History Characters / TheKarateKidToryNichols

* GreenEyedMonster: Ah, [[SevenDeadlySins envy]]. Tory falls for Miguel and is very upset when she finds out that he still has feelings for Sam. Also her FatalFlaw, judging by her page quote and interpretation of Sam's background.

* HasAType: She has a thing for Sam's rejects. In Season 2, she likes Miguel but doesn't put the moves on him until she finds out that Sam is his ex-girlfriend. [[spoiler:In Season 3, she starts to take an interest in Robby after he finds out that Sam has dumped him for Miguel.]]

->''"The world shows no mercy. So why should we? Some people have it good, but the rest of us, we have to fight for every inch of what's ours. Not just to score a point. For everything."''

** Tory quickly lost all respect for Silver [[spoiler: after she discovers that her win was bought and paid for before the All-Valley begun. To Silver's defense, he paid off the ref as an "insurance policy" to ensure Cobra Kai's win. Ultimately, this what compelled her to expose his fraudulent actions for all of the other Cobra Kai students to see, leading to the mass exodus of students in the aftermath of Silver's defeat by Daniel.]]

** It winds up being deconstructed in Season 4, making it clear that while her past doesn't excuse her actions, just dismissing her problems outright only leads to more harm than good and Tory does have legitimate reasons for her anger and having fallen in with Cobra Kai. [[spoiler: Amanda taking notice of Tory's issues and providing actual advice and resources to solve them in a constructive manner as well as providing her with the genuine concern and kindness no adult except Kreese had ever shown her allows her to finally heal and become a better person]].

** Tory quickly lost all respect for Silver after she discovers that her win was bought and paid for before the All-Valley begun. To Silver's defense, he paid off the ref as an "insurance policy" to ensure Cobra Kai's win. Ultimately, this what compelled her to expose his fraudulent actions for all of the other Cobra Kai students to see, leading to the mass exodus of students in the aftermath of Silver's defeat by Daniel.
** After spending most of season 5 working behind the scenes with Kreese to take down Silver, it becomes clear that Kreese only viewed Tory's concern as secondary to his own interests. Him voicing his apathy over the NoHoldsBarredBeatdown Silver gave to Daniel and then deciding to call quits on his revenge plot is the final straw that broke the camel's back. Tory viewed Kreese as a father figure and has since remained his loyal student from seasons 3 to 4, only for Kreese to take their bond as master and student for granted.

* ByronicHeroine: A teenage delinquent whose troubled homelife and anger issues stir up a lot of drama. This becomes more pronounced by Season 5.

* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: All the more sympathetic when this hits her in season 5 because this stems from her [[NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished trying to do good in an Dojo run by a psychopath.]] [[spoiler: With Sensei Kim watching her every move, Tory [[CorporalPunishment pays heavily]] whenever she strays a way from the Dojo's creed in order to do something right.]]

** In general, when not in her berserker mode, Tory seems to have a more lucid side in which she's actually disturbed by extreme violence. Unfortunately, Kreese favors her more violent side and knows how to bring it out through manipulation.

** She's [[DarkAndTroubledPast had it rough]] – her mom is now bedridden, [[DisappearedDad her dad's not in the picture at all]], has to also care for her a much younger brother, and works two jobs outside of school. Then she meets Sam who seemingly doesn't have a care in the world, proudly claims she's a thief to her and then gets furious when Sam ([[NotMeThisTime incorrectly]]) accuses her of stealing her mother's purse. She quickly develops a crush on Miguel, then finds out Sam is Miguel's ex-girlfriend.
** Their next interaction is at 80's night where Tory's working hard whilst Sam's out on a date, which makes Tory angry, and she also is insecure enough about Miguel still having feelings for Sam that she plants a kiss on Miguel to mark her territory, and later trips Sam for talking to Miguel (even though Miguel approached her).
** She taunts Sam into a dangerous drinking game at Moon's party and loses to her (which makes her even angrier). Then when she witnesses Miguel cheat on her with Sam, rather than do the rational thing and either break up with Miguel or confront him, her response is to storm into the school's announcer's office, assault the teacher present, and then calls out Sam for a fight and actively try to maim her. Tory loses that challenge to Sam as well, and bolts before she finds out about Miguel.
** Season 3 sees her trying to stitch her life back together after being expelled from school and put on probation, but the only lesson she takes from this is that the judicial system is rigged by the rich people to punish the poor, as everyone other than Robby and her get away scot-free from the school brawl. Miguel takes issue with her over that fact (understandable, as he got severely injured while Sam merely knocked Tory down a flight of stairs) but Tory can't believe anyone from Cobra Kai would go against her. Miguel's point was that whilst she was on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge in his name, she never supported his recovery. Therefore [[InsaneTrollLogic everything bad that happens to her is Sam's fault]] [[NeverMyFault and nothing to do with her own actions]], so she needs to go after Sam again to redress the balance. The fact that Sam has always beaten her in the end doesn't help either.
** [[spoiler:Season 4 finally puts a stop to this in the form of [[{{Irony}} her rival's mother]]. Amanda [=LaRusso=] finds out how hard Tory has had it and decides to help her out. This puts Tory on the path to healing. Taken further in Season 5, where Tory is put in a difficult position due to being unable to leave Cobra Kai and trying to bring down Silver. She's willing to confront Sam of all people regarding her plan and the two, along with the other Miyagi-Fang students, help her expose Silver.]]
* FiveFingerDiscount: At the beach, Tory steals a bottle of vodka and states she could (she doesn't) boost all the silverware. She and Sam run into one of their first disagreements over this (when Sam chides her for stealing), and this incident also causes Sam to believe [[NotMeThisTime she stole her mother's wallet]].

** The main reason Sam and Tory become such instant bitter rivals is because of how fundamentally different they are as people. Tory is a HardDrinkingPartyGirl who sees nothing wrong with stealing alcohol from the beach club, while Sam is polite and more rule-abiding, leading Tory to derisively refer to her as a "nun" or "princess". Tory is aggressive and spiteful with a hidden caring side, while Sam is kind and empathetic with a temperamental streak. Tory comes from a working-class background and struggles to keep her family together as their sole breadwinner, while Sam comes from a more wealthy, stable family. Tory embraces Cobra Kai's AttackAttackAttack fighting style, while Sam follows in her father and Mr. Miyagi's footsteps in stating that karate should focus on defense.

** It winds up being deconstructed in Season 4, [[spoiler: making it clear that while her past doesn't excuse her actions, just dismissing her problems outright only leads to more harm than good and Tory does have legitimate reasons for her anger and having fallen in with Cobra Kai. Amanda taking notice of Tory's issues and providing actual advice and resources to solve them in a constructive manner as well as providing her with the genuine concern and kindness no adult except Kreese had ever shown her allows her to finally heal and become a better person]].

* GreenEyedMonster: Ah, [[SevenDeadlySins envy.]] Tory falls for Miguel and is very upset when she finds out that he still has feelings for Sam. Also her FatalFlaw, judging by her page quote and interpretation of Sam's background.
* HairTriggerTemper: Clearly one of her worst traits, Tory's easily provoked into a physical (or verbal) conflict.

** In Season 5 when Tory initially falls to the ground in pain during the forced stone dummy exercise, Kim mocks her for caring more about Robby than her own dojo. Tory gets up and tells her hated sensei:

* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: In spades in the Season 2 finale. Her impulsive decision to start a fight with Sam over a kiss ends up getting several students badly injured, including Miguel.

* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: Downplayed. Tory has blonde hair...but is for the most part a JerkWithAHeartOfGold in Seasons 4 and 5.

* NotMeThisTime: She brags to Sam about stealing vodka from the bar at the beach club. Later on, when her mother's wallet goes missing, Sam assumes Tory stole that too and rushes to accuse her, only it turns out Tory had nothing to do with that as the wallet was actually stolen by Trey and Cruz.

** Tory starts to let go of this throughout Season 4 and is virtually gone by Season 5 -- except when Sensei Kim punishes her for skipping out on the Sekai Taikai tryouts by having her punch a stone dummy, poorly disguised as exercise to gauge her resolve. After several attempts to break it, Kim derides Tory for being soft and not truly giving her all, which Tory angrily denies and strikes at Kim herself, this time breaking through the dummy's head after Kim casually sidesteps the attack.

** Despite the fact that Robby put her boyfriend in hospital, Tory shows him sympathy for his difficult background and goes out of her way to make him feel welcome when he joins Cobra Kai.

--> '''Tory:''' Sam [=LaRusso!=] Where are you, bitch?
** During the Stone Dummy exercise when Tory falls to the ground in pain Kim mocks her for caring more about Robby than her own Dojo. Tory gets up and tells her hated sensei.
--> '''Tory:''' I broke up with him because of this dojo you bitch!

** During the Stone Dummy exercise when Tory falls to the ground in pain Kim mocks her for caring more about Robby than her own Dojo. Tory gets and tells her hated sensei.

** During the Stone Dummy exercise when Tory falls to the ground in pain Kim mocks her for caring more about Robby than her own Dojo. Tory gets and tells her hated sensei. --> '''Tory:''' I broke up with him because of this dojo you bitch!

[[Characters/TheKarateKidDanielLaRusso Daniel [=LaRusso=]]] | [[Characters/TheKarateKidJohnnyLawrence Johnny Lawrence]] | [[Characters/TheKarateKidJohnKreese John Kreese]] | [[Characters/TheKarateKidTerrySilver Terry Silver]] | [[Characters/TheKarateKidMiguelDiaz Miguel Diaz]] | [[Characters/TheKarateKidRobbyKeene Robby Keene]] | [[Characters/TheKarateKidSamanthaLaRusso Samantha LaRusso]] | [[Characters/TheKarateKidEliMoskowitz Eli "Hawk" Moskowitz]] | '''Tory Nichols''' | [[Characters/TheKarateKidDemetriAlexopoulos Demetri Alexopoulos]]\\

** During the Stone Dummy exercise when Tory falls to the ground in pain Kim mocks her for caring more about Robby than her own Dojo. Tory gets and tells her hated sensei. --> '''Tory:''' I broke up with him because of this dojo you bitch!

--> '''Tory:''' Sam [=LaRusso!=] Where are you, bitch? ** During the Stone Dummy exercise when Tory falls to the ground in pain Kim mocks her for caring more about Robby than her own Dojo. Tory gets and tells her hated sensei. --> '''Tory:''' I broke up with him because of this dojo you bitch!

--> '''Tory:''' Sam [=LaRusso!=] Where are you, bitch? ** During the Stone Dummy exercise when Kim mocks her for caring more about Robby than her own Dojo she gets and tells her hated sensei. --> '''Tory:''' I broke up with him because of this dojo you bitch!

--> '''Tory:''' Sam [=LaRusso!=] Where are you, bitch? ** During the Stone Dummy exercise Kim mocks her for caring more about Robby than her own Dojo. --> '''Tory:''' I broke up with him because of this dojo you bitch!

--> '''Tory:''' Sam [=LaRusso!=] Where are you, bitch?

* SourOutsideSadInside: This is identified by Kim Da-Eun.

* FightingWithChucks: Her WeaponOfChoice when she faces off with Sam in the third season climax.

** Kenny and Tory are also not so different, given that they are both vicious fighters who are top Cobra Kai students (particularly in Silver's Cobra Kai) who also act as a MoralityPet to a Cobra Kai founder (Tory to Kreese, Kenny to Silver). Not to mention, both are the ArchEnemy of a [=LaRusso=] sibling (Tory to Sam, Kenny to Anthony), given the [[CreateYourOwnVillain latter's shitty treatment of them]] (Sam's disdain for Tory and stealing Miguel away from her; Anthony's bullying of Kenny).

* BrokenPedestal: After spending most of season 5 working behind the scenes with Kreese to take down Silver, it becomes clear that Kreese only viewed Tory's concern as secondary to his own interests. Him voicing his apathy over the NoHoldsBarredBeatdown Silver gave to Daniel and then deciding to call quits on his revenge plot is the final straw that broke the camel's back. Tory viewed Kreese as a father figure and has since remained his loyal student from seasons 3 to 4, only for Kreese to take their bond as master and student for granted.

* MirrorCharacter: Robby and Tory have very similar backgrounds, coming from broken homes, dealing with [[DisappearedDad absentee]] [[ParentalAbandonment fathers]], and being raised by single mothers who are either (in Robby's case) too inattentive or (in Tory's) too sick to look after them, forcing them to fend for themselves. Both are juvenile criminals, and even have a chance meeting at the Probation Office after the school brawl. Both were victims of Sam and Miguel's cheating, are the bitter rivals of their partner's ex, and are the most responsible for the devastating consequences of the school brawl. Both have problems in their lives after the school fight that are solved thanks to Kreese's intervention, with him filling the absent father figure role in their lives as a result. Thanks to Tory's influence, Robby decides to copy her NeverMyFault attitude towards his predicament, and the two end Season 3 as allies in Cobra Kai. Both teens began to change for the better when someone learned about their circumstances and gave them the help they desperately needed, and both would [[spoiler: leave Cobra Kai for good once they are forced to reflect on how their goals for revenge have caused harm to either themselves or others]].

* ContraltoOfDanger: Tory has the deepest voice of the recurring female characters by a pretty wide margin, and is also by far the most lethal.

* DarkChick: Tory is more traditionally feminine than Aisha, yet is far more aggressive and quickly becomes a {{foil}} to Sam in Miyagi-Do.

* MirrorCharacter: Robby and Tory have very similar backgrounds, coming from broken homes, dealing with [[DisappearedDad absentee]] [[ParentalAbandonment fathers]], and being raised by single mothers who are either (in Robby's case) too inattentive or (in Tory's) too sick to look after them, forcing them to fend for themselves. Both are juvenile criminals, and even have a chance meeting at the Probation Office after the school brawl. Both are victims of Sam and Miguel's cheating, and are the most responsible for the devastating consequences of the school brawl, with Tory starting the fight by attacking Sam, and Robby finishing it by kicking Miguel off the second floor. Both consider the other's ex to be their ArchEnemy, with Robby hating Miguel for taking his All-Valley victory, his girlfriend, his father, his freedom and reputation, as well a mentor figure in Daniel [=LaRusso=], while Tory resents Sam for her privileged lifestyle, stable family and being her rival for Miguel's affections. Both have problems in their lives after the school fight that are solved thanks to Kreese's intervention (Tory is being coerced into sex by threat of eviction by her sleazy landlord before Kreese threatens the latter with a cigar chopper, while Robby gets tormented in juvie on a regular basis by Shawn Payne before Kreese suggests Robby to "strike first," resulting in Robby nearly kicking Shawn's ass and being finally left alone by the latter), with him filling the absent father figure role in their lives as a result. Thanks to Tory's influence, Robby decides to copy her NeverMyFault attitude towards his predicament, and the two end Season 3 as allies in Cobra Kai.

* MirrorCharacter: Robby and Tory have very similar backgrounds, coming from broken homes, having [[DisappearedDad absentee]] [[ParentalAbandonment fathers]], and being raised by single mothers who are either (in Robby's case) too inattentive or (in Tory's) too sick to look after them, forcing them to fend for themselves. Both are juvenile criminals, and even have a chance meeting at the Probation Office after the school brawl. Both are victims of Sam and Miguel's cheating, and are the most responsible for the devastating consequences of the school brawl, with Tory starting the fight by attacking Sam, and Robby finishing it by kicking Miguel off the second floor. Both consider the other's ex to be their ArchEnemy, with Robby hating Miguel for taking his All-Valley victory, his girlfriend, his father, his freedom and reputation, as well a mentor figure in Daniel [=LaRusso=], while Tory resents Sam for her privileged lifestyle, stable family and being her rival for Miguel's affections. Both have problems in their lives after the school fight that are solved thanks to Kreese's intervention (Tory is being coerced into sex by threat of eviction by her sleazy landlord before Kreese threatens the latter with a cigar chopper, while Robby gets tormented in juvie on a regular basis by Shawn Payne before Kreese suggests Robby to "strike first," resulting in Robby nearly kicking Shawn's ass and being finally left alone by the latter), with him filling the absent father figure role in their lives as a result. Thanks to Tory's influence, Robby decides to copy her NeverMyFault attitude towards his predicament, and the two end Season 3 as allies in Cobra Kai.

** In general, when not in her berserker mode, Tory seems to have a more lucid side in which she is actually looks disturbed by extreme violence. Unfortunately, Kreese favors her more violent side and knows how to bring it out through manipulation.

* MirrorCharacter: Robby and Tory have very similar backgrounds, coming from broken homes, being raised by single mothers who are either (in Robby's case) too inattentive or (in Tory's) too sick to look after them, forcing them to fend for themselves. Both are juvenile criminals, and even have a chance meeting at the Probation Office after the school brawl. Both are victims of Sam and Miguel's cheating, and are the most responsible for the devastating consequences of the school brawl, with Tory starting the fight by attacking Sam, and Robby finishing it by kicking Miguel off the second floor. Both consider the other's ex to be their ArchEnemy, with Robby hating Miguel for taking his All-Valley victory, his girlfriend, his father, his freedom and reputation, as well a mentor figure in Daniel [=LaRusso=], while Tory resents Sam for her privileged lifestyle, stable family and being her rival for Miguel's affections. Both have problems in their lives after the school fight that are solved thanks to Kreese's intervention (Tory is being coerced into sex by threat of eviction by her sleazy landlord before Kreese threatens the latter with a cigar chopper, while Robby gets tormented in juvie on a regular basis by Shawn Payne before Kreese suggests Robby to "strike first," resulting in Robby nearly kicking Shawn's ass and being finally left alone by the latter), with him filling the absent father figure role in their lives as a result. Thanks to Tory's influence, Robby decides to copy her NeverMyFault attitude towards his predicament, and the two end Season 3 as allies in Cobra Kai.

* ShadowArchetype: To Robby Keene. Both are troubled youths from broken homes who engage in petty crime and find direction in life through karate. Except while Robby is able to turn away from his life of delinquency due to Daniel's guidance, Cobra Kai (or rather Kreese) galvanizes Tory's worst traits and she eventually goes from a borderline JerkWithAHeartOfGold to a full-on JerkWithTheHeartOfAJerk. Both also deal with feelings of [[GreenEyedMonster jealousy]], Robby with Miguel and Tory with Sam, as Miguel and Sam still have lingering feelings for one another. Robby is eventually willing to confess to Sam that he feared "losing points" with her, while Tory reacts with almost homicidal rage after seeing Sam and Miguel kiss at Moon's party. Tory in many ways represents what Robby could have become if Daniel hadn't taken him under his tutelage, and she's ultimately the one [[spoiler:who convinces him to [[FaceHeelTurn embrace his dark side]] and join Cobra Kai.]] Tory even calls Robby out on suppressing the Tory side of his personality when they meet at the probation office in Season 3.

* InsaneEqualsViolent: Tory does seem to meet most of the criteria for [[UsefulNotes/PersonalityDisorders Borderline Personality Disorder]] and her aggressiveness and obsessive behavior has led to a few characters to believe that she is rather unhinged, which she takes '''real''' personally. Her violence however comes more from her unforgiving situation and that no one is looking out for her aside from Kreese, who ''encourages'' her volatile tendencies. [[spoiler: Notably, when [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Amanda]] [[NiceGirl [=LaRusso=]]] gets involved in Tory's life, her positive influence soon helps the latter improve her psychological and emotional health.]]

* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: All the more sympathetic when this hits her in season 5 because this stems from her [[NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished trying to do good in an Dojo run by a psychopath.]] With Sensei Kim watching her every move Tory [[CorporalPunishment pays heavily]] whenever she strays a way from the Dojos creed in order to do something right.

* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: During the Sekai Taikai qualifier match, she realizes from Kenny and Hawks match that Silver has once again bribed the judge. Not wanting to br part of another tainted win she bails on her match with Sam. Tragically [[NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished she pays for this.]]

** [[spoiler: She's unimpressed when Mitch reveals part of the reason he betrayed Miyagi-Fang was because of all the free stuff Cobra Kai provides like food and merchandise.]]