Rock (known in some series as Rokuro Makube a.k.a. Rock Macbeth or ) is a recurrent major character in most of Osamu Tezuka's manga series, and he is an important part of

Osamu Tezuka's Star System is the name given to the recurring characters in manga created by manga artist Osamu Tezuka. Throughout his career, Tezuka frequently re-used the same characters in different roles across series; for example, the character Shunsaku Ban appears as ...

. As all of Tezuka's main characters he is seen repeatedly in different works but differs as the character with the most various and changing roles from both

hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or Physical strength, strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ...

and

antihero An antihero (sometimes spelled as anti-hero) or antiheroine is a main character in a story who may lack conventional heroic qualities and attributes, such as idealism, courage, and morality. Although antiheroes may sometimes perform actions ...

.https://web.archive.org/web/20220519091149/https://tezukaosamu.net/en/character/892.html He is 17 years old.

Appearance and Role

Rock (sometimes spelled Roc) mainly appears as a young man with shiny dark hair and blue eyes. His appearance stays relatively the same, with hair that retains its style across works, but that often changes colour. He first appeared in the manga and later in the series , as a child detective. (His name and traits where then based on

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...

). Developing later into a more villainous character, his name changed into Rock Macbeth (Makube) as both his character and backstory where based on the famous antagonist of the Tragedy of Macbeth. He is later seen wearing dark sunglasses which, together with his ability to be a master of disguise, became one of his main trademarks. Appearing often as both a

and

he is mainly portrayed as a strong, determined and charismatic

leader Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets vi ...

whose both personality and beliefs stand as opposition to Tezuka's main protagonists Black Jack and

Astro Boy ''Astro Boy'', known in Japan by its original name , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Osamu Tezuka. It was serialized in Kobunsha's ''Shōnen'' from 1952 to 1968. The 112 chapters were collected into 23 '' tankōbon'' ...

. Already during his early roles as a good character his approach and ideas where more dark and harsh than the optimistic views of his friends Kenichi, Astro Boy and Black Jack. But in Tezuka's original works (such as ''The Adventures of Rock'' and ''

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

'') his solutions were also portrayed as the more realistic and

effective Effectiveness is the capability of producing a desired result or the ability to produce desired output. When something is deemed effective, it means it has an intended or expected outcome, or produces a deep, vivid impression. Etymology The ori ...

ones, while Astro Boy's striving towards an

idealistic In philosophy, the term idealism identifies and describes metaphysical Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality ...

approach could never give an ultimate solution to the main problem of all Tezuka's works: war between two races or types (mostly humans vs. robots, other creatures or ugly vs. the beautiful).

Character development

Rock appears as the most complex and

round Round or rounds may refer to: Mathematics and science * The contour of a closed curve or surface with no sharp corners, such as an ellipse, circle, rounded rectangle, cant, or sphere * Rounding, the shortening of a number to reduce the number ...

of all Tezuka's characters, undergoing major transformations and development through most of his works, while the other major other characters generally retained their original personalities and roles. While most of other Tezuka child characters (such as Kenichi) stayed the same age, Rock grew up throughout the years and his character was reused for more mature "roles" in Tezuka's manga, where he gradually developed a darker personality. Often cold and brutal, his character tends to be used as an antagonist, who later, in works such as ''Vampires'', kidnapped and murdered people for the sake of achieving his goals. In this older form, Rock is often wearing a three-piece suit, a striped tie and dark sunglasses, the last of which became something of a

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from others ...

for him. Rock's dark persona appeared for the first time in the uncompleted ''Vampire'' manga, which was the first time Rock went by the name "Makube Rokuro", based on MacBeth for Makube and Kuro ("black" in Japanese) for Rokuro (mixed with "Rock"). He is often presented as a considerably more complex antagonist than many of Tezuka's other villains (who are usually bad people simply because that's what they've always been and always will be), and his actions are sometimes explained by a rough past (in the manga Nextworld, ''

Metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big c ...

'' and the newest ''

'' series, for example). Rock often appears as either a

ic major or

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

character, such as in ''Adventures of Rock'' and '' Princess Knight'' TV Series (as Prince Frank, Sapphire's love interest), or as an antagonist whose brutal means often have justified motives through the storyline (such as in ''Phoenix'' and other works). One of the very few instances in which he's been given a lighter and more comedic role was in 1985's ''Say Hello to Bookila'', in which he was a hack writer investigating the truth behind a series of mysterious occurrences at a TV station. He is also the hero in the 1980 film ''

Marine Express is an anime television film created for the Nippon Television Network's annual 24-hour charity program, ''Ai wa Chikyū o Suku'', which roughly translates to "Love Saves the Earth". The movie contained a veritable "Who's Who" of Tezuka's nota ...

'' where he is again cast in a romantic lead with Sapphire, throughout which he is usually seen without his trademark sunglasses. Rock's role eventually developed from a sympathetic

to a notorious villain who will do almost anything for his personal causes (in ''Vampires'' and ''Alabaster''). Through his evil role in the story ''Vampires'' he develops a further demonic nature in the manga ''Alabaster'' where he is seen as having no qualms about torturing, raping and killing to achieve his ends. Though in ''Alabaster'' his ambition develops to the point of

narcissism Narcissism is a self-centered personality style characterized as having an excessive interest in one's physical appearance or image and an excessive preoccupation with one's own needs, often at the expense of others. Narcissism exists on a co ...

he never becomes the most evil of Tezuka's characters (a role developed in the character of Yuki). His role gradually transferred from an orphaned boy with bitter experiences (''Nextworld'' manga), to a passionate leader or agent of ruthless means who still acts upon some causes and values (''Phoenix''), a spoiled rich man's son (in most works Duke Red is his father) with villainous tendencies, to a royal figure (in ''

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in L ...

'' and '' Princess Knight''). Such was his role as

King Bimbisara Bimbisāra (in Buddhist tradition) or Shrenika () and Seniya () in the Jain histories (c. 558 – c. 491 BCE or during the late 5th century BCE) was a King of Magadha (V. K. Agnihotri (ed.), ''Indian History''. Allied Publishers, New Delhi 2 ...

who retains Makube Rock's ambitious and self-preserving nature but also appears in a positive light as the only character wise and clearsighted enough to immediately recognise Siddhartha's greatness and grants him his name ''Buddha - The Enlightened One''. In the adaptations after Tezuka's death Rock appears in works such as the 2001 ''Metropolis'' movie and the 2005 ''Black Jack: The Two Doctors of Darkness'' as a mixture of all of his roles. Setting off as an antagonist who ruthlessly strives to achieve his goal he is eventually pictured redeeming himself after dying for his fiancee Midori in ''Black Jack'' while he dies trying to save his father in ''Metropolis''. This trait was never seen in Tezuka's works where he only repents and faces death bravely but never finds redemption by willingly sacrificing his life.

Prominent roles and appearances

Rock was most recently seen in the animated version of Tezuka's ''

'' (the manga for which he did not appear in) and in the recent ''Astro Boy'' series (as the secret identity of villain Deadcross). He also appeared in the 2005 ''Black Jack: Two Doctors of Darkness'' movie. A character named Rock (but of a different appearance and personality) also appeared in the 1980 animated ''

Phoenix 2772 is a 1980 Japanese animated science fiction fantasy drama film directed and written by Osamu Tezuka and Taku Sugiyama. The film is based on Tezuka's manga series ''Phoenix''. Plot ''Phoenix 2772'' is set in the distant future where the planet E ...

''. In addition, Rock's character (''sans'' sunglasses) was used to portray the young

in Tezuka's sprawling ''

''. Rock has appeared in more than 60 different manga and animated works, in the live action ''Vampire'' TV series, and in the '' Astro Boy: Omega Factor'' video game. *"Rock Holmes" in Detective boy Rock Holmes - 1949 *"Rock" in

Nextworld Next may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Next'' (1990 film), an animated short about William Shakespeare * ''Next'' (2007 film), a sci-fi film starring Nicolas Cage * '' Next: A Primer on Urban Painting'', a 2005 documentary film Lit ...

- 1951 *"Rock" in The Adventure of Rock - 1952 *"Rock" in X-Point on the South Pacific - 1953 *"Rovel" in Astro Boy /Führer ZZZ - 1954 *"Kenta" in Astro Boy /Duel on the Alps - 1956 *"Vassanio" in

Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan provided by a Jewish moneylender, Shylock. Although classified as a ...

- 1959 *"Mamoru Hoshino" in Captain Ken - 1960 *"Rob" in Galaxy Boy Troop - 1963 (both as an animated character and a

marionette A marionette (; french: marionnette, ) is a puppet controlled from above using wires or strings depending on regional variations. A marionette's puppeteer is called a marionettist. Marionettes are operated with the puppeteer hidden or revealed ...

) *"Makube Rock" in The Vampires - 1966-69 *"Prince Frank" in Princess Knight TV series - 1967-1968 *"Rock" in Phoenix "Future" - 1967 *"Rock Holmes" in

Alabaster Alabaster is a mineral or rock that is soft, often used for carving, and is processed for plaster powder. Archaeologists and the stone processing industry use the word differently from geologists. The former use it in a wider sense that include ...

- 1970 *"

" in

- 1972-1982 *"Akudo" in Black Jack: Where is a Doctor! - 1973 (son of Duke Red) *"Rock" in Black Jack/Finger - 1974 (sealed - rewritten as "Print Proof" 1978) *"Dr. Ohedo" in Black Jack /Nadare the Deer - 1974 *"Thomas Waterman" in The Story of Stone - 1975 *"Satoru" in The Story of Bis Bis Bis Planet - 1975 *"Baron Rockbelt" in Metamorphose /Woobbit - 1976 (appears as both human and

werewolf In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (; ; uk, Вовкулака, Vovkulaka), is an individual that can shapeshift into a wolf (or, especially in modern film, a therianthropic hybrid wolf-like creature), either purposely ...

) *"Rock" in Black Jack /The Last Train - 1978 (as the husband of the Black Queen) *"Rokku Homura" in Black Jack /Tenacious Black Jack - 1978 *"Makube Rock" in Black Jack /Print Proof - 1978 (Black Jack's childhood friend) *"Rock" in Undersea Super Train: Marine Express - 1979 anime *"Rock" in

Fumoon Next may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Next'' (1990 film), an animated short about William Shakespeare * ''Next'' (2007 film), a sci-fi film starring Nicolas Cage * '' Next: A Primer on Urban Painting'', a 2005 documentary film Lit ...

- 1980 anime *"Rock" in

- 2001 anime (but not in the original manga) *"Makube Rock" in Black Jack online Flash animation episode 9 - 2001/2 (retelling of ''Print Proof'') *"Rock" in Astro Boy TV Series episodes 34 - 35 - 2003 anime *"Rock/ Lord Deadcross" in Astro Boy GBA game "Omega Factor" - 2004 two different manifestations – human and robot (President Rag) *"Akudo" in Black Jack "Four Miracles of Life" animated special 1 - 2004 *"Dr. Daigo Oeda" in Black Jack TV episode 24, "Nadare the Deer" - 2004-6 *"Rock" in

Phoenix TV Phoenix Television is a majority state-owned television network that offers Mandarin and Cantonese-language channels that serve mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and other markets with substantial Chinese-language viewers. It is operated by ...

, episodes 12-13 - 2005 *"Rock" in Black Jack Movie "Two Dark Doctors" - 2005 *"Rock" in Black Jack: Phoenix Version game for Nintendo DS - 2006 *"Leader Ratoh/Ratom" in

Ravex in Tezuka World Ravex (stylized as ravex; a portmanteau of rave and Avex) is a Japanese electronic music group, consisting of Shinichi Osawa, Tomoyuki Tanaka and record producer DJ Taku Takahashi. Established to mark the 20th anniversary of the Avex label, the ...

- 2009 (appears as both a human and a robot fusion with

)

References

External links

Rock Homes at TezukaOsamu@World
{{Astro Boy Astro Boy Fictional detectives Osamu Tezuka characters Male characters in anime and manga

Appearance and Role

Character development

Prominent roles and appearances

See also

References

External links