Rock is a video game character from SNK Playmore who first burst onto the scene as the protagonist of Garou: Mark of the Wolves, the final entry in the Fatal Fury series. He's the son of Geese Howard, the long-time villain Terry Bogard defeated, but Terry stepped in to raise him and teach him to fight. Beyond Mark of the Wolves, Rock has popped up in The King of Fighters series and various SNK crossovers. Japanese voice actor Eiji Takemoto handles his voice work, though Mike Lane voiced him in the English versions of KOF: Maximum Impact and its sequel.
Rock's also appeared in manhua adaptations and the anime The King of Fighters Another Day. His debut was a critical hit, though some felt he was overpowered compared to the rest of the cast. His later appearances in KOF: Maximum Impact drew more mixed reactions—fans weren't thrilled with his English voice acting or new outfit.
Personality-wise, Rock breaks the mold of his father. He's warm, friendly, and genuinely good-hearted, sharing Terry's strong sense of justice. He's constantly wrestling with his darker impulses and trying to step out of Geese's shadow, landing somewhere between his father's cruelty and Terry's enthusiasm. Rock's compassionate enough to help strangers like Hotaru Futaba track down her missing brother, though he gets noticeably awkward around women since he grew up surrounded by men.
His fighting style blends both his mentors. From Geese, he's borrowed signature moves like the Wind Slice and Raging Storm, which blankets an entire area with energy. He's also got Geese's Deadly Rave and reversals. From Terry, he pulls the Rising Tackle and variants of his moves, including the Shine Knuckle—basically a powered-up version of Terry's Burning Knuckle. His Crack Counter lets him reverse high or low hits before launching a kick that echoes Terry's Crack Shoot. The catch is that Rock still can't fully control his "evil blood" the way Geese could. Moves inherited from his father take longer to recover from or hit less hard, and using them like the Deadly Rave leaves him hurting. It's a sign he hasn't hit his full potential yet.
Content compiled by AnimeList.moe from publicly available sources.
