. Forever protective over his son, Rocket is visibly shaken by this attack and looks as if he might attack the humans only for Caesar to tell him to calm down. After the humans put their guns away, Caesar and the others yell at them to leave the forest before having Koba and his group follow them into the city. Later at night, during a council meeting, Rocket argues with Koba over what should be done about the attack on Ash. Rocket angrily tells him that he follows Caesar's orders and that he will follow whatever Caesar wants to do.

Ape Threat

The next day, Rocket accompanied Caesar and the ape army into the ruins of San Francisco where Caesar personally threatened the human community with war if they entered the apes' territory again. With the message being given, the apes leave the city after returning the satchel of the human teenager Alexander.

A Truce

After the truce is made between Caesar and Malcolm, Rocket confiscated the human's guns and smashed them to pieces with a rock passionately, so that the weapons can't be used against the apes or his son again. Rocket was present on horseback when Caesar leads the army his friends and sons to meet up with Malcolm at the dam. Rocket listened to Caesar and Maurice's conversation about Koba, who hasn't accompanied them because Maurice believes he was still angry about Caesar letting the humans into the village, and decided to go out hunting. Rocket then helped the other apes in saving Malcolm and his friends after they were trapped in debris by an explosion.

Koba's Usurpation

When Caesar and Blue Eyes were summoned by Cornelia's midwives, Rocket sat guard over the Ape Queen while Caesar, Blue Eyes and their recently newborn son Cornelius sit nearby, devastated over the thought of losing Cornelia. He watched as Caesar speaks with and gives the humans one more day on the dam telling them the apes will help. When Koba arrives at the Dam and angrily confronts Caesar, Rocket watches as Caesar proceeded, ending with the Ape King nearly beating the bonobo to death before stopping and forgiving him. Later that night, as power was restored to San Francisco, Rocket celebrated with the apes and humans until a gunshot was heard and Caesar fell from his home. Rocket then saw the Village go up in flames and watched as Koba takes power (after secretly shooting Caesar) and framed the humans for Caesar's apparent death. Koba then led the Ape Army in an attack on the San Francisco colony. It is unknown where Rocket went while the other apes followed the deranged bonobo orders in his plan of "vengeance".

Imprisonment

After the apes seized control of the human colony, Rocket was later chained on a bus next to the imprisoned humans along with Maurice, Luca and many others because of their undying loyalty to Caesar, but he and the others were later freed by Blue Eyes, who then takes them to the derelict Rodman House where a still living Caesar was hiding out with Malcolm, Ellie and Alexander.

Caesar's Command

Rocket was present when Caesar fights with Koba for supremacy. Later on, he and the others aided those who were caught in an explosion caused by Dreyfus. He is forced to take cover when Koba opens fire on the apes before he and Blue Eyes would tend to a wounded Maurice who had been struck by Koba's stray bullet. Rocket watched as Caesar has Koba at his mercy before he sends the bonobo falling to his death, silently nodding at his friend. After Koba's defeat and death, Rocket and the surviving apes cheer on Caesar before they leave and reunite with the females and young. Rocket is then seen kneeling before Caesar with the other apes as they await the impending war with the humans.

War for the Planet of the Apes: Revelations

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War for the Planet of the Apes

Rocket still loyally followed Caesar two years into the war. He was sent with Blue Eyes on a mission to locate a new settlement for the apes, away from the woods where the human army known as Alpha-Omega had been destroying in their search for the apes' haven hidden inside. He returned with Blue Eyes revealing that night that they had found a desert far away from where humans wouldn't find them.

After Colonel McCullough kills Blue Eyes and Cornelia; Rocket joined Caesar, Maurice and Luca in a mission for revenge against McCullough. Rocket's main reasoning beings that he "knows what its like to lose a son" referring to Ash. He offers his strength that would be of great use to Caesar in his battle.

Rocket agreed with Caesar during the apes debate after Luca's death saying that they should continue on their mission whereas Maurice and Bad Ape believed they should join the other apes, not knowing they had been captured. After the debate gets heated between Caesar and Maurice, Caesar storms off towards the base saying it was a bad idea bringing his friends. Rocket stares at Caesar shocked.

When Caesar is captured and Nova goes to feed and hydrate him, Rocket distracts the guards from Nova by purposefully getting captured and to help the ape colony escape McCullough. When Red the gorilla is ordered to beat Rocket, Red is attacked by Rocket but soon over powers the chimpanzee. Rocket then participates in the apes escape by getting one of the guards into the prison cell and tricking him into standing in a spot where he can be grabbed by Maurice from under ground. Maurice then kills the guard and gives the apes the key to escape. The apes then release their children and begin escaping through the underground tunnels. When Caesar wants to stay behind to kill McCullough, Rocket unsuccessfully tries to convince him to escape with them.

Rocket survives the battle and helps the other apes in avoiding the conflict between the humans. He also pushes Bad Ape to safety before the avalanche. Afterwards Rocket and all the remaining apes trekked a long journey to the hidden oasis that he and Blue Eyes discovered. Once arrived there, he and the other apes wandered around the new environment, now being able to relax knowing humans won't be able to find them. But unbeknownst to him and everyone else, Caesar was slowly succumbing to an injury and only after Caesar dies and after Maurice let's out a growl of mourning does he and everyone else notices something is wrong, making him head over to discover that their great leader who lead them this far was now deceased.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

Much like with all known previous characters, Rocket will not be present in the fourth installment as it takes place 300 years after War and thus, Rocket would've passed away sometime between the time gap. It is unknown if any descendants of his will be present in the film, which is most unlikely. Though, there is an ape who resembles him in the trailer, it is unknown if this is meant to be a deceandant, or if it's an ape who just resuses his model or if it's him in a flashback.

Personality

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

At first, Rocket was an aggressive yet dominant chimp who intimidated Caesar simply to show dominance over him. He showed immense pride in being in charge as he was the alpha. However, after being overthrown by Caesar, Rocket became a worthwhile ally and his sense of pride mellowed out. Because Caesar's takeover of what would become the Ape Colony, Rocket realized there was more to power than he originally thought.

However, Rocket was not very bright; this was proven to be true when Caesar easily lured him out of his cage and into a trap. However, after he was exposed to the ALZ-113, Rocket becomes intelligent and struggled with the change.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Over the last decade, Rocket evolved greatly from his old days when he was a normal dominant chimp, as he shows a strong loyalty only to Caesar and isn't afraid to express it. Rocket is now recognized for his strength and intelligence, which has allowed him to be a great mentor to the colony's younger generation of apes.

As a father, Rocket would do anything to keep his son from harm, as shown where he stood in the way of his son when discovering the humans injured his son and looked tempted to attack them for it. Due to his friendship with Caesar, Rocket takes his protective nature to a whole level and takes it upon himself to protect Blue Eyes, Caesar's eldest son, from the wrath of ape-hating human Carver.

Rocket has no desire for power; evident by the fact that when Caesar was apparently killed by Koba, he did not use the chaos as an opportunity to become the new leader of the Ape Colony, in contrast to Koba's power-hungry and treacherous traits. As a follower of Caesar, Rocket does not believe that all humans are bad, as evident by the fact that he became friends with Malcolm.

War for the Planet of the Apes: Revelations

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War for the Planet of the Apes

Rocket has displayed complete loyalty to Caesar, staunchly staying with the ape king, citing he needed him as they both had lost children, such loyalty bordered on the irrational, Rocket growing angry at those who lacked respect towards Caesar, such as Winter, due to the ape's betrayal, helping Caesar subdue him and how he stood up to strike Bad Ape for refusing to take Caesar to McCullough, forcing the ape king to hold him back. He also felt they should continue to find McCullough, not wanting Luca's death to be in vain.

Rocket is quite brave and selfless, instinctively putting himself in full view of the human soldiers to provide a distraction so Nova could escape. He also furthered this by attacking Red to buy her time, despite knowing there was a chance he would be shot and that Red would heavily beat him afterwards.

When Caesar wanted to finish his revenge, Rocket tried to convince him to leave with him, showing that he really cared about Caesar more as a brother than as a king.

Abilities

• Animal Strength: Like all chimpanzees, Rocket is very powerful and strong, during the Ape Rebellion, he was able to rip a door off an animal control van with no effort, his strength would serve him well as he later became the second-in-command of the Ape Army and later go on to be well-known to all the young apes in the Ape Colony, such as Caesar's son, Blue Eyes. In War, Rocket held Winter down, despite the gorilla weighing more than him though he was helped by Luca. He could also hold his own against Red, despite the gorilla's incredible strength.
• Animal Speed: Like all chimpanzees, Rocket was amazingly fast. When Caesar came to the shelter and ran away from Rocket, the latter chased him up a tree easily catching up with him and quickly knocked him down. After Caesar and his ape army encountered Malcolm and his group, Rocket was already next to Malcolm's group without any of them noticing he was heading towards them, in order to protect Blue Eyes and Ash.
• Expert Hand-To-Hand Combatant: Due to him being the second-in-command of the Ape Army, as well as the former alpha of the San Bruno Primate Shelter, Rocket is a capable fighter. He is notably the only ape to beat Caesar in a one-on-one fight. He was one of the primary combatants of the Battle on the Golden Gate Bridge and was shown defeating many police officers with no problems. He also easily overpowered a soldier, despite them having a gun. He could also hold his own against Red, despite the gorilla's incredible strength, although he was ultimately (apparently) overpowered; but it should be noted that; Rocket's goal was not to defeat Red; but to simply cause a distraction long enough for Nova to escape detection, so it is very likely that; the chimpanzee was intentionally holding back.
• Expert Marksman: Over the next two years throughout the final human-ape war, Rocket has become proficient in the use of firearms, using one to kill several soldiers; during their attack on the Apes outpost.
• Expert Rider: Rocket was able to ride a horse; with ease, quickly dismounting it to get to cover if need be.
• Expert Leader: As the former alpha of the San Bruno Primate Shelter, Rocket has past experience in taking on a leadership role, as the second-in-command of the Ape Army, he was able to lead many apes against the police force with no problem and later confidently leads at Caesar's side during the final human-ape war. In Caesar's absence, he confidently led Maurice and Bad Ape in his plan to rescue Caesar and the apes. This also granted him bravery, standing against Red and the soldiers despite knowing they would heavily punish him, much like Caesar did.
• High-Level Intellect: While asleep Rocket unknowingly inhaled the ALZ-113 when Caesar, in the dead of night, exposed it to the other apes while many of them were imprisoned in San Bruno. He was one of the first apes seen with green irises, a trait that is later passed on to his own son, Ash. It is unknown how much his intelligence and IQ has increased. Because of Rocket's new-found intelligence, he struggled with the idea of being intelligent but came to grips with over time.
• Skilled Tactician: Rocket displayed quick thinking, exposing himself to the colonel and his soldiers so Nova could escape detection, despite knowing he would be captured. His other reason for doing so, was to gain a way to talk with Caesar and come up with an escape plan for the captive apes.
• Sign Language: When Caesar was teaching sign language at the Primate Shelter, Rocket was among them so that is when he was introduced to sign language. He uses it as a way of communication since then. It is not known when he became fluent.
• Speech: Having inhaled the ALZ-113, Rocket gained the ability of speech, this ability was later passed on to Rocket's son, Ash. In Dawn, Rocket only spoke through the use of sign language, but in the novelization, he did speak once. It is unknown how good the rest of his english is.

Relationships

• See Rocket/Relationships.

Notes

• Rocket was a minor antagonist turned supporting character in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, a minor protagonist in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, and the tritagonist of War for the Planet of the Apes. He also serves as one of the narrators of the novel Caesar’s Story.
• Most of the other apes in the movie had significant names, and Rick Jaffa claimed on the DVD feature that Rocket was named in tribute to Norman Rockett, a set designer on the original Planet of the Apes film.
• An earlier version of the script differed in that Rocket's eyes begin to go green (a sign of intelligence) after having bitten Caesar during their initial confrontation. After Caesar and Rocket together escape the primate facility and visit both Will's house and the Gen-Sys lab, they use stolen scissors to share their blood with the other apes at the facility and thus pass on their viral intelligence. In this version of the script, Rocket dies on the Golden Gate Bridge after being shot by Dodge Landon, who was aiming for Caesar.
  • As seen in one deleted scene, Rocket appeared to take Caesar's overpowering seriously at first and kept to himself inside his paddock, nursing his pride and refusing to exercise despite being doused by Dodge's water hose. This scene may explain the later scenario where Caesar gives Rocket a cookie and instructs him to hand them out.
• Terry Notary; who had played Rocket, also worked on Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes in 2001, as a movement instructor and stunt coordinator on both films. He also played Bright Eyes.
• Terry Notary played Rocket's motion capture role but (unlike the other ape actors) also did the vocal effects for Rocket, according to Rupert Wyatt on the director's commentary on the Blu-Ray version of Rise of the Planet of the Apes.
• In an earlier version of the script, as confirmed by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver while being interviewed, Rocket was originally the film's antagonist but in the final film Rocket instead became one of Caesar's second-in-command. The other being Maurice.
• Rocket was mistakenly described by Andy Serkis as a baboon, even though he is a chimpanzee and baboons are not apes, rather they are large monkeys.
• In the final cut of Dawn, Rocket is seen fewer times than he was in Rise in which he played a bigger role.
• To date, War is the only film within the reboot franchise of films where Rocket has played a main role. During Rise his role reoccurring as he was the ape antagonist before Koba's introduction towards the end of the film. Dawn minimised his role to appearing just under a dozen times in total.
• After Caesar's death, it can be assumed that Rocket played some role in raising Cornelius alongside Maurice and Lake.

Trivia

• Rocket is Caesar's second-in-command but struggles with being intelligent.
• According to his wife, Tinker, they probably won't have another child.
• Rocket never verbally speaks in the films, but in the novelization of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, he does once.
• Rocket, Maurice, Luca, and other apes who are loyal to Caesar and refuse to kill unarmed humans were caged and held prisoner by Koba.
• Rocket was ten years old during the events of Rise.
• Rocket has silver scars on his chest.
• Rocket, similar to Bad Ape, appears to be mostly bald. Given his build and general athleticism, it is likely that he suffers from a relatively uncommon condition called Alopecia, which causes baldness in many species of primates regardless of age.
• Likewise with other characters, Rocket would've passed away during the time gap between War and Kingdom.
• There is an ape in the recent Kingdom of The Planet of The Apes trailer who resembles Rocket. It's unknown if this is a descendant of his or if his CGI model was reused for this particular ape, or if it's him who will appear in a flashback.

Gallery

• See Rocket/Gallery.

Appearances

• Rise of the Planet of the Apes
• Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: Firestorm
• Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (novelization)
• Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (BOOM! Studios)
  • Dawn of the Planet of the Apes #1
  • Dawn of the Planet of the Apes #4
  • Dawn of the Planet of the Apes #6
• War for the Planet of the Apes: Revelations
• War for the Planet of the Apes (novelization)
• War for the Planet of the Apes (BOOM! Studios)
  • War for the Planet of the Apes #1
  • War for the Planet of the Apes #2
  • War for the Planet of the Apes #3
  • War for the Planet of the Apes #4
• Caesar's Story