The Karate Kid/Characters

Some or all of these characters need descriptions. A list of tropes is not a description.

Original series

Daniel LaRusso

Played by: Ralph Macchio (1984-89)

• Asskicking Pose: The Crane Technique
• Arch Enemy: Johnny. Even thirty years after the All Valley they still can't (completely!) get along.
• Brick Break: The ice-breaking scene in Part II
• Benevolent Boss: To those at his car dealership. His kindness to his employees leads to Robby's Heel Face Turn.
• Determinator
• Dented Iron: While this movie makes no mistake that Daniel gets beaten and bruised with each fight. He still doesn't back down no matter how many hits are inflicted upon him.
• Finishing Move: The Crane Technique, the Drum Technique.
• Forgot About His Powers: Daniel suffers greatly from this trope in Part III, almost to Too Dumb to Live's levels at moments.
  • Although if you bother to pay attention a lot of it is stupidity that started in Part II, so at least it's consistent.
  • Even in the first movie after having his ass kicked by Johnny Daniel starts openly antagonizing him knowing full well Johnny can whip him.
• Happily Married: While he and Amanda aren't immune to the odd arguement their relationship is loving and they clearly like being with each other. Notably when Johnny attempts to initiate a fight between Daniel and some hockey players he refuses to let himself be pulled into it but as soon as the players insults Amanda Daniel lets his anger take control and kicks their asses.
  • Their marriage suffers quite badly in Season 5 however as Amanda becomes increasingly resentful of Daniel hiding things from her and putting their family in danger by continuing his vendetta against Terry. Eventually she does come to understand Daniel's actions after learning more about his history with Terry from Jessica.
• Hypocrite:
  • He hates Tome Cole's condescending remarks towards him but later makes a commercial that not-so-subtley insults and undercuts Cobra Kai.
  • He constantly dimisses the kids in Johnny's Cobra Kai as punks and bullies even though he was once seduced by their philosophy.
• Hidden Depths: Daniel's a huge Game of Thrones fan which helps him to bond with Demeitri.
• Heroic BSOD: During the tournament final in Part III, when Barnes has him so intimidated that he's ready to forfeit the match.
• I Have the High Ground: Daniel stands on elevated structures while practicing his Finishing Move in both of the first two movies.
• Intergenerational Friendship: With Mr. Miyagi, of course.
• I Surrender, Suckers: Right before giving Chozen a punch in the nuts in Part II.
• Jerkass Has a Point:
  • While Daniel's methods to bring down Cobra Kai border on Corrupt Corporate Executive and screw over innocent strip mall tennants his concerns about Johnny's teachings corrupting the kids are ultimately proven correct. Even Johnny comes to agree and in season 3 teams up with Daniel to to get rid of the dojo for good.
  • He is infuriated when Johnny allows Kreese to teach with him and tells him he can't trust his former teacher. Indeed Kreese turns out to be manipulating Johnny and ends up poisoning the minds of his students.
  • While Amanda is right that his feud with Terry could put their children in danger Daniel is also right when he says that other kids aren't going to be safe from Terry unless someone does something to protect them.
  • When he goes to Johnny's apartment and drunkenly threatens him while his attitude is wrong and he shouldn't be expecting Johnny to go against Silver when doing so could put his family in danger he points out that he's having to clean up Johnny's mess since Terry wouldn't be around if he hadn't reopened Cobra Kai in the first place.
• Jerkass Ball: He's normally a Nice Guy but his obsession with Cobra Kai and rivalry with Johhnny can make him a downright Jerkass at times. Most notably he attempts to put Johnny out of business due to Johnny vandalizing his billboard. Talk about Disproportionate Retribution.
• Kung Fu Kid
• Kick the Dog:
  • Deliberately manipulating Johnny's landlord into raising his rent out of spite.
  • During his match against Johnny in Season 4 Daniel uses the Miyagi-Do Preassure-point techniques which are really only supposed to be used in a real fight.
• Kick the Son of a Bitch: Offers a deal to Kreese to get him a good lawyer in exchange infomation about Terry's plan only to pull an I Lied and leave him to rot in prison.
• Knight Templar: Ever since Cobra Kai's revival 30 years later, Daniel's desperation to put the dojo out of business makes him no different than Kreese or Silver when it comes to weaponizing his students to achieve that goal. Granted, as he himself had been put into a Training From Hell by Silver himself.
• Loophole Abuse: Even after he's forced to give up teaching after losing the All-Valley, Daniel doesn't stop there and decided to bring in Chozen. Because Silver had nothing to do with the bet he made with Johnny and Kreese, and with Silver bribing the referee to ensure Cobra Kai's win and Kreese now behind bars; the deal is now rendered moot. And Daniel is correct of his assumption about honoring an agreement with men who have none.
• Hachimaki: Given to him by Mr. Miyagi in Karate Kid.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero
  • Daniel turns Robby over to the authorities so his sentence will be reduced. Sadly his well-meaning attempt to keep him safe only results in Robby resenting him and leaves him in the right headspace to be corrupted by Kreese.
  • In season 4 Daniel's insitence on abandoning Eagle Fang and only using Miyagi-Do against Cobra Kai results in his alliance with Johnny falling apart. Had Daniel not been so blatantly disrespectful towards Johnny things might have turned out differently than they did.
• Parental Substitute; For Robby.
• Pet the Dog: Despite having very understandable reasons to be mad at Stingray Daniel genuinely feels bad for destroying his playstation and buys him a new one to make up for it.
• Properly Paranoid: The return of Cobra Kai and subsequently Johnny appealing to reinstate the dojo to compete for the All-Valley quickly turned Daniel paranoid. It makes sense as Cobra Kai progresses as Johnny unknowingly corrupts Miguel and Hawk of the "no mercy" credo, Kreese's return, and then Terry Silver's re-emergence.
  • Daniel's paranoia regarding Cobra Kai is thoroughly justified as he himself has been tricked by Terry Silver into being his sensei, having Mike Barnes harass and intimidate Daniel, to being put into a Training From Hell by Silver himself. A lot of his negative behavior can be attributed to unprocessed trauma as a result of this movie, especially when he constantly is running into guys who seem nice at first but then turn out to be putting on a facade, including people like Kyler, Robby, and eventually, Kreese and Silver once again.
  • Ultimately, even after he's forced to give up teaching after losing in the 51st All-Valley, Daniel refuses to stand idly while Silver expands Cobra Kai across the Valley and brought in Chozen. After making a point that there's no point of honoring a deal with someone as dishonorable as Silver. At the same time not only fearing for the safety of his family and students, but of would-be recruits for Silver's expanding dojos indoctrinating students into becoming murderous bullies.

Daniel: I know firsthand that Silver is not afraid of putting kids in harm's way. And that's why I have to take him down!

• Put on a Bus: In the fourth movie.
• Reluctant Warrior
• Restart At Level One
• Shell-Shocked Veteran: The mere sight of a returning Terry Silver was enough to make Daniel shudder.
• The Social Expert: His core power, which resulted in three key Chekhov's Gunmen. It happened twice during his return to Okinawa (with Kumiko putting him back up with his one-time nemesis Chozen, and with Yuna saving his imperiled motor vehicle chain). It would happen another time when Amanda headed into her home state of Ohio, met back up with her cousin Jessica (see farther down), and got the straight skinny on what kind of a character Terry Silver really was.
• Sword Over Head: At the climax of Part II, when he has Chozen at his mercy and asks him, "Live or die, man."
• The So-Called Coward: Chozen and his goons repeatedly call Daniel a coward throughout Part II because of his reluctance to fight them. But when a typhoon hits the village, Daniel risks his life to save several villagers, while Chozen cowers in the shelter and refuses to do anything. Sato is so respectively impressed and disgusted with them that he volunteers to help Daniel.
• Take a Third Option: After his dojo lost in the All-Valley, and consequently forced to stop teaching as a sensei per the bet with Kreese. Daniel decided to forego with the agreement and recruits Chozen to continue his crusade against Cobra Kai.
• Training from Hell: Especially what Terry Silver puts him through in Part III, which is more like torture disguised as training.
• World of Cardboard Speech: He gives one of these to Mr. Miyagi in Karate Kid after having his knee taken out by Bobby.

Mr. Miyagi

Played by: Pat Morita

• Badass: Kicks at least a couple of asses per movie.
  • Badass Grandpa
  • Retired Badass: A martial artist and a war veteran.
• Berserk Button: While Miyagi is a calm, nice and even patient man, there are a few things that would set him off.
  • The first is the obvious. Don't say racial slurs or mock him racially. Two Drunken idiots, lost their beer bottles for that via Karate chop.
  • Don't hurt kids, especially Daniel and Julie. Miyagi fought off the Cobra Kai single-handily for ganging up on Daniel too many times. Kreese on top of pushing his first button, by calling him a Slope got humiliated by Miyagi for hurting Johnny. Chosen and his gang also learn it the hard way not to mess with Daniel in front of him. Kreese (again) and Silver make get beat up and covered in paint for their trouble. Two strangers harassing Julie are used as people puppets by Miyagi. Finally Dugan gets his for hurting Julie's boyfriend, Eric.
• Cool Old Guy
• Deadpan Snarker: He doesn't speak often, but when he does it's usually this.

Daniel: You think you could break a log like that? Miyagi: Don't know. Never been attacked by a tree.

• Eccentric Mentor
• Martial Pacifist
• Nice Guy His coolness aside, he is a genuine nice guy who tries to help people out whenever he can. Though make no mistake, you try to hurt someone he cares about and he'll kick your ass.
• Obfuscating Stupidity
• Old Master
• Posthumous Character: In light of Pat Morita's passing in 2005, Miyagi has also passed away on 2011 in-universe.
• Trickster Mentor

Johnny Lawrence

Played by: William Zabka (1984-86)

• Action Dad: Naturally.
• Aw, Look -- They Really Do Love Each Other: Johnny has spent most of the series tormented by his failure to be there for Robby and Robby has spent most of the series resenting his father but in the season 4 finale When Robby expresses remorse for his actions and breaks down crying Johnny comforts him with both setting aside any previous problems and embracing one another.
• Beauty Is Bad
• Char Clone: Has all the similar hallmarks right from being The Rival to the protagonist, becoming The Mentor to a new generation of martial artists in the present, has an estranged relative (in his case, his son Robby), and for added bonus, his uniform in Eagle Fang is red.
• Defeat Means Friendship: Though he doesn't appear again after he gets berated by Kreese for losing at the beginning of Part II.
• Disproportionate Retribution: Hey, Jersey boy stole his ex-girlfriend who he was trying to get back together with. That shit don't fly when you're a Cobra Kai.
• Even Evil Has Standards:
  • He had reservations about sweeping Daniel's leg despite it being perfectly legal and the fact he hates the guy.
  • Johnny considers the kids who cyberbullied Aisha cowards.
  • While he thinks it's okay to harass a woman until she agrees to date you he also thinks that if she doesn't want to do anything physical the guy should back off.
  • Consistent with his portrayal in the original movie Johnny still does not approve of dirty fight in Cobra Kai. He dresses Hawk and Miguel down for their tactics in the tournament and later tells Miguel that there's a huge difference between showing no mercy in a fight and no honor outside of it.
  • Again despite his feud with Daniel he was horrified that his students vandalized Miyagi Do and stole Miyagi's medal of honor. He was determined to find out which students were responsible so he could punish him.
  • Johnny is appalled when he overhears Carmen's date tell his friend on the phone that he plans to ghost her as soon as they've had sex. This prompts Johnny to beat the crap out of the dude and threaten him to stay away from Carmen.
  • When the students go to Cyote Creek Johnny approves of Kreese' unothodox training methods but when he sees Miguel kicking Hawk after he's already down he is disgusted. It's this that causes him to realise Kreese is corrupting his students and prompts him to kick his old teacher out of Cobra Kai.
• Even Morally Grey Anti-Herroes Has Loved Ones:
  • Johnny has a genuine Villainous Friendship with his fellow Cobra Kai students. Even as an adult he remembers them fondly. He tries to help Tommy enjoy his final days on earth and is saddened by his death.
  • Despite how he treated her Johnny did love Ali and losing her deeply affected him.
  • Johnny saw Kreese as a father just as Kreese saw him as a son. It is because of this that Kreese is able to so easily manipulate him.
  • Johnny thinks very fondly of his deceased mother Laura. It was because of his grief over her death that he missed his son's birth.
  • While their relationship is strained Johnny does love Robby and tries to reconcile with him. At the end of Season 4 they seem to have patched up their relationship.
  • He is a Parental Substitute to Miguel and actually a pretty good at it.
  • He is in love with Miguel's mother Carmen and eventually begins dating her. In Season 5 when it turns out she's pregnant Johnny proves to be a very supportive and loving boyfriend.
• Evil Is Petty: Even thirty years after the tournament Johnny is holding a grudge against Daniel. He even extends these feelings to Daniel's family as he tries to convince Miguel not to date Sam because he's bitter Daniel "stole his girl" even though Ali wasn't with him when Daniel turned up in town.
• A Father to His Men: Johnny cares about his students. He is infuriated when Cobra Kai give Hawk a Traumatic Haircut.
• Freudian Excuse: Johnny's stepdad was abusive and he was bullied as a child. He also was subjected to abuse from Kreese.
• Hidden Depths: In his first scene Johnny turns down Tommy's offer of a beer so he can be ready for his first day of school the next day.
• Heroic Comedic Sociopath: At his best, Johnny has been the source of humor for most of the Cobra Kai TV series, and yet he takes pleasure of being a dick, name-calling, trolling and endangering even his own students if they are willing to learn. Despite his childish and self-centered antics, Johnny slowly changes as a better person since meeting Miguel and mentoring a new generation of martial artists.
• I Reject Your Reality: Until the events of Cobra Kai, Johnny refused to accept that his and Ali's relationship was over.
• Jerk Jock
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Johnny is a selfish and rude Man Child but he genuinely cares about his students and is much moral than his teacher ever was.
• Manchild: Very much so. An example would be his annoyance at Miguel and Daniel bonding.
• No Good Deed Goes Unpunished :
  • Johnny's attempts to help Kreese back on his feet backfire spectacularly when Kreese manipulates his students into doing his bidding and steals the dojo from under Johnny.
  • Johnny's rescue of Miguel reignites his feud with Daniel, contributing to Daniel's belief that Johnny hasn't changed.
• Not So Different: Johnny is too much alike with two of Daniel's fiercest rivals -- Chozen and Barnes. Even Demetri compares Chozen to both with Daniel's mindset and Johnny's aggression.
• Never My Fault: Johnny feels victimized by Daniel and ignores all the brutal things he did to him without much provocation. Even when Ali gets them to reconcile Johnny downplays his actions, saying "a small part of it may have been my fault".
• Pet the Dog
  • Much of Johnny's relationship with Miguel such as helping him with his recovery and arranging for him to get into a Dee Snider concert.
  • Johnny offers words of comfort to both Aisha and Bert when they lose their matches in the All Valley.
  • In the season 2 finale Johnny tells Robby that while he's happy to give Sam a safe place to sober up he's not going to hide what happened from Daniel as he has a right to know as her parent. This shows that for all their animosity Johnny can still be reasonable when the situation calls for it though it probably helped that this happened during one of their temporary truces.
  • Even though her defeat to Tory all but ruins Eagle Fang's chances of winning the tournament Johnny tries to be supportive of Devon and tells her she should be proud of how far she came with so little time to prepare.
  • In a Deleted Scene from season 4 after Mitch loses his match in the All Valley Johnny attempts to console him, telling him he put up a good fight and trying to call him by his real name though he gets it wrong and immediately goes back to calling him Penis Breath aftet Mitch corrects him.
  • When Daniel comes to his home drunk and demands help to take down Terry Johnny's response isn't to get angry but to show genuine concern for his former Arch Enemy. He lets Daniel tell him about his troubles and assures him that he and Amanda will be okay in the end, also admitting that he's always been jealous of what a good family man Daniel is. It really shows that Johnny and Daniel have come a long way in their relationship.
• Revenge Before Reason: In season 4 he goes into the All Valley caring more about sticking it to Kreese and Daniel than anything else. This attitude helps alienate Miguel and drives his decision to go to Mexico to find his dad.
• Tempting Fate: After being told by Daniel not to confront Silver head-on, Johnny eventually falls into this when the latter being able to get into Johnny's head causes him to fall into his trap.
• Training From Hell: He's a master of this trope. With most of his training methods border on unorthodox and over-the-top to dangerous and, if not, life-threatening; from drowning Miguel to make him learn how to kick, and sic a pack of junkyard dogs on Hawk, to having Samantha LaRusso jump from a building to another which could have been fatal had she missed the landing.
• Troll: Johnny constantly gets into Daniel's skin sometimes for his own convenience, such as drawing a dick on his billboard and even goading him into brawl with a group of hockey players to understand what it means to strike first. This behavior even extends to his students, going as far to have the entirety of Eagle Fang to throw Hawk off-balance with front sweeps despite having already pulled a Heel Face Turn.
• Ungrateful Bastard: Johnny complains about Miyagi beating him and his friends up(Which he only did to stop Johnny's violent beatdown of Daniel), apparently forgetting that it was Miyagi who saved his life from Kreese.

John Kreese

Played by: Martin Kove (1984-89)

• All for Nothing: Kreese's personal vendetta with Daniel and Mr. Miyagi is so deep, it ended up with him losing everything.
• Anti-Villain: Is relegated into one in season 4, bringing in his war buddy Terry Silver results him being overshadowed by him, and ultimately betrayed at the end of the season. Kreese has more genuine Pet the Dog moments throughout season 4, especially towards Robby and Tory.
• Arrogant Kung Fu Guy
• Authority Equals Asskicking: A former Vietnam War veteran who rose to the rank of captain to becoming a bonafide, hardened martial arts master who shows no mercy to his opponents.
• Badass Grandpa: Kreese is now in his 70's and is able to mop the floor with his own former star student.
• Batman Gambit: He spends most of season 5 formulating his escape plan, by taking advantage of infighting among cellmates, stealing a psychiatrist's ID card, and faking his death for the third time.
• Breakout Villain: Technically the only villain to appear in all three movies, although his scene in the second one was actually footage cut from the first.
• Disproportionate Retribution: Kreese literally breaks Demetri's nose for badmouthing his tattoo.
• Drill Sergeant Nasty: He's a Vietnam veteran who demands military precision from his students. Lose your focus for one second, and it's sixty push-ups on your knuckles.
• Et Tu, Brute?: He did not take Terry's betrayal all too well at the end of Cobra Kai Season 4.
• Evil Is Petty: Kreese screws with Terry's head by bringing up their traumatizing experiences in the war just because Terry annoyed him by telling their students he had a weakness.
• Even Evil Has Standards:
  • In season 4, seeing Silver dishing out a Curb Stomp Battle on Johnny forced him to hold his war buddy back. Kreese wants to settle the score on the tournament rather than letting Terry get his hands dirty.
  • Kreese is disgusted by Tory's landlord attempting to sexually extort her and stands up for her against him.
  • Even Kreese questions Johnny's training method of ordering his students to climb into a cement truck and having them turn the mixer themselves and seemed genuinely worried for their safety.
  • Again in season 4 with an ironic twist, he takes Tory's side to fight clean in her match against Sam, after Silver orders her to hit Sam on her other eye. He breaks the pattern from the first film when he infamously tells Johnny to sweep Daniel's leg, after a moment of realization of his abuse of Johnny in the 80s.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones:
  • Kreese was upset when his mother committed suicide and regretted not being able to help her.
  • He was a Parental Substitute to Johnny. While not a particularly good one he had a soft spot for him. Kreese attempts multiple times to make peace with Johnny and calls off Terry's beating on him. It's also his regret about his treatment of Johnny that triggers a Heel Realization.
  • Kreese fell in love with a woman named Betsy after protecting her from her abusive boyfriend David. They began dating after this and his desire to be reunited with her is what kept him going through the war. After learning about her death he was devastated.
  • He has a genuine friendship with Terry, having risked his life for him in the war. Though by Cobra Kai Kreese appears to only see him as a pawn to manipulate. Luckily for Terry, he's fed up of Kreese's guilt tripping and has him framed for the beatdown of Stingray.
  • During the war Kreese was also fond of his other war buddy Ponytail. He was upset by his death and Kreese keeps a photo of him in his office many years after he died.
  • Kreese also has a soft spot for Tory, having a number of Pet the Dog moments with her even into preparations for the Sekai Taikai.
  • Kreese has a grandfatherly attachment to Robby and wants Johnny to join them in Cobra Kai so they can all be together. He also claims he wants to help Robby win the All Valley to ensure his life doesn't take the downward turn Johnny's did and seems genuinely angry Johnny would rather train with Miguel than his own son.
• Evil Counterpart: To Miyagi.
• False Friend: Kreese fakes being a changed man and reconciles with Johnny so he can steal his dojo from under him and poison the minds of his students.
• Fate Worse Than Death:
  • In the second film, Daniel questions why Miyagi didn't finish off Kreese even though he could have, to which Miyagi responds that being alive is a punishment worse than death for anyone incapable of forgiveness.
  • Being betrayed by your own war buddy and have you set up to be arrested for a crime you did not even commit after all the abuse you put him through also counts. Silver most likely did a favor for Daniel by framing up Kreese for beating up Stingray to near death, effectively usurping control of Cobra Kai from him. At this point, Kreese has once again lost everything and is left to rot behind bars.
• Hypocrite
  • He pretends to care for his students but has no problem getting rid of them the second they question him or a better fighter joins the dojo.
  • Kreese tells his students that Miguel is one of them and they should retaliate against Miyagi-do for his sake but simultaneously writes him off for showing mercy to Robby. This is made even more apparent when he recruits Robby to his side despite him being the one who injured Miguel in the first place.
  • He tells Johnny that Daniel sees him as his inferior. While he does have a bit of a point there he treats Terry much worse than Daniel treats Johnny and constantly reminds Terry he wouldn't be anybody without him.
  • Terry calls him out on being one after Kreese stops him from beating Johnny to a pulp since Kresse constantly preaches that you show no mercy to your enemies and Johnny should be counted as one of them since he is trying to take down Cobra Kai.
• Jerkass: Kreese treats everyone like shit. Even the ones he cares about like Terry and Johnny. So much so Demetri calls him as the "King of All Assholes".
• Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: Almost every time Kreese shows his more human side, he negates it with some pointless cruelty or reveals that it was all an act his own gain, which is enough to alienate even the people who he cares about (i.e., Johnny, Silver, and Tory).
• Kick the Dog
  • In a Flashback from Johnny's childhood Kreese is completely unsympathetic when Johnny cries because of his issues with his stepdad, simply telling him that tears are for losers and he only teaches winners.
  • He nearly kills Johnny over losing a karate tournament. Even Daniel and Miyagi are shocked by this in spite of their past with Johnny.
  • Kreese really enjoys rubbing Miyagi's death in Daniel's face.
  • When Tory tells him how their plan has resulted in Daniel getting a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown from Terry Kreese shows no remorse whatsoever and in fact seems quite happy about it. When Daniel talks to him about it when he visists him Kreese gets a rise out of him by mocking him over the incident.
• Manipulative Bastard: Kreese manages to paint his students as victims and manipulates the authorities into having a restraining order placed on Amanda.
• My God, What Have I Done?: In the season 4 finale watching Terry pressure Tory to cheat makes him think of his own relationship with Johnny and it seems to finally sink in how much his actions helped to ruin his favourite student's life.
• Never My Fault: Kreese never admits he has brought his problems on himself, blaming Daniel, Mr Miyagi and society for everything that happens to him.
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Kreese manipulates Hawk and other students into Vandalizing Miyagi-Do and stealing Miyagi's Medal. This results in Daniel and some of Johnny's students to believe he was in on it and results in several Cobras defecting to Miyagi-Do.
• No Good Deed Goes Unpunished; In the season 3 flashbacks his refusal to sacrifice Ponytail for the sake of the mission is what leads to his unit's capture and Ponytail's consequent demise.
• Older and Wiser: Zig-zagged. Kreese is still the same asshole who is stuck in the mindset of war since the 80's. It's by the 4th season we see this trope being fully applied to him as far as his interactions with Robby and Tory go; even go so far to encourage Tory to fight fair rather being forced to cheat by Silver, breaking the pattern that led to destroying his relationship with Johnny in the second film.
• Ordered to Cheat: He instructs Bobby to take out Daniel's knee, even though doing so will result in Bobby's disqualification. Then Johnny also uses "unethical" moves that target the injured knee.
• Papa Wolf:
  • For Tory. He makes an example out of her sleazy landlord by threatening to amputate his finger with a cigar cutter. When Tory gets fired by Amanda, Kreese confronts her in a grocery store and asks her to leave Tory alone, but not before giving Amanda a heads-up regarding Tory's family problems (i.e., a terminally ill-mother).
  • When talking with Terry in season 4 Kreese explains that he was determined to humiliate Daniel and Miyagi at the All Valley because of Miyagi's assault on Johnny and how it had shattered his champion's confidence.
• Pet the Dog:
  • A minor one but he does force his students to leave Daniel alone as he trains for the tournament.
  • When he talks to Johnny at the All Valley Kreese explains away his actions at the end of the first film as a twisted version of this, claiming he knew that if Johnny lost it would send him into a downward spiral and wanted to keep that from happening.
  • After Tory loses her job Kreese intercedes with Amanda on her behalf and asks her to back off. This actually leads to Tory becoming a better person.
  • When Robby is in prison Kreese gives him some helpful advice and later allows him a place to stay. While he may have just been trying to secure his loyalty given his Like a Son to Me feelings towards Johnny it is also possible he did these things out of genuine grandfatherly concern.
  • In the finale of Cobra Kai season 4 he decides he doesn't want Tory to end up like Johnny and allows her to fight clean. Terry claims this is the first time he had a moment of sympathy for anyone.
  • Has another one in a flashback shortly after he and Terry return from the war. Terry tells him he can't be an active partner in the business as his dad wants him to take over his company. While disappointed Kreese is understanding and assures Terry he won't ever abandon him. It's a far cry from how he treats his friend in the present.
  • In Season 5 he tries to get Tory to stay in Cobra Kai because of the perks that come with it. While she doesn't see it that way it's clear Kreese wants her to do so because he genuinely feels that's what's best for her. Unfortunately. this ends with their "father-daughter" relationship strained, and Tory felt like Kreese has now abandoned her.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: In season 2 of Cobra Kai, he is the blue to Johnny's red. It's switched around in season 4 with the return of Terry Silver, where he's the blue to Kreese's red.
• Shadow Archetype:
  • To Mr. Miyagi, both were military veterans who served in World War II and the Vietnam War respectively and both experienced the horrors of war. Kreese is what Miyagi would like if he reacts to the loss of his loved ones with anger instead of sadness.
  • In Cobra Kai, Kreese represents all of Johnny's worst traits taken Up to Eleven, and the flawed Cobra Kai philosophy from which Johnny is trying to escape. While Johnny's Politically Incorrect Hero status is the result of ignorance rather than malice, Kreese revels in his openly racist attitudes. While Johnny, despite his Disco Dan tendencies, learns to be more in touch with modern society and adapts the lessons he learned in The '80s to better fit the present day, Kreese shows no signs of wanting to change, and commits fully to living in the past, acting as if he's still in the midst of the Vietnam War and despising the modern world in which he lives. Johnny sees both the merits and flaws of Cobra Kai's teachings and only inadvertently passes bad lessons on to his students, while Kreese refuses to acknowledge any problems with the "no mercy" mentality and actively encourages his students to become Ax-Crazy psychopaths.
• Second Place Is for Losers: "Defeat does not exist in this dojo!"
• Shell-Shocked Veteran: He's a Vietnam War veteran, and the horrors of the war are an unpleasant experiences for him, even so while being captured by North Vietnamese soldiers and his captain pushing him over the edge by bringing up Betsy's passing before their fight at the snake pit.
• The Sociopath: Has many traits of one, including constant lying, manipulation of others, a lack of emotion in most scenarios, and even his inability to keep a regular job. While he also has a total lack of remorse, let alone feign one, making him all the scarier. Amanda calls him out for it when she confronts him in his dojo in Season 3.
  • Interestingly, unlike most sociopaths, Kreese seemingly used to have some empathy and compassion. But during his time in Vietnam, the horrors of war challenged his values and twisted them for survival.
  • Kreese's own sociopathy also prevents him from forming meaningful relationships with people he cares about, only seeing them as means to an end. He manipulated Johnny into earning his trust, allowing him to regain Cobra Kai back to its former glory, he constantly bosses Silver around by using their Vietnam memories as a bargaining chip, which leads to Terry betraying him and sent to prison for a crime Kreese didn't even commit. Even Tory, the only student who has an Undying Loyalty to Kreese himself than Silver, felt taken for granted after seeing through his true colors while visiting him in prison.
• Unskilled but Strong: Despite having won a karate championship in his military career, no one has ever seen Kreese fighting at his full potential, let alone dominating opponents off-screen. He only lasted less than 30 seconds against Mr. Miyagi in Part III, and falling short against even his own former top student Johnny, who teams up with Daniel.
• Villain Has a Point:
  • His confrontation with Amanda regarding Tory firing her from her job on the spot proved to be the latter's undoing. Kreese respects that mothers defend their children and gives Amanda a heads-up about Tory's terminally-ill mother no longer having the physical capacity to defend her.
  • He is justified at banning Stingray from the dojo ever since the school brawl, not only he deems Stingray a liability, but his infantile behavior proved to be detrimental for Cobra Kai's standards.
• We Used to Be Friends: Take a quick guess what happened between him and Silver at the end of season 4...
• Would Hurt a Child:
  • He chokes Johnny and assaults his friends when they try to stop him.
  • In Karate Kid 3 Kreese is fully prepared to lay a beating on Daniel until Miyagi arrives to save him.
  • He bloodies the teenage Demeitri's face for making critical remarks about his tatoos.
  • In the season 3 finale Kreese sends his students to attack the Miyagi Do and the Eagle Fang Students at Daniel's house.

Sato Toguchi

Played by: Danny Kamekona (1986)

• Badass Grandpa
• Big Bad: Of the second movie.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Sato is clearly saddened by the death of Miyagi's father.
• Evil Counterpart: To Miyagi
• Foil: It's implied that Sato is the analog for Kim Sun-Yung. Both are parental figures to a future sensei (Chozen and Kim Da-Eun) in their respective martial arts (Miyagi-do Karate and the Korean martial art of Tang Soo Do). And despite his strained relationship with Mr. Miyagi, Sato is a Noble Demon and has certain lines he would not cross. Kim Sun-Yung is a teacher who teaches students to fight opponents without showing any shred of honor and mercy.
• Heel Face Turn: After Miyagi saves his life.
• Murder the Hypotenuse
• Noble Demon: Even before his redemption he has a code of honor. He makes Chozen honor his bet with Daniel and gives Miyagi time to mourn his father's death.
• Rival Turned Evil

Chozen Toguchi

Played by: Yuji Okumoto

• Arrogant Kung Fu Guy
• Cloudcuckoolander: When he's not at his serious, Chozen is as eccentric as Mr. Miyagi.
• Death Seeker: Becomes one after Sato disowns him.
• Easily Forgiven: Daniel is rather to quick to get past Chozen's attempted murder of him.
• Expy: His role in season 5 in terms of helping the protagonist fighting against the Big Bad leans him closer to Skull Knight.
• Foil:
  • The end of Cobra Kai season 4 establishes him towards Terry Silver. Both Chozen and Silver are Daniel's most notable and powerful adversaries in the Karate Kid films, Chozen singelhandedly bests Daniel without breaking a sweat and nearly killing him in combat whereas Silver has pushed Daniel to his breaking point to the point he nearly lost his will to fight. And the way Daniel turns to Chozen to put a stop to Cobra Kai parallels Kreese phoning Silver at the end of season 3.
  • Also to John Kreese. Both are long time adversaries of LaRusso and Miyagi since the 80's as they have both suffered humiliation by the two. Kreese has still maintained that same animosity towards Daniel at the present while Chozen finds redemption in the next three decades and engages Daniel in their rematch with him now a Miyagi-Do sensei. In Season 4, Kreese is slowly acting in between that of Miyagi and Chozen while finding himself being overshadowed by Silver.
  • To Mike Barnes in season 5. Both are Daniel's most powerful adversaries in his youth who turned over a new leaf over a decade after their last confrontation.
• Honor Before Reason: Played with. Subverted because he thinks being caught cheating and being rightfully shamed by the villagers he cheats out of their hard earned money, is an insult to his honor. Yet played straight during the final fight, where he decides to fight Daniel unarmed in equal combat even though he originally was holding Kumiko at knife point.
• Heel Face Turn: Chozen eventually realized the error of his ways and accepted everything that happened to him was his own fault.
• Jerkass: Which goes to murderous extremes.
• Older and Wiser: By the time of Cobra Kai, Chozen is shaping up to be under Mr. Miyagi's shoes, despite not having a problem returning to his brutal methods during his sparring with Daniel 35 years later. It is his learning of Miyagi-Do played a part in his redemption.
• Shadow Archetype: To both Cobra Kai senseis Kreese and Silver:
  • Chozen is what Kreese would be like if he had come to terms with his past wrongdoings and would set a path to redemption. After losing to Daniel, Chozen had went on a downward spiral and attempted to commit suicide, but thanks to Sato's guidance, he becomes a Miyagi-do sensei. Kreese became a homeless wanderer for the next three decades until he returns to Johnny's life and regain Cobra Kai from him. Season 4 apparently shows a semblance of the start of redemption arc for Kreese when Terry overshadows him and showing compassion for his students Robby and Tory.
  • For Terry Silver, if Kreese did not re-enter in Terry's life, he would have lived a happy and peaceful life and would finally reformed into a good person, had Daniel accepted Silver's apology that is. Unlike Chozen, Daniel outright rejects Silver's apology, showing his re-ignited animosity for the person who tormented him out of vengeance (for his war buddy).
• The Spock: Chozen is much more knowledgeable and self-aware, despite sharing similar mannerisms of Mr. Miyagi. He even knows the existence of Kim Sun-Yung's fighting style.
• Tempting Fate: Downplayed. He plays along with Johnny and Mike's idea to storm Silver's residence while drunk much to Daniel's dismay, not knowing that the other Cobra Kai senseis are waiting for them. Even though he is able to last a minute with Silver in a duel to the death, only to be left badly wounded by Silver. The only silver lining is that this bought for Miyagi-Fang to expose Silver's bribery to the world.
• Throwing Down the Gauntlet: He takes Kumiko hostage and threatens to cut her throat unless Daniel fights him.

Terry Silver

Played by: Thomas Ian Griffith (1989)

• Abusive Parents: Implied when he tells Kreese his father has threatened to disown him if he doesn't take over the family business.
• Ambition Is Evil: Terry is pretty much ambitious as he is as a successful businessman, and expanding Cobra Kai into a franchise is one for his track record. It only took him 30 years to achieve that ambition by the dojo's victory at the 51st All-Valley Tournament (through an under-the-table bribery).
• Awesome McCoolname: His full name is Terrance Silver, as revealed in Cobra Kai.
• Badass Baritone: Zig-zagged in the film. Terry often has a high-pitched tenor when he screams and cackles, but otherwise his voice has a deep register. Played straight in Cobra Kai as his current voice (being much older) has a more gravelly, grim quality to it.
• Badass Creed: Everything about the Quicksilver method: "A man can't see, he can't fight. A man can't breathe, he can't fight. A man can't stand, he can't fight."
• Benevolent Boss: When we catch up with him in Cobra Kai he is shown being kind to his maid Carla.
• Berserk Button: It's easy to get on Silver's bad side if you A) question his teachings and/or B) push him too far by using his PTSD as leverage to keep him at bay; the latter of which Kreese found out the hard way.
• Broken Pedestal: Finding out that you bribed a referee to make sure your dojo wins is a surefire way to lose your top students.
• The Chessmaster: And how! His mere presence in the Miyagi-Do/Eagle Fang dojo alone is enough to break Johnny and Daniel's proposed Enemy Mine against Cobra Kai. And it goes even further of exploiting opponents' weaknesses, such when as he coaches Kenny to take advantage of Robby's compassion.
• Cool Car: Silver has many collection of cars with him from vintage to exotics. He is even generous enough to loan Robby a Ferrari California for the prom.
• Corrupt Corporate Executive: He's made millions of dollars as a professional toxic waste dumper.
• Disproportionate Retribution: He reacts to Barnes revealing the existence of a potentially incriminatimg contract by burning down Mike's furniture store.
• Drugs Are Bad: His over-the-top behavior in the film is revealed to be his a result of his addiction to cocaine in order to alleviate his trauma during his time in the Vietnam War.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones:
  • Terry seems to care about his younger girlfriend Cheyenne and funds her mindfulness app.
  • Terry also cared about Ponytail during the war. He was horribly guilt-ridden over his indirect part in his death and it's implied the ponytail he has in The Karate Kid Part III is a way to honor his fallen friend.
  • Terry is genuinely fond of Kenny and takes him under his wing because he reminds him of himself before he learnt Karate. It's just a shame this involves being an Evil Mentor to him and making Kenny a worse version of himself.
• Evil Mentor: Just like Kreese with Johnny he preassures Tory to let go of her ethics.
• Evil Counterpart: To three Miyagi-Do senseis: Nariyoshi Miyagi, Daniel LaRusso, and Chozen Toguchi:
  • Both Terry and Miyagi were war veterans who experienced the horrors of war in their time and turned to substances (drugs and alcohol) to cope with their trauma. Miyagi is a martial arts master who teaches his students to fight defensively. Terry's a karate master who is also a Corrupt Corporate Executive and clearly relishes every bit of pain he causes.
  • At present, Daniel himself has become an influential businessman, and is the wealthier counterpart to his co-sensei (Johnny). Both also have darker impulses that they strive to suppress. Despite Daniel's preached virtues of calmness and balance, Terry says (with some validation) that Daniel has always been a hot-head and that maybe he always had a little Cobra Kai in him. On Terry's end, he had spent the last three decades trying to do better with himself while repressing his previous psychopathic personality and seemed to genuinely regret his torment of Daniel. Ultimately, Daniel is able to acknowledge his more aggressive temperaments while remaining firmly loyal to Miyagi-Do's teachings and reconcile with his rival Johnny, whereas Terry relapses into the madman he was in The Karate Kid Part III because of Kreese's cruelty and constantly pushing his Trauma Button and ends up betraying his long time friend.
  • Both Terry and Chozen inherited their respective families' wealthy inheritances (DynaTox and the Miyagi artifacts owned by Sato, as well his dojo) and had both experienced downward spiral after losing to a Miyagi-Do student during the 80's (in this case, Daniel) but managed to pull their lives back on track. Terry was able to rebuild his business empire while Chozen became a sensei in his own right after being taught Miyagi-Do by Sato and his uncle's inheritance being passed on to him upon his death. While Chozen and Daniel reconcile, Daniel outright rejects Silver's apology for his actions 30 years back despite his genuine regret, but that did not stop Silver's old psychotic self from resurfacing after Kreese re-entered in his life. Also, both Silver and Chozen are masters of incapacitating their opponents to gain an advantage: Silver prefers to have his opponents lose their vision, unable to breathe, and cannot stand at their own power even by unethical means. Chozen is taught the Miyagi-Do pressure points to temporarily paralyze his opponent's limbs, a technique used by Daniel to overpower Kreese in the finale of season 3.
• Evil Plan: Of the Vengeance Is Mine! variety, targeting Daniel and Mr. Miyagi for what they did to Kreese in the first movie.
• Exact Words:
  • "Turns out you disappearing was the best thing that ever happening to me.": said word-for-word during his conversation with Kreese takes a double meaning at the end of season 4 where Terry immediately betrays Kreese and has him framed up for the assault on Stingray.
  • When Silver reassures to Tory that her match against Sam will "not end in a technicality" has a double meaning in on itself despite the latter objecting to hit Sam on her other eye. While Tory does beat Sam fair and square thanks to an encouragement from Kreese, she soon finds out that Silver had the match fixed by bribing the referee, rendering her hard-won victory moot.
• Expy:
  • Silver is basically the Karate Kid equivalent of Emperor Palpatine, both are their respective franchises' Bigger Bads of the first film (he was the one who bought the Cobra Kai dojo for Kreese) who steps up as the main antagonist of the third film. Oh, and he's also a corrupting influence, much like Palpatine himself, as he hires Mike Barnes as his champion to enact his revenge on Kreese's behalf, corrupts Daniel so that he could turn to the dark side for the worse, and even corrupts Kreese himself to an extent (had it not been for Silver, Kreese would have completely given up Cobra Kai for good). For added bonus, Terry also has an ominous theme to go along with his character, much like Palpatine.
  • Comparisons between Terry Silver and Griffith are basically too obvious to ignore, especially in Cobra Kai. Both characters are handsome, sophisticated and skillfully fighters with an ambitious and Machiavellian streak who have their own fair share of traumatic experience that hardened them into their current state of being they are now.
• Faux Affably Evil: Silver will go all the way to make himself look "humble" to get on Daniel LaRusso's and Mr. Miyagi's good graces. As soon as his façade slips, he's even more psychotic than Kreese ever was. This doesn't stop there even 30 years later, Silver remains civil at best even when interacting with Daniel and Johnny, yet keeping his anger in check even after Daniel angrily rejects his apology. Then again, that mask slips at a mere slight and if pushed too far, something that Kreese found out at the end of season 4.

Daniel: You are not a sensei. You're a con man. Manipulating people to turn them into something they're not.

• Fiction 500: The wealthiest man in the Valley who is more willing to bribe to get his way.
• Foil:
  • To Sato. Sato was an industrialist who had a personal vendetta with Mr. Miyagi not long before the events of the second film, whereas Silver is the head of waste disposal company asked by John Kreese to get revenge on Daniel and Miyagi over the previous two films. Sato, despite his animosity towards Miyagi, is bound to his honor and morality. Silver, on the other hand, is a sociopathic monster only out to make Daniel's (and Miyagi's) life a living hell, using his power and influence as a businessman to get what he wants.
  • To Chozen. Both are notable adversaries of Daniel LaRusso, in that Chozen is the only character in the original trilogy to ever best Daniel in combat and even beats the guy to near death. Silver uses psychological warfare than physical aggression in an attempt to send Daniel down a dark path which would continue to haunt him in his adult life. 30 years later, Daniel and Chozen would go on to engage in a friendly sparring before burying the hatchet and eventually turning to him to continue his crusade against Cobra Kai, while Daniel continues to bear a grudge against Silver for his past actions.
  • As of Cobra Kai season 4, he is also one to Kreese of all people! In spite of Kreese's ruthlessness and being stuck in the mindset of war, Kreese knows the difference between mercy and honor even though Cobra Kai lives up to its "no mercy" credo. Kreese also cares for the well-being for his students (i.e., Tory and Robby), going so far as to disregard Silver's advise to injure Sam's eye and allow Tory to win fair and square. Silver is all about "extreme situations requiring extreme measures". Being a businessman with a Machiavellian streak, Silver uses his influence and money to bend the rules to his liking, he shows no concern for the well-being of his students and their opponents, going so far as to take delight at their pain and suffering, and everything else around him are merely stepping stones.
• Genre Savvy: He catches onto the fact that Kreese cares about Johnny and that he is using him.
• Green-Eyed Monster: It's implied one of the reasons he decided to betray Kreese was that he was jealous of all the affection his old war buddy had for Johnny Lawrence and how it got in the way of Terry's business plans.
• Hidden Depths: He's very good on the piano.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: In his Final Battle with Daniel, who uses all three aspects of the Quicksilver method to bring him down.
• I Owe You My Life: His loyalty to Kreese is due to Kreese saving him many times in the Vietnam War.
• The Juggernaut: Standing at 6'5" and a trained martial artist himself and mauls Johnny without breaking a sweat.
• Kick the Dog: Terry makes an extravagant winning bid for Daniel's bonsai trees for the sole purpose of being able to spite Daniel by telling him he plans to mulch them.
• Large Ham: Oh so very much.
• Laser-Guided Karma: Is defeated by the same person who taught him his Quicksilver method.
• Lack of Empathy: Unlike Kreese while he does have a moment of showing compassion to the likes of Tory and Robby, Silver pretty much has none of those, let alone feigning empathy as shown in KK3. He has an utter disregard for human life to benefit himself and his end goal is what Silver is at his core.
• Manipulative Bastard
• Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: Kreese's constant guilt trips and berating of Terry is what convinces him to betray his long time friend.
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: His betrayal of Kreese actually had a positive effect on Daniel's end. Because Kreese made an agreement with Daniel and Johnny of whoever dojo loses in the All-Valley will give up teaching forever; Silver was merely a third party who had nothing to do with their deal. With his backdoor bribery after the tournament and Kreese's arrest, the deal is now made moot and Daniel decided to continue teaching and even brought a third party in the form of Chozen Toguchi.
• No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: He brutally beats both Johnny and Stingray in Season 4.
• Obviously Evil: In-Universe the man makes a living dumping toxic waste on illegal grounds. As well as form elaborate schemes against a teenager and an old man. Not only that but he has trouble containing his smirk even when he's trying to deceive Daniel and Miyagi into thinking he is nice.
• Older and Wiser: Even at his most villainous in the present, Terry is shown to be far more thoughtful, introspective, and self-aware than he was in The Karate Kid: Part III on top of being a much more superior martial artist eclipsing that of Kreese. Terry also points out about focusing on training for the All-Valley Tourney as a top priority than personal grudges (towards the Miyagi-Fang alliance), warning Kreese to avoid repeating the same mistake back in the '80s.
• Ordered to Cheat: He coaxes Tory to hit Sam with another elbow to her other eye, not that Tory is comfortable with the idea of winning by cheating.

Silver: When she comes in like that again, give her another shot to the other eye! She can't see, she can't fight!

• Screw the Rules, I Have Money: Combines with his ego to be his Fatal Flaw. Having grown up wealthy and maintained it in adulthood, he sees fealty as a feature in his arsenal. On the other hand, others not exactly coming from money see it as just plain dishonesty and cheating. It also becomes his downfall when the footage of his post-tournament conversation with Tory (which he saw as unimportant relative to his encounter with Stingray) is broadcast in full view of his students.
• Shadow Archetype:
  • To Kreese of all people. Terry embodies all of his worst qualities and represents what Kreese would be like if he had no one around him to be his moral compass. Kreese is the very reason Terry's loyalty outweighs his psychopathic behavior. However, when Kreese began treating Terry like a henchman than his equal, Terry immediately betrays him by having him framed for the assault on Stingray.
  • To Daniel LaRusso. As pointed out during their second confrontation, Silver points out Daniel had also a Cobra Kai within him during his Training From Hell in the third film. To wit, Silver embodies all of Daniel's darkest impulse and what Daniel would become had he betrayed Miyagi and his teachings.
• Smug Snake: At the end of the movie.
• Strong and Skilled: The known most powerful martial artist in the Miyagiverse, next to Mr. Miyagi. Silver's fighting style already surpassed Kreese's, being able to last longer against Miyagi himself. In Cobra Kai, he's able to mop the floor with Johnny after toying with him. For added bonus, Thomas Ian Griffith is a Tae Kwon Do black belt.
• The Sociopath: A classic example. Terry is a wealthy and corrupt businessman. He is superficially charming, thoroughly manipulative and masks his true intentions to fool others by feigning humility, and takes sadistic pleasure at the pain he inflicts on others. He is more willing to bend the rules to his favor, especially through bribery to escape accountability for his actions, and ordering students to use underhanded tactics to achieve his end goal. Of note, Silver is better at hiding his psychopathic behavior than Kreese; and his betrayal of his fellow Vietnam veteran shows that he sees Kreese his weakness after being manipulated by him.
• Tall, Dark and Handsome: In the 80s.
• Tranquil Fury: On two instances, first after a heated confrontation with the Miyagi-Fang alliance, Silver is able to keep his anger in check after a mere slight, and second when Robby questions him after showing respect towards Hawk before their sudden death match, Kreese restrains him and Terry can only pause as he looks down momentarily.

Kreese: LaRusso can sure hold a grudge, can't he? So, what now? Silver: Now, we get to work. So we can wipe the mat of that arrogant little prick!

• Villain with Good Publicity
• Villain Has a Point: Terry has every right to point out that Kreese keeps hanging his debt over him even though he's payed it several times over.
• Villainous Friendship: With Kreese ever since they served together in Nam. By the end of season 4, that friendship gets torn apart after Silver gets fed up of guilt-tripping him.

"Yes, there it is! I can always count on you playing the guilt card. How many times do you expect me to repay that debt before we're square?"

• We Used to Be Friends: After betraying Kreese at the end of season 4, it's safe to say this trope finally applies to both of them.

Mike Barnes

Played by: Sean Kanan

• The Dreaded: He's one of Daniel's most feared and powerful opponent up to date.
• Earn Your Happy Ending: Even though he lost his business, Barnes stole one of Silver's paintings and plans to have it auctioned as compensation.
• Hate Sink: He's made to be a thuggish asshole sent to make Daniel's life a living hell. No longer the case three decades later.
• Heel Face Turn: Turns out that he's been living a normal life after losing to Daniel 30 years ago. Making him the third of Daniel's enemies to join forces with him.
• The McCoy: Shares this distinction with Johnny.
• Not So Different: He and Johnny are pretty much alike when it comes to getting payback against Silver.
• Rage Breaking Point: Upon learning Silver burnt down his furniture shop.

Alli Mills

Played by: Elisabeth Shue (1984)

• The Chick
• Disposable Love Interest: Daniel tells Mr. Miyagi at the beginning of Part II that she left him for a football player from UCLA.
• Nice Girl: Fast forward to Cobra Kai near the end of Season 3. Since it cushioned the Not So Different blow she dealt them both, it's not hard to imagine her being the one to put the end to the long-brewing feud between Daniel and Johnny. Since she was around then, she had an insight into their situation that neither Daniel's wife Amanda nor Johnny's new interest Carmen could claim.
• Plucky Girl
• Shallow Love Interest: Daniel finds out just how shallow in Part II.
• Spoiled Sweet: She's a rich girl who's usually nice to everyone, even working-class boys from Reseda. Don't cross her, though, because she's got a pretty mean right hook.
• Uptown Girl: Her relationship with Daniel is type #3.

Kumiko

Played by: Tamlyn Tomita (1986)

• Asian Gal with White Guy: She's surrounded by Asian men she doesn't show the slightest bit of interest in, but as soon as Daniel shows up at the front door... Then again, the other suitor with a chance was Chozen of all people.
• Beware the Nice Ones: She is very nice to Daniel and Miyagi and the kids she teaches OBon Dance to. However hurt someone she likes and she won't hesitate to hurt you. When Chozen challenges Daniel to a fight to the death, Kumiko tries to strangle him. He punches her, but she was able to pull him a good distance before.
• The Chick
• Disposable Love Interest: Daniel mentions in Part III that she chose to take a job with a dance company in Tokyo instead of coming back to the United States with him. He seems less bitter about it than Ali though, possibly because he knew how much she wanted to be a traditional dancer as opposed to just dumping him for another guy, therefore he knows she's following her dream.
  • This last part is confirmed during Daniel's return to Okinawa's Tomi Village, which by that time had become a shopping complex.
• Plucky Girl: She gets points for trying to help Daniel against Chozen, despite knowing how dangerous it is.
• Shallow Love Interest
• Yamato Nadeshiko: Emphasized by her wearing a kimono and being good performing the Japanese tea ceremony.

Jessica Andrews

Played by: Robin Lively (1989)

• Affectionate Nickname: "Jessie!" Amanda greets her.
• The Bus Came Back: In the fifth season, we find out that she was Amanda's cousin and the one that introduced her to Daniel. And as Amanda's aggressor discovers during their bar outing (By the Hair), she Came Back Strong, too.
• Cool Aunt: Sam and Anthony clearly adore her. Also didn't hurt that she brought some macaroni and cheese for Daniel.
• Disposable Love Interest: Exaggerated. The writers don't even wait for the sequel to dispose of her.
• Girl Next Door: She's fairly cute, rather tomboyish, and works at a pottery store across the street from Miyagi and Daniel's bonsai store.
• The Matchmaker: For Daniel and Amanda, being the one that put them in contact when Amanda moved to Los Angeles.
• May-December Romance: Even though their characters were about the same age in the movie, actress Robyn Lively was 11 years younger than Ralph Macchio in real life, and it showed.
• Put on a Bus: She goes back home to Ohio midway through the movie, and is never seen or mentioned again. Probably because the producers realized the aforementioned May-December Romance just wasn't working.
• Small Role, Big Impact: On two fronts:
  • she was the one that introduced Amanda and Daniel to each other, leading to their two children;
  • she filled in the blanks about Daniel's early interactions with Silver, laying out to Amanda just how dangerous the man was.
• Spit Take: Her reaction to Amanda's revelation that Terry Silver is back in Daniel's life. She knows firsthand precisely what Silver is capable of, because she was physically on the other side of it.

Julie Pierce

Played by: Hilary Swank (1994)

• Action Girl: Eventually
• Kindly Vet: One of the subplots of the movie has her nursing an injured hawk back to health.
• Kuudere
• Sugar and Ice Personality

Yukie-san

Played by: Nobu McCarthy (1986)

• Christmas Cake: By her own decision, since she chose to remain a spinster than becoming a prize wife to Sato
• Mama Bear: A blink if you miss moment, but when Chosen grabs Kumiko as leverage to challenge Daniel to a fight. Yukie is the first to try to run across the bridge and try to grab Kumiko away from him. Had he not threaten to cut Kumiko's throat with a knife, Yukie would have gotten her away.
• New Old Flame
• Parental Substitute: To Kumiko, her orphaned niece
• Shipper on Deck: The morning after She and Miyagi consummate their love during the tea Ceremony, they both watch Daniel and Kumiko drive off. She smiles in approval just seeing them happy together.
• Yamato Nadeshiko

2010 Revival

See its character page here.

Cobra Kai TV Series

Robby Keene

Played by Tanner Buchanan

• Becoming the Mask: Initially uses Daniel to get back at Johhny but becomes loyal to him after Daniel treats him with kindness.
• Create Your Own Villain: While Anthony is responsible for Kenny into becoming a bully himself, Robby is also indirectly responsible for instilling Kenny the "no mercy" principles of Cobra Kai by training him.
• Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: While he resents Johnny he seems to respect his mother Shannon despite her also being a pretty terrible parent.
• Everyone Has Standards:
  • He expresses disagreement with Cobra Kai's attack on the LaRusso home.
  • He wasn't so thrilled at Kenny after seeing him beat up Anthony.
• Freudian Excuse: Johnny wasn't around much and his mother was an addict.
• Gone Horribly Right: His mentoring of Kenny in season 4 resulting in the young boy becoming like his big brother Shawn after witnessing Kenny beating Anthony LaRusso to a pulp.
• I Gave My Word: He was willing to honor his deal that he would leave Cobra Kai if one of the students got a hit on him. He only decides to stay when Tory begs him to stay.
• Heel Face Turn Realizing he helped to corrupt Kenny he goes to his father and expresses remorse for his actions. Johnny (who'd made a none too different mistake that impacted his son at the previous All-Valley) immediately forgives him.
• Face Heel Turn: After putting Miguel in hospital he is influenced by Kreese and Tory to embrace the teachings of Cobra Kai.
• Kick the Dog: When Miguel tries to defuse a conflict between Miyagi Do and Cobra Kai from escalating by reminding them their supposed to wait for the tournament in the fourth episode of Season 4 Robby makes a crack about how their last fight went.
• My God, What Have I Done? His training of Kenny, which results in a vicious physical humiliation of Anthony, leaves him with this impression. Not that Anthony hadn't gotten his Just Desserts, but he felt as though he'd duplicated the mistakes both Johnny and Daniel made earlier.
• Never My Fault Whenever he does anything wrong he blames it on Johnny's poor parenting and thinks his stay in prison is Daniel's fault even though Daniel got his sentenced lowered by calling the cops.
• Pet the Dog:
  • He shows compassion for a fellow inmate who's being bullied by Shawn.
  • In Season 4 he takes a boy named Kenny who's being bullied under his wing and appeals to his hated father on the boy's behalf.
  • Robby comes to Anthony's aid when Kenny attacks him.
• Took a Level In Kindness Thanks to Daniel.
• Took a Level In Jerkass: Thanks to Kreese in season 3. When he gets out of prison he rejects Daniel's offer of a place at Miyagi-Do. A few days later his reaction to finding Sam with Miguel is to attempt to pick another fight with Miguel even though Miguel only recently resumed walking and cuts Sam out of his life when she predictably steps in to defend Miguel. This is later followed by him attempting to physically attack his father out of rage. When Daniel and Johnny take down Kreese and try to welcome him back Robby coldly tells them to get out.
• Villainous Friendship In seasons 3 and 4 while he has become a bad guy he's genuinely friendly with Tory.
• Worthy Opponent: Robby gains respect for Hawk when they fight at the All Valley in Season 4.

Miguel Diaz

Played by Xolo Mariduena

• Like a Son to Me: Johnny is a father figure to him and surprisingly good at it.
• Morality Pet:
  • Hawk's friendshp with him is one of his main redeeming qualities.
  • Johnny's Hidden Heart of Gold of gold shines through when it comes to his relationship with Miguel.
• No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Offering mercy to Robby results in him being crippled.
• Never My Fault: When he tries to hit Robby and accidentally hits Sam he tries to apologize for what he did to her but makes it clear he doesn't think he did anything wrong by attacking Robby.
• Only Sane Man: In the first season 4 episode he persuades Johnny to make peace with Daniel.
• Protagonist Journey to Villain: Miguel's on a fairly standard heroic journey in the first half of the first season but due to his change in attitude and philosphies he Takes a Level In Jerkass. It costs him Sam as a girlfriend and results in him pulling on Robby's injured arm when he offers to help him up. Fortunately this is subverted as he eventually sees the error of his ways and returns to his old self.
• Pet the Dog: Even after he Took a Level In Jerkass Miguel had enough good sportsmanship to accept a handshake from Xander Stone and compliment him on a good match.
• Token Good Teammate: Miguel becomes this in Season 2 as many Cobras become just like the bullies Miguel initially took up Karate to defend himself from. Miguel is also the only one to question the things Kreese is teaching them.
• Undying Loyalty: Not even suffering a spinial injury that prevents him from being able to walk as a result of a conflict that was partly Johnny's fault can stop him from being his most loyal and devoted student.

Amanda Larusso (nee Steiner)

Played by Courtney Henggeler

• Batter Up: Cited taking a baseball bat to her math tutor's car ("with her in it") as the reason for losing her graduation position.
  • Also the source of her Embarrassing Nickname "Babe Ruthless."
• Dark and Troubled Past: Her account of her father's affair with her math tutor, resulting in a shameless reminder about her one act of vehicular sabotage.
• Deadpan Snarker: It would be much easier to list when she averts this trope.
• Fatal Flaw: A social climber, and amazingly naive and impulsive (making her the polar opposite of Carmen in all regards).
• Foil: She regularly clashes with Daniel's mother Lucille based on their wildly differing attitudes on family, cooking, and social status.
• Happily Married: To Daniel.
• My God, What Have I Done? Confronts Tory (who is on the clock) at the sushi restaurant, which triggers the Disaster Dominoes with her employer. Her attempt to remedy the matter with a bag of provisions earns her a Don't You Dare Pity Me!
• Not So Above It All: Best demonstrated in the Bar Brawl in the fifth season, when she clashes with her high-school nemesis to the point of calling her "tramp stamp." Upon which she suffers the first attack and eventually ends up in the clutches of the two members of the Girl Posse that Jessica hasn't taken.
• Odd Friendship: With Johnny.
• Only Sane Man Often attempts to reason with Daniel when he's stubborn about his feud with Johnny.
• The Southpaw: In line with her portrayer Courtney Henggeler, who is left-handed.
• Sympathy for the Devil: In season 4 she sympathizes with Tory and attempts to help her even though Tory literally tried to kill her daughter.

Eli Moskowitz / Hawk

Played by Jacob Bertrand

• Berserk Button: Robby found this out the painful way at the first-season tournament when he mocked the guy's "stupid haircut." Got it In the Back!
• Curb Stomp Battle: His No-Holds-Barred Beatdown against Brucks in the third season. Seriously, "big boy" fails to get in anything on him.
• Disproportionate Retribution: Ends his friendship with Demeitri and tries to assault him on multiple occasions for giving Cobra Kai a bad Yelp review.
• Even Evil Has Standards:
  • Hawk loses respect for Kreese when he starts expelling students who haven't been anything but loyal.
  • In Season 3 he shows hesitance when encouraged to break Demeitri's arm. While he proceeds with the action he looks on the crying Demeitri with regret afterwards and refuses ro repeat the action again in the house brawl, switching sides and reconciling with his old friend.
  • Even he's visibly shocked when Rickenberger decks a teacher.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Even at his most despicable he considers Miguel a friend. He immediately forgives him after their fight at Coyote Creek and is visibly upset when Robby puts him in hospital.
• Jerkass Has a Point: He accurately points out that Miguel mainly wants to return Miyagi's medal of honor to impress Sam.
• Manipulative Bastard: In season 3 he manages to paint himself as a victim to the school.
• Pet the Dog:
  • In the season 1 finale he shows concern for Johnny's Well-being when Bert tells him about his drunken meltdown and immediately assumes the worst.
  • Hawk was initially willing to confess to Stealing Miyagi's Medal to spare the other students from Johnny's punishments. Unfortunately Kreese persuades him otherwise.
  • From what the audience sees in Season 3 Hawk is the only Cobra who actually bothers to visit Miguel in hospital.
  • Despite often mistreating Mitch Hawk objects to Kreese kicking him out of the dojo, pointing out that he'd always been loyal to Cobra Kai.
• Reformed but Rejected: In season 4 despite having truly changed his ways everyone still looks down on him for his actions. Demeitri and Miguel are the only ones to accept him with open arms.
• Traumatic Haircut: Season 4, when the Cobras pin him down and cut away his hair. It turns into an Important Haircut at the tournament.
• Ungrateful Bastard:
  • He turns on Demeitri despite him being his Only Friend for years.
  • Hawk brutally beats up Nate for daring to start a fundraiser to help Miguel(His friend).
  • Hawk is quick to side with Kreese against Johnny even though it was Johnny's Tough Love that saved him from being an unpopular loser.

Samantha Larusso

Played by Mary Mouser

• Arch Enemy: To Tory.
• Back in the Saddle: When she realizes she's Still Got It (see below) and learns about Miyagi-Do's opening, she is inspired to ask if there's "room for one more."
• Badass Decay: A huge issue in Season 4. When she trains under Johnny, she becomes considerably less focused and more volatile. In fact, it's much like she and Tory have swapped tactics and personalities.
• Daddy's Girl: She is very close with Daniel.
• Fair-Weather Friend To Aisha in Season 1. She undergoes Character Development and is much more loyal to her friends later.
• Good Cannot Comprehend Evil: Why she Took a Level in Jerkass (see that trope below). As the only student that has never trained at Cobra Kai, she doesn't have the insight that Miguel (Johnny's flagship student) has into how it indoctrinates their students. It's why she initially has trouble understanding his willingness to accept Tory into the Miyagi-Fang. Becomes a Subverted Trope when she goes to her house and witnesses the rotting squalor of her home life firsthand.
• Humiliation Conga: Is the receiving end of one after losing to Tory in the All-Valley after spending the whole season antagonizing her rival; it's made even worse thanks to a backdoor bribery courtesy of Silver.
• Took a Level in Jerkass: In season 4, Sam becomes increasingly antagonistic towards Tory even after not buying into her family problems and her bad behavior continues to escalate even when Amanda of all people, is willing to help Tory get her life back on track.
• Still Got It: When dealing with a handsy Kyler, she realizes she hasn't forgotten all of her training. Solidified in one of the last scenes of the first season when she works on a kata.
• Stone Wall: Usually applicable to those built like Chris, Mitch, or even Aisha. Since she was raised primarily in the defensive form, she does not get fazed when she is hit with the first attack or multiple attacks in succession. Despite lacking the raw power to generate decisive blows of her own, she can redirect her opponent's moves to the point of inducing a fatal mistake.
• Weak but Skilled: Not exactly a Pint-Sized Powerhouse, but getting Back in the Saddle certainly helped.

Anthony Larusso

Played by Griffin Santopietro

• Asshole Victim: Deconstructed. He got his Just Desserts courtesy of Kenny, and Robby can only look at the latter's beatdown of Anthony in horror. To Robby's end, it's not that Anthony deserved it but he just created a monster that went too far.

Kenny: Get ready for high-school next year, 'cause you're gonna be in a world of pain!

• Brains and Brawn: He's the brain as his sister being the brawn.
• The Bully: Becomes one in Season 4.
• Butt Monkey: For most of season 5, the bullying he goes through by Kenny and Cobra Kai is borderline violent and extremely dangerous.
• Everyone Has Standards:
  • Anthony might not have an issue with catfishing but he was visibly uncomfortable when Zack suggested they trick Kenny into cosplaying at the park and that they then gang up on him there.
  • He is also not fond of Kyler upon running into him in season 5 for what he did to his sister. And Kyler playing along with Kenny's bullying of Anthony didn't help either.
• Freudian Excuse It is eventually revealed he feels left out of the family as he is the only one who can't remember Miyagi.
• The Heart: Sounds surprising, but after being little more than a Spoiled Brat, this becomes his role as of the "protect the egg" challenge in the Miyagi-Fang dojo..
• Heel Realization: After picking Kenny after being peer-pressured by his friends in middle school, it took an aggressive discipline from Daniel to set Anthony straight. When he attempts to apologizes to Kenny twice, it ends with him getting assaulted by Kenny. Kenny has since jumped off the slippery slope after enrolling in Cobra Kai, which also leads to Robby's own realization.
• Jerkass Inconsiderate, disrespectful and spoilt.
• Jerkass Has a Point: When Daniel finds out he payed someone else to clean the cars at the dojo rather than do it himself he begins to lecture him and asks what Miyagi would think. Anthony points out that while Miyagi may have been a great person he has no reason to care about his opinion as he only met Miyagi as a infant. All Daniel accomplished by constantly talking about Miyagi was making Anthony feel left out.
• The Spock: Even for someone as spoiled and smartass as Anthony, what he lacks in the skills of the other martial artists, he makes up for formulating strategies. Best demonstrated in season 5 when he asks everyone to stick together in fending off Chozen during the training. He is even able to upload the incriminating video of Silver on YouTube when Hawk gets pinned down, while the Miyagi-Fang hold off the Cobra Kai students.

Tory Nichols

Played by Peyton R. List

• All for Nothing: Tory's win in the All-Valley hoped to finally end her rivalry with Sam. But, that's no longer the case when her match was actually paid off by Terry Silver.
• Arch Enemy She develops a personal hatred for Sam after seeing her kiss Miguel at Moon's party.
• Broken Pedestal: When Kreese expresses nothing but apathy over Daniel after the latter got badly beaten by Silver, this made Tory feel like being taken for granted by the man who sees her as a closest thing to a daughter.
• Brutal Honesty She doesn't mince her words, especially when triggered (something Amanda found out the painful way at the restaurant where she works).
• Becoming the Mask: She and Robby go to the prom together in order to spite Miguel and Sam but realise they genuinely like each other.
• Character Development: Thanks to Amanda's influence she develops a better sense of right and wrong, even refusing to cheat against Sam despite orders to do so from Terry.
• Don't You Dare Pity Me! Amanda leaves some groceries on her doorstep and gets them dumped right at her feet on the showroom floor. "I don't need your sympathy!"
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones It is revealed Tory spends much time taking care of her sick mother and younger brother. She also falls in love with Robby and begins to see Kreese as a father figure after he intervenes with her sleazy landlord on her behalf.
• Even Evil Has Standards: Tory doesn't like the thought of defeating Sam by cheating after being ordered by Silver to elbow Sam's other eye, much less having her match being rigged after Silver paid off the ref.
  • She appears disturbed by how far Hawk goes in beating up Brucks.
  • In Season 5 she's horrified and guilt-ridden over her actions indirectly leading to Daniel getting beat up and is visibly put off by the fact that Kreese doesn't share her feelings.
• Exact Words: Tory insists defeating Sam without "cheating to win" takes a double meaning after she successfully beats the latter as it shows Tory wanting to win fair and square; when Silver orders her to elbow Sam's other eye, Tory quickly objects to which Kreese agrees. After the tournament, Tory finds out that the match was bought and paid for, rendering her hard-won victory invalid.
• Glass Cannon: While she has the strength for quick powerful blows, her style is based mainly on short-term street fights. An alert and patient opponent (particularly one grounded in defense, as Sam is) can easily exploit her temper to finish her.
• Hypocrite: She is infuriated Sam accuses her of stealing despite bragging about stealing Vodka.
• Pyrrhic Victory: Tory successfully defeats Sam in the All-Valley, becoming the first women's champion. However, her happiness is cut short after witnessing Silver paying off the ref.
• Shadow Archetype: Tory embodies all of Sam's negative traits for most of seasons 2 to 3. And she is essentially what Sam would be like if Daniel and Amanda are not around in her life to guide her down the right path. Season 4 eventually turns into a role-reversal, with Tory reaching out to Amanda to get her life back on track, and Sam constantly picking on Tory without the slightest provocation makes her even worse than Tory herself.
• Shaggy Dog Story: Tory won her first Women's All Valley Tournament in season 4 and seemingly put an end to her rivalry with Sam, but it's ultimately rendered moot after she finds out Terry Silver had bribed the referee.
• Villainous Friendship Goes out of her way to befriend Robby in Season 3. Season 4 takes this to the next level.

Demeitri Alexopoulos

Played by Gianni DeCenzo

• Cowardly Lion: Demeitri is initially rather useless at karate but with Daniel's encouragement his skills improve dramatically. While he's nowhere near a Badass Bookworm status, he's never given up on his training, and it paid off in a huge way during the school brawl (against Hawk).
• Everyone Has Standards: He even finds Johnny's Eagle Fang training methods extremely dangerous.

I heard he drowned a kid [Miguel] in a pool trying to teach him how to kick, and that was before he sicced a rabid dog on Eli!

• Hypocrite: Says he has trouble with personal space while inavding Kreese's personal space.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: While sarcastic and whiny Demeitri is a good guy. He is very quick to forgive Hawk despite Hawk breaking his arm.
• Kick the Son of a Bitch: Humiliating Hawk by outing him as a bed wetter at Moon's party.
• Morality Pet: His relationship with Yasmine brings out her better side.
• The Spock: Of all the Miyagi-Dos, Demetri is pretty much the resident intellectual and gadgeteer. As of season 5, he shares this distinction with Anthony.
• Stone Wall: On more than one level, he is Sam's Spear Counterpart. Where they differ is in how he handles multiple rapid-fire blows: once the opponent lapses, he can usually put them away with one good shot of his own.

Sid Weinberg

Played by Edward Asner

• Abusive Parents: Constantly belittled Johnny as a child and continues to do so to him as an adult.
• Grumpy Old Man: Sid seems to hate everyone.
• I Gave My Word: One of his few redeeming traits. He told Laura he would look out for Johnny and honored that promise for almost twenty years. Even when he finally loses patience with Johnny he gives him a cheque big enough to pay for the revival of Cobra Kai.
• Kick the Dog; Sid refuses to fund Miguel's surgery despite having the money to do so and enjoys mocking Johnny about the situation.
• Politically-Incorrect Villain: Sid has a derogatory view of women and clearly sees them as only sex objects.
• Villain with Good Publicity: Averted. When Johnny threatens to disclose an incident between Sid and his secretary to the public Sid retorts he doesn't care about looking good and wouldn't have got rich if he did.

Kyler Park

Played by Joe Seo

• The Bully: Too many times to count.
• The Dog Bites Back: While his Karma Houdini Warranty is ultimately ripped up against the Theta Omega, this is where he does the same to his reputation as a Dirty Coward.
• Dumb Jock: Played straight for the longest time but ultimately downplayed, no less against the Theta Omega.
• Future Loser: Heavily implied, but downplayed when a rival fraternity welcomes him to their ranks.
• Throw the Dog a Bone: A representative of another fraternity offers him a spot when they learn that he took the fiendish fraternity that is the Theta Omega down a peg or two.

Shawn Payne

• The Bully: Shawn makes Robby's stay in prison a living hell and is shown picking on other inmates as well.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: In season 4 he is shown to have a close relationship with his younger brother Kenny. He got sent to prison for protecting his brother in the first place and directs him to Robby to help with his bullying problem
• Honor Among Thieves: Shawn and Robby cover for each other after their fight.
• Villainous Friendship: Despite the initial hostility he ends up on good terms with Robby.

Kenny Payne

Played by Dallas Dupree Young

• Broken Pedestal: Kenny has looked up to Silver as a father figure for most of season 5 and the latter seems to relate with Kenny, much like with Johnny to Miguel, Daniel to Robby, and even Kreese towards Tory. Kenny is undeniably crushed when he learns Silver paid off the referee, and is the first throw his Cobra Kai t-shirt on a defeated Silver.
• The Bully: Becomes one for Anthony after he enrolls into Cobra Kai.
• Beware the Nice Ones: At first, Kenny is your average middle-school nerd who is constantly bullied (by Anthony and his friends), as he slowly embraces Cobra Kai's ruthless teachings, the "nice" part ultimately becomes nonexistent.
• From Nobody to Nightmare: A bully victim becomes a bully himself after being trained with Cobra Kai's ruthless doctrines.
• Hypocrite: In Season 5 he is furious at Robby for associating with Anthony because he was bullied by him even though he is the one who now harasses and assaults Anthony with no provocation and associates himself with people like Kyler.
• Jumping Off the Slippery Slope: Kenny gets introduced to Cobra Kai per suggestion from his brother Shawn by seeking out Robby. In turn, Robby takes Kenny under his wing to learn martial arts to defend himself against Anthony and his gang. Over time, Kenny's anger rises after run-ins with Anthony and finally, dishing out a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown on Anthony while he's alone. When he's called out by Robby, Kenny flat-out disregards him, solidifying his transformation from bully victim to The Bully.
• Pay Evil Unto Evil: Has beaten Anthony and his friends by luring them into the library and beating them one by one before being reprimanded by the school principal, and again dishes a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown on Anthony during the All-Valley. Robby wasn't pleased at the sight of the latter.

Raymond "Stingray" Porter

• Deal with the Devil: He agrees to name Kreese as his attacker to the police in exchange for memerbship into Cobra Kai.
• Freudian Excuse: Before joining Cobra Kai, Stingray always wanted to learn karate but his mother wouldn’t let him.
• I Just Want to Be Special: His Fatal Flaw in season 4. Stingray is desperate to be recognized by his younger peers in Cobra Kai. Despite being denounced as a liability by Kreese and kicking him out of the dojo, Stingray defiantly insists that this is some Secret Test of Character. When he bargains to Terry Silver instead, what Raymond didn't saw coming is a brutal beating from the man himself, and willingly plays along to name Kreese as his assailant to secure his place in the dojo.
• Screw the Rules, I Have Money; Johnny overlooks the fact he's too old for the dojo due to Stingray's parents being rich.
• Too Dumb to Live: Asking Terry Silver to be accepted back into Cobra Kai didn't end well for poor Stingray. And the real kicker, he has Kreese framed for the assault on him in order to be reinstated in the dojo.
• Would Hurt a Child: He attacks several Miyagi do students during the school brawl.

Armand Zarkarian

• Cranky Landlord: Armand jacks the rent up just out of dislike for Johnny.
• Dirty Coward: Armand quickly sells out Daniel and Amanda after Kreese makes quick work of his two nephews.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Depite being a corrupt businessman he seems afffectionate to his son Roland.
• Loophole Abuse: Armand takes advantage of the fact that Johnny never actually owned the dojo to make a deal with Kreese that allows him to get rid of his most hated tennant.
• Unwitting Pawn: Daniel uses him as a tool to get even with Johnny. Armand never even realises his manipulation.

Tom Cole

• Bad Boss: Tom constantly misremembers Anoush's name and treats him as an erand boy.
• Bullying a Dragon: Tom's constant provocation of Daniel was a very bad idea.
• Kick the Dog: Tom tries to get a rise out of Daniel by pointing out his student sent Miguel to hospital.

Captain Turner

• Asshole Victim: Kreese murders him even though he didn't need to but given Turner's own abuse of Kreese it's hard to feel sorry for him.
• Evil Mentor: Turner's teachings helped to corrupt Kreese and turn him into the monster he is.
• Kick the Dog: Taunting Kreese over Betsy's death.
• Politically-Incorrect Villain; Turner takes a dim view of hippies.

Anoush

• Beleaguered Assistant: Is constantly treated like dirt by Tom.
• Hidden Depths: Surprisingly Anoush gives Daniel some sound advice on how to handle Sam's dating life.
• Innocently Insensitive: His attempt to be rational in Tory's clash with Amanda quickly earns him a blunt warning: "Take one more step toward me and I'll snap you in half like a pencil."
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's a bit of a slimeball but he considers Daniel a friend and is loyal to him.
• Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: Anoush quits his job and goes to work for Tom due to Daniel getting obesessed with Cobra Kai, causing Anoush to pick up a lot of the slack and get no extra pay to compensate. Though he ultimately comes back to Daniel as for all his flaws he never deliberately set out to mistreat him.

Louie Larusso Jr.

Played by Bret Ernst

• Bullying a Dragon: Destroying the car of a two time Karate champion wasn't his brightest idea. Predictably he and his biker buddies get their asses handed to them.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Despite being a bit shady and irritating the hell out of him Louie cares about his cousin. He also appears to have a good relationship with his sister.
• Even Evil Has Standards: Louie was fine with destroying Johnny's car but draws the line at blowing the car up and potentially endangering the entire neighbourhood.
• The Friend Nobody Likes: The only reason anoyone tolerates him is because he and Daniel are related and even Daniel doesn't like him all that much.
• Jerkass: Particularly towards Robby.
• Pet the Dog:
  • When he bumps into Johnny again in Season 4 he makes an effort to be friendly with him and assures him he doesn't hang out with his biker buddies any more.
  • In Season 5 when everyone learns about Carmen's pregnancy Louie insists on being the one who makes the arrangements for their celebration because he want to make amends for the way he had acted towards Johnny.
  • He's angry when he finds out Anoush is dating his sister and even attacks him but after they talk things through Louie gives his approval as long as Anoush treats Vanessa with respect.
• Thicker Than Water: The only reason he keeps his job in spite of his obvious incompetence is that he's Daniel's cousin.
• Took a Level In Kindness; After being forgiven by Daniel in season 3 he starts to take his job more seriously and makes a genuine effort to help his family stay in business.

Mitch

• Butt Monkey: He's treated like dogshit by his "friends" at Cobra Kai. He doesn't get it much better when he joins Eagle Fang with Johnny and his students continuing to treat him like crap and call him by an Embarrassing Nickname. When he joins Cobra Kai again they are no nicer than they were the first time.
• Even Evil Has Standards: Like everyone else he's disgusted by Terry rigging the All Valley in favor of Cobra Kai and quits the dojo as a a result.
• Embarrassing Nickname: Is addressed as "Assface" during his time in Cobra Kai, and in Eagle Fang, "Penis Breath" courtesy of Johnny.
  • Ultimately he winds up actually loathing that nickname. It's how Kyler shuts him down in the wake of his Face Heel Turn (see downward).
• Face Heel Turn: In the wake of the exodus against Silver, he is the only Cobra that doesn't throw away his gear.
• Heel Face Turn: While he mostly betrays Cobra Kai for selfish reasons he does genuinely change for the better afterwards.
• Jerkass: He fully embraces the Cobra Kai mentaliity and eagerly assists Hawk in his misdeeds. Even his Heel Face Turn is mostly to get back at Kreese rather than any moral qualms
• Jerkass Has a Point: While his betrayal of Miyagi-Fang was done more out of greed than anything else he tells Bert that constantly calling someone "Penis Breath" isn't exactly going to make them want to be loyal to you. Notably none of the protagonists give any sort of rebuttal.
• Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: Being kicked out of the dojo by Kreese despite his loyalty results in his defection to Eagle Fang.
• Pet the Dog:
  • When he sees Demeitri down for the count in the season 3 finale he encourages him to get up and keep fighting.
  • Before that Mitch along with all the other Eagle Fangs immediately rushes to help Miguel when he falls down at training.
  • When he cites the lack of "chicks" for ones of his reasons to leave Miyagi-Fang he apologizes to Sam immediately afterwards.
• Shaggy Dog Story: Mitch's betrayal towards the Miyagi-Fang is rendered irrelevant by the end of season 5. To wit: 1) Betraying your friends by joining the enemy just because they call you "Penis Breath" doesn't mean that the enemy, in this case Kyler, won't still call you "Penis Breath" regardless. 2) With Silver's arrest and Cobra Kai being rendered out of commission (at that point) and the students immediately quitting the dojo (even Kyler), meaning he doesn't get what he wanted now that he has nowhere left to go.

Chris

Played by Khalil Everage

• Everyone Has Standards: He leaves Cobra Kai after some of it's members trash Miyagi-Do and steal Mr Miyagi's medal of honor.
• Gentle Giant: He does everything possible to avoid confrontation or steer clear of a fight. Once he is actually threatened, though, watch out.
• Good Is Dumb: He tends to be the most clueless of Daniel's students (or not so much, given his own attitude to fighting).
• Mook Chivalry: When chasing Demeitri Chris was the only one reluctant to hurt him and even suggested Hawk leave him alone.
• Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: The constant insults from Miguel and Hawk among others likely played a role in his decision to leave Cobra Kai.
• Throw the Book At Them: In the school brawl in the second-season, this is his response to Mitch's bright idea of adding insult to injury.

Yasmine

Played by Annalisa Cochrane

• Alpha Bitch: She's considered the hottest girl in school and she's loaded but she also happens to be a bully and complete asshole to everyone around her. While she doesn't assault people like Kyler does she's willing to unload psychological abuse on them and has no problem cyberbullying Aisha.
• Blondes Are Evil: Her first-season portrayal.
• The Bully: She was straight up mean to Aisha and Eli.
• Bullying a Dragon: She antagonizes Aisha even after she learns Karate.
• Daddy's Girl: It's implied her dad is blind to any of her faults. Yasmine easily manipulates him into buying her a new car.
• Give Geeks a Chance: Eventually she warms to Demetri, to the point of signing his cast.
• Pet the Dog: After Kyler doodles a penis on Demetri's cast Yasmine writes "I love your big dick" and signs her name on it.

Rickenberger

• Ax Crazy: He's just as bloodthirsty as Tory.
• Blood Knight: His reaction to Chris hitting him with a frying pan is to laugh and tell Chris to Bring It.
• Hidden Depths: Though he may seem like just a Ax Crazy maniac Rickenberger shows a surprising amount of loyalty to his teammates. In the school brawl he attempts to help Tory by going after Robby and actually shows concern for her well-being as he can be heard saying " let her go". He also helps Miguel get to the fighting Sam and Tory despite knowing he's most likely trying to break the fight up rather than egg it on. In season 3 he comes to the aid of Mitch when he's in trouble against Chris in the laser tag fight and offers Hawk a "free shot" on Demetri, showing an awarenes of their Personal rivalry.
• Karma Houdini: Rickenberger is the one who assaults a teacher in the school brawl but somehow gets off being suspended.
• Those Two Guys: With Mikey.

Big Red

• Cain and Abel: With Little Red after he joins Miyagi-Do.
• Even Evil Has Standards: Leaves Cobra Kai with everyone else after learning of Terry's cheating in the All Valley.
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: He assists Hawk in vandalizing Miyagi-Do which results in several students defecting over to Daniel's side.
• Pet the Dog: After Terry Silver is exposed he offers Little Red a car ride home and seemingly puts his feud with his brother behind him.

Lyle

• Hypocrite: Constantly berates Johnny for trying to sell him useless crap even though Lyle's entire job revolves around buying and selling useless crap.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He constantly puts Johnny down and is by all appearances a typical slezy pawn shop owner but he's willing to work in a job he hates for the sake of giving his family a better life.
• Pet the Dog: Despite his negative relationship with Johnny Lyle actually gives him some well-intentioned advice about the shitty jobs you sometimes have to do to help your family though he makes it clear he still holds Johnny in contempt at the same time.

Shannon Keene

Played by: Diora Baird

• Abusive Parents: Her neglect of Robby and disregard for his feelings takes a huge toll on him as he genuinely loves his mother and wants to spend time with her while she's out trying to get laid.
• Gold Digger: She spends most of her time in bars trying to seduce wealthy men. Unlike Johnny's mother Laura who got with Sid to give her son a better life Shannon clearly only had herself in mind. Or at least did.
• Jerkass Realization: Starts to regret her actions towards the end of season 2, agreeing to go to rehab and encouraging Robby to make up with his father.
• Never My Fault: While the points she makes against Johnny are valid she refuses to accept any blame for the part she played in Robby turning out the way he did.
• Pet the Dog: In Season 5 she's genuinely happy for Johnny when she learns of Carmen's pregnancy and helps him to get a job so he can provide for his family.
• Took a Level In Kindness: After the Larussos get her into rehab Shannon changes for the better with her actually putting Robby first several times.

Kim Da-Eun

Played by: Alicia Hannah-Kim

• Distaff Counterpart: She's pretty much one for both Kreese and Silver. Her treatment of Tory is pretty outright reminiscent of Kreese's mistreatment of Johnny from Part II, and forcing Tory to break a stone being how Silver tortures Daniel with the Quicksilver method.
• Hate Sink: A stark contrast to Kreese and Silver, she is probably one of the worse Cobra Kai senseis in the show. Being trained with a martial art that embodies deception and ruthlessness, Kim has little to no redeeming qualities whatsoever, and her abusive methods of teaching, especially towards Tory seal the deal.
• Legacy Character: She is the granddaughter of the Tang Soo-Do master Kim Sun-Yung, the same master who taught Captain Turner; and by extension, Kreese and Silver the Way of the Fist.

Elizabeth Anne Rooney

Played by: Sunny Mabrey

Appears in the fifth episode of the fifth season of Cobra Kai, during a bar scene in Amanda's old Ohio hometown.

• Alpha Bitch: Definitely implied through the presence of a Girl Posse at the bar; see Jerkass below.
• Arch Enemy: To Amanda Steiner and Jessica Andrews even in adulthood!
• Berserk Button: Amanda sets her off by calling her "tramp stamp," which is how the Bar Brawl begins.
• Casting Gag: Mabrey co-starred with Courtney Henggeler (Amanda) in Escaping Dad, where they played best friends instead of enemies.
• Chekhov's Gunman: Mentioned briefly in the third movie by Jessica.
• Future Loser: What she is implied to have become, through her mocking of Jessica and Amanda (the latter whom she resentfully calls "Miss Coastal Elite") over matters from their teenage days.
• Hate Sink: To the point of making most of the series' antagonists (yes, especially Kyler and even Silver) seem downright pleasant.
• High School Rejects: Implied through the subject matter of her present-day interactions with Amanda and Jessica.
• Jerkass: Of the "middle-aged mean girls with faded lower-back tattoos" variety. Has no problem reminding Amanda of her Dark and Troubled Past nor her Embarrassing Nickname of Babe Ruthless. Oh, and she wasn't the least bit ashamed of stealing Jessica's old boyfriend.
• Last-Name Basis: Refers to both Jessica (who had just done likewise) and Amanda by their last names during their confrontation at the bar.
• Manchild: Her continued hassling of Jessica and Amanda in adulthood cements her as having remained as immature as ever.
• The Resenter: To expound on her status as Future Loser (also see that trope), she isn't shy about lashing out at Amanda for moving to California and becoming a high-ranking entrepreneur or harping on about feeling left behind.
• Schoolyard Bully All Grown Up: To the point of being Amanda's Shadow Archetype. Based on how she addresses Amanda, who doesn't appreciate the callous reminder of her criminal behavior, this doesn't bother her.

Gunther Braun

Played By: Carsten Norgaard

The head of the representatives of the Sekai Taikai.

• Badass Bureaucrat: Definitely a no-nonsense official that doesn't discriminate on account of anything.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Pleasant and soft-spoken as he is, he definitely carries a big stick and will use it if he needs to. Best demonstrated when Sensei Ivanov flattened him with a single blast, kicking off the big brawl at the Sekai Taikai. He returns that vary favor following the confrontation with Chozen and Kim (who was fighting Ivanov's associate).
• Not Even Bothering with the Accent: Norgaard is a Dane playing a German here; in this case, he neatly averts What the Hell Is That Accent?
• Reasonable Authority Figure: In his monitoring of the dojos that are at the Sekai Taikai, he makes it clear that inside the ring is where to settle any kind of matter. Outside the ring, though, he's clear that any violators will answer personally to him (as the sensei for the disqualified Russian dojo ultimately did).

Zara Malik

Played by: Rayna Vallandingham

One of two female representatives of the Iron Dragons at the Sekai Taikai.

• Attention Whore: And holy shit how! She loves being the center of attention and goes utterly ballistic when someone else overshadows her on that front.
• Curb Stomp Battle: Her Establishing Character Moment, neatly delivered to Tory to show just how serious this particular dojo is.
• Dark Action Girl: Even darker than Tory, and definitely much less friendly. But boy, can she fight.
• Evil Counterpart: To Tory, of all people.
• Everyone Has Standards: Even she is horrified by Kwon's fall in the big brawl.
• Fatal Flaw: Envy. She's honestly shocked that Robby is more interested in Tory than in her.
  • Lust being a close second; wrath isn't far behind.
• Hate Sink: Easily rivals Kwon in this area: as cruel and arrogant as he is, but also a serious Narcissist (also see that trope).
• Narcissist: It's All About Me, Up to Eleven. Don't believe it? Many of the guys at the bar are more interested in Tory than they are in her, which pisses her off immensely. But Robby delivers the unkindest cut of all when in the big brawl he sides with Tory over her.
• Nice Character, Mean Actor: Makes herself out to be sweet and vibrant to the live and social-media crowds, but once the feed is turned off, you're looking at a Bitch in Sheep's Clothing.
• The Rival: In a single night, she becomes more of one to Tory than Sam ever was.
• This Is for Emphasis, Bitch: Following her easy takedown of Tory, she answers in a clipped accent, "Welcome to Barcelona, bitch!"
  • Tory returns the favor during the Sekai Taikai brawl (on which she's tacked a Verb This).
• Trash Talk: A favorite tactic of hers.

Axel Kovacevic

Played by: Patrick Luwis

One of four male representatives of the Iron Dragons at the Sekai Taikai.

• Arrogant Kung Fu Guy: Whereas Zara plays this trope absolutely straight, he is one of the few high-level opponents to be a subversion. While he tends to be loud in the ring, he isn't one to flaunt anything outside of it.
• Curb Stomp Battle: His Establishing Character Moment, neatly delivered to Kwon and Yoon, in the manner of a Stone Wall, to show just how serious this particular dojo is. It continues throughout the massive melee in the arena.
• The Giant: Seeing as how his portrayer is six feet three inches (still a bit below Terry Silver), it's a given.
• It's Personal: When he sees Kwon neatly dump Sam with a kick to the midsection in the big brawl.
• Lightning Bruiser: Robby finds this out pretty damn quick when Sensei Wolf orders him to go on the attack. The guy isn't just amazingly strong but also amazingly fast, giving him the best of both worlds without the worst of either.
• Mean Character, Nice Actor: Basically the inverse of Zara in this regard. While he is The Juggernaut in combat and shows a Jerkass side to Miguel over a misunderstanding, that's as far as it goes. Best exemplified when he actually connects with Sam on a social front.
• No Social Skills: In sharp contrast to Zara, he is highly apprehensive toward outsiders, as Sam learns through his stiff mannerisms and dialogue. It's also why he initially clashed on a more personal level with Miguel.
• Token Good Teammate: Cemented against Kwon, as he is the only Iron Dragon shown anywhere near front and center when his opponent is turned over to reveal the result of his landing.