Characters / The Karate Kid: Eagle Fang and Associates

The Karate Kid Main Character Index
Daniel LaRusso | Johnny Lawrence | John Kreese | Terry Silver | Miguel Diaz | Robby Keene | Samantha LaRusso | Eli "Hawk" Moskowitz | Tory Nichols | Demetri Alexopoulos | Kyler Park
Dojos and Others
Miyagi-Do and Associates | Cobra Kai and Associates | Eagle Fang and Associates | The LaRusso Family | Other Characters

Eagle Fang Karate

Eagle Fang

"We're gonna show 'em that you're tough, because eagles don't get shit on. They're the ones that do the shitting."

"If we're gonna be taken seriously, we need a name that commands respect. A name that elicits power. Dominance."

— Johnny Lawrence

Johnny's new karate dojo that he opens in late Season 3, after losing Cobra Kai to Kreese.

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• Anti-Hero Team: Eagle Fang is populated by former Cobra Kai students — having either been alienated by Kreese's Violence is the Only Option creed or kicked out for being "weak" — and ran by Johnny after his Heel Realization. Their style takes the same Combat Pragmatism of Cobra Kai, but applies Miyagi-Do's Martial Pacifist philosophy.
• Atrocious Alias: Several of the teens consider the dojo's name to be this, for the obvious reason that eagles don't actually have fangs.
• Awesome McCoolname: Invoked and subverted. Johnny thinks the name "elicits power and dominance." However, everybody else finds it bizarre and ridiculous.
• Combat Pragmatism: Johnny, having finally figured the line between being pragmatic and being a bully, teaches his students they must try to avoid picking fights, but if they have no choice they should do whatever it takes to win and end it quickly.
• Dwindling Party: Already the dojo with the least amount of members to begin with, they eventually lose Hawk to Miyagi-Do in Season 4 and Devon to Cobra Kai in Season 5 while a few of the unnamed members, particularly the Eagle Fang student who did the front-flip in his kata demonstration during the All-Valley, do not appear during the Sekai Taikai qualifiers in Season 5. A deleted scene in the water park confirms that ever since Eagle Fang and Miyagi-Do lost the All-Valley tournament to Cobra Kai, Eagle Fang disbanded and all the unnamed members quit. Mitch defects to Cobra Kai in the season 5 finale, but since all members quit after Silver's shenanigans were exposed, it's unknown what Mitch's current status as a member is (though likely not good). Equally, it's so far unknown whether Devon will rejoin her former friends.
• Enemy Mine: Sam and Miguel encourage Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang to set aside their differences so that they can defeat Cobra Kai and the threat they pose. Shortly after Cobra Kai assaults the two dojos in the LaRusso household, they combine their strengths into one in preparation for the upcoming All-Valley Tournament, where they'll face Cobra Kai. This, unfortunately, got subverted halfway through the fourth season, as Daniel and Johnny were unfortunately unable to put their differences aside.
• The Good, the Bad, and the Evil: While Miyagi-Do is "Good" (a Pacifist Dojo ran by the franchise's star with a style focused on self-defense) and Cobra Kai is "Evil" (a Thug Dojo populated by Barbaric Bullies with an emphasis in aggression), Eagle Fang is the "Bad". Being more of an Anti-Hero Team than a Thug Dojo, Eagle Fang is Johnny's second attempt to add honor and restraint to Cobra Kai's Violence is the Only Option, repeatedly using the adjective "badass" in their intentions, making them a Golden Mean between the "Good" and "Evil" sides.
• La Résistance: The dojo is essentially a splinter faction of Cobra Kai, with its students comprising of those that were weeded out (Bert, Mitch), were disillusioned by Kreese's teachings (Hawk), or remained loyal to Johnny (Miguel). They eventually ally themselves with Miyagi-Do with the goal of bringing down Cobra Kai once and for all.
• Logical Weakness:
  • Like Cobra Kai, the dojo's emphasis on an offense style often results in its practitioners being unable to put up a solid defense or losing proper form in their haste to strike their opponents first.
  • Because Johnny puts so much focus on teaching his students how to use karate for street fighting, they find themselves at a disadvantage at the revamped All Valley Tournament format where the dojos also have to compete in non-combat skills competitions such as kata and weapon displays.
• Martial Pacifist: While more "Martial" than "Pacifist", one of the first reforms Johnny tries making to the Cobra Kai-style is that while they don't try starting pointless fights, they are damn sure going to finish it.
• No Budget: In-Universe. They have to train in a public park, wear t-shirts instead of gis, and use a frisbee in lieu of a blocking pad. The only thing the students can agree on when they merge with Miyagi-Do is to train at their dojo. In Season 4, Eagle Fang's dojo is an abandoned warehouse while the training equipment is made from presumably scraps and objects in said warehouse fitted together. A cinderblock was used instead of a medicine ball for sit-ups by Mitch while another cinderblock was used for a weight by an unnamed Eagle Fang member doing push-ups, a chain was used as a skipping rope by Miguel, two water cooler containers connected to a pole with duct tape as a makeshift barbell and weights by Bert and a strip of elastic, a skateboard and sandbag was used as a rowing machine by Devon.
• Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: All of their students are composed of ones who Kreese expelled from Cobra Kai. Miguel and Hawk are exceptions (the former due to his hospitalization, and the latter due to his disillusionment with Kreese's teachings and recruitment of Kyler and Robby). Even before he was hospitalized, Miguel was getting uncomfortable with Kreese, and he definitely would have left Kreese's Cobra Kai anyway.
• Red Hot Masculinity: Their primary color is red and still embody the "badass" machismo of Johnny's Cobra Kai.
• Red Is Heroic: They wear red t-shirts during training, contrasting them with Miyagi-Do, who are associated with white and blue, and Cobra Kai, who are usually dressed in a combination of red and black, and red gis during the tournament.
• Rival Dojos:
  • Cobra Kai is their chief rival, given Kreese stole the dojo from Johnny and expelled most of the students who either didn't approve of his ways, or lost to more vicious recruits (in Mitch's case, against Kyler).
  • Downplayed with Miyagi-Do. Eagle Fang is more focused on Cobra Kai, but there's still tension with Miyagi-Do due to the past events of the series. Eventually they form an Enemy Mine alliance.
• Rule of Cool: Invoked. Johnny couldn't care less that Eagles don't really have fangs, as far as he's concerned Eagle Fang is a badass name and that's all that matters.
• Start My Own: The dojo was born out of Johnny's desire to keep teaching karate with his reformed Cobra Kai philosophy that encourages being badass but having a sense of mercy and honor.
• Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: By the time of the All-Valley Tournament, Eagle Fang finds themselves out of contention of winning fairly quickly. Johnny's entire philosophy revolved around Hyper Offense and he banked entirely on Miguel and Devon winning the Male and Female competitions respectively. Miguel was still recovering from his Career-Ending Injury and ultimately opts to quit since his heart wasn't really in it, and Devon despite being passionate was only trained for a few months.
• Theseus' Ship Paradox: The dojo is comprised entirely of students from Johnny's original Cobra Kai of the first two seasons, who were kicked out or defected after Kreese took over. As such, they arguably embody the true spirit of Johnny's dojo much better than the real Cobra Kai, despite no longer using that name.
• Thug Dojo: Defied. Johnny ensures he doesn't make the same mistake as he did with the reborn Cobra Kai, as he stresses that his lessons aren't to be used to bully others, but to defend yourself (and be badass).
• Toothy Bird: The eagle in their logo has fangs prominently displayed in its beak.
• Training from Hell: As Johnny’s original students, they are a former Ragtag Bunch of Misfits that went through this and Took a Level in Badass. Interestingly, their impressive performance against Kreese’s Thug Dojo version of Cobra Kai where he recruited already skilled fighters and bullies, seems to justify this trope.
• Walking Spoiler: The dojo's very existence spoils the fact that Kreese steals Cobra Kai from Johnny at the end of Season 2.
• We Hardly Knew Ye: Not the dojo itself but two notable members. Both Hawk and Devon joined them for half a season before defecting to different dojos; Hawk to Miyagi-Do, Devon to Topanga and eventually Cobra Kai.

Sensei

Johnny Lawrence

See Johnny's character page here.

Students

Miguel Diaz

See Miguel's character page here.

Bert

Bert

"A mongoose?"

Played By: Owen Morgan

Appearances: Cobra Kai

"You're going down, nerd!"

A small, bespectacled boy who joins the Cobra Kai and is seen regularly hanging out Miguel's clique during the second half of Season 1 onward. He later joins Eagle Fang after Kreese kicks him out of Cobra Kai for sympathizing with a mouse.

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• Animal Lover: In Season 3, Bert takes a liking to a mouse Kreese introduces to the class and when Kreese instructs him to feed it to a snake he also brought into the dojo, Bert can't do it. When the students of Miyagi-do and Eagle Fang were discussing their new alliance at the LaRusso home, Bert hears their cat outside and blithely goes to let it in. Except Sam's family doesn't own a cat...
• Bash Brothers: With Nathaniel after becoming friends.
• Butt-Monkey: Most of his onscreen appearance is usually him getting mocked or beaten in a fight.
• Covert Pervert: He secretly likes to read "Big & Bootylicious" magazines.
• Cuteness Proximity: He has a soft spot for small animals including mice and cats, and names the mouse Kreese presents to him "Clarence".
• Destination Defenestration: What he gets when he goes to let in Sam's "cat."
• "Eureka!" Moment: He has the idea to talk to Stingray to try and get a confession about Silver beating him up.
• Everyone Has Standards: A Deleted Scene from when he and the others try to get Stingray to tell them about Silver assaulting him has the group attempt to blackmail Stingray by threatening to post an embarrassing video he made of himself dressed as Donatello fighting off the "Foot Clan". When Stingray worriedly asks Bert if he'll really post the video, Bert concedes he wouldn't be able to go through with it because he doesn't want to publicly humiliate someone.
• Foil: To Mitch. Both of them were expelled from Cobra Kai by Kreese, Bert because of his moral objections to Kreese's philosophy and Mitch for not meeting Kreese's fighting standards. Once Johnny starts Eagle Fang, Bert joins out of loyalty to Johnny and a genuine appreciation for his teachings while Mitch just wants to keep learning karate and have a group to hang out with. This comes to a head in Season 5 when after Silver takes over Cobra Kai and is willing to allow the expelled students back, Bert stays loyal to Eagle Fang while Mitch betrays them and rejoins Cobra Kai.
• Heel–Face Turn: Kreese's shitty treatment towards the Cobra Kai students and his decision to kick Bert and a few other students out of the dojo for objecting against feeding a mouse to a snake has Bert out of commission for some time before being invited by Sam over uniting the students of Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang to take a stand against Cobra Kai. It sticks as Bert remains loyal to his friends and is willing to be taught by Daniel and Johnny in a unified karate dojo.
• Height Angst: Inverted. In a Reddit AMA, Owen Morgan claimed Bert hates Nathaniel because the latter stole his position as shortest Cobra Kai student.
• If You're So Evil, Eat This Kitten!: Kreese lets him befriend a mouse, name it Clarence...then asks him to feed Clarence to a cobra. Bert's refusal prompts Kreese to expel him from Cobra Kai.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Bert can be a bit insensitive and embraces the rougher elements of Johnny's teachings, but deep down he has a good heart. Kreese even expelled him from Cobra Kai because of his refusal to take part in his cruelty.
• Made of Iron: While he's not the most skilled fighter, he's able to take a lot of physical punishment and keep fighting. Best shown when he fully participates in the Season 3 brawl even after Kreese's Cobra Kai students toss him through a glass window. This is most likely why he was able to stick with Cobra Kai as long as he did.
• Morality Pet: Has shades of this for Johnny; specifically, Bert tends to demonstrate that raw strength or talent are not as important to Johnny as willpower and Johnny sees some of himself in Bert as the sort of sweet-natured, sensitive kid he was before Kreese got his hooks in him. He praises Bert wholeheartedly for his performance in the All Valley Tournament despite being taken out almost immediately, simply because Bert didn't let his far superior opponent intimidate him at all. This in sharp contrast to the ideology of Kreese. Notably, he's the only student aside from Miguel and Devon whom Johnny refers to on a First-Name Basis.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: In Season 5, him continuing to call Mitch "Penis Breath" contributes to Mitch becoming The Mole for Cobra Kai. Though in his defense, it was clearly meant as an Insult of Endearment and Mitch never actually voiced any objections to it.
• Older Than He Looks: He goes to West Valley High with everyone else, despite looking much younger than even your average freshman. Bert also seems to invoke this to buy adult magazines at the minimart.
• Only Friend: To Stingray, as Bert is the only one of the teenagers who actually doesn't mind hanging out and keeping in contact with him.
• Out of Focus: He doesn't do much in Season 2 until the finale. He takes on Nathaniel in the Cobra Kai/Miyagi-Do school brawl, and even then, a security guard cuts the fight short and carries them out.
• Pint-Sized Powerhouse: Played with. While he did survive Johnny's weeding out training and hangs out with the top students of Cobra Kai, his small size makes him the weakest member of the dojo. In Season 2, he picks a fight with Nathaniel, who is even smaller (but more skilled) than he is, and it ends with him pinned to the ground and having his face repeatedly struck.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Meek Bert is the Blue to brash Nathaniel's Red.
• The Short Guy with Glasses
• Sitcom Arch-Nemesis: Despite sharing very little screentime, he and Nathaniel seem to have an unexplained animosity for one another.
  Bert: I hate your stupid face so much.
  Nathaniel: If you died, I wouldn't even attend your funeral.
• Small Role, Big Impact: In Season Five, he doesn't do much, but his leading the gang to talk to Stingray solidifies the latter's throwing his lot in with the good guys, which in turn allows him to rescue Daniel and get him to the Cobra Kai dojo just in time, as well as Stingray beating up the Cobra Kai students standing guard.
• Tagalong Kid: There's not a lot to say about him other than the fact that he's often in the company of the Cobra Kai clique.
• Those Two Guys: He and Nathaniel practically become inseparable after their dojos merged.
• Token Good Teammate: He's never seen accompanying the Cobra Kais with their antics, and it's implied that he's not among the students who side with Kreese over Johnny during the Season 2 finale. He does remain in the dojo... for a very short time before Kreese kicks him out for showing compassion to a mouse he took a liking to.
• Took a Level in Jerkass: Believe it or not, he displays his antagonism for the very first time in the series when he, alongside Nate, hassles Kenny after they see him wearing a Cobra Kai t-shirt. This ironically happens when he's not in Cobra Kai.
• Villainous Valor: Though it is a bit of a stretch to call him a villain, the fact that he survived the harsh Cobra Kai training and fought in the tournament (despite being way in over his head) shows elements of this. Unfortunately, Kreese kicks him out of Cobra Kai for getting fond of a mouse and refusing to feed it to a cobra.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: He and Nathaniel are in this territory by Season 4. They insult each other as much as they did when they were enemies, but it's clearly more light-hearted and they're pretty much inseparable.

Mitch

Mitch

"Does my name have to carry over from the previous dojo?"

Played By: Aedin Mincks

Appearances: Cobra Kai

"You guys have been so dead set on taking down Cobra Kai. I didn't even wanna leave in the first place. I mean, look around. They got snacks, swag, smoothies. Our dojo doesn't even have a roof. Or, like, any chicks."

Also known as “Assface” and later “Penis Breath.” One of the students who joined Cobra Kai after the All-Valley Tournament, he initially joined with his friend Chris and later forms part of Hawk's gang. He later joins Eagle Fang after Kreese kicks him out of the dojo for losing to Kyler in a sparring match.

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• All for Nothing: He betrays the Miyagi-Fang alliance so he can rejoin Cobra Kai under Silver for its new amenities and because the Miyagi-Fangs kept calling him "Penis Breath". Not only does Kyler call him "Penis Breath" moments after he reveals his true colors, but Cobra Kai disbands and shuts down less than an hour later.
• Ambiguous Situation: His current status both as an Eagle Fang member and as a friend to the protagonists following his betrayal to rejoin Cobra Kai is unknown, as the latter dojo is essentially dissolved after Terry Silver's downfall.
• Ascended Extra: In Season 2, he's a Flat Character who acts as one of Hawk's lackeys. In Season 3, he gets more focus as an individual character, especially after Kreese expels him from Cobra Kai.
• Asshole Victim: You can't really feel bad for Mitch when he feels betrayed by Silver's dishonorable actions after Mitch himself betrays the Miyagi-Fangs out of greed.
• Bash Brothers: In a deleted scene posted by John Cihangir, Rickenberger's actor, Mitch and Chris are shown handily working together to defeat Rickenberger during the house fight.
• Break the Haughty: For the first half of Season 3, he was as much of a thug as Hawk, stealing the car wash funds from Nathaniel (as well as beating him up) and harassing Chris at work. However, after being expelled from the dojo by Kreese, Mitch is shunned by his former Cobra Kai crew so he decides to join Johnny and many of his old teammates at Eagle Fang.
• Butt-Monkey: Constantly given Embarrassing Nicknames by his "friends" and is generally the butt of many jokes. Deconstructed in Season 5, as he rejoins Cobra Kai in part because his friends treat him so poorly. Of course, the Cobra Kai students don't treat him any better. Also, his betrayal is rendered moot before he could enjoy Cobra Kai's high-end products now that Silver is outed a fraud, arrested, and the dojo gets closed down.
• Cannot Talk to Women: He is determined to use his karate clout to score with girls and even ditches Miyagi-Fang for Cobra Kai because they have more female students. But his social skills with them are pretty much non-existent.
  Mitch: (to the girls who've arrived at the Miyagi-Fangs' party) Hey. Came to party with us 'cause we got into the Sekai Taikai?
  Girl: I have no idea what you just said. We came to drink.
  Mitch:... Well, the Sekai Taiai-
  Eli: Penis Breath! Grab the girl a cup.
• Co-Dragons: He and Chris (before the latter's defection to Miyagi-Do) both serve as Hawk's most trusted and obedient servants. Lampshaded by Demetri, who refers to both of them as Rocksteady and Bebop. See also The Dragon.
• Defector from Decadence: After Kreese casts him aside in favor of newer, more athletic students, he decides to rejoin Johnny and Miguel at their new dojo.
• The Dragon: Becomes this to Hawk after joining Cobra Kai. He accompanies him the most when it comes to the latter's antics, and is easily the most outspoken member of Hawk's gang (especially when compared to the other Cobra Kais like Doug, Mikey, Big Red, and Edwin). This trope eventually gets lost after Kreese kicks him out of Cobra Kai and Hawk writes him off as a reject.
• Embarrassing Nickname: First "Assface" from Hawk, later replaced by "Penis Breath" in Eagle Fang. While Mitch uncomfortably accepts it (see the above quote), Chris later bluntly asks him why he is okay with what amounts to being demeaned all the time.
• Everyone Has Standards: Like all of the Cobra Kai students who find out the truth about Silver's bribery, Mitch, who just recently betrayed the Miyagi-Fang alliance to rejoin the dojo for the high-end merchandises, apparently draws the line at cheating, not liking the idea of belonging to a dojo that would make him a false champion.
• Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: When he rejoins Cobra Kai in Season 5, he's baffled as to why his old Miyagi-Fang teammates would rather stay in a dojo with no roof or merchandise and only one girl when they could join Cobra Kai and have all the snacks and cool gear they want, not understanding that they don't consider these trivial goods to be worth forsaking their moral objections to Cobra Kai's philosophy and criminal activities.
• Evil Counterpart:
  • To Chris. Both were introduced as Hawk's big-bodied henchmen; however, while Mitch embraces the thug attitude and remains loyal to Cobra Kai, Chris is reluctant to go along their antics and defects to Miyagi-Do when Daniel reveals what Hawk and the Cobra Kais have done. Season 5 reinforces the trope, even after Mitch is kicked out of Cobra Kai and joins Eagle Fang; Mitch betrays the Miyagi-Fangs by rejoining his former dojo, whereas Chris remains loyal.
  • To Freddy Fernandez from the original Karate Kid. Both are Fair Weather Friends who get undeserved redemption. However, as bad as Freddy abandoning Daniel was, he never went out of his way to antagonize Daniel, and it's implied they're still friends years later. Mitch openly betrays his friends whenever convenient for him and has no problem taking part in intentionally antagonistic acts against them like vandalizing Miyagi-Do or starting a brawl at the new Cobra Kai dojo to protect Silver.
• Fair-Weather Friend: It's clear this guy's only loyalty is to himself. He immediately ends his friendship with Chris when the latter questions Cobra Kai's corruption and only takes Eagle Fang's side after he's kicked out by Kreese. Even when handed a chance at redemption, he gives it up because he thinks material things are worth more than the friendships he's made. While he does turn on Silver at the end, it's largely because the other students doing so and the dojo being effectively shut down means his association with Cobra Kai no longer benefits him in any way.
• Fat Bastard: He's overweight and fully embraces Cobra Kai's thug attitude. And when he betrays Miyagi-Fang by rejoining Cobra Kai, he even cites the snacks the dojo provides its students as one of the reasons for his decision.
• Fatal Flaw:
  • His overconfidence. After joining Cobra Kai and spending months learning the dojo's philosophy and fighting techniques, Mitch becomes so assured of his own fighting prowess and badassery that he leaves himself open to humiliating defeats because of his sheer arrogance. When he fights Chris in the school brawl and gets the upper hand, he begins gloating about how stupid Chris was for leaving Cobra Kai instead of finishing the fight. This gives Chris the opportunity to knock him out with a textbook and win. Later, when Kyler and the other new recruits arrive at the dojo at Kreese's invitation, Mitch assumes he can haze them just as Hawk did when he first joined. This just pisses Kyler off and makes him determined to kick Mitch's ass, leading to Mitch losing to him in their spar and getting expelled by Kreese.
  • Season 5 adds the inability to think things through. Mitch has been conspiring with Cobra Kai at the start of season 5 and then sells out the Miyagi-Fangs in the season finale. What he did not see coming is 1) Kyler calling him "Penis Breath" after Mitch calls out his friends for calling him that name or 2) that the Miyagi-Fangs already got the last laugh when they succeeded in uploading Silver's incriminating video moments after Mitch betrays them. He also clearly never asked any of the Miyagi-Fangs not to call him "Penis Breath."
• Foil: To Bert. Both of them were expelled from Cobra Kai by Kreese, Bert because of his moral objections to Kreese's philosophy and Mitch for not meeting Kreese's fighting standards. Once Johnny starts Eagle Fang, Bert joins out of loyalty to Johnny and a genuine appreciation for his teachings while Mitch just wants to keep learning karate and have a group to hang out with. This comes to a head in Season 5 when after Silver takes over Cobra Kai and is willing to allow the expelled students back, Bert stays loyal to Eagle Fang while Mitch betrays them and rejoins Cobra Kai.
• Foreshadowing: Bert, Nate, and Chris spot Mitch at a Cobra Kai tabling event eating a pack of Jack Link's provided by them, with a look of disapproval (Chris even slapping Mitch in the back of the head). During the Miyagi-Fangs' pizza party at the LaRusso's, Mitch complains about the team not having many students, which Bert brushes off in response. In the Sekai-Takai qualifier, Mitch is envious that Cobra Kai has a smoothie bar, followed by expressing admiration for a trio of female students, to their and Bert's disgust. It all makes sense why Mitch would rejoin them in the season finale.
• Greed: While he cites the Miyagi-Fangs' poor treatment of him as a reason for his betrayal, he admits that he also rejoined Cobra Kai because he wanted all of the cool new gear and amenities the dojo has.
• Heel–Face Revolving Door: After losing to Kyler during his initiation sparring match, Mitch is expelled by Kreese and as a result abandoned by Hawk and the other Cobra Kai students. His joining of Johnny's Eagle Fang Karate was more out of a desire to have a karate gang to hang out with again, but after being called out by Demetri for not sensibly choosing to team up with Miyagi-Do to stop Cobra Kai (especially since he was part of them not too long ago), Mitch seemingly makes a genuine turn and he and Chris are shown to have reconciled by the Season 3 finale. However, Season 5 reveals that, now with Kreese out of the picture, Cobra Kai is willing to take him back. Since he never actually wanted to leave in the first place, he's gotten fed up with the Miyagi-Fangs still calling him "Penis Breath", and he wants all of the free stuff Cobra Kai gets now, he grabs the opportunity with both hands and betrays Miyagi-Fang by being The Mole. Even that ends up short-lived when Silver is exposed and defeated, prompting all of them to leave.
• Hidden Depths:
  • Despite having no problem following Hawk's orders, he stood up for himself when insultingly accused by Tory. He's a lackey, not a doormat.
  • During the fight at the school, he took on his old friend Chris. While Chris technically won the fight, he needed to blast Mitch with a book to do so. Before that, Mitch had taken the upper hand, suggesting that he might be the better fighter (or at least the more aggressive one).
  • In Season 3, when Miguel tells him the group is attending a Christmas party, he gets decked out in an ugly Christmas sweater and hat, suggesting he's a big fan of the holiday.
  • He may not have passed Kreese’s purge of weaker students but Mikey clearly did. However, Mitch had very little trouble with him during the home invasion, meaning Kreese may have made a mistake in getting rid of him (particularly since Kyler used a wrestling move on him that Mitch, trained only in traditional karate, could not possibly have learned how to counter).
• Inadequate Inheritor: Mitch is by no means a bad fighter as he's among the upper-level members of Cobra Kai, but he was this to Miguel and Eagle Fang Karate as their default best student in Season 3.
• It's All About Me: At the end of the day, Mitch always chooses to do whatever provides him with the most immediate benefits personally, without any concern to whether it's right or wrong. Best shown when he betrays the Miyagi-Fangs and rejoins Cobra Kai because he'll gladly take free snacks, cool swag, and the chance to meet girls even if it means aligning himself with an evil sensei and terrorizing other people.
• Jerkass: He fully embraces the Cobra Kai mindset and eagerly assists Hawk with his misdeeds. He's also one of the eight students who sides with Kreese after the school brawl. Later in Season 3, his defection to Eagle Fang is primarily due to Kreese mistreating him rather than any moral concerns he has, and, while it seems like he changes his ways for the better after Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang unite in preparation to combat Cobra Kai, Season 5 has him betray the group once Kreese is out of the picture and he's given the chance to rejoin.
• Jerkass Has a Point:
  • Not that it remotely excuses the fact that he and Cobra Kai robbed Chris' workplace and almost got the latter fired, nor wound up breaking Demetri's arm while he was begging for mercy. However, Mitch is right when he reminds both of them that it was Miyagi-do that initiated the warehouse fight as they were the ones who swooped in to attack Cobra Kai as they were hanging out and minding their own business.
  • While his betrayal of the Miyagi-Fangs was also done out of pure greed, he has a point when he tells Bert that calling people "Penis Breath" doesn't exactly get you their Undying Loyalty.
• Kick Them While They Are Down: Not literally, but still the flip side to his Hidden Depths. He thought it would be a great idea to rub salt in Chris's wounds, rather than just let the fight end there. As a result, Chris took full advantage of the opening to end it for him.
• Logical Weakness: When going up against Kyler in Season 3, he does a good job fighting him at first. However, Kyler takes him to the ground and puts him in a chokehold. Since he has only been trained in traditional karate, Mitch has no idea how to escape and taps out.
• Martial Arts Staff: He does a bo staff demonstration in the All-Valley Tournament's skill competition. He had a fairly good showing until he fumbles the staff and sends it flying towards the judges' table.
• Meaningful Name: He really lives up to the name "Assface" when he's nothing but an asshole thug who bullies non-Cobra Kais for the hell of it. Even when he is kicked out of Cobra Kai, seemingly redeems himself by joining Eagle Fang, and goes by the new nickname "Penis Breath," his original nickname still suits him well when he betrays the Miyagi-Fangs out of greed.
• Mighty Glacier: His size gives him a good amount of strength and power, but he's also slow and can get worn down when he's up against a faster opponent like Kyler.
• Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: Ends up doing this twice. First, after Kreese kicks him out of Cobra Kai despite his loyalty, he joins Eagle Fang Karate. Then, he gets tired of all the Miyagi-Fangs calling him "Penis Breath" and joins Silver’s Cobra Kai. Though it's worth mentioning that in the latter instance, it was also due to him never wanting to leave Cobra Kai in the first place and wanting all the dojo's swag.
• The Mole: He rejoins Cobra Kai after Silver takes over. He stays with the Miyagi-Fang alliance just to leak their plans to Cobra Kai.
• Never My Fault: He betrays the Miyagi-Fangs partly for continuing to call him "Penis Breath", but he bears a lot of responsibility for that as he never actually told them how much he dislikes the nickname or asked them in all seriousness to stop calling him that. He also believes their dojo's relative lack of female students is the reason why he hasn't had any success with girls and not the fact that he has absolutely no pickup skills to speak of.
• Nominal Hero: From Seasons 3-5, he fights for the Miyagi-Fangs against Cobra Kai not because he has any moral problems with Cobra Kai's philosophy or them taking over the Valley like the others, but because Kreese kicked him out of the dojo and he wanted to keep doing karate, plus most of his friends ended up in Eagle Fang. Deconstructed in Season 5, as it turns out having someone like this on your team is not a very good idea, and when offered the chance to betray the good guys and rejoin Cobra Kai, Mitch accepts it without a second thought, even pointing out that he never actually wanted to leave Cobra Kai in the first place.
• N-Word Privileges: Played with. When he joins Johnny's Eagle Fang dojo, Johnny gives him the new degrading nickname of "Penis Breath". He accepts his new dojo-mates calling him this, but becomes offended when Chris addresses him by that name.
  Mitch: Okay, you can't call me "Penis Breath". Only they can call me "Penis Breath".
  Chris: Why are you okay with anyone calling you "Penis Breath"?
• Opportunistic Bastard: While he appeared to change for the better after Kreese kicked him out of Cobra Kai, he seizes the opportunity to rejoin after Kreese is arrested and Silver takes control. Upon doing so, he acts as a mole for them in Miyagi-Fang and leaks their plans to the Cobra Kai Dojo, even saying he never wanted to leave.
• Pet the Dog: When he sees Demetri down for the count during the fight in the Season 3 finale, he encourages him to get up and keep fighting. In Season 5, he states that the lack of "chicks" in Miyagi-Fang was one of his motivations for defecting back to Cobra Kai, but apologizes to Sam immediately afterward. As with all of the other Cobra Kai students, he also appears disgusted by the revelation that Terry Silver rigged the All-Valley Tournament, seeing what an unhinged megalomaniac the head sensei truly is.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Red to Chris' Blue.
• Rewarded as a Traitor Deserves: Betrays Miyagi-do and Eagle Fang as he was sick of being called "Penis Breath" and claimed the Cobras would never call him that, only for Kyler to shut him up, addressing him with the same nickname. Then, Mitch himself feels betrayed when Silver is exposed as a cheating megalomaniac and ends up quitting the dojo in the process — making this All for Nothing.
• "Shaggy Dog" Story: Betrays Miyagi-do and Eagle Fang so he can enjoy all of Cobra Kai's perks and merchandise, only for it to be taken away from him once Silver is outed a fraud, defeated by Daniel, and ultimately arrested. The students discard their Cobra Kai apparels, with the dojo seemingly closed down afterwards.
• Sixth Ranger Traitor: His role in the series is far less major compared to some of the other protagonists/anti-heroes (Miguel, Sam, Hawk, Demetri, Robby, Tory, and even Anthony), yet he's the only one in Season 5 defecting to Cobra Kai completely by his own will.
• Stout Strength: He's a hefty guy who's able to pack a lot of power behinds his punches and kicks.
• Took a Level in Kindness: After joining Eagle Fang, Mitch starts to let go of his original Cobra Kai thuggery and during the fight at the LaRusso house, he even encourages Demetri to keep fighting against his former Cobra Kai cohorts. He also makes up with Chris when Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang join forces to combat Cobra Kai. However, it's then viciously subverted in Season 5 where it turns out that he never fully bought into what Johnny, Daniel, and Chozen were teaching and he eagerly rejoins Cobra Kai once given the opportunity.
• Token Evil Teammate: He's the only one of the Miyagi-Fangs that left Cobra Kai simply because he wasn't good enough against newer, more vicious recruits like Kyler. And when Silver takes over the dojo, Mitch uses it as an opportunity to be welcomed back — acting as The Mole for the Miyagi-Fangs prior to the Final Battle.
• Undying Loyalty: Mitch is easily the most devoted new Cobra Kai recruit, but the feeling isn't mutual, as his friends abandon him after Kreese kicks him out. This eventually is re-emphasized in Season 5 when he betrays the Miyagi-Fangs by rejoining Cobra Kai, even stating he never wanted to leave in the first place.
• Ungrateful Bastard: Despite all of the good his friends and senseis at Eagle Fang/Miyagi-Do have done for him, such as his longstanding friendship with Chris or Hawk sticking up for him when Kreese expelled him from Cobra Kai, Mitch only cares about the fact their nickname for him is embarrassing and Cobra Kai has more cool stuff than their dojo. So he has no qualms about defecting.
• Unreliable Narrator: While describing the arcade fight during training at Cobra Kai, Mitch says, "I took care of Chris" while the truth is that Chris had actually beaten him quite soundly and he didn't actually overpower Chris until Rickenberger stepped in and gave him a hand.
• Villainous Valor: Never wavered or considered breaking when the entire dojo was being punished for what he, Hawk, and two other members did to Miyagi-Do.
• The Worf Effect: In Season 3 for Kyler's reintroduction. Mitch at this point has become one of Cobra Kai's stronger fighters, but he loses to Kyler, revealing that the latter has stepped up his game and improved on his wrestling skills since Season 1. This resulted in Kyler taking Mitch's spot among the Cobra Kais.
  • This also comes with his role as a bully for Cobra Kai as well. Mitch's nicknaming for Kyler only serves to piss him off further, to the point where the latter actually intimidates him in response.
  • In the first half of the house fight, Sam and surprisingly Mitch were the only ones to initially be winning their fight. Mitch easily takes down long-time Cobra Kai member Mikey but is taken down by new recruit Paul, demonstrating how much stronger Cobra Kai's new recruits are.
• You Have Failed Me: After losing his match against Kyler, Kreese and later Hawk abandon Mitch.

Dirk

Dirk

Played By: Xander Serrano

Appearances: Cobra Kai

A student who aligns with the dojo after leaving Cobra Kai.

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• Ambiguous Situation: It’s unknown if he was kicked out of Cobra Kai during Kreese’s purge or simply quit.
• Friendly Enemy: Despite leaving Cobra Kai for Eagle Fang, Dirk is shown getting along with/being friendly with his former Cobra Kai buddies at the prom after-party at Stingray's.
• The Generic Guy: He doesn't get any lines and serves as little more than a background character who exists alongside the other Eagle Fangs.

Logan

Logan

Played By: Shawn Thacker

Appearances: Cobra Kai

A student who joins Eagle Fang.

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• Because You Were Nice to Me: Played for laughs and inverted. Johnny makes a Dare to Be Badass speech to Hawk and his former students in order to get them to join Eagle Fang, then slaps books out of a Logan’s hands (though he apologizes, citing old habits). Logan joins the dojo.
• The Generic Guy: He doesn't get any lines and serves as little more than a background character who exists alongside the other Eagle Fangs.

Former Students

Eli "Hawk" Moskowitz

See Eli's character page here.

Devon Lee

See Devon in Cobra Kai and Associates.

Associates

Johnny’s family

Sid Weinberg

Sid Weinberg

"Little Did I Know, I'd be taking care of her schmuck kid forever."

Played By: Ed Asner / Michael H. Cole (1979 flashback)

Appearances: Cobra Kai

"Sounds like you were warming up to ask for a handout. And I'd hate for anything to jeopardize... another payday."

Johnny's wealthy and emotionally abusive stepfather.

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• Abusive Parents: Of the emotional kind; he did nothing but verbally demoralize Johnny throughout his childhood, to the point that even Kreese became a more welcoming father figure to Johnny.
• Brooding Boy, Gentle Girl: Sid has always been irascible, compared to the much calmer and placating Laura. Their 1979 flashback illustrates this vividly.
• Child Hater: Sid seems to be this through the first three seasons. He tolerated Johnny and provided for him for Laura's sake, but seems totally incapable of being nice to him, not running him down, or doing anything he asks for. He might have refused Johnny whatever he asked in Season 3, but hearing it was for a kid who needed surgery didn't make one bit of difference. He also doesn't seem to think or care about Robby beyond mentioning him as another way to needle Johnny.
• Dirty Old Man:
  • He crosses into this territory when talking about Johnny's mother.
  Sid: You know... when I met your mom, she really knocked my socks off. Beautiful. Blonde. Tan. Tight.
  • It's also applied to others as well, given Johnny's threat of leaking Sid's "little incident with his secretary" to the public, dropping the ball with the "hashbrown" #MeToo hint as well.
• Fat Bastard: Not only to Johnny; Sid is a big Jerkass to just about everyone.
• First-Name Basis: Johnny calls him by his first name, never "dad" or "father", as is fairly typical for stepparents.
• Grumpy Old Man: Always seems to be in an irritable mood, Johnny or no Johnny.
• Hypocrite Has a Point: While Sid was an Abusive Parent to a T, he correctly points out that Johnny hasn't been an ideal father to Robby, either.
• I Gave My Word: When he married Laura, Sid promised her that he would always look after Johnny. Even though Sid has always despised Johnny, the old bastard kept his promise for almost two decades after Laura's death. Doing this was perhaps Sid's only redeeming quality as a human being.
• Kick the Dog: He refuses to help the Diaz family pay for Miguel's surgery even after Johnny swallows his pride and all but begs him for it.
• Lack of Empathy: See Kick the Dog above; he even openly revels in how unfeeling he is.
  Johnny: You're a cold old man.
  Sid: (proudly) And don't you forget it, buster!
• Laser-Guided Karma: After refusing to help Johnny pay for Miguel's surgery, Johnny swipes an expensive sculpture from his house and pawns it to get the needed money anyway.
• The Lost Lenore: Downplayed. Sid clearly still misses Laura and faithfully kept a promise to her for almost two decades after her death, but he can't express it in anything other than very crude terms.
• Morality Pet: His deceased wife Laura seems to be the only person who ever got him to behave even slightly better. See above and below.
• Parental Neglect: When he wasn't being actively abusive to Johnny, Sid still treated him as just a contractual obligation of being married to Laura. He paid for many of Johnny's hobbies like the karate lessons and motorbikes, but this was clearly just to keep his stepson occupied while he and Laura went out socializing.
  Johnny: I never needed your money; it was the only thing you had to give me.
• Pet the Dog: He promised Laura, whom he probably valued as little more than his Trophy Wife, that he would always look after Johnny financially. For all his other failings as a human being, Sid actually kept this promise for almost two decades after Laura's passing — and even when he finally ran out of patience with Johnny's constant legal troubles, Sid still didn't completely throw him under a bus, but offered him one last bank check as a sort of settlement. The check was not a pittance, either, but enough to pay for the revival of Cobra Kai.
  • His sincere feelings for Laura are also implied, given he didn't have to marry a woman with a kid at all, certainly not if all he wanted was a Trophy Wife. Even if he seems completely incapable of being polite to Johnny.
• Politically Incorrect Villain: Sid is crassly sexist, referring to his deceased wife (Johnny's mom) as a "hot piece of ass", and scoffing at the notion of a gender pay gap. Johnny later reveals that Sid committed sexual misconduct at work at some point, with the implication that it was bad enough to ruin his reputation if it came out in public.
• Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: Even more egregiously than usual, as Sid is plenty ugly on the inside, too.
• Villain with Good Publicity: Defied; Johnny threatens to reveal his predatory past if he doesn't help Miguel. Sid doesn't care one bit as he doesn't have a good reputation to destroy.
  Johnny: I'd hate for that little incident with your secretary to get out to the public. Y'know, start one of those "hash brown MeToo" things.
  Sid: I didn't get where I am because I cared about my reputation.

Laura Brown Lawrence Weinberg

Laura Brown Lawrence Weinberg

Played By: Candace Moon

Appearances: Cobra Kai

Johnny's deceased mother. Unlike Sid, she and Johnny had a loving and supportive relationship. Her death, which coincided closely with the birth of Johnny's son Robby, was among the darkest periods of Johnny's life.

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• Alliterative Name: Law-ra Law-rence.
• Deceased Parents Are the Best:
  • Johnny remembers her as the sole source of love and real encouragement in his life. Laura died shortly before Robby was born, devastating him. He believes that she only put up with Sid for her son's sake.
  • Downplayed in a memory from Season 4, though, in which we see more of Laura not being perfect — she abruptly tells a very young Johnny that she's marrying Sid, throws away his mementoes of his father when Johnny angrily protests, and says, "you have a new daddy now", all without appearing to consider how upsetting and traumatizing this is for her son. It even calls into question whether Johnny's explanation of Laura marrying and staying with Sid for Johnny's own sake is something he absorbed from Laura or decided to excuse her for doing, rather than the truth.
• Doting Parent: It's clear that Johnny's needs were the most important thing to her, hence why she married Sid and why she always encouraged Johnny to explore any interests that might help him make friends or build his confidence. Her death at a relatively young age sent him into a spiraling depression that caused him to miss Robby's birth.
• Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: Whatever rules he may have been breaking or however much of a Jerkass, bully, or ace degenerate he may have been, Johnny loved and continues to love Laura dearly.
• Gold Digger: In sharp contrast to Shannon, she is a sympathetic example. She may have married Sid for his money, but her main concern was ensuring her son would be taken care of.
• Good Parents: Issue #3 of the comic book series shows that while she may have doted on Johnny, she was by no means a Pushover Parent. Back when Johnny planted the kiss on Ali at the country club, Laura scolded him for the act afterward and made it clear she expects better behavior from him.
• Hidden Depths: We hear Johnny in Season 5 saying, "Her maiden name was Brown", meaning she was married to Johnny's dad, whose last name was Lawrence.
• Horrible Judge of Character: Laura was apparently so eager or desperate to remarry someone who could provide for her and young Johnny that she never took the time to sum up how Sid would be as an actual stepfather living with Johnny, and not just as a man who gave him a gift after a meal. Even after his poor treatment is clearly apparent, she never seems to have done anything except try to placate Sid. This all helped to give Johnny a sizable Freudian Excuse, drive him towards Kreese, and contribute to his problems for many decades.
• Ms. Fanservice: She's a Head-Turning Beauty and Sid loves reminiscing about ogling her, much to Johnny's annoyance.
• Trophy Wife: To Sid. Johnny admits that she likely only married Sid so that her and her son's financial futures would be secure. A Gold Digger by need.
• Useless Bystander Parent: Despite being loving, Laura was unable to protect Johnny from Sid's abuse, or seemingly notice Johnny's delinquency and bullying or what Kreese was turning him into. Or even get him to wear his bike helmet. Despite loving her, it's clear Johnny tuned her out just as frequently as he did with his stepfather.

Shannon Keene

Shannon Keene

Played By: Diora Baird

Appearances: Cobra Kai

Robby’s mother and Johnny’s ex.

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• Abusive Parents: Not physically or verbally, but emotionally. Her neglect towards her son and disregard for his feelings have taken a huge toll on Robby, who genuinely loves his mom and wants to spend time with her, while she's out trying to get laid.
• The Alcoholic: Johnny can track her down simply by visiting her usual bars, where she is on a first-name basis with the bartender. Late in Season 2, she agrees to check into rehab.
• Amicable Exes: It takes a long time to get there, but she and Johnny are finally in this territory by Season 5. Shannon immediately agrees to let Robby stay with Johnny for the summer and gives him some solid advice on how to get a job when she finds out that Carmen is pregnant. Even before that, Shannon goes up to Johnny to warn him of Terry Silver's toxic influence on Robby.
• Birds of a Feather: They may hate each other now, but it’s not hard to see why she and Johnny got together back in the day. Both are fit and attractive, yet also irresponsible alcoholics and jerkasses.
• Casting Gag: Diora Baird and William Zabka also played lovers in Hot Tub Time Machine.
• Character Development: Her time in rehab appears to have changed her for the better, so much that Terry Silver showering her and Robby with largesse raises major alarm bells instead of her former gold-digging. She even does the responsible parent thing and expresses her concerns about Terry to Johnny in person.
• Easily Forgiven: Downplayed, as it does take a while for Robby to really accept her back into his life, but everyone is surprisingly sympathetic and understanding towards Shannon despite her Parental Abandonment of her son in Season 2. From Season 3 onwards, it's never even mentioned. Possibly Justified, as Shannon is doing much better after going through rehab and taking the steps to improve herself, implying that everyone is just trying to be supportive and not bring up things that she did while in an unhealthy mindset.
• Excellent Judge of Character: Shannon knows just how absolutely shady Terry Silver is when he offers her and Robby a large sum of luxuries, going as far as to offer Shannon a job (which she didn't even ask for). A stark contrast to her in Season 1 and 2 where she tries to go for well-established men just so that she can be financially better off. The fact that she goes to Johnny (after years of distrusting him) in hopes he deals with the situation between Robby and Terry speaks major volumes.
• Gold Digger: Spends most of her time at bars seducing well-heeled men, aiming to eventually meet one to marry and provide her with luxuries. Unlike Johnny's mother who remarried so that she and her son would be well-off, Shannon clearly only had herself in mind.
• Hidden Depths: In Season 4, Robby says she was a dancer — which further explains her admiration and obsession for the incredibly talented Patrick Swayze, not just for his good looks.
• Hypocrite Has a Point: Shannon criticizes Johnny for being an inattentive parent to Robby, even as she is just as inattentive herself (if not more so). She is still, however, correct that Johnny's not exactly father of the year.
  Shannon: Eat shit, Johnny! You gave up on day one. Day one! Okay, I was the one that was there for him when he got mono! I was the one that was there for him when he built his own half-pipe and he broke his wrist! Where the hell were you?!
• It's All About Me: Shannon's reason for canceling plans with her son is that she has to meet a man to take care of her when Robby leaves.
• Jerkass Realization: She comes to acknowledge and regret her neglectfulness towards Robby in the middle of Season 2, agreeing to go into rehab and encouraging her son to make up with his father.
• Kick the Dog: Her neglectful treatment of Robby in Season One and Two is nothing short of unacceptable, despite her substance abuse problems. She thankfully gets a lot better after going to rehab.
  • The first example is when Robby asks her if she wants to watch a movie with him, but she declines (as she's going out to meet wealthy men) and says maybe they will when she gets back. Later that night, while Robby is watching the movie by himself with his headphones on, Shannon loudly comes in with a stranger and brings the man in her room to have sex, without noticing Robby was right there (or even bothering to check if he was awake). Robby turning up the volume on his headphones implies this isn't the first time this has happened.
  • In Season Two, Shannon straight up abandons Robby for what appears to be a whole summer, while claiming she would only be in Europe for a couple weeks. She also didn't bother to make sure that the bills were taken care of while she was gone, so the power goes out shorty after she leaves.
• Like Parent, Like Spouse: She and Johnny's mother Laura look so much alike they could be related. Shannon even seems to share some traits with Laura, in wanting to find a man to take care of her, but the similarities end with their looks and that driving factor.
• Never My Fault: Though her criticisms of Johnny as a parent may be accurate, she refuses to take any responsibility for her son Robby or help him, and when confronted about this, refuses to acknowledge her role in Robby's path to crime. Subverted when she finally decides to go to rehab for her alcohol and pill addictions, while admitting her mistakes to Robby and encouraging him to reconcile with Johnny.
• Parental Neglect: She spends so much time drinking in bars and picking up random guys that Robby’s school has a hard time getting hold of her. The kid is practically raising himself. Downgrades to Parental Abandonment as of Season 2.
• Sherlock Scan: She immediately deduces that Carmen is pregnant when she sees that Johnny has cleaned up his apartment and removed the pictures of attractive women he had hanging up, and that he has a look of fear on his face that she recognises from when she was pregnant with Robby.
• Took a Level in Kindness: She turns her ways around for the better after she goes into rehab, and her efforts at the beginning of Season 3 show. It helps that the LaRussos are playing a part in helping her to improve as a person.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: When she abandons Robby out of the blue with her new boyfriend (claiming to only be gone for a few weeks, but not returning until the end of the summer), proving that her Gold Digging is entirely selfish. She doesn't even make sure that the bills are being paid while she's gone, so the power goes out shortly after she leaves. Even worse, Robby only found out because Shannon sneaked back into their apartment to grab something, meaning she was planning on leaving her son without any explanation. This event would lead to Robby's Face–Heel Turn.
  • She dips into this again in Season 4, though this time it's for altruistic reasons and she had no reason to believe the Disaster Dominoes that would unfold for her honestly doing the right thing. She comes to Johnny after she's understandably spooked when Terry Silver comes by giving Robby a fancy car and suit, and gives Shannon a ton of cash and offering her a job "doing God knows what". Considering Robby's history, she has every reason to be concerned, asking for Johnny to take care of things. Unfortunately, Silver was banking on Johnny trying to Storm the Castle and set up a trap to take him out. While unable to, the beating does cause Johnny to go home and drink himself into a stupor... which leads to his Wrong-Name Outburst with Miguel that utterly breaks him. If Shannon simply did nothing, the season could've turned out much differently, but it's hard to blame her in this case.

Robby Keene

See Robby's character page here

Miguel’s family

Carmen Diaz

Carmen Diaz

"You can't let the mistakes of your past determine your future."

Played By: Vanessa Rubio

Appearances: Cobra Kai

"These things don't end well. Trust me. I've seen it with my own eyes. My ex-husband had many enemies. The only way to end a rivalry is for someone to rise above it. You have to be the bigger man."

Miguel's overly protective mother, Carmen is kind and hard-working — if utterly terrified that any harm might come to her son.

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• Age-Gap Romance: With Johnny, who at 51 to her 34, is about seventeen years older. Carmen was either an infant or not even born yet during the events of the original film.
• Ascended Extra: She was already a prominent character in the series, but it's not until Season 4 that she gets promoted to main credits billing.
• Babies Ever After: In Season 5, she reveals she's pregnant with Johnny's second child.
• Birds of a Feather: In Season 5, there's another elaborate, over-the-top, 80's-themed Dream Sequence. Except it's a Bait-and-Switch, revealing more about why Carmen and Johnny are seemingly meant-to-be.
  Carmen: I just had the best dream.
• Brooding Boy, Gentle Girl: Is the Gentle Girl to Johnny's Brooding Boy when they become a couple in Season 3.
• Character Development: She had a tendency to harshly judge Johnny whenever Miguel got hurt without getting his side of the story in the early seasons, though to be fair, it was at times she had reason to be upset even if her anger was misdirected. By Season 5, she is much more understanding, such as realizing Johnny wants to be ready for a family but isn't yet so she waits until he is before telling him if she's pregnant, or when she sees Robby and Miguel bruised but immediately realizes this was another one of Johnny's training methods and is okay with it because neither boy is hurt too badly and they've finally resolved their conflict.
• Dark and Troubled Past: She fled Ecuador after finding out about her abusive husband's illegal activities.
• Has a Type: Considering the men she's been with, Carmen rather fits Johnny's dated belief that All Girls Want Bad Boys. However, she also wants a man that is truly good-hearted underneath.
• The Heart: Among the adult cast, Carmen stands out as the most kind and patient character, bringing out Johnny's best qualities and always encouraging him to mend bridges with Daniel and be the hero she knows he can be. She's also a truly, unconditionally loving mother to Miguel and similarly tries to keep him from embracing his dark side. The only time in the series we even see her lose her temper is when she blames Johnny for the school brawl in the Season 2 finale, and considering that her only son was in a coma at the time due to a fight that was partly Johnny's fault, it's hard to blame her. She still ends up convincing Johnny to save the All Valley Tournament in Season 3, despite her fears about Miguel's injuries, recognising that her son is not the only kid in the Valley who needs karate to stand up to bullies.
• Hidden Depths:
  • When we first meet her, she is only seen as Miguel's mother. However, it is later mentioned that she fled her abusive husband in Ecuador with her mother as a pregnant 18-year-old and subsequently raised Miguel on her own.
  • Carmen loves dancing, be it traditional salsa or more contemporary clubbing.
• Hospital Hottie: Frequently seen wearing scrubs. We find out in Season 2 she's an X-ray technician.
• Last Girl Wins: For Johnny, following his disastrous relationships with Ali and Shannon.
• Letting Her Hair Down: She frequently wears it pulled back, but does this for her first date with Johnny, revealing quite a mane.
• Mirror Character: To Lucille LaRusso in The Karate Kid (1984), being the Struggling Single Mother to a bullied new kid who is studying karate from a father-figure who hangs around in the same apartment complex.
• My Beloved Smother: Although she means well, she can be this to Miguel. Given her Dark and Troubled Past, this is understandable.
• Nice Girl: Carmen is practically a saint. She is kind, caring, loving, welcoming and helpful to people, showing extraordinary patience and understanding towards Johnny's alcoholism and problems in his personal life. She welcomes Robby, who almost killed her son, into her family with open arms when he and Miguel get over their animosity, takes cares of her elderly mother, raises Miguel as a single mother, and even helps people in her job as an X-ray technician.
• Not So Above It All: Carmen truly wants to settle with a man who is noble of heart. However, she seems to have a bit of a record for choosing men of... dubious morality; her ex-husband Hector callously valued his business over his family and Graham flippantly confesses to seeing her as nothing but a temporary fling. Even with Johnny, his crass behavior and over-the-top machismo are implied to be what first caught her interest.
• Official Couple: Despite starting off rocky, she and Johnny are this as of Season 4.
• Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Starts dating again in Season 2, with it being clear through Miguel’s dialogue that she’s looking for a more permanent relationship that will gel well with Miguel... even if her first seen date is a secret douche. Although she's partly attracted to Johnny's bad boy side, it's clear that the main reason she falls for him is due to how good of a surrogate father he is to Miguel and the fact that he has made an effort to clean up his life.
  Johnny: Heart on his sleeve, saying what needed to be said. [Miguel] was a true champion. But I didn't say he could compete again. I didn't know he'd be there, believe me, I had nothing to do with that.
  Carmen: Yes you did. You had everything to do with that. [Kisses him]
• So Proud of You: Her reaction when Miguel wins the tournament or whenever he wins a match. She may want to watch her son's behavior, however.
• Skewed Priorities: She seems more worried about her son losing the tournament for his self-esteem than the risk of him actually getting hurt.
• Teen Pregnancy: She became pregnant with Miguel when she was 18 years old.

Rosa Diaz

Rosa Diaz

Played By: Rose Bianco

Appearances: Cobra Kai

"Miguel... he needs you. Please. Pray with us."

Miguel's grandmother and Carmen's mother.

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• Affectionate Nickname: Miguel calls her "Yaya" (informal Spanish for "granny").
• Cool Old Lady: She supports Miguel's karate training, is proud of him for defeating Kyler and his gang, and takes an immediate liking to Johnny. She also likes to smoke weed. It's explicitly stated that she enjoys marijuana before every single tournament.
• Deadpan Snarker: In Spanish, no less. Pretty much only Carmen and sometimes Miguel can understand her sarcastic humor when speaking so, leaving English speakers like Johnny oblivious to it.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: The only times she speaks English is when she asks Johnny to stay with her and Carmen and pray for Miguel during his surgery and also when she tries to help Johnny in his escape room plan to get Miguel and Robby to become friends.
• Open-Minded Parent: Grandparent, but she was more open to having Miguel train with Johnny than Carmen was and thinks Johnny's better than the first impression he made.
• Secret-Keeper: In Episode 5 of Season 1, she keeps Miguel's fight with Kyler a secret from Carmen so that Miguel can continue to train with Johnny.
• So Proud of You: Implied to be her reaction from Miguel when she learns about the cafeteria fight, and definitely her reaction when Miguel wins the tournament.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom:
  • In the very first episode, if Rosa hadn't gotten diarrhea, then Miguel wouldn't have gone to the bodega that night, he probably never would have crossed Kyler's gang or learned that Johnny was a karate master, and the entire chain of events leading to the rebirth of Cobra Kai would never have happened.
  • When Johnny is about to leave the hospital after dropping off his contribution to Miguel's surgery, Rosa begs him to stay with her and Carmen as the procedure takes place for support. Johnny agrees, but this makes him miss his visit with Robby in juvie, which alienates his son even further and ultimately leads to him siding with Kreese.

Hector Salazar (UNMARKED SPOILERS)

Hector Salazar

Played By: Luis Roberto Guzmán

Appearances: Cobra Kai

"They tried to fսck with me, a successful man! The corrupt sons of bitches in Ecuador, they did the same! And you know what I regret? Nothing. That is the cost of doing business."

Miguel's biological father and Carmen's ex-husband. He currently lives in Mexico and is implied to have been a criminal back in Ecuador prompting Carmen and Rosa to leave to get away from him before Miguel was born.

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• The Ace: With how he's presented; wealthy, successful, respected and highly personable, it's easy to see why Miguel is so impressed by him upon seeing him for the first time.
• Arc Villain: For Season 5's Mexico arc, being the reason why Miguel leaves to Mexico for two episodes—leading to a series of events where Johnny and Robby go after him. Even prior to meeting Miguel, Carmen (indirectly) warns the audience that he was a bad man. When he is first introduced, he seems to be a charming Family Man showing great gratitude for Miguel saving his young son. However Hector eventually reveals his true colors to Miguel, and while he doesn't attack him, he plays a role in Miguel realizing that the only father figure he really had was Johnny.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Hector gives off the facade of a man of the people who loves his family. In reality, he's a cold and callous businessman who has no compulsions threatening or harming others he feels are a threat to him.
• Broken Pedestal: Miguel starts out thinking his biological father is a good, kind and loving man. After an (apparent) run in with the law and a few drinks, he shows his true colors, and Miguel leaves Mexico in tears.
• The Cartel: While exactly what crimes he committed in Ecuador are never explained, it's implied he was a very prominent drug dealer and smuggler (since the FBI are after him) and he appears to still have connections. In fact, the MMA studio he takes Miguel to is implied to be a front for this.
• Dashing Hispanic: He's a good-looking guy (he's Miguel's father after all) with a notable accent.
• Disappeared Dad: Carmen abandoned him before Miguel was born and as a result Miguel grew up never knowing his father.
• Evil All Along: It only took an episode later for Miguel to realize that Hector is nowhere as a decent person and loving father he thought he would be.
• Evil Counterpart: To Johnny, considering both play a role as a father to Miguel (Hector being Miguel's biological dad, Johnny being Miguel's father figure throughout the series). Both men have criminal pasts that have tainted their reputation (Johnny having numerous run-ins with the law, Hector being a notorious drug dealer who fled Ecuador when the government finds out), and both become the love interests to Carmen. However, their differences, especially as a father to Miguel, do not go unnoticed.
  • Johnny starts out as a down-to-luck single man (with an estranged son) who struggles to make a living, gets into legal trouble, and is dismissive towards Miguel when he sees him. However, he later warms up to Miguel when he finds a new purpose as a karate sensei, and since then has been nothing but a caring person trying to do better in life. He eventually becomes the biggest influence and support that Miguel has ever had (next to the latter's mom and grandmother), and proves to be the right person for Carmen as the latter's love interest.
  • Hector however is introduced as charming, respected, and highly personable — showing great gratitude for Miguel after the latter saves his young son. Speaking of son, Hector is portrayed as a family man, who also looks to be incredibly wealthy, given the house that he lives in, and the connections he has with his fighting ring. However, as he reveals his true colors, he is everything that Carmen has feared — a cold and callous businessman who hasn't changed from his past actions, cares about nobody but himself, and is nothing more than a Broken Pedestal to Miguel that really shows just how much Johnny is the only father-figure that really does care for him.
• Family Man: Comes across as a loving family man. As long as they don't interfere with his business.
• Faux Affably Evil: At first glance, Hector appears to be the perfect father that Miguel always envisioned he'd be and a pillar of his community. He's very charming, warm and accommodating, and shows great gratitude for Miguel saving his young son. However, when pushed his facade quickly drops and he makes it clear that he cares about nobody but himself, even accusing his seemingly loving current wife of being a manipulative Gold Digger with no provocation or evidence.
• Hate Sink: Miguel starts off believing that his biological father is a loving family man, but learns the hard way that he is just as bad as Carmen describes him, due to his fixation on business and will do anything to ensure his (unscrupulous) businesses stay afloat, never mind the costs involved.
• I Regret Nothing: Basically states this word-for-word when he shares his shady business dealings to Miguel, extending this further by showing absolute no concern to both his old and new families — whether or not they are appalled by his actions.
• Jerkass: As Carmen has said, he was a criminal and Miguel eventually sees that he is not a nice man when he speaks ill of Carmen and Rosa and does not regret his criminal actions.
• Mirror Character: Let's see...he's an amazingly rich, Sharp-Dressed Man with a Faux Affably Evil personality, has a combat-oriented facility as a front for illegal activities, has influence around his hometown, and doesn't show any regret for his actions no matter how heinous they are. Ladies and Gentlemen, Mexico's Terry Silver. For added bonus, he even has a Red Herring counterpart that makes the audience THINK he's the Hector Salazar Miguel's looking for (similar to the audience thinking that Ponytail was Terry Silver).
• Missed Him by That Much: Both a straight and metaphorical example — after getting suspicious about who Miguel might be, Hector demands (quite venomously) to see his phone and strolls through Miguel's library. Thankfully, he stops just before getting to one photo with his ex-wife Carmen, thus preventing him from realizing that Miguel has familial ties with him.
• Obliquely Obfuscated Occupation: Hector's business is never explicitly spelled out. The fact that it is something very illegal is clear from the fact that a) it made Carmen and her mother flee Ecuador without telling Hector she was pregnant, b) Hector himself had to flee Ecuador later and find refuge in Mexico and c) when told there's supposed FBI agents in the premises, Hector immediately assumes they're after him and goes into hiding.
• Politically Incorrect Villain: He claims that women (and the government) are nothing but a detriment to people like him who want to soar to success.
• Riddle for the Ages:
  • The events leading up to Carmen's decision to leave Hector are never detailed; all she'll says is that she got the heck out of Dodge after finding out her husband was "a bad man."
  • Hector's "business", whatever it really involves (trafficking, smuggling, racketeering etc.), is never specified.
• Sanity Slippage: He does a very good job maintaining his charming, family-man appearance when he is introduce to Miguel and the audience. Then the "FBI" shows up, and he begins to get paranoid — first by letting a bit of his rage out when he's interrogating Miguel, and later takes himself and Miguel into hiding, where he reveals his true colors.
• Sharp-Dressed Man: Almost always seen in a very suave suit or outfit of some kind.
• The Sociopath: Hector has several traits that imply this. He has absolutely no regrets for the horrible things he's done in the past, refers to his ex-wife and mother-in-law in a very derogatory way simply for disagreeing with his criminal ways, gets very quick to violence when he thinks he's being targeted, has no real regard for his new wife and son and seems completely unfazed by Miguel's disillusioned view of him, not even caring when he leaves.
• The Unfettered: He'll do anything to ensure that his unscrupulous businesses stay afloat, never mind the costs involved.
• Unknown Relative: Hector is completely unaware that Miguel is his son, because Carmen and her mother fled Ecuador and she never told him about her pregnancy. After seeing the kind of man his biological father really was, Miguel wisely decided it was best to keep it that way.
• Villain of Another Story: Hector gives off the impression that he could have been the Villain Protagonist of his own Breaking Bad style series, but we only get teases about what he would have been up to in such a show.
• Walking Spoiler: Good luck talking about Season 5 of Cobra Kai without mentioning him, especially the first two episodes.
• You Can't Go Home Again: He reveals that his crimes resulted in his permanent exile from Ecuador, which is why he had to move to Mexico and start a new life.

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