History Characters / CobraKai

[[Characters/CobraKaiJohnnyLawrence Johnny Lawrence]] | [[Characters/CobraKaiEliMoskowitz Eli "Hawk" Moskowitz]] | [[Characters/CobraKaiJohnKreese John Kreese]] | [[Characters/CobraKaiRobbyKeene Robby Keene]] | [[Characters/CobraKaiToryNichols Tory Nichols]] | [[Characters/CobraKaiDanielLaRusso Daniel [=LaRusso=]]]\\

* [[Characters/CobraKaiEliMoskowitz Eli "Hawk" Moskowitz]]

* [[Characters/CobraKaiDanielLaRusso Daniel [=LaRusso=]]]

[[Characters/CobraKaiJohnnyLawrence Johnny Lawrence]] | [[Characters/CobraKaiEliMoskowitz Eli "Hawk" Moskowitz]] | [[Characters/CobraKaiJohnKreese John Kreese]]\\

''Multiple Character Pages''\\

!!Multiple Character Pages

''CharacterSpecificPages''\\

!!CharacterSpecificPages

[[Characters/CobraKaiCobraKaiAndAssociates Cobra Kai and Associates]] ([[Characters/CobraKaiJohnKreese John Kreese]]) | [[Characters/CobraKaiEagleFangAndAssociates Eagle Fang and Associates]] ([[Characters/CobraKaiJohnnyLawrence Johnny Lawrence]]) | [[Characters/CobraKaiMiyagiDoAndAssociates Miyagi-Do and Associates]] | [[Characters/CobraKaiOtherCharacters Other Characters]]-]]]]]

* [[Characters/CobraKaiCobraKaiAndAssociates Cobra Kai and Associates]]
** [[Characters/CobraKaiJohnKreese John Kreese]]
* [[Characters/CobraKaiEagleFangAndAssociates Eagle Fang and Associates]]
** [[Characters/CobraKaiJohnnyLawrence Johnny Lawrence]]
* [[Characters/CobraKaiMiyagiDoAndAssociates Miyagi-Do and Associates]]
* [[Characters/CobraKaiOtherCharacters Other Characters]]

[[Characters/CobraKaiCobraKaiAndAssociates Cobra Kai and Associates]] ([[Characters/CobraKaiJohnKreese John Kreese]]) | [[Characters/CobraKaiEagleFangAndAssociates Eagle Fang and Associates]] ([[Characters/CobraKaiJohnnyLawrence Johnny Lawrence]]) | [[Characters/CobraKaiMiyagiDoAndAssociates Miyagi-Do and Associates]] [[Characters/CobraKaiOtherCharacters Other Characters]]-]]]]]

[[Characters/CobraKaiCobraKaiAndAssociates Cobra Kai and Associates]] ([[Characters/CobraKaiJohnKreese John Kreese]]) | [[Characters/CobraKaiEagleFangAndAssociates Eagle Fang and Associates]] ([[Characters/CobraKaiJohnnyLawrence Johnny Lawrence]]) | [[Characters/CobraKaiMiyagiDoAndAssociates Miyagi-Do and Associates]] ([[Characters/CobraKaiDanielLaRusso Daniel LaRusso]]) | [[Characters/CobraKaiOtherCharacters Other Characters]]-]]]]]

** [[Characters/CobraKaiDanielLaRusso Daniel LaRusso]]

[[Characters/CobraKaiCobraKaiAndAssociates Cobra Kai and Associates]] ([[Characters/CobraKaiJohnnyLawrence Johnny Lawrence]], [[Characters/CobraKaiJohnKreese John Kreese]]) | [[Characters/CobraKaiMiyagiDoAndAssociates Miyagi-Do and Associates]] ([[Characters/CobraKaiDanielLaRusso Daniel LaRusso]]) | [[Characters/CobraKaiOtherCharacters Other Characters]]-]]]]]

** [[Characters/CobraKaiJohnnyLawrence Johnny Lawrence]]

[[index]

* [[Characters/CobraKaiJohnnyLawrence Johnny Lawrence]]
* [[Characters/CobraKaiDanielLaRusso Daniel LaRusso]]
* [[Characters/CobraKaiJohnKreese John Kreese]]

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[[foldercontrol]]
!Cobra Kai Dojo
[[folder:In General]]
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cobrakai_3.jpg]]
[-[[caption-width-right:300:'''Johnny:''' Screw that lame meditation bullshit.]]-]
->''"What you need is bone-crunching, face-smashing, good ol' American karate. Enough about self-defense. Learn self-offense! Don't be a pussy. Join Cobra Kai, and let me teach you the way of the fist."''
-->-- '''Johnny Lawrence'''
----
* AttackAttackAttack: The motto for the school is "Strike First, Strike Hard, No Mercy". And when beginning defense, Johnny tells Miguel that the best defense is more offense.
* BackFromTheBrink: The residents of the San Fernando Valley have all but forgotten the old karate dojo, and the few who do remember Cobra Kai only have bad memories of them. However, thanks to Johnny's efforts the dojo has been restored and by the end of Season 1 [[spoiler: Cobra Kai has become the most popular karate dojo in the Valley]] due to several of the students becoming an InstantWebHit and Miguel [[spoiler: winning the All Valley Under 18 Karate Tournament]].
* BadassCrew: The Dojo go from a pack of bullied kids to badass martial arts fighters.
* BigThinShortTrio: In Season 2, this would be Mitch, Hawk, and Bert -- right down to being {{foil}}s for Miyagi-do's Chris, Demetri, and Nathaniel respectively.
* BloodKnight: Most of them are pretty much at home with fighting.
* {{Determinator}}: Considering the TrainingFromHell the Dojo goes through, the rough backgrounds they tend to share, and how much the dojo has to go through just to get into the All Valley Under 18 tournament, they count as this. And once Kreese comes on board in season 2, he makes being a Determinator mandatory for students.
--> '''Kreese:''' I will never let my students lose... even if they have to learn the hard way.
* EvilWearsBlack: Downplayed. To showcase their aggression, not only do they wear black gi in Season 1, but [[spoiler: come Season 2 (especially the big school fight), the majority of their leading members wear [[RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver red and black clothes]]]].
* FaceHeelTurn: [[spoiler:The dojo as a whole seems to be heading in this direction by the end of season 2 as Kreese has essentially usurp ownership of Cobra Kai from Johnny with the majority of the students (most of which TookALevelInJerkass) accepting him as their new sensei. It gets even worse when Kreese begins actively recruiting new students who are already thugs, like Kyler]].
* FiveManBand:
** The core members fit into this pretty well. Johnny is TheLeader being the dojo's Sensei, Miguel is TheLancer being Johnny's star pupil and {{Foil}} and later becomes TheDragon as Cobra Kai's best but most [[NoNonsenseNemesis taciturn]] fighter, Eli/Hawk becomes TheBigGuy[=/=]TheBrute being the most aggressive fighter; Aisha is TheSmartGuy[=/=]TheEvilGenius being both academically cunning and utterly ruthless (with a minor in TheChick / DarkChick), while Tory is TheChick[=/=]DarkChick being Miguel's LoveInterest in Season 2 and a downright ManipulativeBitch.
** Miyagi-Do's group fits as well, with Daniel as TheLeader, Robby as TheLancer, Demetri as TheSmartGuy, Chris as TheBigGuy, Sam as TheChick, and Nathaniel as the TagalongKid.
* HeWhoFightsMonsters: The majority of the students are bullied kids that just want to defend themselves, but by the end of Season 1 [[spoiler: most of them become almost just as bad as their tormentors]]. ''Especially'' Hawk.
* InstantWebHit: In-universe, many of the students' actions become this over the course of Season 1, the most significant one being Miguel's cafeteria fight with Kyler and his gang in Episode 5, which provided the dojo the advertising it needed to attract more students.
* KarmaHoudini: The other students who are briefly seen helping Hawk to trash the Miyagi-do dojo don't get their comeuppance like the latter did (Mitch being one of them). In fact, the show makes it look like Hawk was the only one who did the whole thing.
* NothingIsTheSameAnymore: By the end of season three, [[spoiler:Johnny, Miguel, Hawk, Aisha, Mitch, Bert, and just about everyone else who was part of the dojo under Johnny's solo reign has left Cobra Kai, leaving it to be run by Kreese with bullies like Tory and Kyler under his thumb as a true ThugDojo with no redeeming qualities.]]
* OpinionOverride: [[spoiler:At the end of season two, Hawk, Tory, Mitch, Stingray and several others decide to abandon Johnny for Kreese, considering Miguel's injuries in the school brawl to be Johnny's fault. Miguel on the other hand, doesn't blame Johnny for what happened to him at all.]]
* OrderReborn: After the events of ''Film/TheKarateKidPartIII'', the Cobra Kai dojo was banned from the All Valley Tournament and, presumably, collapsed due to its reputation as a ThugDojo. Johnny decides to start it up again to teach Miguel how to stand up for himself and Miguel's fight against Kyler and his gang inspires a new generation to want to learn how to do the same. By the end of the first season, they've become strong enough to win the All Valley Tournament again.
* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: Almost everyone who showed up at the dojo following the lunchroom episode (see InstantWebHit) cited a lack of resources to deal with the rampant bullying epidemic in the area. They were of all sizes (between small Bert and heavyset Aisha), conditions (Eli's cleft palate), and backgrounds, all looking for nothing more than to be able to fight back. Not exactly what Johnny was expecting, but he rolls with it and turns them into formidable fighters.
* RedOniBlueOni: Red to Miyagi-Do.
* RivalDojos: With Miyagi-Do Dojo in Season 2, of course. [[spoiler:Season 3 adds Johnny's new dojo Eagle Fang to their enemies list before that dojo and Miyagi-do combine forces.]]
* ThugDojo: The Cobra Kai style emphasizes extreme aggression and heavy offense, in contrast to the more defensive Miyagi-do. In a deconstruction, Johnny turns his students into bullies by ''accident'', only wanting to give them the courage to stand up to their tormentors. Once he realizes what he did, he takes active steps to remedy this error. [[spoiler:Unfortuntately, Kreese promptly undermines everything he does.]]
* TrainingFromHell: In stark contrast to [[WaxOnWaxOff Miyagi-do]] Cobra Kai's training methods are direct and brutal but also honest and purposeful. Johnny may work his students to the bone but he always makes sure they know exactly why they're doing that particular exercise and how it'll benefit them. Students who tough out the Cobra's conditioning find that [[LookWhatICanDoNow the results more than justify all the suffering]].
* VillainousFriendship:
** One of the dojo's biggest redeeming traits, even after HeWhoFightsMonsters sets in, is that the members of Cobra Kai are genuine friends to one another. Johnny often acts like a DrillSergeantNasty, but he cares about the kids he teaches and has enough redeeming traits that his students clearly look up to him. The top students still regularly hang out with Demetri despite him quitting Cobra Kai. All the students, including the unnamed members of the dojo, attend Aisha's canyon party to help her get back at Yasmine. Also, during the All Valley Under 18 Karate Tournament, all of them cheer on their teammates, even Bert, the dojo's smallest and weakest member.
** This is complicated in the second season when [[spoiler:Hawk begins to resent Demetri for not fully committing to Cobra Kai, which culminates in Demetri writing a bad Yelp review of the dojo after he is slugged by Kreese and then joining Miyagi-Do, [[WeUsedToBeFriends causing the two to become sworn enemies]]. Soon thereafter, even more students defect from Cobra Kai to Miyagi-Do, leading to the disintegration of other friendships (such as that between Chris and Mitch). Later, the absence of some Cobra Kai members such as [[TokenGoodTeammate Aisha]] after [[TheCorrupter Kreese]] takes over the dojo completely may indicate that the group is fracturing even further]].
** It becomes more complicated in the third season. Without Johnny around, Kreese, dissatisfied with the students' performance in the school brawl, decides to go even further in weeding out the weaker students and actively recruit more athletic ones. The dismissal of loyalists like Bert and [[spoiler:Mitch]] and adversaries such as Kyler and [[spoiler:Robby]] being welcomed into the fold causes several more of the students, including [[spoiler:Miguel and Hawk]] to leave, leaving the group's membership barely resembling how it was in the first season.
* VillainousValor: Cobra Kai has many problems, but cowardice is not one of them. As a group, they will never back down from a fight or the harshest lessons.
[[/folder]]

[[AC: Sensei]]

[[folder:Johnny Lawrence]]
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cobrakaijohnnylawrence.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"Cobra Kai will always be badass. But there's a difference between no mercy and no honor."'']]
->'''Played by:''' William Zabka / Owen D. Stone ([[Recap/CobraKaiS1E6Quiver 1979 flashback]])

->''"I wasn't always the badass sensei that I am today. Just like a cobra, I had to shed my loser skin to find my true power. And you guys will too."''

34 years after his defeat against Daniel [=LaRusso=], Johnny's life doesn't seem like it could be worse, but that's all about to change now that he's bringing back Cobra Kai, his beloved dojo.
----
* TheAllegedCar: Further reinforcing his DiscoDan attitudes, Johnny's car has clearly seen better days. To be fair though, the 1991 Pontiac Firebird was a pretty sweet car in its day. A fun street racer known for its speed, handling, cornering, and engine power while also being affordable. It's not hard to see why Johnny is so attached to it.
* AntiHeroSubstitute: He's like Miyagi in that he mentors young people... but he's also a JerkWithAHeartOfGold.
* ArmorPiercingQuestion:
** He confronts and questions Hawk and Miguel their reasons for using underhanded tactics during the All-Valley Tournament. The two students can only glance at each other, confused, in response.
--->'''Johnny:''' Hawk. Did you attack your opponent when his back was turned?\\
'''Hawk:''' ''[hesitantly]'' ... Yes, Sensei?\\
'''Johnny:''' Diaz. Did you purposely attack your opponent's injury?\\
'''Miguel:''' ''[confidently]'' Yes, Sensei.\\
'''Johnny:''' Think that makes you badass?\\
''[Miguel and Hawk glance at each other in silence]''\\
'''Johnny:''' What's the matter, too tough a question? Maybe you need some help.
** Johnny voices his disapproval over Miguel finishing off a helpless Hawk during the "Red vs. Black" battle at Coyote Creek while also questioning whether or not he wants to revolve his life around Kreese's "no mercy" ideology.
--->'''Johnny:''' What was that? That's not how I taught you to fight.\\
'''Miguel:''' That's what Sensei Kreese taught us. This isn't a tournament, this is real life.\\
'''Johnny:''' Is that how you want to live your life?
* AscendedExtra: He goes from the franchise's one-off StarterVillain to the main protagonist here.
* BelatedBackstory: Wasn't given one in the original movie being little more than a generic bully.[[note]]Although William Zabka had actually written his own backstory for the character at the time, which was eventually used as the basis for his character here.[[/note]] Here though he's given the FreudianExcuse of his abusive home life for why he turned to bullying in the first place.
* BerserkButton:
** Anything to do with Daniel [=LaRusso=] serves as this, even before Cobra-Kai makes a comeback.
** Damaging his car is even worse than pushing any of his other buttons as it'll drive him into a rage.
** And [[DirtyCoward using dirty tricks and cheap shots to win a competition]]? He might let it slide ''that'' day, but there ''will'' be hell to pay in the morning.
** Hurting, or even making mention of bringing pain towards [[LikeASonToMe Miguel]] and his family. Kreese's attempts to gaslight him simply stop working because he continues to bring up Miguel.
* BigShutUp: His preference is a loud, abrupt "'''QUIET!'''" that works every single time he uses it.
* BreakTheHaughty:
** Spends the first episode undergoing this. He is fired from his job as a handyman after a misunderstanding with a customer straight out of ''Website/NotAlwaysRight'', he is maced and arrested after trying to stick up for a neighbor who is being beaten up, his stepfather writes him off as a lost cause, his car gets smashed and towed to his old rival Daniel [=LaRusso=]'s auto shop, and then he learns that Daniel's daughter was involved.
** Once his backstory is revealed, you can't help but feel bad for Johnny even in the original films. [[spoiler:He didn't have a father and was forced to cope with an abusive step-dad. He then joined Cobra Kai to escape his abusive life, and thanks to the friends and respect he'd earned, he treated Kreese as the only father he's ever had, much like Daniel and Miyagi]]. You can only imagine how much emotional damage he had to endure after losing the '84 tournament.
* BrokenPedestal: By the end of Season 2, he becomes this for [[spoiler:Hawk, Tory, Mitch, and several of the other Cobra Kai students. They blame him for Miguel's hospitalization because Miguel was following his teachings on mercy.]]
* CallingTheOldManOut: Johnny's last visit to his stepfather's has him return money given to him by the latter, now that Cobra Kai is in a financially stable position. Sid claims his stepson will be back for more... only for him to quip that he no longer needs to rely on his stepfather for financial support, and smugly leaves, while Sid is left speechless.
-->'''Johnny:''' I never needed your money. It's just the only thing you had to give. Goodbye, Sid.
* CasanovaWannabe: Downplayed. While not overly flirtatious, Johnny still seems to think he's a smooth-talking ladykiller. The attractive jogger he tries to hit on at the start of the series disagrees.
-->'''Johnny:''' ''[trying to sound suave]'' ''Hey.''\\
'''Jogger:''' ''[glares at him and jogs off]'' Creep.
* ConspiracyTheorist: Johnny believes that it was dinosaurs that built the pyramids, as he commented "I knew it" after finding a fake news website with "proof" of it while surfing the web for the first time.
* CoolCar: Johnny's 3rd generation Pontiac Firebird ''was'' a pretty sweet whip for its time, being relatively affordable and capable of some high performance riding. After it's destroyed, Johnny chooses a more conventionally stylish and modern '09 Dodge Challenger from one of Daniel's trade-ins. Season 2 has him give it an exceptionally badass matte black and gold, Cobra Kai-themed paint job.
* DespairEventHorizon: [[spoiler:By the end of Season 2, Miguel is hospitalized, Carmen blames him for Miguel's injuries and never wants to see him again, and he's lost his dojo and his students to John Kreese, leaving him all alone and with nothing else to do but to [[DrowningMySorrows drown his sorrows in alcohol by the beachside.]]]]
* DirtyCoward: Defied. The day after the All-Valley Tournament, he lectures his entire dojo on what Cobra Kai really stands for, and has zero tolerance whatsoever for using underhanded tactics (which he dismissively labels "pussy moves") to defeat opponents unable to fight back.
-->'''Johnny:''' Cobra Kai is about being badass. And the baddest badass is the one who beats his opponent when he's at his strongest. ''Not'' when his back is turned. ''Not'' when he's injured. That means no more cheating. No more fighting dirty. From here on out, those are pussy moves, and you don't wanna be pussies, do ya?
* DiscoDan:
** Johnny is stuck in an 80s stasis and still drives an old Pontiac Firebird, listens only to "hair metal" bands, ''prints'' flyers for his dojo in the same style as the original Cobra Kai, and repeatedly watches ultra-80s classic ''Film/IronEagle'' as his go-to movie of choice.
** The comic spin-off has a RunningGag of Johnny trying to use an 80s based metaphor to explain something or motivate his students, only for it to flop due to them being unaware of the context.
** He also shows a distressing ignorance of social media, seemingly preferring to use a flip phone and doesn't have a Website/{{Facebook}} profile (not extremely unusual by itself, but he also doesn't even know what it ''is'' until Daniel shows him).
--->'''Johnny:''' What's a Facebook?\\
'''Daniel:''' Wow. Really, Johnny?
** Overall, while major life-events have clearly occurred for him (getting married, having a son) it’s clear that TheEighties are a familiar bubble he is unwilling (or perhaps unable) to break out of.
** A part of his CharacterDevelopment is learning to leave his familiar [[DiscoDan Eighties bubble]] to live in the present and look to the future.
* DrillSergeantNasty: Like Kreese, Johnny adopts this style for training his own students.
* DrinkBasedCharacterization: Is rarely seen drinking anything but a Coors Banquet, an inexpensive, American beer that matches Johnny's blue-collar lifestyle and {{Eagleland}} tendencies to a T. Best shown in "Pulpo" where Daniel, Carmen, and Amanda all order fancier cocktails and he sticks with the Coors, sticking out like a sore thumb.
* DrowningMySorrows: Comes with being TheAlcoholic. Some notable moments include [[spoiler:the aftermath after bringing an injured Miguel back to his angered mother, Johnny's reaction to his son being a student of Daniel, and the last moment of Season 1. His worst comes in Season 2 after he's unable to locate Robby and finds out the boy is living with the LaRussos. Carmen has to help him inside and get him sobered up.]]
* {{Eagleland}}: A mild Type B, being crude and boorish, but still a JerkWithAHeartOfGold. Besides being an 80s DiscoDan, Johnny near-exclusively drinks Coors brews, drives American muscle cars, and assumed Miguel's family were immigrants. It extends to his practice of karate, which he thinks of as American and superior to "foreign" arts like UsefulNotes/BrazilianJiuJitsu and UsefulNotes/{{Taekwondo}}. Though he occasionally falls into type A as he instills positive American qualities in his students like personal empowerment, anti-victimhood, standing up for yourself, confidence, persistence, and passion. This is symbolized by the American flag on his wall in the Cobra Kai dojo.
* EskimosArentReal: Throws Miguel's inhaler against the wall after he tells him he has asthma, declaring that asthma and peanut allergies and the like don't exist in Cobra Kai.
** He names [[spoiler: his new Karate school]] Eagle Fang[[labelnote:*]]due to eagles being able to kill snakes[[/labelnote]] because he believes that mongooses are a fictional animal.
* EveryoneHasStandards:
** Since Johnny's trying to be a better person, he doesn't quite qualify for "evil", and either way his reaction to Aisha testifying what cyberbullying is like fills him with disgust; at least when ''he'' was a bully, [[DoWrongRight he always did it to his victim's face instead of hiding behind a screen like a coward.]]
** It's also shown that while he sees nothing wrong about guys harassing girls until they agree to go on a date, he also believes that if a girl doesn't want to do anything physical then the guy should back off.
** It is clear from both his actions during and right after the tournament to his dressing down of Miguel and Hawk that he does not approve of fighting dirty, calling cheap shots "pussy moves". He makes clear to Miguel afterwards that there's a big difference between showing no mercy in a fight and showing no honour outside of it.
** He is disgusted to learn that one of his students vandalized the Miyagi-Do dojo and he puts all the students through vigorous conditioning drills to make the culprit confess.
* EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: In sharp contrast to his stepdad, Johnny had a great relationship with his mother before she died. Part of the reason she married Sid in the first place was so she and Johnny wouldn't have to struggle financially and when he told her he wanted to learn karate she fully supported the endeavor. When she passed away, Johnny fell into a depression that was so severe that he went on a bender and missed Robby's birth. Even now, Johnny misses her and takes offense when Sid refers to her as a "hot piece of ass".
* FatalFlaw: Johnny's [[PoorJudgeOfCharacter blindspot when it comes to Kreese]] ends up being the catalyst to all major issues that occur in the second season. Despite everything that happens, Johnny still sees Kreese as a father-figure and projects his own desire to become a better person onto him. This is despite literally ''everyone'' telling Johnny [[DevilInPlainSight what an awful idea letting Kreese teach again is]]. Despite his own concerns with Kreese's teaching style, he continues to allow Kreese to teach and influence his students unchecked. [[spoiler: This builds to the point where the new Cobra Kai becomes the GangOfBullies that Daniel kept accusing them of being]].
* AFatherToHisMen: As harsh as his training methods are, his speech to the All-Valley Tournament committee and behavior during the tournament itself prove that he does genuinely care about his students and wants them to succeed.
* TheFettered: He advocates for striking first as part of the Cobra Kai philosophy, but abhors utilizing underhanded tactics to gain the upper hand against a disadvantaged opponent.
* ForgivenButNotForgotten: Enforced by Daniel. Johnny approaches Robby after the finals of the All Valley Tournament and apologizes to him for [[spoiler: Miguel using dirty tricks to win Cobra Kai the tournament]]. Robby, who has already been imparted enough forgiveness from Daniel by then, calmly lets the issue slide and departs without further animosity at that moment. However, the beginning of Season 2 shows that Robby is still angry at Johnny and is still working on forgiving him. Eventually, their relationship improves.
* FreudianExcuse: The show reveals that Johnny wasn't just some spoiled rich kid, but rather an emotionally abused youth. He was bullied at home by a cruel stepfather, and Kreese's Cobra Kai dojo was the only place he found any kind of acceptance and mentorship, as twisted as it may have been.
* FunctionalAddict: Zig-zagged. He's near-constantly downing some kind of booze, and yet he still somehow manages to stay functional enough to teach karate and drive competently (mostly).
* GenderedInsult: Has no problem deliberately addressing guys with terminology that refers to the opposite sex. He also seems visibly disgusted at the very concept of "gendered insults."
* GeniusBruiser: During the committee meeting, Johnny proves he is not just good with his fists but can be quite smart and eloquent as well. The fact he was able to succeed with far fewer resources in reviving Cobra Kai where Terry Silver and John Kreese had failed shows that he is not a bad business owner as well.
* GenerationXerox: Zigzagged.
** For the first half of Season 1, he's this to Mr. Miyagi, being the maintenance man turned unorthodox karate teacher to a bullied youth (granted Johnny is a more jaded and cynical version of Miyagi).
** By the second half of Season 1, after Cobra Kai starts gaining more students, Johnny becomes one to Kreese, a SenseiForScoundrels, despite his best attempts to avoid this. This bit in particular is zigzagged, because unlike Kreese, he isn't large and intimidating or conspicuously malevolent looking. It doesn't help that Kreese was in his prime while Johnny is just over 50 and beset with all the physical problems of aging (along with his years if not decades of copious alcohol consumption), and he hasn't practiced his art in decades due to real life getting in the way. Also, Johnny has more comedic moments due to his lack of tech-savviness and being at least twenty years out of date. Amusingly, Johnny's attempts to talk tough sound like he's channeling his whiny teenage voice.
* GlobalIgnorance: Despite being a sensei, he thinks karate comes from America. He even advertises it as such to prospective students.
-->'''Johnny:''' All this new-age crap, like jiu-jitsu, taekwondo, they're all just cheap knockoffs of karate.
* GoodIsNotNice: Johnny is earnestly trying to do better with his life, he genuinely cares for his students, and he loves his son. Doesn't mean he'll be particularly gentle or polite about any of those things.
* GoodParents: Becomes this in season 3, [[spoiler:just not to Robby. He helps Miguel recover from his injury and supports him every step of the way. He becomes a great ParentalSubsitute to Miguel, but his relationship with Robby is still a mess, as he makes several critical blunders.]]
* HeroicBSOD: At the end of Season 2, after [[spoiler:his rivalry with Daniel leads to a school-wide brawl that hospitalizes Miguel and Sam, with the former potentially crippled or dying and the latter maimed]], all he can do is get in an elevator with Daniel and share a quiet BSOD.
* HiddenDepths: For all his bluster about “nerds”, Johnny’s lengthy Facebook message to Ali reveals that he went to community college to study a scientific subject (implied to be either chemistry or medicine), but was expelled after starting a fire.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Him putting his faith in his former Cobra Kai sensei ultimately becomes his own undoing, for [[spoiler:Kreese swipes control of the Cobra Kai dojo along with the loyalty of eight of his students, following the events of the school brawl]].
* HopelessWithTech: Johnny has never owned a computer before, and after buying one for the first time he is incapable of even turning it on without help. He eventually uses a combination of a [[ParodiesForDummies Internet for Dummies]] book and calling the pawn shop owner whom he bought the laptop from for help.
* {{Hunk}}: No longer the PrettyBoy he use to be, but apart from some wrinkles (as pointed out by his old friend Bobby), Johnny still has some rugged handsomeness going for him.
* HypocriteHasAPoint: Johnny tells Daniel to get his house in order after he mentions Kyler being on good terms with his daughter. While Johnny's own family situation isn't that much better, he's not wrong for pointing out that Kyler isn't the type of guy Sam thinks he is.
-->'''Daniel:''' Just stay away from my daughter's friends.\\
'''Johnny:''' Your daughter's friends? Yeah, that makes sense. Nice company she keeps.\\
'''Daniel:''' What the hell is that supposed to mean?\\
'''Johnny:''' It means that those friends of hers were wailing on a kid half their size. Now, maybe you don't know your daughter as well as you think you do. Get your house in order, [=LaRusso=].
* ICouldaBeenAContender: His constant reminiscing of his GloryDays as the Valley's best karateka (and well on his way for state or even national recognition) strongly implies he feels this.
* InadequateInheritor: Inverted, tragically. While Johnny is trying to recreate Cobra Kai to be a better organization and philosophy than it was under Kreese, he inadvertently ends up not only recreating its original ethos as a bullying haven, but his emphasis on CombatPragmatist thinking leads his star pupil to be even more ruthless than he was in his heyday. [[spoiler:Kreese even returns to congratulate him on such an accomplishment.]]
* InnocentlyInsensitive: Without a clue as to what the autism spectrum is, Johnny simply tells Eli to "get off it."
-->'''Eli:''' My doctor said I could be on the spectrum.\\
'''Johnny:''' I don't know what that is, but get off it, pronto.
* InternalReformist: On top of bettering himself as a person, Johnny works to change Cobra Kai's ways for the better such that they don't adhere to the "no mercy" mindset.
* JadedWashout: A former teen karate champion now a middle-aged down-on-his-luck handyman living by paycheck.
* JerkassHasAPoint: Despite being an undeniable asshole, he is often times right in his accusations, criticisms and observations.
** In regards to his fight at the strip mall, he tells Daniel, "I didn't beat up any teenagers. I kicked the shit out of a bunch of assholes who deserved it." He is not wrong. Kyler and his friends were assaulting Miguel, a kid half their size, over [[DisproportionateRetribution Miguel accidentally blowing their cover]], and they started a fight with ''Johnny'' when he tried to intervene. Johnny is also right to tell Daniel that he should keep an eye on who his daughter is hanging out with and that he is not as knowledgeable about his daughter's activities as he thinks he is.
** As harsh of an instructor as he is, and at times quite degrading, his methods are effective at teaching. He is absolutely right when he says fair fights don't exist in a street fight. In the episode, "Quiver", when Miguel [[WhatTheHellHero calls him out]] for insulting his new students. Johnny is later proven correct that even though many of them [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere quit due to his bullying]], it's shown to be effective at weeding the weaker ones out. In the same episode, Demetri tries telling Johnny that his harsh insults are socially unacceptable, only to have Johnny point out that some people don't give a damn about what society says is or isn't okay to do; when Demetri keeps up with the snark, Johnny proves his point by getting in the the kid's face and putting him on the floor.
** When he confronts Daniel, while he might be wrong about Louie and his friends having been ordered by Daniel to wreck his car, he's not wrong about the potential consequences of their impulsive acts; lighting a car on fire is likely to cause the fire to spread, especially having been carelessly splashed with gasoline. It wouldn't have taken much for the flames to travel to a building.
** Additionally, his critique that Daniel can never leave well enough alone is completely accurate. Throughout season one, Daniel was the one who went out of his way to hinder Johnny's efforts to revive Cobra Kai while Johnny was content to let him live his life. It gets worse in season two when Daniel decides to revive Miyagi-Do to combat Cobra Kai's influence in the Valley and creates a RivalDojos scenario that ends [[spoiler:in an all out war between the teens that sends several of them to the hospital.]] In the aftermath, Daniel's wife calls him out on this as well.
** While he himself is a deadbeat dad, when Johnny calls out Shannon on being a crappy parent as well, he is correct that her neglect of their son plays a direct role in his turn to drugs, crime and general delinquency.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He's a rude and crude ManChild, but he's trying to become a better person and is honestly trying to help his students.
* KnowWhenToFoldEm: Johnny nearly gets in a physical altercation with a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu instructor after trying to poach his students. He calls it off when a police car shows up so he won't violate his probation.
* LikeParentLikeSpouse: His mother and his ex-wife look so much alike they could be related. Shannon even seems to share some traits with Johnny's mother, in wanting to find a man to take care of her, but the similarities end with their looks and that driving factor.
* LittleNo: Shown silently mouthing this and shaking his head when Miguel grabs Robby's leg and prepares to target Robby's shoulder again during the tournament, cementing Johnny's failure as a mentor and father figure to both boys.
* LowerClassLout: He starts the series as an alcoholic divorced handyman and quickly becomes an alcoholic divorced ''ex''-handyman.
* ManlyManAndSensitiveGuy: While both are skilled karate masters, Johnny is the manly man to Daniel's sensitive guy.
* ManlyTears: If you thought [[spoiler:a hospitalized Miguel]] wasn't enough, Johnny listens to a voicemail he missed from Miguel requesting his help, and is unable to hold back his tears.
* MartialArtsHeadband: He wears his black headband from ''Film/TheKarateKid1984'' again when he restarts Cobra-Kai. He reveals that it was actually a gift from Ali.
* TheMentor: An abrasive and crass one, but he still has the best intentions and his advice is more often than not actually very good.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone:
** Johnny slowly starts to go through this during the tournament, seeing his students repeat his mistakes when he was under Kreese's tutelage, and even at one point sadly stares at a picture of Kreese, realizing their parallels. It doesn't get any better when the first season concludes with [[spoiler:Kreese's return]].
** [[spoiler:Shares this with Daniel at the end of Season 2 due to the school brawl.]]
** [[spoiler:Johnny also realizes that bring back Cobra Kai was a serious mistake, so he decides to branch away into his own dojo, the Eagle Fang.]]
* NeverMyFault: In the first season, Johnny recounts the events of the original film and in both instances he downplays his out aggression towards Daniel to make himself out to have been the victim and Daniel the antagonizer.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: [[spoiler:Letting Kreese teach at Cobra Kai again ruins his efforts to encourage his students to be less violent and aggressive and eventually leads to him losing both them and the dojo to Kreese.]]
* NotSoDifferent:
** It is revealed that even at the time of the first movie, both Daniel and Johnny began as outcasts with missing (or straight up abusive) father figures, who found their solace from bullying -- and a new father figure -- through martial arts. By the second movie, they both have every reason fear/despise Kreese ''and'' they can both claim Ali as TheOneThatGotAway.
** Thirty-four years later, Johnny and Daniel are both struggling through their mid-lives in a world that's gotten no easier. They repeatedly discover that if they can hang out for more than five minutes without trying to kill each other, they ''can'' manage to get along even to the point of bromance... if it weren't for the universe (usually in the form of Robby) conspiring to follow up those moments with something sufficiently obnoxious to set them at each other's throats once again.
** [[spoiler:Shown more blatantly with Kreese when he gets his old sensei in a chokehold during their fight, and immediately has flashbacks to when Kreese did the same thing to him after losing the championship to Daniel all those years ago.]]
* ParentalSubstitute: After spending so much time training with Miguel, the kid begins to see Johnny as a father figure and frequently turns to him for advice on topics such as dating girls, dealing with people, and how to navigate the world. It's reciprocated as, Johnny takes an active interest in Miguel's life and is always trying to steer him in the right direction. [[spoiler:After Miguel awakens from his coma, Johnny tells him he'd always be on his side and helps him learn to stand and walk again.]]
* PermaStubble: In the first episode, he possesses the unkempt down-on-your-luck variety. He shaves it off once he decides to resurrect the Cobra Kai dojo. It comes back in full force at the beginning of Season 3, which would also be eventually shaven off when Johnny gets back to rebuilding his life after losing his dojo to Kreese.
* PetTheDog: After the All-Valley Tournament wraps up, Johnny approaches his son and apologizes to him over his own students using underhanded tactics to gain the upper hand. Robby lets it go and leaves with Daniel without further animosity.
* PoliticallyIncorrectHero: Definitely. Politically incorrect? One of the first things he does is make judgmental remarks about Miguel based on his ethnicity. Hero? When Kyler and his goons attack Miguel, he steps in and delivers a righteous ass-kicking. That being said, CharacterDevelopment kicks in and he corrects Kreese about Miguel's ethnicity in season 2; he's also a lot more open about letting female fighters join his team than he was in season 1.
* PoorJudgeOfCharacter: His FatalFlaw, as the major events of the second season showed.
* QuickNip: When he and Daniel stopped at Daniel's old apartment while testdriving Johnny's soon-to-own Dodge Challenger, Johnny passively mentions seeing a bar around the corner and ropes Daniel into getting a drink with him.
* RagsToRiches: Downplayed. Starts off this series as a handyman living paycheck to paycheck and needing his rich stepfather to bail him out with money when needed. By the end of the series, he's doing well enough that he can pay back all the money his stepfather ever gave him.
* RatedMForManly: Firmly practices and preaches this and is practically inherent in Cobra Kai's philosophy. Many of Johnny's personal traits and beliefs are just manners of him asserting his masculinity: answering most situations with violence, listening to rock music, driving American muscle cars, being a hit with the ladies etc.
* RedOniBlueOni: Johnny's headstrong and reckless Red Oni and Daniel's level-headed and rational Blue Oni.
* RelativeButton: He takes it very personally when Sid describes Laura as a "hot piece of ass".
* TheResenter: Downplayed. He's initially this ways towards Daniel due to being a down on his luck handyman versus Daniel owning several car dealerships. However, once he turns his life around and becomes financially secure he's loses the resentment and even points out he would've left Daniel to live his own life had he not tried to ruin his business.
* SchoolYardBullyAllGrownUp: In the 34 years between ''The Karate Kid'' and ''Cobra Kai'', Lawrence has hardly gotten any nicer. Worst of all, he's now all too aware of it. Johnny's main motivation in the beginning is to turn the franchise around and finally make something of his life, and he does gradually soften up and let his HiddenHeartOfGold peek out from time to time.
* ScrewTheMoneyIHaveRules: He tears up and discards a check given to him by his stepfather, stating that he'd rather be homeless than accept financial support from someone who's been nothing but abusive to him. Later on, however, Johnny retrieves the same check and uses it to fund the opening of the new Cobra Kai dojo.
* SelfMadeMan: Downplayed. Though he had help in the form of his stepfather's check, Miguel's web savvy and the viral video of the lunchroom brawl with Kyler's posse, he managed to get Cobra Kai back up on pretty much nothing else. [[PyrrhicVictory And it won the All Valley Tournament!]]
* SenseiForScoundrels: Deconstructed in that although he doesn't intend to be an EvilMentor, he is still unconsciously reiterating what his own mentor Kreese taught him, with predictable results.
* SinkOrSwimMentor: In the most literal way possible. He subjects his students to an intense {{training|from hell}} regimen and expects them to survive it on their own and without help. When trying to teach Miguel to use his legs he ties his hands and actually throws him into a pool so he can only use his legs to keep himself from sinking.
* SlobsVersusSnobs: Johnny's a scruffy, boorish and lazy Slob and Daniel's an affluent, cultured, diligent Snob.
* SoProudOfYou: While he never uses the words, Johnny clearly feels this way towards Miguel, when he hears about the latter successfully beating up Kyler and his gang. He demonstrates it by [[PassingTheTorch giving Miguel the uniform he used to wear when he started training]].
** Taken up a notch by Season 3. He's far more open with his affection for Miguel, hugging him in the open multiple times. Also his Facebook account is almost primarily filled with moments with Miguel. [[LikeASonToMe It definitely shows how much Johnny has taken a parental role with him.]]
* SoccerHatingAmericans: When he sees Bobby watching soccer on TV in the hospital, he jokes that Tommy's illness is clearly worse than he thought.
* TestosteronePoisoning: Not as exaggerated as his student Hawk later becomes, but Johnny still practices the idea of dealing with everything in life "like a badass".
* TrademarkFavoriteDrink: '''Coors Banquet.''' For food: fried bologna and beef jerky.
* {{Troll}}: Has Miguel open the tournament with the Crane Kick solely because he knows how much Daniel will hate seeing the kid use his signature move. Likewise, he admits to Daniel that he organized the Cobra Kai demonstration just to upstage Miyagi-do.
* TookALevelInKindness: Starting up his own Cobra Kai dojo begins this process in Johnny, as he begins to care for and express compassion towards his students, becoming more tolerant and attentive in the process. When he undergoes a HeelRealization in Season 1's finale as HistoryRepeats during the tournament, he adjusts and tries to become an InternalReformist in an attempt to pull his students back from being in a ThugDojo. Unfortunately, he also allows [[ManipulativeBastard Kreese]] back in, thinking he's reformed...
* TwoDecadesBehind: He shows a shockingly high amount of ignorance about the internet for someone his age, not even knowing what Facebook is. His initial reaction to Aisha wanting to join the dojo also implies he isn't aware the US Army has allowed women to participate in combat.
* UngratefulBastard: He doesn't thank his stepfather for bailing him out of jail, instead bluntly questioning what he's doing in Johnny's apartment.
-->'''Johnny:''' What the hell are you doing in my apartment, Sid?\\
'''Sid:''' Oh, that's some "thank you".
* UsedToBeASweetKid: A flashback shows that before joining Cobra Kai, Johnny was a shy kid who didn't have any friends and suffered verbal abuse from his stepdad on a daily basis. The dojo was the first place where he found acceptance.
* VillainsNeverLie: While he's not necessarily a villain, Johnny freely admits to all of his antagonistic actions during the course of the series like drawing the dick on Daniel's billboard or attacking Anoush unprovoked.
* VillainProtagonist: Downplayed. He goes from a secondary antagonist from the original film to the protagonist of his own series, but he bounces between AntiHero on his better days and WellIntentionedExtremist on his worse days.
* WaxOnWaxOff:
** An interesting example. Johnny makes Miguel clean the dojo, not with the intent of secretly training Miguel, but so the dojo can pass inspection. That said, all the manual work that Miguel had to do did seem to help Miguel get into shape for proper training.
** Johnny's biggest deviation from Mr. Miyagi is his aversion to this. His training methods are harsh but he always makes sure to explain exactly what their purpose is to his students. As the All-Valley Tournament shows, it did them plenty of favors in the long run.
* WellDoneSonGuy: Season 2 makes it clear that as much as he fears and detests Kreese, he still places a lot of stock in his old sensei's approval.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: He genuinely wants to help his students overcome their problems, but echoing Kreese's methods turns them into the same types of bullies that he once was.
* YouHaveGotToBeKiddingMe:
** He is shocked to discover that one of the teenagers who totaled his ride was Daniel [=LaRusso=]'s daughter, and later, when he learns that [[spoiler:his son chose to learn karate from his old enemy instead of him]].
** Johnny is also shocked that a kid Miguel's age has never heard of Music/GunsNRoses.
** His actual words when he finds out Robby has been training with Daniel, and that Robby has more respect for Daniel than he's ever shown for Johnny. Doubles as a TearJerker.
* YourApprovalFillsMeWithShame: All he can do is look at [[spoiler:Kreese, his former mentor]], in complete silence when the latter compliments him for restoring Cobra Kai back to its former glory after winning the All Valley Tournament.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:John Kreese]]
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cobrakaijohnkreese.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"When you're in a war, the other side never fights with any 'honor'. Take it from me."'']]
->'''Played By:''' Martin Kove | Barrett Carnahan (1960's flashbacks)

->''"I founded Cobra Kai. It belongs to me. It always has. And it always will. I will never let my students lose... even if they have to learn the hard way."''

The original sensei of the Cobra Kai dojo. Despite Johnny's belief he died, at the end of season 1, he reenters Johnny's life to bring Cobra Kai to its former glory.
----
* AboveGoodAndEvil: Kreese believes that there is no "good" or "bad", just strength and weakness. He imparts this view to his students as well.
* AesopAmnesia: Despite losing everything in the original trilogy and being a homeless drifter in the 34 years since, Kreese refuses to acknowledge that his life is a war and his "No Mercy" mentality is directly responsible for fueling it. Even when Johnny flat out tells him the old Cobra Kai philosophy never worked and they need to improve it, Kreese takes this as a sign that Johnny has lost his way [[spoiler:and he decides to steal the dojo and his students from underneath him.]]
* TheBadGuyWins:
** Not only does he manage to outlive Miyagi (granted, they were decades apart in age), but he lives long enough to see Cobra Kai revived.
** [[spoiler:Taken even further by the end of season 2, where he takes both Johnny's dojo and the loyalty of his students from him.]]
* BadPeopleAbuseAnimals: He presents a mouse, which he prepared as snake food, to his dojo that Bert takes a liking to... only for Kreese to tell him off for showing compassion to an animal.
* BaitTheDog: He spends the first part of season 2 acting like he's a changed man, but this all turns out to be a ploy to worm his way back into Johnny's good graces [[spoiler:and swipe his dojo right out from under him]].
* BigBad: He's responsible for encouraging the aggression of the Cobra Kai kids in season 2. After the school brawl, [[spoiler:Kreese seizes control of the Cobra Kai dojo along with the loyalty of eight of its students (Hawk, Tory, Stingray, and Mitch included)]].
* BitchInSheepsClothing: He shows up, claiming that he's a changed man and claiming he's remorseful for his actions back in 1984. [[spoiler:It eventually becomes apparent he hasn't changed at all, and was just pretending as such to work his way back into Johnny's good graces and steal his dojo.]]
* BerserkButton:
** Don't talk trash about his tattoos unless you want to end up with a bloodied face. Demetri learns this the hard way.
** He is also visibly rattled when Daniel references the time when he busted up his knuckles trying to fight Mr. Miyagi.
* BlatantLies: He tells so many lies he can't keep track of them, including his service in Afghanistan and other countries, and mixing up Rwanda and Somalia. When Johnny finally confronts him about the truth, it ends up being another means of manipulating Johnny.
* BloodKnight: Downplayed, but for him, life is still war.
-->'''Kreese:''' War never ends. Peace is just the lull between battles.
* BrokenPedestal: In season three, [[spoiler:Hawk, Mitch, Bert and others]] realize Kreese doesn’t actually care about any of the students beyond what they can do for him as fighters and pawns in his revenge schemes. They ultimately [[spoiler:join Johnny and Daniel’s new dojo to take the man down once and for all]].
* TheBusCameBack: Unseen since the end of ''Part III'', he returns at the end of season 1.
* CycleOfRevenge: It turns out that, during his adolescence, Kreese was [[spoiler:bullied by a group of football players with a "no mercy" attitude]]. Also, he fought in the UsefulNotes/VietnamWar, which resulted in a lot of mental problems for those who fought in it (especially as it is revealed that Kreese became a [[spoiler:[=POW=]]]).
* DevilInPlainSight: While he manages to convince Johnny, literally no one else believes Kreese is sincere in his quest for redemption. When Daniel first learns that Kreese is teaching again he's in complete disbelief that Johnny would bring him back [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown after what Kreese did to him]]. Johnny blows off these concerns due to the tension between them. Miguel similarly brings up his worries to Johnny about Kreese but Johnny again deflects these criticisms. ''And then'' Johnny's old Cobra Kai buddies also tell him what an awful idea it is to keep Kreese around, but Johnny is still insistent in believing that Kreese has become a better man.
* DirtyCoward: When Amanda confront Kreese at the dojo, he taunts how Daniel “isn’t man enough to face his own problems”, which gets him slapped. He then goes playing victim to taunt her more. In the season 3 finale, Kreese showed no problem with attempting to flat out murder Johnny and Daniel, but he himself gets visibly scared after Daniel disabled his arms and leg (using techniques taught to him by Chozen), a nod to how he got scared after Miyagi made him injure his own fists in the parking lot many years prior.
* DirtyOldMan: While meeting with Johnny at a diner, Kreese makes a not-so-subtle pass at a waitress as he orders coffee. Keep in mind that Martin Kove is [[OlderThanTheyLook just over 70]].
-->'''Kreese:''' And bring me a cup of Sanka. Red-hot, just like you, doll-face.
* DisappointedInYou: He and his dojo confront Johnny and his new dojo, Eagle Fang Karate, shortly after their opening and offers him one more chance to return to Cobra Kai's ways. Johnny declines, and Kreese warns him that he'll regret it.
* DisproportionateRetribution: He leaves Demetri with a bloodied face all because the latter made critical remarks about the former Cobra Kai sensei's tattoos.
* TheDreaded: Even though he hasn't been seen in 29 years, Johnny and Daniel still fear his influence... and the latter, rightfully so.
%%* {{Eagleland}}: Unlike Johnny, Kreese is a straight [[{{Jerkass}} Type B]] (and later revealed to be a [[JerkWithTheHeartOfAJerk Type B+]]).
* EmergingFromTheShadows: He makes his comeback by stepping out of the dojo's shadowed entrance into the lit-up main room.
* EvilGloating: A fairly subdued version occurs when he arrives at Johnny's dojo; he's clearly enjoying his former student resurrecting their creed and avenging the first loss to Daniel.
* EvilIsPetty: It bears repeating that Kreese's ultimate goal in Season 2 is taking over his own student's dojo so that high school age kids will more readily beat each other up, all for the sake of revenge for Daniel and Miyagi beating his dojo in a tournament decades ago and stopping him from choking out his own student.
* EvilMentor: The original. Most of Johnny's poor influence on his students in season 1 can be traced back to his teachings, while in season 2 it's his direct influence that causes [[spoiler:Hawk, Tory]], and others to go completely off the rails.
* EqualOpportunityEvil: Despite Cobra Kai previously being an all-male dojo, he's apparently able to look past having female members faster than Johnny did, most likely basing them on their performance.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: [[spoiler: Yes, even ''Kreese'' has standards all on his own. He dislikes his bully David for harassing Betsy, and '''even in the modern day''', ''will'' stick up for Tory against her landlord, because the latter tried to use sexual extortion against her.]]
* FatalFlaw: His YouHaveFailedMe tendencies. While he justifies adding more athletic students and dismissing the weaker ones as necessary for Cobra Kai, it winds up alienating the stronger students who are friends with the weaker ones and were used to Johnny's AFatherToHisMen and UndyingLoyalty approach. By the end of the third season, even [[spoiler:Hawk]] has had enough and defects back to Johnny.
* AFatherToHisMen: Subverted. Unlike Johnny who genuinely cares about his students and accepts anyone who joins the dojo and follows his instructions, Kreese does not have the same compassion even if he claims otherwise. Even if a student gives him their UndyingLoyalty, he'll kick them out of the dojo the second a better fighter comes along.
* FinishHim: This is still Kreese's signature expression.
* FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse: While Johnny admits to Kreese he knows the man went through some terrible things in the Vietnam War and he himself will never truly understand the horrors, he also tells him that civilian life is not the same as the war and Kreese's philosophy is just going to cause problems for the kids.
* {{Gaslighting}}: He spends the second season manipulating Johnny into believing that the former Cobra Kai sensei has changed his ways. Even when Johnny eventually catches on and [[spoiler:dismisses him from the new Cobra Kai, Kreese seizes control of the dojo some time after the school brawl, and Johnny is powerless to stop him]].
* GoodSmokingEvilSmoking: He is reintroduced puffing on a glowing cigar to help sell his evil credentials -- as though he needed any assistance with that. He also puts one out in a Miyagi-do bonsai pot.
* GreaterScopeVillain: Johnny unwittingly channels Kreese's teachings when he accidentally corrupts his own students into the same type of bullies he used to be.
* HateSink: He remains unchanged from his days as Sensei of Cobra Kai back in TheEighties and unrepentantly indoctrinates his "soldiers" into subscribing to his MightMakesRight mentality, to the point that they strip him of any redeemable qualities.
* HeartbrokenBadass:
** Issue 3 of the comic series seem to imply this. Kreese had a sweetheart named Betsy sometime before he was deployed to Vietnam. However, Kreese said she became a distraction to his duties and had to end things with her. Kreese was about to go into details with young Johnny, but then decides against it after an apparent look of sincere forlorness.
** We find out in Season 3 that it was much worse than he mentioned, to the point it actually makes Kreese somewhat sympathetic. He joined a special force during Vietnam and right before a big mission, unbeknownst to him Betsy had passed away in a car crash. This information was kept secret from him because it would be a "distraction" but his captain saw fit to reveal this to him while they were about to be forced to fight to the death as [=POWs=], specifically to incite this reaction. It's no wonder that this ended up becoming part of his StartOfDarkness.
* {{Hypocrite}}: While he claims to be a FatherToHisMen, the truth is he's a SocialDarwinist who will expel a student the second they show any reservations about his philosophy or a better fighter joins the dojo.
* IdiotBall: His actions at the end of season three were pretty dumb for a former Green Beret. [[spoiler:He pushes Tory to lead the Cobras in an assault on the Miyagi-do and Eagle Fang students as they're beginning to work together, while keeping Robby behind at the dojo so Johnny and Daniel will find him there when the inevitably confront Kreese for the attack. Someone with his military training would know that both dojos would be easier to defeat if they weren't allied and launching an attack on them simultaneously while showing he's corrupting Johnny's son/Daniel's protege is just what both sides and senseis needed to put all their differences aside and fully unite. Not only that, but he also loses one of his best fighters (Hawk) to the Miyagi/Eagle faction.]]
* ItHasOnlyJustBegun: Kreese's very words letting you know HesBack!
* JerkWithAHeartOfJerk: After talking with Johnny at the beginning of season 2, he gives the impression that he's remorseful for what happened in 1984. Later, when Johnny discovers that he is practically homeless, Kreese tells a story about his history of failure and explains that he feels like a "broken man". [[spoiler:Kreese is still the same ruthless bastard that he was in the original Cobra Kai days, and he was only playing on Johnny's sympathy in order to get close enough to steal the ''new'' Cobra Kai dojo from him.]]
* KickTheDog:
** When visiting Daniel's dojo, Kreese puts his cigar out on one of Daniel's bonsai plants as his way of "paying respect" to his deceased nemesis Miyagi.
** When Miguel defeats Hawk in the Coyote Canyon exercise, Kreese tells Miguel to FinishHim... despite how Hawk is already the Cobra Kai student most in line with Kreese's values.
** The climax of Season 3 sees him announce his intent to not only dominate the next All-Valley Tournament, but also to "melt down the entire snowflake generation" in a condescending tone.
* KickTheSonOfABitch: When Kreese gets into an EvilVersusEvil situation it can be quite satisfying to see his brutality directed towards someone else terrible.
** In 1965, he defended Betsy from her abusive boyfriend, David.
** In Season 3, he threatens to slice off the fingers of Tory's creepy landlord with a cigar cutter to ensure he'll leave her alone and she'll return to Cobra Kai.
* LateArrivalSpoiler: His return may have been a twist when Season 1 was first released, but the marketing for Season 2 makes no secret of his presence.
* LikeASonToMe: In his twisted way, [[https://www.cbr.com/cobra-kai-martin-krove-interview-john-kreese/ this is how Kreese feels about Johnny]]. [[https://ew.com/tv/2019/04/29/cobra-kai-season-2-spoiler-questions-answered/ The producers]] have also indicated that he genuinely wanted to co-exist with Johnny in Cobra Kai, and that his principle motivation for [[spoiler:taking the Cobra Kai dojo from Johnny]] was disappointment in Johnny having "lost" his way from the original Cobra Kai teachings. Even in that heartbreaking moment, Kreese offers Johnny a ToughLove esque "One day, you'll thank me for this".
* ManipulativeBastard: [[spoiler:Acts like he cared for Johnny all along in order get Johnny to let him teach at Cobra Kai again, allowing him to swipe Johnny's dojo and students out from under him by the end of season 2. One of his master strokes is encouraging Hawk and his gang to vandalize Miyagi-Do, resulting in Johnny punishing the whole class to find the culprit. Once Johnny is away for a bit, Kreese lays on "you're all brothers and sisters, one you does something you've all done it" speil, drawing the recruits closer in a pack mentality and driving a wedge between the students and Johnny.]]
* FatalFamilyPhoto: Played with in that he shows off a picture of his girl back home to his army buddies, but since his survival of the Vietnam War is obviously guaranteed, it's his girl who ends up dying.
* FromNobodyToNightmare: Season 3 shows that Kreese used to to be a noble young man who cleaned floors at a diner, was shunned as a freak after his mother committed suicide, and defended women from abusive boyfriends. After he joined the Vietnam War, he set off on his StartOfDarkness.
* NiceJobFixingItVillain: [[spoiler:Recruiting Kyler and Robby to Cobra Kai in an effort to strengthen the dojo ultimately causes Hawk to have a HeelFaceTurn, make amends with Miguel and Demetri, and rejoin Johnny.]]
* NotQuiteDead: Johnny, at least, seemed to be under the impression that Kreese was dead.
* OlderThanTheyLook: Even in his 70s, he hardly looks that much different compared to his days as sensei of Cobra Kai back in the '80s outside of his hair having turned grey.
* OldMaster: A given -- despite Johnny's own formidable skills by this point, Kreese still manages to fight him to a draw. He is a Vietnam veteran, after all.
* OneSteveLimit: His first name is John. To draw a line between him and Johnny Lawrence, this keeps him on a permanently LastNameBasis.
* PetTheDog:
** Kreese [[ApologyGift returns]] Johnny's second place 1984 All-Valley Tournament trophy to him, repaired and good as new. Though it appears to be a good-natured gesture at first, Kreese does this purely to get on Johnny's good side and thus regain faith in his former Cobra Kai sensei, setting him up for further [[{{Gaslighting}} manipulation]].
** He does this again with Tory in Season 3 in a true gray area. On one hand, what he does for Tory is a legitimately good thing and something the poor girl desperately needed (getting her out of dealing with rent issues as she was juggling two jobs and her GED) and putting a thrashing on a perverted landlord outright propositioning her (a MINOR) so she won't get evicted. On the other hand it's quite clear he's only doing this to obtain Tory's UndyingLoyalty and secure one of Cobra Kai's best fighters for the long haul. It's what makes Kreese so dangerous. You know that basically everything he's doing is in service of his own benefit but there's still quite a few times that the advice or help he offers is still useful and appreciated despite that.
** And again to Robby Keene - his advice helped him out against Payne's gang in juvie, and him allowing Robby a place to stay while the kid was ''homeless'' has earned Robby's loyalty as well. It stands in stark comparison to Johnny and Daniel, the former of which abandoned his care, and pushed him against a locker, and the latter, who got him sent to juvie, where he got his face busted in. Even if Johnny and Daniel were right about Kreese, in Robby's mind, they failed him, while Kreese was one of the ''only'' people who ever treated him with some semblance of kindness.
* PhonyVeteran: Zigzagged. Kreese ''did'' indeed serve in the special forces during the Vietnam War, but the experience was [[WarIsHell horrifying and not glamourous]], leaving him something of a ShellShockedVeteran. After his failures in the original films, he attempted to rejoin the service to find purpose again, but was rejected as mentally unfit. Perhaps as a coping mechanism, he subsequently began making up [[BlatantLies flagrantly untrue stories]] about his service during and after Vietnam, including claiming to have participated in conflicts he knows very little about (for example, claiming to have fought in the Battle of Mogadishu despite not knowing what country Mogadishu is in).
* PlayingTheVictimCard: In season 3 he gets a lot of mileage out of falsely painting himself and Cobra Kai as the victims when they are actually almost always the aggressors. He also milks his status as a veteran for sympathy with law enforcement and local government every chance he gets.
* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: If you thought Johnny was bad... in the space of one episode he openly disparages a kid for wearing a "The Future is Female" t-shirt and later racially insults the Latino owner of the convenience store next door. Later still, when Johnny informs him Miguel is Ecuadorian, not Mexican, Kreese replies there's no difference. His status as politically incorrect is zigzagged given that he does show some subtle CharacterDevelopment regarding [[EqualOpportunityEvil his unquestioning acceptance of female dojo members such as Tory and Aisha in what had previously been an all-male dojo]] (a [[ValuesDissonance hang-up]] that even Johnny initially struggled to get over).
* ShellShockedVeteran: ZigZagged.
** Kreese is a [[TheVietnamVet combat veteran]] who has had trouble adjusting to life outside the service, and looks at every interaction as a battle, and day to day life as an ongoing war. This backfires on him when he loses the original Cobra Kai dojo and spends decades being homeless and drifting from job to job. His tendencies as TheSociopath and a ManipulativeBastard don't help his situation any, but his pride won't let him do anything else.
** Ironically, his sociopathic tendencies are what prevented him from [[spoiler: getting back in the army. After losing Cobra Kai, he tried to reapply for service, but was turned down because psychological testing for the military had more stringent demands than during Vietnam conscription. He writes it off as them being tight-asses, but much like many of the RealityEnsues instances in the show, it's pretty obvious that someone like Kreese would be deemed too maverick and bloodthirsty to be safely enlisted as a soldier.]]
* TheSociopath: Shows many traits, including constant lying, manipulation of others, a lack of emotion in most scenarios, and even his inability to keep a regular job. While he also has a total lack of remorse, he can ''fake'' it, making him all the scarier. Amanda even calls him out for it when she confronts him in his dojo in season 3.
* SociopathicSoldier: He outright says he couldn't re-enlist in the Army because he couldn't pass the "new tests" they have, and unlike his other claims, this one is 100% believable.
* SenseiForScoundrels: Unlike Johnny, he's doing this intentionally and takes great pleasure in it.
* SeriousBusiness: Kreese treats the conflict with Miyagi-Do as this, referring to the students as "soldiers". Neither Daniel nor Johnny are amused by this.
* SilverFox: Despite his age, his appearance doesn't deviate much from the {{Hunk}} he was three decades ago.
* TheSocialDarwinist: Ultimately what his philosophy boils down to and why it's devoid of care of conventional morality and respect. In season 3, he admonishes Miyagi-Do for thinking they're heroes and Cobra Kai the villains, saying there's no such thing and there are only the strong and the weak.
* SoProudOfYou: His praise for Johnny at the end of season 1 has some strong elements of this, causing Johnny some silent YourApprovalFillsMeWithShame.
* ThisMeansWar: Zakarian's attempt to evict Kreese fails, and the Cobra Kai sensei warns Daniel over the phone to get his students ready for an inevitable conflict between their dojos.
* TheUnfettered: Kreese remains committed to his "no mercy" philosophy, and doesn't give a damn about the consequences of that philosophy, be it for himself or for his students or for their victims.
* TheVietnamVet: He served as a Green Beret during his time in the UsefulNotes/VietnamWar, and the experiences he went through warped him into the ruthless man he is today who treats every facet of life imaginable as a war zone.
* VillainHasAPoint:
** Kreese correctly points out that while Daniel may claim otherwise, the conflict between Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do has escalated to the point where it is a war in all but name. [[spoiler:The brawl in the finale erases any doubts about that.]]
** Tragically, Kreese is also right in that Johnny's emphasis on mercy directly contributed to [[spoiler: Miguel's hospitalization.]]
** In season 3, he admonishes Miyagi-Do for thinking themselves virtuous heroes standing up to the villainous Cobra Kai, saying there's no such thing and there's only the strong and the weak. While it obviously whitewashes his blatantly sociopathic nature, it's not unfair to say Daniel does suffer from a massive [[ChronicHeroSyndrome messiah complex]] and low-key enjoys being the face to Cobra Kai's heel. It's acknowledged in-story (and a common criticism by fans) that his self-righteousness is one of the main reasons the conflict between Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do escalated.
*** Also, while Kreese and his students use his philosophy as an excuse to be assholes, like any good [[TheSocialDarwinist Social Darwinist]] villain, he's not technically wrong in that the only reason Miyagi-Do can stand up to Cobra Kai is that they're legitimately strong warriors. It's not their morality matters, it's their fists.
* VirtueIsWeakness: Kreese preached "Mercy is for the weak" way back in the original ''Karate Kid'', and he's none too happy to witness Johnny's new emphasis on honor and restraint in season 2. [[spoiler:After the season finale, most of the Cobra Kai students come around to Kreese's way of thinking, especially after what happened to Miguel after he tried showing mercy to Robby.]]
* WalkingSpoiler: His return is the big twist at the end of season 1, especially since Johnny believed he was dead.
* WouldHurtAChild: He bloodies the teenage Demetri's face for making critical remarks about his tattoos.
[[/folder]]

[[AC:Students]]

[[folder:Miguel Diaz]]
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cobrakaimigueldiaz.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"It's not lame-ass karate. It's Cobra Kai."'']]
->'''Played by:''' Xolo Maridueña

A young high schooler who lives with his mother and grandmother. Miguel meets his neighbour Johnny Lawrence and ends up becoming the first and star student at the newly reopened Cobra Kai.
----
* TheAce: Thanks to being Johnny's only student for the first half of season one Miguel became this due to having Johnny's undivided attention. Johnny himself tells Miguel he's his best student when he says Miguel is his best chance at winning the All-Valley tournament. In fact Miguel never loses a fight when going all out. Aisha and Tory got the better of him in their sparring sessions but only after Miguel relented his attacks, and Robby only got the final attack after Miguel showed him mercy instead of breaking his arm in the season two finale school brawl.
* AffectionateNickname: His mother, Carmen, addresses him as "Miggy".
* AlcoholInducedIdiocy: His most drastic moment of devolution from NiceGuy to the BrokenAce occurs after he gets drunk at the Cobra Kai beach party, gets belligerent towards Sam and Robby when the latter escorts the former there, and takes a swing at Robby... [[spoiler: [[EpicFail that promptly misses and hits Sam.]]]]
* ArmorPiercingResponse: Johnny tries to talk Miguel out of exploiting Robby's shoulder injury... but Miguel retorts that winning is not dirty business, according to Johnny himself. Speechless, Johnny offers no response.
-->'''Johnny:''' Look, I know we want to win, but it's got to be the right way. We don't have to fight dirty.\\
'''Miguel:''' Dirty? There's nothing dirty about winning, Sensei. You taught me that.
* AtLeastIAdmitIt: The moment Johnny questions Miguel as to whether or not he deliberately attacked his opponent while he was injured during the All-Valley Tournament finals, Miguel confesses with confidence; in contrast, Hawk is confused and unsure when he fesses up to similar crimes. Johnny, however, chides Miguel (and Hawk) for using underhanded tactics in a fight, and dissuades his dojo from using any more "pussy moves".
* BeingEvilSucks: Season two sees him realize that applying Kreese's idea of "no mercy" to life isn't a great way to live and he decides to follow Johnny's InternalReformist example.
* BewareTheNiceOnes: Miguel is a very kind, meek boy that is caring towards his friends and family, but is also a vicious fighter who will become very vengeful if he feels you've wronged him.
* BoringButPractical: His fighting style mostly eschews flashy moves in favor of strong, well-timed standard kicks and punches. It serves him well during the tournament.
* BloodKnight: Originally hating violence and fighting whatsoever, Miguel has noticeably become very aggressive and is now living by the Cobra Kai code of attacking first to where he starts to enjoy violence and fighting a little more than his original view. He backs away from this later in Season 2 after a few talks with Johnny though.
* BrokenAce: Once he starts training with Johnny, Miguel discovers he has a genuine talent for karate. The very first time he throws a kick in a fight it sends [[TheBully Kyler]] flying [[spoiler:even if he gets beaten up by Kyler and his gang afterwards]] and the second time they fight he [[CurbStompBattle pummels]] them so badly that Kyler refuses to get within 10 feet of him for the rest of the first season. Notable in that the similarly talented [[TheAce Robby]] struggles against his two delinquent friends and has to scare them off by threatening to report them while Miguel manhandles four people and has to be stopped by the school counselor. He's also able to pull off [[DangerousForbiddenTechnique the Crane Kick]] after only hearing it described by Johnny, reach the finals of the All Valley Karate Tournament and defeat its former Champion in his first tournament run, and [[spoiler:ultimately win the tourney for Cobra Kai]]. Which makes it all the more tragic when that talent is corrupted by the insecurity and bloodlust inherent to the philosophy of Cobra Kai. [[spoiler:The trope becomes literal at the end of Season 2 when Miguel is knocked off a balcony by Robby (albeit unintentionally) and breaks his back, likely resulting in him being unable to practice karate in the future]].
* CareerEndingInjury: [[spoiler:Robby and Miguel's fight during the school brawl ends with Robby inadvertently pushing Miguel off the second floor and leaving him with permanent life-threatening injuries. He gets better come Season 3.]]
* CassandraTruth: Miguel tries to voice his concerns about Kreese's supposed military exploits during the '80s and '90s to Johnny. He brushes Miguel off, however, and believes Kreese can get out of his old ways and change for the better whether or not his backstory holds any merit.
* CombatPragmatist: Johnny trains him in karate to embrace this, [[JerkassHasAPoint on the fairly strong logic that neither life nor most street fights are fair.]] Miguel ends up getting good enough at this philosophy to defeat the entire bully gang at his school. The dark side of this later shows up, as Miguel is fully willing to use dirty tricks and unsportsmanlike ruthlessness [[spoiler: to defeat Robby in the tournament]], and in spite of Johnny's discouragement of such things, leading to him ironically being more personally ruthless than even Johnny was when he was young.
* CrazyJealousGuy: When Miguel sees Robby having dinner with the [=LaRussos=] (on Daniel's invitation) and witnesses Sam laugh with him over Daniel's training methods, he gets jealous. Then when Sam doesn't answer his texts the next day and sees Robby escorting Sam to the beach party (Sam's phone was confiscated and Robby brought her to the party so she could tell Miguel what happened), he goes into full GreenEyedMonster mode and tries to fight him.
* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Mocked! Johnny has Miguel pull off the Crane Kick that won Daniel the '84 tournament as his very first move in the modern day one to send a message to Danny. It wins Miguel a point, but he proceeds to avoid any such flashy moves for the rest of the tournament, [[BoringButPractical instead focusing on being relentless and ruthless with standard kicks and punches.]]
* {{Determinator}}: The most consistent part of his personality is that he will not give up no matter what and will do whatever is necessary to reach his goals. Despite at first being out of shape, having asthma and low confidence, despite the TrainingFromHell and DrillSergeantNasty from [[PoliticallyIncorrectHero Johnny]], he keeps with Cobra Kai. [[spoiler: Even after getting beaten bloody and unconscious by Kyler, he is still determined to learn Karate.]] All of this pays off when he gets in shape and turns into a highly skilled practitioner of Cobra Kai Karate.
** This trait of his is how [[spoiler: he recovers from his GameBreakingInjury from the S2 finale so quickly. While he did require more than one kick in the ass from Johnny, once properly motivated he works like a hellion to recover. He went from being in a coma with no guarantee of waking up, to being paralyzed from the waist down with no guarantee he could ever walk again, to walking with no difficulty to being at near 100% fighting ability within the span of a couple of months!]]
* DisproportionateRetribution: [[spoiler: His attempts to start a fight with Robby at the beach party and brutality during the final match against Robby give this impression.]]
* TheDogBitesBack:
** Downplayed during the Halloween party. Miguel only gets a single hit on Kyler at most before he and his gang overwhelm Miguel and beat him into unconsciousness.
** All the training Miguel went through with Johnny pays off, demonstrated when he beats the tar out of Kyler and his goons in the lunch room after he openly humiliates Sam. Since then, Kyler and his goons actively keep their distance from Miguel.
* DrowningMySorrows: What Miguel does at the beach party when he is unable to contact Sam, combined with other sources of emotional stress. [[spoiler: [[AlcoholInducedIdiocy This leads to arguably his worst decision in the season when he nearly starts a fight with Robby and in the attempt to swing at him, hits Sam instead.]]]]
* EmbarrassingNickname: Kyler and his goons nickname him "'Rhea" because he purchased a bottle of Pepto for his grandmother, which is used to treat diarrhea.
-->'''Kyler:''' Oh, shit, someone has frickin' diarrhea. ''[laughs]''\\
'''Brucks:''' Hey, we should call him 'Rhea. ''[laughs]''
* EveryoneHasStandards: In Season 2, Miguel is righteously angry at Hawk's vandalism of Miyagi-Do and stealing of Mr. Miyagi's Medal of Honor, expressing disgust at Hawk for such a move, kicking his ass for it, and returning the medal, even making it clear to Robby he's not doing it to score points with Sam or come to pick a fight.
* EvilVirtues: Even after he begins his StartOfDarkness, he still demonstrates many admirable qualities, [[HonorAmongThieves such as loyalty towards his friends, fellow Cobra Kai and Sensei Johnny Lawrence,]] [[{{Determinator}} dedication to his craft,]] and for now anyway, [[EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas that he still loves his mother and grandmother dearly.]]
* FanOfThePast: Spending so much time with Johnny causes him to develop an appreciation for 80s rock bands, especially Music/GunsNRoses.
* FatalFlaw: In most situations, his concern for other's well-being would be a positive trait, but it's this trope for him. Every time he's lost a fight was out of fear of actually hurting someone. Aisha and Tory beat him in their training sessions after they he stops to make sure he didn't hurt them. In his fight with Robby, his concern for Robby's well-being ends up [[spoiler:giving Robby the opening to kick him off the second floor.]]
* FromNobodyToNightmare: Goes from a bullied and sickly kid with asthma who has severe self respect issues to a formidable practitioner of Cobra Kai Karate and eventually [[spoiler: the All Valley Tournament Champion]].
* {{Foil}}: Season Two sees him become this to Hawk. Unlike Hawk who is corrupted by Kreese's influence, Miguel takes Johnny's new lessons to the heart and begins to improve his attitude for the better. Thus, he scores an up-swing in his social life and fighting style, reigniting some of Sam's feelings for him as well as defeating Hawk handily in the Coyote Canyon challenge. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, Miguel's decision to offer mercy to Robby at the end of the school brawl directly leads to his GameBreakingInjury.]]
* GenerationXerox: Of Daniel during the first half of Season 1, being the new kid learning karate from an unorthodox sensei to fight off the bullies that are harassing him. Later on, he becomes one of Johnny during the second half of Season 1, a CombatPragmatist, CrazyJealousGuy that is Cobra Kai's star pupil.
* GeniusBruiser: Miguel is actually quite intelligent.
** In season 1, he was the one who set up the Cobra Kai website and helped to come up with the plan to get Cobra Kai back into the All Valley Tournament. He shows a lot of clever thinking when he fights as well, using his environment in creative ways during the lunchroom fight with Kyler and his gang, [[spoiler: and he shows that he understands the All-Valley Karate tournament rules enough to skirt on the edge but not to get disqualified]].
** In season 2, [[spoiler:he is the only hardcore Cobra Kai student other than possibly Aisha to resist falling under Kreese's influence, instead seeing the value of Johnny's way of thinking.]]
* GoodColorsEvilColors: [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]]. While one would expect Miguel to be the merciless one, [[RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver given that he wore red and black to boot that day]], Miguel [[spoiler: decides to offer Robby mercy, out of respect for his sensei Johnny.]]
* HeWhoFightsMonsters: Miguel originally wants to be able to protect himself from Kyler. However, in the process he shows signs of turning into something worse.
* HeelRealization: Season 2 sees him realize that he and the other students are taking things too far and he begins to ease his aggression and try to make amends for their actions.
* HiddenDepths: Surprisingly, for an initially meek teenager who lives in a household with only a working mother and a grandmother who helps around the house, he is surprisingly proficient at graphic illustration and animation.
* HotBlooded: Whenever Miguel gets angry he usually becomes very aggressive and impulsively acts out in irrational ways to cope with his anger. This is played straight in Season 2 where he allows his temper to guide him into solving his issues by being rash and violent, until Johnny manages to talk some sense into him.
* LightningBruiser: He's this between his friends [[GlassCannon Hawk]] and [[StoneWall Aisha]]. While he definitely adheres to Cobra Kai's [[AttackAttackAttack aggressive fighting approach]] and is a CombatPragmatist, he is still just as able to put up a solid defense and agile enough to outpace some of the best fighters in the All Valley tournament.
* LikeASonToMe: To Johnny, who makes it all but explicit in Season 2 when explaining how he was a bad father to Robby and wants to be something better for Miguel. Miguel reciprocates, and remains Johnny's most loyal and attentive student even when Kreese show up.
* LonelyAtTheTop: Yes he won the tournament, but since Sam wants nothing to do with him he feels empty inside.
* MadeOutToBeAJerkass: Miguel's attempts to reconcile with Sam during an '80s Night fails, with her assuming the worst about him for dating Tory.
-->'''Miguel:''' Here you are, making me think I'm a paranoid asshole and yet you're on a date with Robby?
* NiceGuy: [[CharacterDevelopment At first,]] Miguel is one of the most polite and kindhearted characters in the show. This is one of the reasons why Sam [=LaRusso=] ends up dating him. He does [[TookaLevelInJerkass become more of a jerk]] from the end of the first season to the beginning of the second, but after a few heart-to-hearts with Johnny, he sees the error of his ways and strives to be better.
* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: [[spoiler: When Miguel decides to offer Robby mercy and not break his arm, Robby, in a fit of rage, kicks him over the railing, breaking his spine and sending him into a coma.]]
* NoNonsenseNemesis: To his opponents during the tournament; Miguel is 100% focused on winning the thing, and combines a frightening degree of ruthlessness ([[CombatPragmatist such as viciously tugging on Robby's injured arm when offered a hand up]]) with enough intelligence to [[PragmaticVillainy stay ''just'' inside the rules and not get disqualified, and never once engages in any trash talking, unlike Hawk and Robby.]] [[spoiler: It pays off, and he wins.]]
* OhCrap: The second he hears Tory’s voice over the school’s loudspeaker calling out Sam, he immediately knows ''why'' she’s angry and ''how'' angry she is, and the horror on his face appropriately reflects that.
* OnlySaneMan: In Season Two, he's the only one of the Cobra Kai students who notices the inconsistencies in Kreese's combat stories and questions the things he's teaching them.
* PetTheDog:
** After he TookALevelInJerkass, he still has enough good sportsmanship inside of him to accept Xander Stone's congratulatory handshake and compliment him on a good match. Also, if you look closely after Johnny yells at Hawk for attacking Robby from behind, he is also seen in the background yelling at Hawk and angrily nudging him in disapproval. Despite Hawk's opponent being Robby.
** He visits Daniel's house to return the Medal of Honor, the same one Hawk and his gang stole when they vandalized the Miyagi-Do dojo. And when it's Robby who answers the door, Miguel makes it crystal clear to his suspicious rival that he's not there to fight.
* PowerCopying: More like move copying, but the same principle: he gets hit with it, he learns it, and he ''will'' use it. Most notably, he uses Daniel's Crane Kick on orders from Johnny just to stick it to Daniel.
* ProtagonistJourneyToVillain: He's on a pretty standard heroic journey in the first half of the first season, one that resembles Daniel's, in fact. But once he successfully defeats his school bullies, he gradually begins to step into their vacated spot, and eventually his changes in attitude and philosophies lead to him losing Sam as a girlfriend and [[spoiler: violently beating Johnny's son Robby with dirty tactics during the tournament]]. Fortunately, he has yet to demonstrate the sadism that Kyler has or that Johnny had at his age. Eventually [[SubvertedTrope subverted]] [[spoiler: as he is against Hawk's stealing of Miyagi's Medal of Honor, trashing the Miyagi-Do dojo, and he decides to offer mercy to Robby after remembering Johnny's lecture at the last second]].
* ReasonYouSuckSpeech: More than willing to deliver a few of these in Season 3 to Johnny. The main one though was actually meant to motivate Johnny rather than tear him down, calling him out for running away from his students and allowing them to perceive him as weak. Interestingly enough this very act ended up being the catalyst [[spoiler:that allows him to regain his ability to stand on his own two feet with no assistance.]]
* RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver: Just like the rest of his Cobra Kai brethren, [[spoiler: when the big school brawl breaks out, he's wearing a red shirt, black and red-striped track pants, and red sneakers. It's subverted at the end, because he decides to offer Robby mercy at the last second.]]
* SanitySlippage: He's growing more and more ruthless as the show goes on. As he is going from a meek and nice kid to a vicious fighter than has some unstable issues and being extremely jealous and vengeful. However due to his many discussions with Johnny he wants to better himself and ends up trying to solve matters peacefully between him and Robby until he is critically injured.
* SelfFulfillingProphecy: He tried to punch Robby because he thought Sam was cheating on him with her. When she dumps him for that, guess who she ends up going to.
* ShadowArchetype: To Daniel in Season 1, being the bullied new kid that finds a guiding light in a karate teacher, except Miguel represents Daniel's story if he actually joined Cobra Kai in the first film.
* SimpleYetAwesome: Miguel's fighting style in the tournament. His punches and kicks are, [[DangerousForbiddenTechnique for the]] [[CombatPragmatist most part]], very normal and are nothing you wouldn't expect to see in a standard martial arts tournament. He simply delivers them with overwhelming power and perfect timing, hopelessly outclassing every opponent he faces up to [[AllLovingHero Xander Stone]] and [[TheAce Robby Keene]].
* StartOfDarkness: Although Miguel's worst actions so far have only been when he has felt threatened, with a goal in mind or while drunk, his willingness to use brutal violence by the end of the season as a first resort to conflicts with others show he is starting to go down a bad path. There are still parts of his old personality still left though.
* StrongAndSkilled: Miguel is the best student Cobra Kai has due to his quick mastery and incredible strength he wields causes him to outmatch his fellow students and can even beat a former Valley Champion despite having no experience in the tournament. [[spoiler:The school brawl in season two also proves he's the best fighter overall when he's able to pin Robby to the ground without using any dirty tactics and would've easily broken his arm if he didn't decide to show mercy.]]
* TellMeHowYouFight: Miguel's reliance on simple attacks and skirting the edges of the socially and legally acceptable show just how well he has internalized Cobra Kai's CombatPragmatist values, and cement his status as Lawrence's star pupil.
* TookALevelInBadass: Like the rest of the kids in Cobra Kai and other Karate Kid protagonists, Miguel goes from helpless victim of bullying to bona fide ass kicker, wiping the floor with the entirety of Kyler's gang. Unfortunately it is accompanied by...
* TookALevelInJerkass: Miguel winds up succumbing to the same kind of insecurities and aggression that made Johnny become a bully when he was a kid, following in his footsteps. Thankfully, this in turn is followed by...
* TookALevelInKindness: [[spoiler:Over the course of season 2, he is one of the only Cobra Kai students to take Johnny's new thinking to heart and resist Kreese's influence. In stark contrast to his path in season 1, Miguel becomes less bloodthirsty without becoming softer, going as far as to beat up Hawk to retrieve Mr. Miyagi's stolen Medal of Honor and even showing mercy to Robby after pinning him in the final brawl. Sadly, it is this latter act which lands Miguel in the hospital.]]
* UndyingLoyalty: Season three proves that not even [[spoiler:suffering a spinal injury that renders him unable to walk because of a conflict that was partly Johnny's fault]] will keep Miguel from continuing to be Johnny's most loyal and devoted student.
* TheUnfettered: He's unapologetic about exploiting Robby's shoulder injury, which [[spoiler:wins him (and by extension, Cobra Kai) the All Valley Tournament]].
* UnresolvedSexualTension: With Sam. In Season 2, they still have feelings for each other, despite him dating Tory and her dating Robby.
* UnstoppableRage: During the all school brawl when pretty much everyone's emotions are high, but he and Robby are one of the most noticeable due to the animosity the two grew to have as he starts to fight more wildly to the point where he's willing to beat Robby to a bloody pulp in a vicious rage.
* WeaksauceWeakness: Miguel has (relatively mild) asthma, and starts the series with an inhaler.
* WhatYouAreInTheDark: [[spoiler: With Robby at his mercy in the school brawl, and the students cheering him on, he could've easily broken Robby's arm with simple leverage. Instead, because he remembered Johnny expecting him to be better through honor and mercy, he decides to spare Robby and apologize at the last second. Unfortunately, Robby takes his hesitation to be pity, and ... well, we all know what happens next.]]
* WouldntHitAGirl: Miguel is averse to the idea of attacking Aisha on the grounds that she's a girl, contradictory to his belief that both genders are equal, even though he didn't mean to say it in a way that makes it sound like members of both genders have equally just as much right to hit each other. In season 2, when Tory first appears, he also shows concern about hurting ''her'' -- before she makes it clear to him that she's ready for a fight.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Aisha Robinson]]
[[quoteright:150:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/aisha_1.jpg]]
->'''Played by:''' Nichole Brown

Aisha is Sam's oldest friend, and a victim of the lowest kinds of cyberbullying at her high school. She decides to fight back against her tormentors, becoming Johnny's second student.
----
* {{Acrofatic}}: Despite appearances Aisha is deceptively quick and tends to floor people who underestimate her. It should be noted that she's swift ''for her size''. . . against someone significantly smaller and focused on maximizing their speed and agility, she struggles.
* ActionGirl: Aisha was already somewhat physically capable even before training, and she quickly takes to Cobra Kai training.
* BadassBookworm: A smart girl with a love of chemistry and robotics and a vicious fighter with a natural inclination for violence.
* BewareTheNiceOnes: She starts out a meek geek who is rather shy and pretty amiable to everyone; her first day at Cobra Kai sees her effortlessly flooring Miguel.
-->'''Johnny:''' The girl's a natural Cobra.
* BlackAndNerdy: Daniel said she attended Robotics Camp over the summer, and she wants to go as sodium chloride for Halloween.
* BoringButPractical: Her fighting style in the tournament is all about patiently absorbing strikes and waiting for her opponent to open up or tire out, at which point she'll end the match in one or two quick, decisive blows.
* TheDogBitesBack: Aisha is the target for Yasmine's bullying, and she ends up getting some pretty powerful revenge, hijacking her beach party with a preemptive party of her own, and unleashing a {{wedgie}} on her.
* DontYouDarePityMe: Subverted. Aisha initially brushes off Sam's compliments after the former loses in the All Valley Under-18 Karate Championship, but the two quickly make up after Sam apologizes for associating herself with the likes of Yasmine in the first place.
* EmbarrassingNickname: Ever since Yasmine posted a pig meme of Aisha during the Halloween party, students from all over the school mock her with not only pig snorting, but also condescending pig nicknames.
* GeniusBruiser: Of all the Cobra Kai students, Aisha's [[StoneWall fighting approach]] is the most technically-inclined and composed: she maintains a steady defense while patiently observing and waiting for her opponent to falter or open themselves up before swiftly going in full force and end the fight in one or two strikes.
* GenerationXerox: Starts to turn into one for Bobby Brown, serving as the TokenGoodTeammate for Cobra Kai.
* LastNameBasis: As opposed to the other students and as a CallBack to the original Cobra Kai, Johnny exclusively calls her "Miss Robinson". This appears to be a sign of respect, as Johnny tends to give the students demeaning nicknames at first (and "badass" nicknames if they earn them, like Hawk) -- unless he's being completely formal (chewing his students out for dirty tricks after the tournament, for example), the only two he routinely addresses this way are Miss Robinson... and [[LikeASonToMe Mr. Diaz]]. Although it could just be that while Johnny is fine offhandedly demeaning women, [[EveryoneHasStandards he isn't really comfortable doing it on an everyday face-to-face basis]].
* LikeParentLikeChild: Her father's a powerful professional football player, and Aisha takes after him in terms of her size and strength.
* MightyGlacier: She is quite resilient and can lay down a world of hurt. However, she prefers a more technical and pragmatic approach to fighting (see StoneWall below). That said, Aisha is [[{{Acrofatic}} surprisingly swift for her size]], but again chooses to reserve her speed for quick strikes rather than outpacing her opponent.
* NotSoAboveItAll: Aisha attempts to break up Tory and Samantha's fight when it escalates into a school-wide brawl. However, when a Miyagi-Do student interferes by mistake, she gets enraged and joins in the fight.
* TheSmartGuy: Most academically-inclined of Cobra Kai's star students.
* OutOfFocus: Aisha has less to do in Season 2, and Nichole Brown has confirmed that the character won't be returning for Season 3, as the writers "couldn't find a place" for her in the story.
* PutOnABus: Aisha does not appear in Season 3, as her parents decided to move away and send her to a private school after the brawl.
* TheSmurfettePrinciple: She's the only female member of Cobra Kai and suggests Sam join so she wouldn't be alone. In season 2, she is no longer the only female member after Tory joins, and they become fast friends.
* SoreLoser: Aisha tells Stone to go "eat shit" after she is defeated by him.
-->'''Stone:''' Sorry.\\
'''Aisha:''' Eat shit, asshole.
* StoneWall: Aisha is primarily a defensive fighter, who lets her opponents wear themselves down on her expertly executed defenses. When her opponent slows down, overextends or makes a mistake, she strikes swiftly and decisively, often ending fights in one or two blows.
* StoutStrength: Although Aisha is often bullied for her overweight appearance (most often thanks to Yasmine), she is arguably Cobra Kai's second best student after Miguel. She made it into the top 8 of the All Valley Under-18 Karate Championship and was narrowly defeated by Stone, All Valley's current karate champ. The most raw example of Aisha's strength was during the canyon party, where she is shown to be perfectly capable of lifting her longtime tormentor Yasmine off her feet, '''one-handed''', ''by her panties''.
* TellMeHowYouFight: Aisha deals with her opponents on the mat in the same way she handles bullies at school: She turtles and soaks hits until her opponent slips up, then she pounces on that mistake and deals one or two swift, decisive blows. VictoryByEndurance at its finest!
* TookALevelInBadass: She went from a meek, overweight girl to becoming an assertive (and toned) powerhouse. However, this also lead her to...
* TookALevelInJerkass: After joining Cobra Kai, Aisha becomes more aggressive, vulgar, and spiteful overall.
* TokenGoodTeammate: Zig-zagged throughout the series.
** Season 1: Even if she can be quite ruthless when dealing with her opponents and bullies (as Yasmine found out the hard way), she serves as this for the Cobra Kai. Aisha is the one who attempts to put the brakes on Miguel's CrazyJealousGuy tendencies with Sam, and even speaks highly of her sensei's nemesis, Daniel [=LaRusso=], encouraging Miguel to talk to him. Aisha also shows nervousness with how much Miguel is drinking during the party. She forgives [[BetaBitch Moon]] after the girl gives a simple, yet sincere, apology to Aisha for teasing her in the past. She even manages to rebuild her relationship with Sam, saying, "We could definitely use another girl out there".
** Season 2: By the end of season 2, Aisha has becomes more accepting of Cobra Kai's aggressive principles. She threatens Chris and Robby at Moon's party, and when the final brawl breaks out at school, while she at least ''tries'' to break up the fight between Tory and Sam, she doesn't hesitate to wade into the brawl herself when a Miyagi-Do fighter blocks her. With that said, when [[spoiler:Kreese takes over Cobra Kai]], Aisha is not among the students practicing, nor does she ever behave violently towards Sam despite how their RivalDojos are widening the rift between them.
* WeUsedToBeFriends: Towards Sam, to the point she spitefully refers her alleged promiscuity. Though they finally reconciled in the season 1 finale, season 2 shows that there may be conflicts in their friendship again now that their alliances are clear.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: The last we see of her, she's brawling with one of the Miyagi-do students after he stops her from breaking up the fight between Sam and Tory. Thus the audience never learns [[spoiler:how she reacts to Miguel's injury and why she didn't join the others in pledging their allegiance to Kreese when he takes over Cobra Kai.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Eli "Hawk" Moskowitz]]
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cobrakaielihawkmoskowitz.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"Never underestimate the power... of the hawk."'']]
->'''Played by:''' Creator/JacobBertrand

Yet another victim of bullying at Sam and Miguel's school thanks to a notable scar left over from surgery to treat a cleft palate. Eli takes Johnny's advice to change his entire look, donning a mohawk and tattoos to become "Hawk."
----
* AffectionateNickname: Johnny gives him the "Hawk" moniker after being impressed with the way he decided to take Johnny's advice to heart and change his look and attitude.
* AmbiguousDisorder: His doctor said that he might be on the autism spectrum. When hearing this, [[InnocentlyInsensitive Johnny tells him to get off of it]]. That said, his intense focus on Cobra Kai could indicate autism, as one of the hallmarks is having intense interests.
* AmbiguouslyJewish: Has a very typical Ashkenazi name, but it’s never made clear whether he practices the religion.
* AnimalMotif: He fits his [[NobleBirdOfPrey avian theme well]] being one of Cobra Kai's top students while also being it's most aggressive. He's also one of the lightest and most slender of the teenage fighters (even Tory probably has a few pounds on him), making him very fast and good at jumping attacks.
* ArmorPiercingResponse: Johnny chews out on Hawk for making an illegal move which lead to his disqualification. Hawk, however, walks off unfazed with a remark which leaves Johnny stunned and speechless.
-->'''Johnny:''' What the hell are you thinking, man?\\
'''Hawk:''' What was I supposed to do, be a pussy?
* AtrociousAlias: He gets a fake ID for the purposes of buying alcohol. His moniker of choice? ''Walter Hawkman''.
* AttackAttackAttack: Although this is inherent in Cobra Kai's mindset, Hawk becomes a particularly exaggerated case by the second season. He wastes no time going on the offensive when he catches up to and corners Demetri during the school brawl, relentlessly assaulting his opponent while Demetri persistently endures Hawk's blows.
* AwesomeButImpractical: By Season 2, it's more than just how he fights -- Hawk handles ''everything'' in the most "badass" ways possible, regardless of efficacy.
* BashBrothers: [[spoiler:After he and Demetri reconcile, the two prove to be a highly effective fighting team as they dispatch several Cobras with their combined skills.]]
* BecameTheirOwnAntithesis: Goes from a shy, awkward bullied kid to an arrogant, asshole bully. Most exemplified by his interactions with Chris and Mitch, calling them names like "Assface One and Assface Two," belittling them, and forcing them into the role of his lackeys under the guise of "toughening them up into proper Cobra Kai material." This plays a big part in Chris defecting to Miyagi-Do. [[spoiler:Season three has him finally realize what he's become and he quits Cobra Kai to rejoin his friends.]]
* BerserkButton: Pretty much any perceived slight gets a huge overreaction.
** ''Don't'' even think about insulting his mohawk unless you want him to fuck you up.
** Never say anything bad about Cobra Kai unless you want the shit beaten out of you.
* TheBerserker: Eli's transformation is more than skin deep, as he proves at the All Valley Tournament. His fighting style is aggressive and violent to the point where it stands out even among the [[ThugDojo Cobra Kai students]]. His matches consist of him overwhelmingly his opponents with furious flurries of attack, and he only loses when he plows past the ref during a timeout to attack Robby in a fit of rage. It winds up being deconstructed in season 2, as Kreese's influence increases his ego and aggression to the point that he becomes sloppier, to the point where [[spoiler:Demetri]] is able to beat him in a one-on-one fight.
* BloodKnight: The all-out school brawl on the students' first day back at West Valley High School gets Hawk fired up - he wades through Bert and Nathaniel squaring up and starts assaulting random Miyagi-Do students.
* CantTakeCriticism: He reacts very violently whenever someone dares to criticize him or the things he cares about. His hair, his dojo, and his old hobbies. It's [[JustifiedTrope justified]] in his case because he feels personally attacked, stemming back from the days where he was mercillessly bullied, as seen in his flashback.
* CasanovaWannabe: By the end of season 2, Hawk is clearly heading in this direction, announcing his intention to build a harem for himself.
-->'''Hawk:''' Why limit yourself to one chick? I'm planning on having a full rotation by the time we get to midterms.
* ClosetGeek: Since adopting his "Hawk" persona, Hawk starts pretending he hates "nerdy" things in order to look tough and also projects that onto Demetri, mocking him for being a "pussy" because he likes "nerd shit." When Demetri tries to make up with him by talking about ''Series/DoctorWho'', he quickly becomes engaged in the conversation and briefly forgets to maintain that front.
* ComeOutComeOutWhereverYouAre: In the season 2 finale, Hawk chases Demetri to the computer lab and taunts him to come out.
-->'''Hawk:''' Demetri, I know you're in here. Figured you'd hide in the computer lab. You damn nerd.
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: Hawk's transformation is radical but mostly played for laughs. That is, until we actually see him fight at the All-Valley Tournament and the full extent of both his skill and savagery become clear.
* DisproportionateRetribution:
** During a timeout, he cheap kicks Robby on the back in a fit of rage because the latter talked smack about his mohawk.
** He confronts Demetri for leaving a 1-star review for Cobra Kai on Yelp, tries to intimidate him into taking it down, and straight up assaults him when he refuses. Later that day, Moon breaks up with Hawk, as she is appalled that he would resort to violence over a Yelp review.
* DoNotCallMePaul: Once he gets his new nickname from Johnny, he insists everyone else use it and refuses to use his real name for anything, including registering for the All-Valley Tournament.
* DontTellMama: Even though he adopts a "bad boy" persona, it's clear he will drop it the second he thinks his parents will punish him for any misdeeds. In season one, he mentions he can't walk around at home shirtless anymore because he doesn't want them finding out about his tattoo. In season 2, Aisha boasts on her Instagram story that Hawk tried to buy alcohol with a fake ID, and Hawk quickly tells her to stop since his parents follow her, causing her to immediately apologize to them.
* TheDragon: He becomes one of the top students of Kreese's Cobra Kai dojo following the school brawl at the end of Season 2.
* EasilyForgiven: After everything he did to Demitri, including [[spoiler: ''breaking his arm'', all seems to be well between the two of them after Hawk just apologizes]].
* EmbarrassingNickname: Prior to his significant image change, Johnny called him "Lip" due to the scarring on his lip.
* EtTuBrute: How he views Demetri criticizing the Cobra Kai dojo.
* EvenEvilHasStandards:
** If you watch his face in the background of the [[spoiler:school brawl]] even he's visibly shocked when one of his fellow Cobras decks a [[spoiler:teacher]].
** An earlier example would be in "Mercy". This is the episode Hawk starts going off the deep end, but he shows the most concern for Johnny's well-being when Bert tells him about Johnny's drunken meltdown and immediately assumes the worst.
** For everything he has done, including turning his back on Demetri for being a 'pussy', he still cares deeply for Miguel. [[spoiler: He was just as shocked as everyone else at what happened to Miguel in the brawl and was even the first person to approach his body. Plus, blaming Johnny for Miguel showing mercy to Robby, and there's an possibility he does this to hide his guilt for being partially responsible for the fight]]
* ExpositoryHairstyleChange: Gets one in each season.
** In season 1, he shaves the sides of his head and styles the middle into a blue mohawk to show he's decided to "flip the script" and embrace the Cobra Kai way of becoming badass.
** In season 2, he changes the color from blue to red around the same time he has completed his transformation into a bloodthirsty bully who will even attack his friends for any perceived slights.
* FatalFlaw: His insecurity. Before his insecurity made him depressed and self-hating. After taking on the moniker Hawk, it doesn't get any better. He takes any grievance in his life, justified or not, in the worst way possible and leads him to destructive actions. Taking Robby's TrashTalk way more personally than Robby intended, led him to be disqualified when he dislocated Robby's shoulder at the All Valley Under 18 Tournament. He took Demetri's review extremely personally and assaultes him for it. When Moon finds out and breaks up with him, he initially responded by taking out his anger on a dummy, but was easily manipulated by Kreese into vandalizing Miyagi-Do and stealing the Medal of Honor. Finally, Demetri reveals all of Hawk's secrets at a party. While his anger was fully justified that time, it caused him to lose focus which cost him the ensuing fight.
* {{Foil}}:
** To Bobby Brown from the original film. Both are best friends with the top Cobra Kai student and are shown to be arguably the second best fighters when they make it to the semi finals before being disqualified for injuring the Miyagi do fighter. However, while Bobby was the TokenGoodTeammate who would often try to talk sense into Johnny and only injured Daniel in the tournament because Kreese made him, Hawk is a ToxicFriendInfluence who brings out Miguel's worst impulses and injures Robby on his own initiative because the later insulted his haircut. [[spoiler:Additionally, while Bobby eventually wised up to what Kreese was doing to the students and quit the dojo, Hawk continues to embrace everything the man teaches him.]]
** Season two sees him become this to Miguel. Unlike Miguel who chooses to follow Johnny's InternalReformist attitude, Hawk takes to Kreese's old Cobra Kai mindset and, while he refuses to acknowledge it, his life begins to suffer. His ego and aggression spiral out of control to the point he loses his girlfriend, strains several of his friendships, and loses several karate fights. [[spoiler:The only good thing that comes out of it for him is that he emerges from the school brawl relatively unscathed, unlike Miguel.]]
* FreudianExcuse: [[FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse Deconstructed]]. Eli was depicted as a victim of bullying in the first half of Season 1 and as shown in a flashback in Season 2, he feels as if his mother doesn't fully understand the situation regarding his low self-esteem and depression. Much of these events are the reasons why Hawk is eager to display his confidence and brutal nature much later on.
* FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse: Unfortunately, as stated above, Hawk becomes progressively more vindictive, ultimately [[BecameTheirOwnAntithesis becoming a bully himself]]. This is why [[spoiler:[[WeUsedToBeFriends Demetri]] and Moon distance themselves from him.]]
* FromNobodyToNightmare: He was the meekest and most bullied of Miguel's group of friends, but after undergoing the Cobra Kai training he becomes a brutal bloodthirsty thug that's competing with [[StoutStrength Aisha]] for the position of second best student.
* GenerationXerox: Ends up becoming one to Dutch from Johnny's childhood, even unknowingly imitating his attempt to flirt with girls by throwing stuff at them in a movie theater.
* GlassCannon: In Season 1, this wasn't so much the case. He was able to complement all of his offense capacities (which were plenty) with some staunch defense, as shown when he blocked several of Robby's attacks during the tournament. But come Season 2, this trope comes into full force. He becomes poorer and poorer on defense and often leaves himself wide open for a simple counter. Hell, even Demetri, who had no fighting skills to speak of in the first season, was able to take him down with one well-timed shot that sent him into the [[VisualGag glass door]] of a trophy cabinet and was evidently out for the rest of the school brawl.
* GoodScarsEvilScars: [[PlayingWithATrope Played with throughout the story.]] Initially Eli's facial scarring is used to make him seem more vulnerable and shy, emphasizing his position as the meekest and most gentle of Miguel's friends. Once he becomes Hawk though, it serves to make him [[FaceOfAThug even more intimidating.]]
* GracefulLoser: After Miguel comes up to him to apologize for the Coyote Canyon debacle, Hawk is remarkably cool about the whole ordeal.
-->'''Hawk:''' Enemies for a day, Cobra Kai for life.
* HairTriggerTemper: By Season 2, Hawk has grown to have a very bad temper as he spends more time with Cobra Kai and can lose his cool over anything, even going as far as to vandalize Miyagi-Do's dojo and attack Demetri because he feels they have insulted him.
* TheHeavy: While [[BigBad Kreese]] is the biggest antagonist in Season 2, Eli is the most active antagonist, [[spoiler:playing roles such as attacking and harassing Demetri, vandalising the Miyagi-Do Karate Dojo and stealing Mr. Miyagi's Medal of Honour]].
* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler:In the season three finale, seeing that he’s now fighting with his former tormentors and against all of his friends makes him realize how far he’s fallen under Kreese and he decides to switch sides mid-brawl. At the end, he’s made amends with Demetri and is now part of Johnny and Daniel’s combined dojo.]]
* ImportantHaircut: His Mohawk, which is also part of his SignificantWardrobeShift.
* ItsPersonal: He only has one goal come season 2: to make Demetri suffer for turning against him. When Brucks shows up in the Cobra Kai dojo at Kreese's invitation, Hawk elects to fight him as comeuppance for making fun of the cleft on his lip.
* JerkassHasAPoint: When he and Miguel face off [[spoiler:over the stolen Medal of Honor from Miyagi-Do]] it's clear he's right on the money when he calls bullshit on Miguel's disapproval having nothing to do with still having a thing for Sam.
* LeeroyJenkins: Truly becomes this by Season 2. Every time Hawk lets his (volatile) emotions take over and tries to pick a fight, it ends with him and others suffering hard consequences. Three particular instances stand out:
** Attacking his former friend Demetri at the mall leads to him and his gang getting beaten up by Sam and Robby, and then Moon dumps him.
** His trashing of the Miyagi-do dojo causes a mass defection of Cobra Kai students, and constitutes a particularly egregious escalation in the DuelingDojos conflict.
** Escalating what had intended to be a one-on-one DesignatedGirlFight into an all-out mob brawl which ends with his friend Miguel getting hospitalized and suffering [[CareerEndingInjury life-threatening injuries]].
* LightningBruiser: He's immensely fast and has the power to hit like a truck.
* ManipulativeBastard: In season three, after Kreese advises to fight more smartly, he's able to play Counselor Bratt like a fiddle by parroting all of her preachings of safe spaces and microagressions when she has to deal with him and his disputes with Miyagi-Do.
* MilesGloriosus: Subverted. The show seems to set this up to be the case as his physical transformation and new attitude is initially PlayedForLaughs and he is shown getting bit by one of the junkyard dogs during Cobra Kai's TrainingFromHell sequence. But once the tournament rolls around, it's clear the Cobra Kai training worked and he proves to be one of their top fighters outside of Miguel.
* NeverBeHurtAgain: The reason he wholeheartedly embraces the worst traits of Cobra Kai to an extreme degree - he believes that the power it gives him will never allow him to be weak and vulnerable just like the past, where he was a meek bully victim.
* NeverMyFault:
** He lashes out at the referee when the latter disqualifies him from the tournament. This is despite the fact that Hawk knowingly pulled a cheap shot on Robby when his back was turned during a timeout.
** Near the end of Season 2, Hawk passes off the blame for [[spoiler: Miguel potentially becoming paralyzed off onto Johnny]], completely ignoring the fact that it was Hawk, under Kreese's guidance who escalated the tensions between Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do, leading to the brawl.
* NiceJobFixingItVillain: [[spoiler:His trashing the Miyagi-Do dojo and stealing Mr. Miyagi's Medal of Honor backfires when an enraged Daniel (assuming Johnny was in on it, which he wasn't) confronts Johnny at the Cobra-Kai dojo -- in turn prompting a mass walk-out among many of the students when they hear what happened that ends with quite a few signing up with Miyagi-Do. Also, Hawk's actions disgusted Miguel, which served to influence ''him'' to further reject Kreese's "no mercy" thinking.]]
* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: He beats the living shit out of Brucks during a fight between the two in the Cobra Kai dojo and bloodies him, finishing off with a spit to the face for good measure.
* TheQuincyPunk: It began with the mohawk, but as Eli immersed himself more and more into Cobra Kai's degeneracy, Hawk fully emulates this both in appearance and in attitude.
* PuppyDogEyes: Prior to his transformation as Hawk, the kid was especially skilled in (unconsciously) giving this to everyone he met. It helps that he was also the resident bully's favorite target, which--paired with his big blue eyes--just made you want to give him a hug every single time.
* RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver: He starts wearing hoodies in these colors and re-dyes his mohawk red in order to maintain his image. It also showcases how much more aggressive he's become, and how far he's fallen when he's revelling in his newfound power.
* ShadowArchetype: Hawk ultimately proves to be one to both Robby and Johnny. Like both, he took up studying under Cobra Kai to build up his self-confidence and learn to defend himself from bullies. Hawk proves to ultimately completely go off the deep end and fully embraces Kreese's toxic teachings.
* SignificantWardrobeShift: At the suggestion of Johnny, Eli goes from a meek bully victim with a scarred lip to a violent Cobra Kai student with a mohawk, and a hawk tattoo on his back.
* SoreLoser: He angrily calls bullshit on his disqualification from the All Valley Tournament after making illegal contact by kicking Robby on the back and injuring him during a timeout.
-->'''Referee:''' That's enough! Illegal contact. You're disqualified.\\
'''Hawk:''' Bullshit!
* SourOutsideSadInside:
** The fact that Hawk goes berserk when someone mocks his mohawk, something he specifically got to showcase his badass makeover, shows that he is still as insecure as he was at the beginning of the season. It's his response to the mockery that has changed.
** He also doesn't take it well every time someone reminds him about the cleft on his lip, and when Brucks shows up to the Cobra Kai dojo, he and Hawk have a fight, which ends with the former's face [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown beaten to a bloody pulp]].
* TellMeHowYouFight: Hawk is TheBerserker, through and through. He has finally been given a chance to inflict the pain he has lived through at the hands of his bullies on the world, and he will take whatever hits, land whatever disqualifications, and cross whatever lines he must in order to get the last hit in.
* TestosteronePoisoning: "Hawk" ultimately embraces just about every piece of Johnny's advice, almost becoming a parody of manliness that's both hilarious to see and disheartening to watch go astray. Unfortunately, he only gets worse come the second season, where he starts taking every piece of ''Kreese's'' advice.
* ThirdPersonPerson: By the time the tournament rolls around, he is referring to himself in the third person.
* ThreatBackfire: After Demetri is beaten up by Kreese, Hawk warns him to keep quiet about it. His threats have little impact on Demetri (primarily because he still can't believe that his friend would actually harm him).
-->'''Hawk:''' You know what happens to snitches?\\
'''Demetri:''' Yeah, they get immunity.\\
'''Hawk:''' No, they get stitches!\\
'''Demetri:''' I already ''have'' stitches!
* ThrewMyBikeOnTheRoof: Taking Kreese's words to heart after Hawk's break-up with Moon, he (and the rest of his gang) trespasses the Miyagi-Do dojo during the night and vandalizes it.
* TookALevelInJerkass: Exaggerated. While all the Cobra Kai members do in some ways, most of them still have some moral restraint. Hawk on the other hand becomes a bullying, controlling thug with almost no redeeming qualities (and it only gets worse since Kreese's involvement in the new Cobra Kai). [[spoiler:It gets so bad that Demetri ends their friendship and Moon breaks up with him.]] Thankfully it leads to...
* TookALevelInKindness: [[spoiler:In the season three finale, he finally realizes Kreese is full of shit and that he's now fighting alongside the teens who bullied him and against all of his friends. As a result, he defects mid-brawl and joins the combined dojo under both Johnny and Daniel.]]
* TragicVillain: Hawk becomes the biggest thug in Cobra Kai all because he was relentlessly bullied by his peers before joining the dojo and is convinced that following its dogma to its extreme will keep him from ever going back to that life.
* TwoferTokenMinority: Downplayed in that neither trait is given any plot importance. His surname of Moskowitz implies a Jewish background, and it's briefly mentioned that he might be on the autism spectrum. Neither of these aspects of Hawk's background have yet come up again.
* UndyingLoyalty: Hawk is a very loyal person and believes his friends should extend the same treatment. Most of his conflict with Demetri in season two stems from him feeling the guy is being disloyal by continuing to bad mouth Cobra Kai. In season three, he starts to lose respect for Kreese when the man starts expelling less skilled students who have been nothing but devoted to the dojo and [[spoiler:in the finale his HeelFaceTurn is primarily motivated by him realizing ''he'' was the one being disloyal to his friends by taking part in the assault alongside his former tormentors.]]
* UnskilledButStrong: He uses a lot of impressive-looking moves, but he's not a very skilled fighter. He relies too heavily on his Superman Punch, which winds up all of his momentum into a single blow. It's very powerful ''if it lands'', but it's easy for an alert opponent to dodge and leaves him vulnerable to a simple counter.
* UnstoppableRage: Whenever Hawk gets into a rage, it's a wise idea to steer clear of him.
* UnwittingPawn: Upset after losing the fight at the mall and [[spoiler:getting dumped by Moon]], Hawk decides to follow Kreese's advice about not accepting defeat and vandalize the Miyagi dojo, completely unaware that Kreese is manipulating him into being a pawn in his personal vendetta against Daniel and Mr. Miyagi.
* WeUsedToBeFriends: He no longer considered Demetri a friend the moment the latter dared to criticize the dojo online, and in fact tried to beat him up for it, leaving Demetri incredulous. Despite having a HopeSpot chatting about ''Franchise/DoctorWho'' at Moon's party, things almost immediately get still worse between the two of them. Eli forgets that one side effect of this trope is that not only will your former friends continue to [[ThatManIsDead call you by your former name]], they also know all your secrets.
* TheWorfEffect: He is one of Cobra Kai's top three students, but loses three of his major bouts. Two of them were against Robby, who is just as well-trained (and certainly more competitively balanced), and in his fight against Demetri he seriously underestimated Demetri's developing martial prowess (and the weakness of TheBerserker against AwesomenessByAnalysis).
* WouldntHitAGirl: Downplayed. Hawk expresses his aversion to hitting a girl when Sam and Robby arrive to defend Demetri from Hawk and his gang, but still goes for the hit anyway.
-->'''Hawk:''' I don't want to have to hit a girl.
* YesMan: Hawk sucks up to Kreese ever since the latter's involvement with the new Cobra Kai and takes every single piece of his advice to heart. By the conclusion of the second season, Hawk becomes [[spoiler:[[TheDragon Kreese's right-hand man]]]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Bert]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/57476668_c975_481a_ab4b_7c19271b4039.jpeg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:]]
->'''Played by:''' Owen Morgan
->''"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. Due to his small size, he is objectively the weakest of the Cobra Kai.
----
* ButtMonkey: Most of his onscreen appearance is usually him getting mocked or beaten in a fight.
* CovertPervert: He secretly likes to read "Big & Bootylicious" magazines.
* CutenessProximity: He has a soft spot for small animals including mice and cats, and names the mouse Kreese presents to him "Clarence".
* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler:Kreese's shitty treatment towards the Cobra Kai students and his decision to kick him 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]].
* MadeOfIron: While he's not a very skilled fighter, he's able to take a lot of physical punishment and keep fighting. [[spoiler:Best shown when he fully participates in the season three brawl even after Kreese's Cobra Kai students toss him through a glass window.]]
* OutOfFocus: He doesn't do much in season 2 until the finale. [[spoiler:He takes on Nathaniel in the CobraKai/Miyagi-Do school brawl, and even then, a security guard cuts the fight short and carries them out of the school brawl.]]
* PintSizedPowerhouse: Played with. While he did survive Johnny's weeding out training and hangs out with the top students of Cobra Kai, [[RealityEnsues his small size makes him the weakest member of the dojo]], and he is not a very skilled fighter. In season 2, [[spoiler: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.]]
* TagalongKid: 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.
* TokenGoodTeammate: [[spoiler:Implied as he doesn't appear to be one of the students with Kreese during the Season 2 Finale. He does remain... for a very short time before Kreese kicks him out of the dojo for showing compassion to a mouse he took a liking to]].
* VillainousValor: Though it is a bit of a stretch to call him a villain, the fact that he survived the [[TrainingFromHell harsh Cobra Kai training]] and fought in the tournament (despite being way in over his head) shows elements of this. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, Kreese kicks him out of Cobra Kai for getting fond of a mouse and refusing to feed it to a cobra]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tory Nichols]]
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cobrakaitorynichols.png]]
%%[[caption-width-right:300:]]
->'''Played by:''' Creator/PeytonRList

->''"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."''

A troubled but confident girl who joins the Cobra Kai dojo in season 2, Tory quickly becomes Aisha's friend, Miguel's romantic interest, and Sam's arch-nemesis.
----
* ActionGirl: Like Aisha before her, Tory makes a good first impression on Johnny with how tough she already is.
* AxCrazy: Her response to Sam kissing her boyfriend is to attack her in school and hit her with a spiked necklace wrapped around her fist. Miguel flat out tells her in season three that she needs some help with her mental health.
* BrutalHonesty: She doesn't mince her words when she points out that the music video Miguel made of himself and Sam makes him look desperate.
-->'''Tory:''' I think... you should delete that. Put it in the trash, empty the bin and have your laptop cremated.
* ByTheHair: During her first fight with Samantha, she drags her down the stairs this way.
* CallBack: She introduces herself as [[SpellMyNameWithAnS "Tory with a Y",]] calling back to how Ali introduced herself to Daniel.
* ClingyJealousGirl: A subdued and realistic version. She develops feelings for Miguel early on, and doesn't react well to his lingering attachment to Sam. However, she acts mostly maturely towards it until she and Sam meet and... well, don't get along ''at all''. On the other hand, it's also implied that Tory's perception of Sam as a spoiled and entitled brat (in contrast to her own DarkAndTroubledPast) play a part in her loathing of Sam (if a smaller part than the Miguel issue).
* DarkActionGirl: She's unscrupulous in combat, willing to use {{Improvised Weapon}}s and brutal tactics in a fight. Tory ends up embodying the philosophy of Cobra-Kai.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: She reveals this to Miguel. Her mother had to rely on leftovers from the restaurant she worked at in order to feed her and her brother -- and her mother was fired for that, despite that the leftovers would have ended up in the garbage anyway. Season three reveals it's actually worse. [[spoiler:Her mother is now suffering from dialysis and her brother's young age forces her to be the sole breadwinner of the family.]]
* DarkChick: Tory is more traditionally feminine than Aisha, yet she is far more aggressive, and quickly becomes a {{foil}} to Sam in Miyagi-do. [[spoiler:She also ends up being the only female Cobra Kai to remain with Kreese after the school brawl.]]
* DisproportionateRetribution: Played entirely for drama. Tory picks a fight with Sam on school grounds because she and Miguel shared a kiss the night before. What was initially meant to be a DesignatedGirlFight between Sam and Tory only, quickly escalates into an all-out school brawl between Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do which ultimately ends in tragedy.
* TheDreaded: To Sam for most of season 3. She has recurring nightmares and flashbacks to their encounter, and when [[spoiler: Tory shows up at the laser tag fight and calls Sam out, she freezes in fear and suffers a traumatic breakdown]]. Sam [[spoiler: gets over this fear in the finale when she and Tory face off one-on-one]].
* EvilCounterpart: More edgy than evil, but she's still Sam's counterpart among the Cobra Kai -- and she thinks nothing of assaulting Sam on school grounds or using ''spiked knuckles'' against her. Before she's defeated, she replicates a twisted version of Miyagi's "No Mercy" scene from the second film. Except unlike Miyagi, she's not kidding.
* EvilSoundsDeep: To expound further on being her DarkerAndEdgier [[EvilCounterpart counterpart,]] compare her husky voice to Sam's pitchy baby voice.
* FalseInnocenceTrick: She gets Sam kicked out of the roller disco by feigning innocence after Sam leg-sweeps her. Note that Tory had instigated it, as she had knocked Sam down first.
* FightingWithChucks: Her WeaponOfChoice when she faces off with Sam in the third season climax.
* 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, and this incident also causes Sam to believe [[NotMeThisTime she stole her mother's wallet]].
* FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse: While it's true she has a DarkAndTroubledPast, most of her darker actions (stealing liquor from a club, attempting to maim Sam) have nothing to do with it and fall squarely under DisproportionateRetribution. Even Miguel knows that her assault on Sam is going too far and he (unsuccessfully) tries to stop her. He later calls her out on this in season three and the finale proves [[spoiler:Tory is willing to forsake the well being of her family just so she can satisfy her personal grudge against Sam]].
* GenerationXerox: Played with. Like Daniel [=LaRusso=] from the original movie, she's a working class new arrival who falls for someone who recently broke up with a more well off student. And like Daniel, she can never just leave well enough alone when a chance to screw with her rival pops up. Then again, Tory is more like teenage ''Johnny'' in her vengeful nature -- and her complete acceptance of Kreese's teachings. And, as revealed in season 3, like [[spoiler:Kreese]], she [[spoiler:has an ill mother and is the sole susteinance for her family]], [[spoiler:working at a restaurant]].
* GlassCannon: As strong as she is, she's the DistaffCounterpart to Hawk in terms of offense / defense capacities. Her street-fighter style is clearly based on brief or short-term events. Up against an opponent specializing in defense and endurance (as Sam is), she can get incredibly pissy before long.
* GreenEyedMonster: Ah, [[SevenDeadlySins envy.]] Tory falls for Miguel and is very upset when she finds out that he still has feelings for Samantha. Also her FatalFlaw, judging by her page quote and interpretation of Sam's background.
* HardDrinkingPartyGirl: Tory is no stranger to partying and hard liquor. She tries to use this against Sam during Moon's party to humiliate her. However, Sam wins while Tory loses her balance from getting distracted.
* IgnoredEpiphany: Tory seemed resigned to the fact she should just put Cobra Kai behind her and the mentality she developed while there was toxic towards her future. She even seemed to have a solid plan to ensure a better future for her family, but since Kreese needed her, he manipulates her back to Cobra Kai.
* ItsPersonal: Following a kiss between the drunken Miguel and Sam during a party, Tory vows to humiliate and make her suffer, which she does the next day at school.
* JerkWithAHeartOfJerk: While she has a sympathetic background and shows compassion towards Aisha and Miguel, Tory is at heart a bitter, spiteful person who shows little concern for those she does not like and is willing to inflict unhealthy doses of DisproportionateRetribution towards anyone who she feels has wronged her.
* KarmaHoudini: Is seen training under Kreese at the end of season 2 despite breaking into the school office, publicly threatening Sam over the intercom system, and attacking her in the halls of the school with weapons and sparking off a massive brawl. [[spoiler:Making it more egregious is that Robby was arrested for his actions even though he had no intention of injuring Miguel.]] Subverted the following season, as it turns out she only avoided jail time due to being the sole caretaker of her seriously ill mother, and is still on probation and expelled from school.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: The look on her face in the aftermath of the brawl is one of WasItReallyWorthIt, and she has a smaller one midfight when she realizes she kicked Miguel.
* NeverMyFault: Along with Hawk, she blames Johnny for Miguel's injuries, despite the fact that she's the one who started the brawl he was injured in.
* NiceJobFixingItVillain: [[spoiler: Leading the attack on the LaRusso home and targeting Sam only causes her finally overcome her trauma, along with Hawk deciding to leave Cobra Kai despite having been in line to become his dojo's new champion.]]
* PrivilegedRival: Inverted and played with. Tory comes from a much more rough and tumble life than Sam who has been pampered, and part of their enmity is born from Tory clearly seeing Sam as a RichBitch who doesn't know what real life is like and who judges Tory from her privileged status. Stuff like Tory having to work during 80's Night while Sam can just go and have fun clearly rubs Tory the wrong way, while Sam doesn't help the situation by accusing Tory of stealing wallets at the country club when she didn't and was Aisha's guest (though Tory ''actually'' stealing some booze played a part in that.)
* TheResenter: Tory embraces "no mercy" in part due to resentment over hardships she's had to experience that others haven't.
* RevengeBeforeReason: In season three, [[spoiler:even though she was warned that ''any'' violation of her parole would result in her being jailed despite her mom and brother needing her to work and provide for them, Tory decides to invade and assault Sam at ''her own house'' to get revenge for what happened in the West Valley Brawl.]] Even earlier, during the laser tag fight, Tory entered the area demanding to fight Sam, despite the fact that it would've been wise to AVOID Sam during the brawl.
* ShadowArchetype: To Robby Keene. Both were troubled youths that found direction in life through karate. Except while Robby was 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 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 had lingering feelings for one another. Robby was eventually willing to confess to Sam that he feared "losing points" with her, while Tory reacted with almost homicidal rage after seeing Sam and Miguel kiss at Moon's party. Finally, during the battle royale of season 2, Robby was horrified when he [[spoiler: kicked Miguel over the rail and potentially crippled him]], whereas Tory was fully intent on all but ripping Sam's face off with her spiked-bracelet-turned-improvised-knuckle-duster. Tory in many ways represents what Robby could have become if Daniel hadn't taken him under his tutelage or if he had joined Cobra Kai instead. [[spoiler: The latter ironically happens by the end of Season 3, putting them on the same side.]]
* SpikesOfVillainy: Her spiked bracelet; fashion accessory, self-defense tool, and potentially attempted-murder weapon.
* ThisIsForEmphasisBitch: How Tory starts the final brawl in season 2.
--> '''Tory:''' I'm coming for you, bitch!
* UnskilledButStrong: Compared to Sam. When the two fight it out in "No Mercy", Sam appears to be the more technically skilled fighter, managing to block and dodge most of Tory's attacks and outmanoeuvre her. However, what gives Tory an advantage for a large portion of the battle is the fact that she's a little bigger and probably stronger, [[RedOniBlueOni a lot more boisterous]], and generally much more violent, vicious, and dirty when it comes to fighting. While Sam arguably wins the fight in a sense, ending it by reversing an attack and knocking Tory down the stairs, it's Sam who comes out the most damaged, having to go to the hospital due to her injuries.
* UnstoppableRage: Tory goes all-out during her DesignatedGirlFight in the season 2 finale and fights dirty. When Miguel tries to stop her, she even kicks him without hesitation.
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: In spades in the season 2 finale. Her impulsive decision to start a fight with Sam over a kiss ends up [[spoiler:getting several students badly injured, and ironically may end up crippling or even killing her main crush Miguel.]]
* VillainousBreakdown: The combination of alcohol, jealousy, and anger at Sam kissing Miguel makes Tory suffer this before the brawl; she runs out of the party by herself, refuses to make contact with Miguel and Aisha when they desperately try to contact her, and only enters school after the day has started to she can hi-jack the intercom, call Sam out, and start their DesignatedGirlFight. She's so angry and caught up in her fight with Sam, she kicks Miguel without even hesitating when he tries to stop the fight, before staring at him in confusion and guilt... before escalating her fight with Sam to the point where she's using her ''spiked bracelet to lacerate Sam's flesh.''
* ViolentlyProtectiveGirlfriend: In the season 2 finale, she calls out Samantha to a vicious fight after seeing her sharing a kiss with Miguel at a party.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Raymond/The Stingray]]
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cobrakaistingray.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"I am here to kick some ass, sir!"'']]
->'''Played by:''' Paul Walter Hauser

->''"You know, the thing about stingrays is, they lie in wait for the perfect opportunity to strike!"''
----
* {{Acrofatic}}: After months of training, he displays some pretty solid moves in the final brawl, using his weight to his advantage in manhandling the Miyagi-Do kids who get in his way.
* BrilliantButLazy: He shows a surprising capability in a lot of aspects of his life. After flipping the script, he manages to beat Miguel in the Coyote Canyon exercise. He also won the attention of a very attractive girl. He can at least maintain professional attitude when he was interviewing for the security guard position. His main problem is he tries to live like he's in his teens or early 20's rather than take more responsibility in his life which prevents him from reaching his full potential.
* CharacterDevelopment: He's at his most annoying in his first appearance but after that he's much more tolerable. When he wins the Red vs Black challenge as Stingray, the other Cobras seem to accept him as one of their own, and no one seems annoyed by him anymore.
* ComicRelief: After Season 2's DarkerAndEdgier tone, most of Raymond's appearances are funny... at first.
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: During the Coyote Canyon exercise, he manages to get the drop on [[TheAce Miguel]] by hiding in the leaves, and wins the competition for his team.
* TheFriendNobodyLikes: At first nobody in the main cast really likes him -- the students due to the age gap, Johnny and Kreese due to his immaturity and excessive fanboying. When he announces he's "flipping the script" and now answers to "Stingray", even Hawk looks embarrassed for him. This changes after he wins the Coyote Canyon challenge for his team. After that both Bert and Hawk are happy to see him the two following episodes.
* HollywoodRestrainingOrder: [[spoiler:After the school brawl, he was forbidden by the court to not come within 500 feet of any child, nor to participate in any activity involving children.]]
* KarmaHoudiniWarranty: [[spoiler:He doesn't get any repercussions for his actions in the school brawl... until the beginning of Season 3 reveals that he was arrested for assaulting minors.]]
* LaserGuidedKarma: [[spoiler:His actions in the school brawl led to him being arrested for assaulting minors and forbidden to be near any children, costing him his membership in Cobra Kai.]]
* LettingTheAirOutOfTheBand: When he reveals his new identity as "Stingray", there's an epic rock tune in the background. When Johnny shrugs him off, the song flattens.
* ManChild: Despite being an adult, he lives with his mom and is utterly unashamed of that. He also has no issues with hanging out with a bunch of teenagers.
* NoSocialSkills: Played with. From his first appearance onward, his mannerisms and uncontrollable enthusiasm are very "fanboyish". But in the last episode of season 2, he smooth-talks his way into a security job at the school despite the principal's awareness that he has ''no relevant experience''.
* PutOnABus: Is nowhere to be seen in season 3. Justified, as after [[spoiler: assaulting minors in the school fight, he landed himself in trouble with the law and is no longer allowed within 500 feet of any minor.]]
* ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney: He is the only adult in the Cobra Kai teen classes, but Johnny lets that slide as living with his parents leaves him with tons of cash to burn on lessons and dojo swag.
* TookALevelInJerkass: [[spoiler:He singles out and assaults younger Miyagi-Do students as a security guard for West Valley (hi-fiving Hawk and generally ignoring the Cobra Kai students while doing so) and stays with Kreese after he takes over Cobra Kai]].
* WouldHurtAChild: Zig-zagged. He doesn't hesitate to beat up kids from Miyagi-Do during the school brawl, but consider that those kids are trained martial artists, so it would make sense for another trained martial artist to subdue them. But he ''only'' targets the Miyagi-Do kids, and specifically leaves the Cobra Kai kids alone.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Mitch]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/a854842e_8fa9_4e01_b4b3_f6d2efddae20.jpeg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:]]

->'''Played by:''' Aedin Mincks

->''"Should've stayed in Cobra Kai. You could have been a badass."''

One of the students who joined Cobra Kai after the All-Valley Tournament, he initially joined with his friend Chris. He forms part of Hawk's gang.
----
* CoDragons: 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 [[Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles Rocksteady and Bebop]].
* DefectorFromDecadence: [[spoiler:After Kreese casts him aside in favor of newer, more athletic students, he decides to rejoin Johnny and Miguel at their new dojo.]]
* EvilCounterpart: To Chris after he defects to Miyagi-Do. In the final season 2 brawl, Mitch eagerly assaults his former friend despite the latter's insistence that he does not want to fight.
* HiddenDepths:
** Despite having no problem following Hawk's orders he stood up for himself when insultingly accursed 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.
* {{Jerkass}}: He fully embraces the Cobra Kai mindset and eagerly assists Hawk with his misdeeds. [[spoiler:He's also one of the eight students who sides with Kreese after the school brawl. Later on in season three, his defection to Eagle Fang is primarily due to Kreese mistreating him rather than any moral concerns he has.]]
* KickThemWhileTheyAreDown: Not literally, but still the flip side to his HiddenDepths. He thought it would be a great idea to rub salt in Chris's wounds.
* MistreatmentInducedBetrayal: [[spoiler:Realizing Kreese doesn't give a shit about him despite his loyalty, he joins Eagle Fang Karate.]]
* NWordPrivileges: Played with. [[spoiler: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.
* PetTheDog: [[spoiler:When he sees Demetri down for the count during the fight in the season three finale, he encourages him to get up and keep fighting.]]
* VillainousValor: Never wavered or considered breaking when the entire dojo was being punished for what he, Hawk, and two other members did to Miyagi-Do.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Doug Rickenberger]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/0436f54e_a206_49f4_af5c_a60cc3fe70ff.jpeg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:]]

->'''Played by:''' John Cihangir

* KarmaHoudini: He’s the one who assaults a teacher during the brawl but while Sam got suspended, he went scot free.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Mikey]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/426c0b1f_1482_4368_b6ae_c82ccc284b81.jpeg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:]]
->'''Played by:''' Chris Schmidt. Jr
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Kyler]]
[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kyler.jpg]]
->'''Played by:''' Joe Seo

The local bully at the high-school that Sam is attracted to early in the first season.
----
* AllAsiansKnowMartialArts: DoubleSubverted. Initially, he's the only Asian in a show about karate and while he does practice a martial art, it's a western martial art (wrestling) and he's not very good at it. He gets much better after he joins Cobra Kai at Kreese's invitation.
* AsianAirhead: A rare male example, the dude clearly doesn’t have much going on upstairs. Case in point: when Daniel asked where his parents are from, as in which country they originated, Kyler replies with "[[MathematiciansAnswer Irvine]]".
* TheBully: His stock in trade. Kyler and his gang savagely bully Miguel and his friends every chance they get. He is also no stranger to cyber-bullying.
* BullyBrutality: He and his gang beat Miguel unconscious at one point.
* TheBusCameBack: He returns in Season 3, and visits the Cobra Kai dojo at Kreese's invitation with his gang.
* CameBackStrong: Unlike Brucks, who was hit with a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown. Due to his athleticism, Kyler trumps ''Mitch'', of all people, in a one-on-one fight despite the latter spending a longer time as a Cobra Kai. He reaffirms his newfound strength when he fights Miguel again during Cobra Kai's assault on the Miyagi-Dos and Eagle Fangs and gives his opponent a hard time. It should be noted that Miguel was recovering from comatose/paralysis, though.
* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: Nowhere to be seen in Season 2, and no explanation is provided about where he went. (Granted, most of the season takes place during summer vacation and given that the kids Kyler harassed can now be found among both Cobra Kai ''and'' Miyagi-Do, he wouldn't be associating with either side.) Hell, in fact, it's as though he didn't exist. However, he came back for Season 3, and is now with Cobra Kai.
* DirtyCoward: After Miguel kicks the shit out of him and his friends single-handedly, he starts avoiding any confrontation with him. It bears mentioning that even before that, he's too gutless to fight without his buddies around to back him up.
* EvilCounterpart: Eviler Counterpart to Johnny in the first Karate Kid. As boorish as Johnny was in that film, he at least genuinely loved Ali and only bullied Daniel because Daniel kept provoking him (wittingly or not). Kyler, by contrast, never truly respected or loved Sam, and bullied Miguel and his friends just for the hell of it. Additionally, Johnny believes cyber-bullies are {{Dirty Coward}}s and would never harass someone over the net, while Kyler has no such scruples. Later on, Johnny makes it clear to Miguel that if a girl doesn't want to do anything physical, then the guy should back off -- and even as a teenager, Johnny is never seen laying a hand on Ali, not even after ''she'' punches ''him''. As shown when he is with Sam in episode 4, Kyler is not nearly so gentlemanly.
* {{Expy}}: An Eastern Asian brute who mistreats everyone around him including the woman he is interested in and antagonizes kid much smaller than him. He's shaping up to be another Chozen (who demonstrated CharacterDevelopment).
* FlunkyBoss: Kyler is too much of a coward to fight on his own, and only picks a fight when his gang is with him.
* ForTheEvulz: His motivation for being a {{sadist}} (also see that entry).
* HateSink: Compare to the GreyAndGrayMorality setup that most of the other characters have, Kyler is clearly written to be as unlikable as possible, and has almost no redeeming traits. Even when Cobra Kai students start falling under HeWhoFightsMonsters, they are still not as awful as Kyler. Season 3 reaffirms that the guy hasn't changed one bit (especially his ''love'' of penile drawings) and [[spoiler:he's willing to attack Miguel as the guy is still recovering from his coma and paralysis]].
%%* JerkassHasAPoint: Despite being such a dick to his fellow students, Kyler notices Miguel attending Aisha's canyon party. Remembering how his last fight against Miguel went, Kyler wisely suggests to his gang and Yasmine that they relocate their party somewhere else. His gang follows, except for Moon, who decides to join Aisha's party while Yasmine ends up being humiliated by Aisha for her past behavior.
* JerkWithAHeartOfJerk: While he is TheBully to Miguel and his friends, Kyler does at least seem to be an alright boyfriend towards Sam, until it's revealed he never truly loved or respected her, and just wanted her to put out. He later [[spoiler: spreads vicious rumors about Sam after they break up]].
* KickTheDog:
** Not only does he shamelessly tack on a patronizing and EmbarrassingNickname to Miguel, he also empties the bottle of Pepto Miguel purchased for his grandmother all over his head.
** He openly humiliates Sam in the lunchroom, claiming that she follows her father in the fellatio department.
--->'''Kyler:''' Hey, guys. You know that billboard with a big-ass dick on it? I guess Sam takes after her dad.
** In Season 3, he also humiliates Demetri in the lunchroom by doodling a penis on the cast covering his right arm.
--->''"Hey, guys. Check this guy out, standing around with a dick in his hand."''
* KnowWhenToFoldEm: After the cafeteria beating, Kyler does not seek revenge on Miguel, and in fact avoids him at all costs thereafter, even to the point of suggesting that Yasmine move her birthday party elsewhere after he spots Miguel at the beach that their clique was headed to. His gang follows, except for Moon, who decides to join Aisha's party while Yasmine ends up being humiliated by Aisha for her past behavior.
* LaserGuidedKarma: Beaten and humiliated by Miguel from the lunchroom fight.
* MaliciousMisnaming: He tacks an EmbarrassingNickname, "'Rhea", onto Miguel because he had a bottle of Pepto on him. And he still uses it.
* MenaceDecay: He's the primary antagonist towards Miguel until Miguel beats him and his friends in the cafeteria fight. After that, he avoids Miguel like the plague.
* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: He and the rest of his gang beat Miguel into unconsciousness during the Halloween party. Miguel returns the favor in the cafeteria (see KickTheDog above for the catalyst).
* PragmaticVillainy: Seeing Miguel among the partiers at the canyon, he's actually being sensible in recommending that Yasmine hold her birthday party elsewhere.
* PutOnABus: Kyler is absent in Season 2. No explanation for it is given.
* {{Sadist}}: Kyler enjoys hurting people for its own sake (and ''still'' does). Even at their worst moments, Miguel and the most of Cobra Kai at least have understandable motives for their aggression and don't indiscriminately go after people who didn't provoke them first. [[spoiler:He absolutely relishes in taking advantage of Miguel still recovering from a near fatal/paralyzing injury in the season three finale.]]
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere:
** When Miguel and Kyler make eye contact while the former was chatting with Demetri, Kyler turns around and casually walks off.
** The moment he sees Miguel among the crowd in the canyon party, Kyler decides against starting any shit, [[JerkassHasAPoint proposing to Yasmine that they relocate]] (which everyone else but Moon does).
* StarterVillain: He serves as the main antagonist of the first half of Season 1 and is ultimately defeated by Miguel at the mid-point of season. Afterward, he only makes a few small appearances (which consist entirely of seeing Miguel and promptly deciding to be somewhere else) during the second half of Season 1.
* TeensAreMonsters: The way he and his gang bully Miguel and his friends is pretty extreme and violent, and he has no problem whatsoever [[spoiler: making up false stories about Sam being promiscuous when she won’t put out.]]
* TokenMinority: He's the only named present day character to be clearly defined as Asian, prior to the second season.
* TookALevelInBadass: In season three, Kreese recruits him to Cobra Kai and he becomes even more of a threat now that he has legitimate fighting skills along with his athleticism. [[spoiler:Fortunately, Miguel is still the superior fighter.]]
* UnskilledButStrong: While Kyler ''is'' a trained wrestler, he isn't particularly good at it. He doesn't actually go for takedowns or holds until he's been hit and lacks the discipline to keep any of the ones he gets once given resistance. When put against a martial artist who values his craft more than hooking up and partying he becomes a punching bag.
[[/folder]]


!The [=LaRusso=] Family
[[folder:Daniel [=LaRusso=]]]
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cobrakaidaniellarusso.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"Balance is my thing!"'']]
->'''Played by:''' Creator/RalphMacchio

->''"When I was a kid, you... seemed to always have all the answers. And I guess I thought when I got older, I had it all figured out too. But now, I guess... like I'm clueless."''

34 years after his victory against Johnny Lawrence, Daniel's (professional!) life couldn't be better, but the return of his hated rival and the dojo that made him threaten to upset Daniel's balanced life.
----
* AntiMentor: Downplayed. While he succeeds in passing down Mr. Miyagi's fighting skills to his students and the lesson to prioritize inner peace and self-control over martial abilities, [[BlackAndWhiteInsanity his inability to view Cobra Kai as anything]] but a VillainByDefault ThugDojo is also passed on to them which ultimately cumulates into an all-out battle royale between the two schools with disastrous results, [[spoiler:especially for Miguel]].
* ArchEnemy: He sees the Cobra Kai dojo as this, both past and present.
* BadassInANiceSuit: Played up in his TV commercials.
* BecameTheirOwnAntiThesis: [[spoiler:While it was largely unintentional, by the end of season 2 his efforts to keep Cobra Kai in check have made him exactly like Kreese: a man who has weaponized the teenagers he teaches because of his own personal grudge against the other dojo.]]
* BenevolentBoss:
** In season 1, Daniel is a delight to work for, and Robby -- who only began working for Daniel to spite Johnny, and had planned to quit afterwards -- ends up becoming Daniel's willing protege.
** [[spoiler:In season 2, this trope falters, as Daniel becomes consumed in his feud with Cobra Kai, to the point that Amanda and Anoush are forced to pick up his slack at the dealership. The burden of this ultimately causes Anoush to defect to Daniel's rival Tom Cole.]]
* BerserkButton: If you damage or steal anything that was handed down to him by Miyagi (such as his prized car and Purple Heart respectively), all bets are off. As of season 3, also add in attacking any of his family.
* BigDamnHeroes: Daniel leaps in to save Robby from his former friends, literally, with a stance and moves which invoke Mr Miyagi. He also jumps in to save Johnny from Kreese when he tried to actually kill his former student in season 3.
* BlackAndWhiteInsanity: Daniel refuses to view Cobra Kai as anything but a [[VillainByDefault Villainous by Default]] ThugDojo and frequently assumes the worst about Johnny and the students' motives even when it's clear Johnny genuinely wants to make his version of the dojo better than Kreese's and the students, one of whom is a family friend he's known for over a decade, are all bullied outcasts who just want to learn to defend themselves. He winds up passing this view down to his students and it leads to tragedy in season 2.
* CassandraTruth: After Daniel disturbs Sam and Kyler's alone time in an empty classroom during the Halloween party, he tries to warn his daughter that Kyler is bad news. Sam shoots her father down for not keeping to his promise of not humiliating her, and furiously storms off. Yet Sam later learns for herself what a jerkass Kyler is.
* CondescendingCompassion: His advertisement to attract students away Cobra Kai, which outright labels the students who study there "snake[s] in the grass", winds ups insulting most of the kids rather than inspiring them. Thus they begin to resent him just like Johnny does.
* CorruptCorporateExecutive: While it's strongly downplayed (as Daniel is the overall ''hero'' of the franchise), he's shown as not being above making (or pretending to make) deals that have negative effects not just on Johnny but on the other tenants of his strip mall. This is more of a moment of weakness than a defining character trait and his wife [[WhatTheHellHero calls him out on it.]] [[note]]It's worth mentioning that because of laws passed when Reagan was governor of California, just ''becoming'' a car dealer in Southern California requires, at ''minimum,'' shades of this (territorial exclusivity).[[/note]]
* CurbStompBattle: In season 2, he takes down Trey and Cruz, along with their big buddy, in less than a minute.
* FatalFlaw:
** Although Daniel initially finds balance at the beginning of Season 2, he loses it after his dojo is trashed. At that point, his obsession with beating Johnny and destroying Cobra Kai for good leads to him making several moves that pour gasoline on the fire and turn an old bitter high school rivalry into an outright war between the current generation [[spoiler:that ends with his own daughter being maimed and her ex-boyfriend comatose.]]
** Additionally, Daniel never grasped the Miyagi-do karate tenet of "always try to solve your problems non-violently and only resort to karate if your well-being is threatened and there is absolutely no other choice". Thus, he completely fails to teach this to his students and it results in his students contributing to the rising tensions (they won't throw the first punch, but they'll glad goad the Cobras into doing so) and [[spoiler:several students being injured in the season two finale]].
** Because of his own baggage from his youth with Cobra Kai, Daniel continually reinforces the idea into his students' heads that Cobra Kai is [[VillainByDefault Villainous by Default]]. This mixed with several of his students' individual antagonistic interactions with Cobra Kai members helps to fuel the brawl.
** His psyhological need to '''be''' Mr. Miyagi. His desperate desire to honor his mentor has him constantly trying to emulate him in his approach to teaching his students, but because he views Cobra Kai as [[VillainByDefault Villainous by Default]], [[TautologicalTemplar he thinks by default everything he teaches in opposition to Cobra Kai is right.]]
* ForeignCultureFetish: Daniel is notably enamored with Japanese culture, giving away a free bonsai tree with every new vehicle purchase at his business and meticulously crafting ''sashimi'' for special occasions. [[JustifiedTrope This is justified]] in that his mentor and father figure, Mr. Miyagi, was a transplant from Okinawa and taught Daniel everything he knew. This gets lampshaded when Daniel finds out that he's being criticized online for supposedly appropriating Japanese Culture.
* GloryDays: Downplayed in that Daniel is pretty satisfied with his life now due to his successful business and loving family. However, he still clings on to his status as a two-time All Valley Karate Champion and incorporates it into his business image even though he achieved the feat 34 years ago. It's particularly notable when one remembers Mr. Miyagi saw the tournament as a means to an end and in ''Film/TheKarateKidPartII'' scoffed at the idea of Daniel-san being any kind of competitive fighter.
* GracefulLoser: He congratulates Johnny on winning Cobra Kai the [[spoiler:All Valley Tournament]], and parts ways with no feelings of animosity (though it can be interpreted as sarcasm).
* HeartbrokenBadass: [[spoiler: After the brawl injures students from both dojos and Daniel is forced to give up teaching karate, he can only apologize to his mentor's portrait in despair of what he inadvertently caused.]]
* HeroicBSOD: At the end of Season 2, after [[spoiler:his rivalry with Johnny leads to a school-wide brawl that hospitalizes Miguel and Sam, with the former potentially crippled or dying and the latter maimed]], all he can do in the elevator is share a quiet BSOD with Johnny.
* HeroicNeutral: In season 2, Daniel tries to be this initially when he says that the Cobra Kai kids are not the problem, just the teacher, and he attempts to avoid confrontation. [[spoiler: Sadly, this attitude is undermined when the Cobra Kai kids trash his dojo and 'steal Miyagi's medal of honour!' He goes on the warpath before trying to return to this stance again.]]
* HeroicWannabe: Subtle and not necessarily a conscious goal, but Daniel does legitimately believe Miyagi-do is the "good side" opposing [[VillainByDefault Cobra Kai's corrupting influence]] (Johnny good intentions notwithstanding).
* HiddenDepths: Season 2 reveals he's a ''Series/GameOfThrones'' fan, which helps him encourage [[spoiler:Demetri]], who is also an avid viewer, through references to the show to believe in himself and not give up on the training.
* {{Hypocrite}}:
** His constant blanket dismissals of the teens who join Cobra Kai as bullies and punks comes across as this given that [[Film/TheKarateKidPartIII he himself was once seduced by their philosophy]] (as he admits to his students in season 2). After this admission, he tries to overcome this attitude by teaching his students otherwise. [[spoiler: It doesn't work.]]
** Despite his repeated insistence that Karate should just be a discipline and not something you seek for glory & validation, Daniel gets increasingly agitated over the fact that the Cobra Kai school is more popular and easily recruits more members (though at least part of this is due to his not-unjustified fear that the dojo is turning good kids into ruthless bullies).
** He calls out Johnny for beating up Kyler and his friends when they attacked Miguel saying that an adult shouldn't be fighting teenagers. Nevermind that Mr. Miyagi saved Daniel under similar circumstances years ago from Johnny and Cobra Kai and Daniel didn't have an issue with it then.
* HypocriticalHumor: He takes Robby out to the woods to get him away from the internet and all the noise and distractions of the city. Once he's given Robby his training regimen, he takes out a tablet so he can watch Hockey.
* InadequateInheritor: Played with and ultimately played straight. Despite showing genuine flashes of inspired teaching as a Sensei when he starts to embrace his own style, his failure to avoid antagonizing Cobra Kai and teach his students how to resolve their problems nonviolently only escalates the conflict. The aftermath of the school brawl in the finale of the second season drives Daniel to [[spoiler:give up teaching karate at Miyagi-Do, while also at the same time apologizing to a portrait of Miyagi for failing to uphold his philosophy]].
-->'''Daniel:''' I tried my best. I thought I was doing the right thing. I'm sorry.
* JerkassHasAPoint:
** While his methods of trying to take down Cobra Kai border on being a CorruptCorporateExecutive (and end up screwing over innocent strip mall tenants), his concerns about the danger of teaching the Cobra Kai philosophy to teenagers are ultimately proven correct, especially as these particular teenagers are bullied outcasts who've taken on a method of self-defense that didn't factor in the restraint necessary to keep them from using it for revenge. By the end of season 2, the Cobra Kai defectors, Miguel, and even Johnny himself seem to agree with Daniel's point of view.
** And his argument against resurrecting Cobra Kai? He wasn't wrong about asking why Johnny would want to revive a dojo that had too many bad memories to count[[note]]and he was talking specifically about the damage Johnny had suffered, not he himself[[/note]]. Rather than denying him a right to his business, Daniel was specifically concerned about the Pandora's box the move would trigger.
** While Daniel will begrudgingly concede that Johnny is trying to be a better person, he completely changes his stance the moment he learns that Johnny welcomed Kreese back to assist him in teaching his students. While from Johnny's point of view, he's trying to give his teacher a second shot, literally ''everyone'', from Daniel to Miguel to even Johnny's old Cobra Kai buddies, tries to tell him it's a terrible idea. Eventually, Johnny finally realizes that Kreese hasn't changed at all and cuts ties with him.
* MadeOutToBeAJerkass: When Johnny explains his side of the story concerning his very first encounter with Daniel to Miguel, Johnny insinuates that Daniel was the asshole for sticking his nose where it doesn't belong (i.e. interfering with Johnny and Ali's conversation).
* ManlyManAndSensitiveGuy: While both are skilled karate masters, Johnny is the manly man to Daniel's sensitive guy.
* MartialPacifist: If his training of Robby is anything to go by, he's inherited, retained, and upheld many of Miyagi's philosophies and tactics (though, as vividly indicated in the second-season finale, definitely not all of them). It is perhaps noteworthy that Daniel is the only martial artist in the first season who never hits another person (boba tea notwithstanding)... and even in the ''second'' season when the [[RivalDojos dojo war]] is in full swing, he only throws a punch when Robby is about to be stabbed by Cruz and when he thinks that Johnny is holding Sam captive at his apartment.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: [[spoiler:Shares one with Johnny at the end of Season 2 as a result of the school brawl.]]
* NiceGuy: Daniel is wonderful to his staff, apologizes for his mistaken overreaction to a mistake made by Robby who was tricked by his cousin and even initially welcomes Johnny, who made his life hell and repairs his car for free. He finds it difficult to be as kind to Cobra Kai, but [[JerkassToOne this is the exception]], not the rule.
* NotSoDifferent: A running theme of the show is that Daniel and Johnny are more alike than either are willing to admit. This comes full circle by the third season when it gets revealed that [[spoiler: Daniels relationship with Ali crashed and burned for the ''exact'' same reason Johnny's did.]]
* OhCrap: His reaction when he learns that Johnny has resurrected Cobra Kai. Bonus points for "Ain't That A Kick In The Head" playing.
* PapaWolf: Danny is fiercely protective of his daughter Sam, especially in the season 2 finale, when he realised that she was drunk and spent the night at Johnny's apartment.
* ParentalObliviousness: Like his wife, Danny selectively ignores the fact that Sam's taste in [[RichBitch friends]] and [[AllGirlsWantBadBoys boys]] is [[HorribleJudgeOfCharacter not that great.]] Once he starts paying more attention to his family life after Cobra Kai comes back, they start reconnecting and Sam starts paying more attention to the people she's surrounded herself with as well.
* RageBreakingPoint: In the season 3 finale, Daniel has finally had enough of Kreese’s bullshit and beats the crap out of him for all he’s done.
-->'''Daniel:''' ''(after kicking Kreese off of Johnny)'' You sent them to my house! You came after my daughter! You wanted a fight, you son of a bitch!? Well NOW YOU GOT ONE!!!
* RagsToRiches: In 34 years, Daniel has gone from growing up in a working class household to a wealthy entrepreneur.
* RedOniBlueOni: Johnny's headstrong and reckless Red Oni and Daniel's level-headed and rational Blue Oni.
* RelativeButton: Though uninvolved with Miyagi's passing, Kreese loves to taunt Daniel about Miyagi every opportunity he gets.
* ReluctantWarrior: Daniel avoids fighting whenever possible, and appears most content when he is simply practicing Kata to find balance. This is further emphasized when he says that he won't attract students by using Robby's video showing off his CurbStompBattle against the thugs.
* SelfMadeMan: He went from being a poor kid from Reseda to being the owner of 5 luxury car dealerships all over the valley.
* SkewedPriorities: Deconstructed. Daniel's fixation on training Miyagi-Do all in the name of stopping Cobra Kai backfires hard, as it concludes in not only [[spoiler:Anoush ditching the [=LaRusso=] Auto Group for a rival dealership, but also an all-out school brawl between the two dojos in the Season 2 finale, which ends in disaster for both sides, including his daughter being hospitalized and his marriage strained]].
* SlobsVersusSnobs: Johnny's a scruffy, boorish and lazy Slob and Daniel's an affluent, cultured, diligent Snob.
* SoProudOfYou: [[spoiler:While Robby ended up in second place in the All Valley Tournament, Daniel is no less proud of him, and goes on to add that Robby is the real winner as his opponent fought unfairly.]]
* TautologicalTemplar: [[VillainByDefault Because of his view of Cobra Kai]], Daniel believes everything he teaches in Miyagi-do is the "better way".
* TookALevelInBadass: Daniel goes from a kid who can barely defeat his villain of the week, let alone multiple opponents. Now fully trained, Daniel is capable of taking on multiple opponents at once and emerging without a stratch. In addition, he is now [[spoiler:capable of taking down Kreese at the end of Season 3]].
* TookALevelInJerkass: Ordinarily, Daniel is as much of NiceGuy as he was in the original movies, but whenever the Cobra Kai Dojo is involved he goes into full {{Jerkass}} move and does things his wife has to call him out on. [[spoiler: He gets better about this towards the end of the first season as he re-dedicates himself to the Miyagi-Do Karate method and takes in a wayward teenager to train. Although he still remains bitter and hostile towards Johnny and the Cobra Kai, his time with Johnny's son seems to help him understand them more. [[HeWhoFightsMonsters It's just that what they're doing is less wrong than how they're going about it]].]]
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Sushi. He serves it to Kyler to try and make a good impression, and he serves it in Season 2 to try and get back on Amanda's good side.
* TraumaButton:
** When Daniel first sees the reconstructed Cobra Kai dojo, Daniel has a HeroicBSOD, remembering every beatdown and assault he ever endured from the students of that ruthless discipline.
** Seeing Miguel in a skeleton costume disturbs Daniel, as he recalls the moment when he was beaten into unconsciousness by Johnny's lot during the '84 Halloween party.
* TricksterMentor: Just like his own mentor, Mr. Miyagi, Daniel likes taking the roundabout way to get to a point. He's not ''quite'' as good at it as Mr. Miyagi was, but he helps provide a support system to a floundering Robby and finds peace himself doing so.
-->'''Robby:''' This is bullshit! ''[storms off]''\\
'''Amanda:''' I think you're enjoying this a little too much.\\
'''Daniel:''' God, I love this part!
* UnderestimatingBadassery: One gets the impression throughout the series that people believe Daniel is an old champ relying on past victories, or even doubt ''he has any karate skills at all''. This is somewhat understandable, but let’s recount for fun:
** Tom Cole mocks him ("I'm not really a Revolutionary soldier, you're not really a karate guy") right up to the moment he kicks his drink from his hand.
** Trey and Cruz mock him as an old man before he kicks their asses.
** Kreese seems completely dismissive of him, despite the fact that Daniel inadvertently, with Miyagi, destroyed his dojo 30 years ago (this is less straight though). Plus, despite Kreese's confidence that their fight, and presumably Daniel's defeat, is inevitable [[spoiler:Daniel renders him helpless at the end of their duel]].
** Finally, even Johnny is dismissive of him. He is eager for a fight and is confident he would kick Daniel’s ass in the first season when he confronts him at his house. In the second series he has no problem taking on Daniel but during the course of their brief duel, Daniel lands a kick and punch in quick succession. In contrast, Johnny gets an initial kick as Daniel tries to move past him, and a final kick once Daniel turns around to find his daughter.
* UnreliableNarrator: Season 3 reveals that his account of his breakup with Ali to Mr. Miyagi in ''Film/TheKarateKidPartII'' wasn't accurate. [[spoiler:Ali explains to Amanda and Johnny that the "football player at UCLA" she supposedly dumped Daniel for was actually an old family friend she was chatting with. Daniel had assumed the worst and overreacted. Meanwhile, Ali wasn't the one who damaged Daniel's car. Daniel actually crashed it after ignoring her warnings that the brakes were faulty and he lied to Mr. Miyagi to save face.]]
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: His repeated jabs at Cobra Kai in his Miyagi-do commercial infuriate not only Johnny, but also all the students and causes them to brand him and the dojo an enemy. [[spoiler:It eventually culminates in an all-out school brawl between the two dojos that leaves several of the teens with serious injuries.]]
* WaxOnWaxOff: Since this is how he was trained by Miyagi, it can't have been a surprise that he'd train Robby this way. Season 2 actually deconstructs this when he tries this on a dojo-level; his students assume he's using them for free labor and jump ship for the RuleOfCool-compliant Cobra Kai. The TropeNamer lives on.
* WhatTheHellHero: He gets quite a few of these after some of his bigger {{Jerkass}} moments. Especially from his wife, Amanda.
* XMustNotWin: This is his attitude with the revived Cobra Kai. It's made increasingly clear that this stems from his own experiences with them just as much as, if not more, than the outcomes of the dojo's philosophy.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Amanda [=LaRusso=]]]
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cobrakaiamandalarusso.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"You can't put a band-aid on an open wound."'']]
->'''Played by:''' Courtney Henggeler

->''"You know, as much as I would love to watch you and your childhood karate rival duke it out, I kinda don't wanna get any blood on the patio..."''

Daniel's wife, business partner and mother of his children. She vainly tries to be a voice of reason once the feud between Daniel and Johnny reignites.
----
* AdultFear: [[spoiler: The aftermath of the fight at the school where her daughter ends up in the hospital shows a healthy amount of this.]]
* BenevolentBoss: Considering how she is willing to stick up for Robby and how she makes Louie apologize to Robby for hazing him, and acts with professionalism and courtesy towards the Dealership staff. [[TheSlacker As long as you are not Louie,]] she has proven to be a pleasant boss to work for.
* BitchSlap: She slaps Kreese across the face when she confronts him at his dojo following the fight between Samantha and Hawk's groups in an amusement center.
* BothSidesHaveAPoint: Downplayed example between Daniel and Amanda when it comes to raising their children. Daniel's side does have a merit in the type of friends Sam is making and her trying to become popular. But at the same time, Amanda is correct in her point that embarrassing her in front of other people would do little to help this, not to mention invading Sam's privacy. However, eventually, Daniel usually seems to be the one who is right after Sam saw what her friends and Kyler truly were and discard them. As for Anthony, it's simply Daniel being correct about his spoiled attitude and choosing video games over karate, while Amanda pointing out he can't just force him to become better. And even though Anthony remained a flat character, his frustrating behavior makes the audience want to side with Daniel.
* DeadpanSnarker: It would be easier to list those times she ''averts'' this trope. She can't help but cut loose with the sarcasm when her husband does something particularly ill-advised, though the majority of the time her snarkiness is nothing but good-natured.
* HandsOffParenting: Downplayed. She will put her foot down when it comes to overt wrongdoing, but Amanda seems a little more preoccupied with being a "cool" parent than Daniel is, instantly taking Sam's side against him without considering that his (not-unfounded) concerns about her friends might have some merit. She's also even more permissive than he is when it comes to Anthony's selfish and bratty behavior.
* MamaBear: Also downplayed, but both her defense of Robby at the beach club and her TranquilFury when Sam gets hurt show a woman who is fiercely protective of her kids.
* OnlySaneWoman: The only member of the family who doesn't let the feud get into her head and can see how childish and incredibly stupid it actually is. [[spoiler:After the brawl in Season Two, she's the one who points out to Daniel that he and Miyagi-Do are just as responsible for it as Cobra Kai and he needs to shut down the dojo now.]]
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Can actually see Louie for what he is, is highly supportive of Robby at work and in general, and is a highly competent boss at work.
* SelectiveObliviousness: Her desire for Sam to be socially accepted at school so she won't be bullied blinds her to the fact her friends ''are'' the bullies. She wises up once she actually learns about the things they've done such as doing a hit-and-run on Johnny's car.
%% * TheSouthpaw: Whenever she's shown dealing with paperwork at the dealership, the pen is always in her left hand.
* StageMom: Her main negative quality is the disproportionate importance she places in Sam's social status, and how it blinds her to how awful people Sam's new rich friends are.
* WomenAreWiser: Once again, another downplayed example. She does have her moments of unintentionally making things worse and her hands-off parenting style wasn't always effective, but Amanda is the one who always calls Daniel out for his petty attempts to make things harder for Johnny and putting his personal and professional life at stake to lead his dojo. In fact, she was always the one who reminded him that he was supposed to bring balance in his life when Daniel did baffling deeds.
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom:
** One cannot stop wondering whether it was the whole "Sam must hang out with popular kids" thing that she so obviously instills in her daughter that caused the Sam-Aisha relationship to break down.
** A lot of the problems that occur in "Different But Same" could have been avoided had she let Sam tell Miguel she was grounded and not allowed to use her phone.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Samantha [=LaRusso=]]]
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cobrakaisamanthalarusso.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"Everyone's got a sob story. That doesn't give you the right to be a bully."'']]
->'''Played by:''' Creator/MaryMouser

->''"You don't have to worry about me, dad. I can handle myself. I'm a [=LaRusso=]."''

Daniel's daughter. Sam is dealing with the drama of high school and her new clique, eventually finding out how quickly people can turn when her new boyfriend starts a smear campaign against her.
----
* ActionGirl: She was trained by Daniel at a young age, so despite being a few years out of practice, she quickly and efficiently handles a handsy Kyler. In season two she begins training again along side Robby as Daniel's top students.
* AlcoholInducedIdiocy: Engages in a drinking contest with Tory, which she wins...[[spoiler: but gets inebriated enough to kiss Miguel where Tory can see and be in no condition to return home, causing Robby to take her to crash at Johnny's place. The latter act reignites Johnny and Daniel's feud due to the misunderstanding in the morning, and the former kicks off the -brawl that results in numerous injuries, including Miguel's near death.]]
* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: Subverted. She was initially attracted to Kyler the local {{jerkass}}, but witnessing Kyler's true personality, she breaks up with him. [[spoiler:She breaks up with Miguel when his own growing {{jerkass}} personality goes too far... only to again display attraction to him in Season 2 when he TakesALevelInKindness.]]
* BackInTheSaddle: After a whole season of refusing to take up karate again and showing only occasional glimpses of her badassery, in one of the last scenes of the first season finale she goes back to the house's dojo and starts practicing again. She joins Robby as a fellow student of the Miyagi-Do Karate dojo starting from the second season.
* BerserkButton: Wait, did you just wreck that picture of Miyagi in her house? Get ready for a beatdown!
* BystanderSyndrome: Several times in Season One. She doesn't call out Yasmine for her bullying until she does it to her, she doesn't stand up for Aisha when Yasmine sends the cruel meme of her to everyone, and she doesn't try to help Miguel when Kyler and his friends are attacking him, even though she knows karate. The only time she averts this is when Miguel tries to start a fight with Robbie, which makes him [[spoiler: accidentally hit her]].
* DaddysGirl: Daniel and Sam seem to be a lot closer than Daniel and Anthony, teaching the former karate while the latter's always got his face buried in video games.
* DudeMagnet: No fewer then ''three'' guys vie for her attention in season one.
* ExpositoryHairstyleChange: Constantly wears her hair loose in Season 1. Constantly wears it pulled back in Season 2, when she's taken up karate again. The only exception is the final fight, when [[ByTheHair she really could have used it]].
* FairWeatherFriend: Initially. She didn't stick up for Aisha when Yasmine referred to "one size fits all" as "false advertising." Then, after Aisha became one of the Cobra Kai power players and Yasmine lost her stock at her own birthday party, Sam went with her. Downplayed in that it was a realization; Aisha was eliminated in the quarters at the All Valley Tournament, indicating that Sam looked past that loss and reached out to her instead of vice versa.
* FatalFlaw: Her refusal to own up to her mistakes. Her friendship with Aisha was ruined after she prioritized popularity over her true friends then blamed Aisha for her choice in friends even though it was Sam who falsely accused Tory of stealing. Also, she didn't take any chances she had to apologize to Tory for kissing Miguel even though she had at least two.
* FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse: In Season 2, this is her default response to Tory's accounts of her DarkAndTroubledPast.
* GenerationXerox:
** Much like how Miguel and Robby mirror Johnny and Daniel, Sam herself is like Ali, though with several key differences.
** She also share a few similarities to Julie Pierce from ''Film/TheNextKarateKid'' such as becoming a target for bullying after rejecting a jerk's advances and having to rely on her karate training to fend him off at one point.
** Also mirrors her father's high school past in season two, to an extent. She experiences violence and retribution from a jealous romantic rival. Inverting the dynamic, however, Sam is the more privileged rival and recently broke up with the person at the centre of the love triangle.
** Like her mom she can be very focused on being a social climber. She ditched Aisha for the more popular AlphaBitch Yasmine and only came back to Aisha when the latter lost her high standing and Aisha gained more standing. Also while she didn't approve of Kyler's bullying, she only broke up with him after Kyler tried to force himself on her as opposed to Miguel whom she broke up with for trying to get violent with Robby. [[note]] Yes, he hit her instead, but she made it clear she was mad he resorted to violence, period, not that he hit her. [[/note]]
* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: She should have seen Yasmine and Kyler's flaws a mile away. Luckily, she learns and quickly notices when Miguel starts to change.
* ItsAllAboutMe: Played with. She frequently gets concerned over situations that involve her and finds little or no issues with bullying happening right in front of her when it would be bad for her social status to speak up. Her actions also make it clear that she'd rather have her boyfriend join a different dojo to make it easier to make her relationship with him acceptable. On the other hand it does show she feels for people, even if she doesn't act on it. [[spoiler: When Robby's mother comes back to announce she'll be going to rehab, Sam does ask him if he's even up for a party considering the situation. However, she then proceeds to get drunk and put him in a role where he has to take care of her, even asking him to hide her so she can avoid trouble. All in all, she is a teenager who's can be very selfish and impulsive at times, but she can show moments where she does seem to try.]]
* KickChick: She prefers kicks over punches whenever she fights.
* MaleMightFemaleFinesse: When paired with Robby. He's the more solid, powerful fighter; she's the quicker, more agile one.
* MistakenForCheating: She and Robby arrive at the canyon party at the wrong time, as an intoxicated Miguel incorrectly deduces that Sam is dumping him for Robby, and takes a shot at Robby... only to miss and accidentally hit Sam instead. More understandable when you notice that Sam and Robbie are ''holding hands'' when Miguel notices them[[note]]though if you listen close, Sam thanks Robby for helping her down the steep hill, it's entirely understandable Miguel would miss that due to distance and drunkeness[[/note]], and Sam was hiding Miguel from her parents, making him think she was embarrassed of him. Still not an excuse for violence, but really, what else was he supposed to think?
* NiceGirl: Unlike her brother, she's a very kind and polite person even though she grew up in a well-off family.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Hoo boy. Her actions and inactions led to a lot of the problems throughout the series. [[NiceJobBreakingItHero/CobraKai See list here.]]
* NiceShoes: As a result of the TeensAreShort trope, Sam frequently wears fashionable boots to make her somewhat taller.
* ObliviousToLove: Robby quickly develops a crush on her but Sam doesn't notice.
* PintSizedPowerhouse: A rather [[TeensAreShort small teenage girl]], even smaller than the other [[ActionGirl action girls]] Aisha and Tory. She can go toe-to-toe with the best students of either side.
* PrivilegedRival: How Tory sees her, since she and Tory get off on the wrong foot, quickly build up enmity, and [[LoveTriangle both date/dated Miguel.]]
* SimpleStaff: In the third season, this is what she and her father use in training. Also used when she and Tory face off again.
* StillGotIt: As proven when she fends off Kyler's advances; in turn, she is inspired to ask if Miyagi-Do has "room for one more" student.
* StoneWall: On more than one level, she is Demetri's DistaffCounterpart: almost entirely defense-oriented and thus unlikely to get annoyed by multiple shots. That also makes her the flip side to Tory, whom she faced (and ultimately disposed of) in the school brawl.
* SympatheticAdulterer: After Samantha breaks up with Miguel, she begins dating Robby. In episode 9 of season 2, after finding out Miguel had returned one of Miyagi's heirlooms (and [[AlcoholInducedStupidity consuming copious amounts of alcohol]]), she kisses him.
* TeensAreShort: She is half a foot shorter than both the actors playing her parents.
* TomboyishName: Almost always referred to as "Sam" and not Samantha. It has yet to be played as a true GenderBlenderName with any MistakenIdentity consequences.
* TookALevelInBadass: As evidenced by her FinalBattle with Tory.
* TheUnapologetic:
** Despite apparently learning that Tory didn't steal her mom's wallet, Sam never apologizes to Tory which does nothing to stop their rivalry.
** Played more subtly with Miguel, Sam says she's sorry because she didn't know he returned the medal of honor, however, she never accuses him of doing so, so she is essentially apologizing for nothing.
* UnresolvedSexualTension: With Miguel. In Season 2, they have always feelings for each other despite dating with Tory and Robby respectively.
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: The events of her involvement that led to the warring dojos. At the end of Season 2, she is in the hospital and [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone blames herself for all the events that unfolded]].
* VictoryByEndurance: Of the "Dodge Tank" variety. Sam isn't quite able to generate the power necessary to end fights with decisive blows, so she generally dodges and parries her opponent's strikes, letting them wear themselves down trying to hit her.
* WaifFu: She's quite small in comparison of Aisha and Tory but she's arguably the most experienced of the three in karate (she started training with her dad when she was very little, though she hasn't kept in practice for years). Her fighting style works with her short stature and small frame to utilize quickness, agility, and redirecting and controlling her opponent's movements.
* WeakButSkilled: Compared to Tory. Sam is smaller, possibly weaker, and less boisterous, as well as less willing to resort to dirty tactics in a fight. Yet she managed to outmaneuvre a lot of Tory's attacks and appears to be the more skilled fighter of the two. While she seems to suffer the worst of the scuffle in the aftermath, being hospitalised while Tory was still training with Kreese, she still won the fight in the moment, managing to reverse an attempted strike with spiked knuckles and kick her opponent down the stairs.
* WhatTheHellHero: [[spoiler:After Robby accidentally kicks Miguel off the second floor, Samantha is the first to call him out on this .]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Anthony [=LaRusso=]]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/anthony_6.jpg]]
->'''Played by:''' Griffin Santopietro

Daniel's son. He is a spoiled pre-teen who only thinks of video games.
----
* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: He delights in bothering Sam and adding fuel to the flames whenever she's in trouble.
* DemotedToExtra: In Season 2, he only appears in two episodes and has very few lines. It's explained that he went away to summer camp.
* FlatCharacter: He pretty much exists only to be an obnoxious {{Jerkass}} to everyone around him.
* FormerlyFat: Desite being a BigEater LazyBum, in his only appearance on season 3, he appears to have lost a LOT of weight.
* HiddenDepths: Subverted. He becomes very impressed and fascinated while watching the All-Valley Tournament and gets disappointed when Sam wants to leave early, a sign that he might eventually start taking an interest in karate himself. Next he's seen, however, he's glued to his UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch.
* JabbaTableManners: When he's not busy being a spoiled, rotten excuse of a son, or playing video games that is. He often stuffs his face such as drinking melted butter off of the ramekin.
* LazyBum: Prefers playing karate video games (e.g. ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}}'') to actually learning the art from his dad. It's later shown he'd be open to learning karate if Daniel weren't so insistent on the WaxOnWaxOff method of teaching. Though this may not always be the case, because he lost a subtle amount of weight in season two, likely from the summer camp activities. In season three, his only scene showed that he had gotten even thinner, courtesy of his actor.
* MyDadCanBeatUpYourDad: He frequently boasts about Daniel's karate skills to the people he comes across and thinks he can beat up anyone.
* PutOnABus: Aside from a single scene at the start and end of season 2, Anthony spends most of the season away at camp. His only appearance in season three is being with Amanda while she chastises Samantha for continuing on karate, with Anthony speaking like a disappointed father to Samantha to rub it in.
* SatelliteCharacter: He doesn't play a significant part in the first season's plot. He's just kind of there to annoy everyone.
* SpoiledBrat: He is a rude little shit obsessed with video-games. Even Daniel is aware of it as he voices his wish to toss Anthony into the pool after the kid rudely demands a soda.
-->'''Anthony:''' Dad, where the hell's my drink? Hurry up!\\
'''Daniel:''' ''[cheerfully]'' You know what? I'm gonna throw him in the goddamn pool!
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Lucille [=LaRusso=]]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cobra_kai_lucile.jpg]]
->'''Played by:''' Randee Heller (1984-89, 2018-Present)

Daniel's mother. She has a difficult relationship with Amanda.
----
* ObnoxiousInLaws: Every time she visits she can’t help but criticize everything Amanda does as a wife and mother.
* StrugglingSingleMother: After Daniel's dad passed away, she had to raise him alone and she had to work really hard to manage it.
* ThickerThanWater: She’s a firm believer that family should take care of each other, which is why she is so insistent that Daniel employ his cousin Louie despite being a terrible employee and an asshole.
* TookALevelInJerkass: In the film trilogy, she was a bit overprotective of Daniel, but also very kind to others. Here, she unfairly criticizes everything Amanda does while cooking and hosting and coldly dismisses any of her completely justified complaints about Louie's terrible work behavior. The two of them are getting along much better by the time Daniel returns home with Robby, which Sam claims credit for, but she remains coy about what she said or did to turn it around.
[[/folder]]

[[AC:[=LaRusso=] Auto Group]]
[[folder:Robby Keene]]
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cobrakairobbykeene.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"Look, I know I'm supposed to forgive you, or whatever, but right now, it's a little tough."'']]
->'''Played by:''' Tanner Buchanan

Johnny's estranged son, Robby initially seeks employment under Daniel as a form of revenge towards his father out of jealousy for Johnny and Miguel's burgeoning paternal friendship. However, GoodFeelsGood is in effect, and Robby ends up ironically becoming Daniel's student in Miyagi-do karate.
----
* TheAce:
** This kid is ridiculously good at anything he does, be it skateboarding, working at the car dealership, karate, or [[BreadEggsMilkSquick petty crime]]. A photo of his younger self on Johnny's refrigerator showed that Robby was a soccer champ as well.
** In Season 2, this evolves into [[spoiler: BrokenAce, as the dramas and pressures of the feud between Miyagi-Do and Cobra Kai combine with his personal rivalry with Miguel both as a fighter and as Sam’s LoveInterest overwhelm him, and he severely injured Miguel after receiving mercy at his hands.]]
* AntagonisticOffspring: Initially. He has a lot of aggression and anger towards his dad, but fortunately, Daniel manages to impart enough forgiveness onto him that he can accept his father's apology after Miguel beats him with dirty fighting in the tournament. Unfortunately, season 2 shows that forgiving everything isn't as easy as all that, and Robby's continuing anger towards Johnny and Cobra-Kai has disastrous consequences by season's end.
* AttackAttackAttack: Despite being under Daniel's tutelage he is by far way more aggressive than most of the students, wanting to actually prove to everyone that they can fight rather than just allowing everyone to view them as posers.
* BecameTheirOwnAntithesis: [[spoiler:During his fight with Miguel at the All Valley finals at the end of Season 1, he offered Miguel a hand to get back up, but a jealous Miguel took the oppurtunity to aggravate Robby's shoulder injury even further. Their roles become reversed in the school-wide brawl at the end of Season 2, where Miguel, having managed to get Robby into a submission, releases him and apologizes. Robby, enraged and envious of Sam's lingering feelings for Miguel, seizes the chance to deliver a hard kick at Miguel. Unfortunately, Robby's moment of weakness yielded ''far'' greater consequences]]...
* BecomingTheMask: Robby only seeks to work for Daniel simply to spite his dad, but eventually grew to enjoy working under him.
* CantGetAwayWithNothing: During the tournament, Hawk ends up dislocating his shoulder with a cheapshot and then Miguel continues to attack his shoulder to win the Tournament. While Robby understandably has bad blood, he still tries to TurnTheOtherCheek. He finally reaches his breaking point during the brawl in Season 2 where in a MomentOfWeakness, he [[spoiler: inadvertantly kicks Miguel off the second floor of the school]]. The one moment Robby lashes out in anger potentially has the largest consequences in the series.
* CrazyJealousGuy: [[spoiler: Displays this reaction to finding out that Sam kissed Miguel during the school-wide brawl at the end of Season 2, [[NotSoDifferent ironically repeating Miguel's arc]] from Season 1.]]
* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Pulls off a one-hand-stand double leg kick in the final match against Miguel. The move was foreshadowed by Daniel talking it up as a difficult one that he didn't think he could pull off anymore, and we saw Robby practice the basic in a skate park.
* {{Delinquents}}: How Robby spends the first half of the season. He is introduced by getting into trouble by being caught with Molly at school, steals a customer's laptop from an electronics store, hangs out with hardened criminals, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and skips school for a month by lying about a trip to Colorado]]. [[spoiler: He begins to turn around after working for Daniel [=LaRusso.=]]]
* TheDeterminator: Just like Miguel, when he sets his mind to a goal, he won't quit until it's accomplished. Best shown during the tournament when, after injuring his shoulder, he chooses to fight with one arm rather than forfeit.
* DontYouDarePityMe: [[spoiler:When Miguel showed him mercy during the school-wide brawl at the end of Season 2, it was the last straw for Robby that drove him to attack Miguel instead, causing his crippling injury. No doubt recalling when Miguel had spat on ''his'' mercy during their tournament match at the end of Season 1 and already furious at Miguel outfighting him, Miguel offering Robby mercy felt like mockery. Of course, this wasn't Miguel's intention and he really was showing remorse for his actions, but clearly Robby can't see this as anything but an insult. In Robby's mind, Cobra Kai is [[VillainByDefault Villainous by Default]], so he couldn't even consider the possibility that Miguel was being genuine.]]
* EmbarrassingMiddleName: His mother gave him the middle name "Swayze" due to her own obsession with Creator/PatrickSwayze.
* FaceHeelTurn: During his time in prison [[spoiler:Kreese visits Robby to bring him to his side. While unsuccessful at first, his advice to "strike first" kickstarts Robby into becoming more ruthless and rebellious by the time he is set free, refusing to get help from both Daniel and Johnny and seeing Sam and Miguel with contempt after accidentally stumbling upon them together, It all leads to Robby deciding to join up with Kreese and become a student of Cobra Kai, a fact that Johnny is not happy about. He is currently shaping up to be Kreese's [[TheDragon star student]] in the near-future]].
* FreeRangeChildren: Because he's pretty much estranged from Johnny and his mother spends more time partying and picking up men, Robby is left to his own devices, which is why he keeps landing in trouble.
* GeniusBruiser:
** Before taking up karate, Robby was shown to be quite shrewd and experienced in his delinquent ventures.
** When he applied to work for Larusso Auto, Amanda was rather impressed by Robby's high school transcript (despite having dropped out), remarking that he could have easily started college. Whether this transcript was really legit or not is never confirmed, but even if it wasn't, it would just be another example of Robby's craftiness (especially if he forged that transcript himself).
* GoneHorriblyRight: Well, he initially became Daniel's student to enrage his dad and succeeds in Episode 9, but at the cost of both angering the mentor he has come to care about and blowing any hope of a reconciliation between Daniel and Johnny.
* GoodFeelsGood: He finds that Daniel is a BenevolentBoss and responds very well to his lessons and encouragement, leading to him turning on his criminal colleagues and eventually becoming the newest student of Miyagi-Do karate.
* GreenEyedMonster: Seeing Johnny and Miguel's relationship is what drives him to take a job at Daniel's auto dealership to spite his father. He eventually gets over it thanks to Daniel's teachings. [[spoiler:Surfaces again in season 2 as he begins to fall for Sam and reacts increasingly badly to Miguel's attempts to reconcile with her, culminating in his inadvertantly seriously injuring Miguel after losing his temper with his rival's attempts to show mercy.]]
* HatesTheirParent: He resents Johnny for neglecting his duties as a father during much of his childhood. As the story progresses, however, the two gradually make amends with each other, with Shannon herself encouraging her son to reach out to his father.
* HiddenDepths: After initially seeming like a chip off the old block and like an archetypal "bad kid," we see Robby is quite capable of being charming, clever, and that he's far from stupid when he cons a man into handing over his computer and password while masquerading as a computer store worker. He is also a capable hard worker when he actually applies himself, shown how Robby quickly became a model employee when he started working at the dealership. Amanda's comments about his high school transcript also suggest that, even though he frequently ditched class before dropping out entirely, the grades he got were actually pretty good (or he's clever and skillful enough to forge a really good high school transcript, which is just as impressive in it's own way).
* IKnowMaddenKombat: He incorporates his skateboarding skills to perform one-handed double-leg kick (the most difficult technique of Miyagi-do) against Miguel in the All Valley finals.
* JerkassToOne: Thanks to Daniel's influence, Robby improves from a self-centered punk to a kinder, altrusitic individual. Unfortunately, season two shows that Daniel's preachings on Johnny and Cobra Kai has caused Robby to believe that anything is fair game when it comes to taking them down. Thus, he acts unnecessarily harsh towards his dad and the students culminating in [[spoiler:him attacking Miguel with his guard down that leads to the latter suffering life-threatening injuries.]]
* KarmaHoudini: While he does eventually become a good person thanks to Daniel's influence, the fact remains he never suffers any kind of punishment for the crimes he committed before being hired by the [=LaRussos=].
* KarmaHoudiniWarranty: He's shown to be in prison in the Season 3 preview after [[spoiler:seriously injuring Miguel]].
* MrFanservice: Noted to be InUniverse by Aisha, who simply refers to him as [[FemaleGaze "abs"]]. He has inherited his father's good looks and atheletic physique.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: [[spoiler:At the end of season 2, he accidentally causes Miguel to fall off the second floor of their school during a fight. He is horrified by what he's done and runs off.]]
* NeverMyFault: Possesses this attitude during the first half of season one when confronted about his choices by Johnny. He blames all of his bad decisions on him.
* NotSoDifferent: Season 2's BecameTheirOwnAntithesis plot-line for him slowly draws several parallels and similarities between Robby and Miguel, to the point where it can almost feel like Robby is going through Miguel's Season One story-arc, [[spoiler: all the way down to having a CrazyJealousGuy streak appear when Sam and Miguel kiss at a party, seemingly having his rival demonstrate more skill in their season-ending confrontation, and then taking advantage of his rival's better nature to defeat and injure him, shaming his master. Unfortunately for Robby, his injury of Miguel is [[FromBadToWorse considerably worse]] than Miguel's injury of him...]]
* OddFriendship: He and Demetri really don't have anything in common, but Robby is happy to hang out with him outside of Miyagi-do lessons and defend him from getting attacked by Cobra Kai nonetheless.
* PlayingSick: Robby supposedly suffered a sprained ankle in the middle of training. Amanda sends a grounded Sam to drive him back home and return immediately; as they get outside, Robby reveals he faked the injury so he could bring Sam out of the house. A rather humorous twist on the usual play of this trope; faking an injury to help ''another'', rather then themselves, get out of trouble or labor. But, in a way, he was trying to help himself by getting alone time with Sam, showing disappointment when she mentions she has a boyfriend.
* RevengeBeforeReason: Miguel pins a downed Robby during the school brawl and prepares to finish him off, but relents after he recalls Johnny's lecture about mercy and honor. Robby, however, attacks Miguel unprovoked, and inadvertently [[spoiler:sends him falling from the second floor of school grounds, leaving him with permanent life-threatening injuries]].
* TheRival: To Miguel. Robby initially resents him for the time and tutelage Johnny gives him but eventually gets over it. Ironically, by this point Miguel has developed a hatred of him because he (incorrectly) believes Robby stole Sam from him and Robby is now his mentor's biggest rival's student.
* TookALevelInKindness: Almost in exact parallel to Miguel slowly succumbing to the flaws of Cobra Kai philosophy, Robby starts to turn to the positive aspects of Miyagi-Do karate.
* TheTeetotaler: He doesn’t drink. It’s hinted at during party scenes but confirmed in season 3. Probably because both of his parents are alcoholics. It’s the one way he hasn’t made the same mistakes they have.
* TookALevelInJerkass: [[spoiler: Happens in Season 3 as soon as Kreese visits him in juvie.]]
* UnstoppableRage: [[spoiler: Driven by pure anger and jealousy Robby loses his mind in his fight with Miguel in a berserker fury. Literally to the point of nearly killing his rival by kicking him onto a rail.]]
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom:
** In spades in Episode 9 of Season 1. He unintentionally played a big part in Miguel's and Sam's breakup by sneaking Sam to the Canyon Party. He get her to the party at the worst possible time, while Miguel is heavily intoxicated after DrowningMySorrows from falsely assuming that Sam is leaving him for Robby. Additionally, Sam's explanation of her being grounded for the day now looks like a lie to Miguel, as she is now at a party she shouldn't be at. Although coming with Robby didn't help either. This ultimately resulted in the incident that lead to the break up. Later in episode, Robby accidentally ruins Daniel's and Johnny's chance to put their bitter rivalry to rest and start a newfound {{Bromance}} when the two find out that Robby is Daniel's student and Johnny's son. The two men assume that the other was using Robby to pull a sick prank on one another leading to them reigniting their hatred for each other.
** In the season two finale, [[spoiler:in trying to break up the fight between Tori and Sam, Miguel sees him pinning Tori against the lockers. Miguel, thinking he's attacking his girlfriend, attacks Robby which sets off the school brawl between Cobra Kai and Miyagi-do. Before that point, the fighting was contained to just Tori and Sam, which could have been quelled much easier.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Louie [=LaRusso=] Jr.]]
[[quoteright:150:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/louis_4.jpg]]

->'''Played by:''' Bret Ernst

Daniel's cousin and ex-employee at the car dealership.
----
* BullyingADragon: Destroying the car of a former karate champ turned sensei wasn't his smartest idea. Predictably, he and his biker friends get their asses handed to them.
* TheBusCameBack: He's absent for all of Season 2 after getting fired, but the [=LaRussos=] rehire him in Season 3.
* CameBackStrong: He's a much better employee in Season 3 than he was before, even beating Anoush at his strong - sales.
* DidntThinkThisThrough: Louie hardly ever thinks his schemes/pranks through, so they all have glaring flaws.
* DirtyCoward: In Episode 8, Johnny beats up his biker friends for destroying his car and demands that the scared Louie give him Daniel's address. At first, Louie tries to take responsibility for his actions, but after one biker sets fire to Johnny's car and a now angrier Johnny repeats the question, Louie tells Johnny where his cousin lives.
* DumbassNoMore: When he's rehired in season 3, he proves himself to be a significantly more competent employee.
* EveryoneHasStandards: He wanted to destroy Johnny's car to send a message to not mess with Daniel anymore, but draws the line at setting the car on fire and potentially endangering the neighborhood.
* TheFriendNobodyLikes: The only reason anyone tolerates him is because he is Daniel’s cousin, and even then...
* HiddenDepths: Louie ''is'' good at one thing: inventory.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Finally becomes this in Season 3 when his family has become desperate enough to hire him again, and starts taking his job more seriously which shows that despite how obnoxious and immature, he still cares for his family.
* JerkWithAHeartOfJerk: He initially seems like a guy who cares about his family and could be likable if he just stopped being immature and lazy. But every time it seems like he is going to redeem himself, it never follows through and he ultimately betrays Daniel's trust to save his own skin.
* {{Nepotism}}: He's pretty clearly an employee at [=LaRusso=] Auto Group because of his family ties to Daniel rather than merit. Daniel finally fires him when Louie crosses the line by vandalizing Johnny's car.
* PoisonousFriend: Subverted. He ''tries'' to be this for Daniel, doing things that are meant to benefit his cousin but that Daniel would never do himself because of his morals. However, Louie's ham-fisted attempts at doing this usually lands Daniel in even more trouble than at the start.
* TheSlacker: He’s a lazy bum who often misses work, so Amanda has to pick up the slack herself.
* ThickerThanWater: The only reason Daniel employs him is because he is family and Daniel’s mother insistsence, despite all the abundant shortcomings of the guy. It's also his only redeeming quality which prevents him from being a complete HateSink, he cares about his cousin. However, Louie's loyalty isn't complete as he does things behind Daniel's back which Daniel wouldn't approve of and spat out his address when Johnny has him cornered.
* ThoseTwoGuys: He is almost always seen in the company of Anoush.
* {{Troll}}: After getting in trouble for pranking Robby, he pranks Robby a second time. Downplayed, in that the second prank was substantially less stupid-dangerous than the first, and Daniel (and Robby, once he gets past anger and embarassment at being fooled a second time) think its ActuallyPrettyFunny.[[note]]First time, he told Robby to move a car on the showroom floor, which could have caused property damage, injury, even loss of life; the second was telling Robby to take a thick brown envelope with the day's sales reports to Daniel's house, in the envelope is an adult magazine.[[/note]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Anoush Norouzi]]
[[quoteright:150:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/anoush.jpg]]
->'''Played by:''' Dan Ahdoot

Daniel's employee at the car dealership.
----
* BeleagueredAssistant: [[spoiler:In Season 3, Tom Cole - his new boss - can't even remember his name.]]
* CasanovaWannabe: He talks constantly about all the women he dates, who by his own description have a ton of issues and low self-esteem.
* HiddenDepths: The guy's a bit of a sleazebag, but he does give Daniel some sound advice when it comes to him having to deal with Samantha and her dating life.
* MistreatmentInducedBetrayal:
** [[spoiler:Winds up quitting and taking a job with one of the dealership's rivals after Daniel's focus on Miyagi-Do forces him to pick up the slack, being hit with a lot of extra responsibility with no promotion or extra pay accompanying it. The business lunch he was supposed to have with Daniel and Amanda, which Daniel blew off for more time training his students, is the last straw.]]
** [[spoiler:Again in Season 3, he goes back to working for the [=LaRussos=] because they treat him better and can remember his name, unlike Tom Cole.]]
* OnlySaneMan: In season two, he's joined Amanda in realizing how ridiculous Daniel and Johnny's feud is and just wants to focus on the business at the car dealership instead of getting involved.
* ThoseTwoGuys: He is almost always seen in the company of Louie. However he doesn't seem to like him all that much.
[[/folder]]

!Miyagi-Do Karate
[[folder:In General]]
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/miyagidokarate.jpg]]
[-[[caption-width-right:300:'''Daniel:''' Don't be a snake in the grass. Be a champion.]]-]
->''"Inner peace. Focus. Balance. These are just some of the skills that you will master when you join Miyagi-Do Karate."''
-->-- '''[=Daniel LaRusso=]'''
----
* BigThinShortTrio: Chris, Demetri, and Nathaniel.
* DoingItForTheArt: Subverted. The dojo's commercial has Daniel flat-out say all lessons are free, but this isn't fully out of altruism. Daniel knows that Johnny can't afford to do the same, so giving free lessons will lure students away from Cobra Kai. It's one of his methods to destroy Cobra Kai.
* {{Foil}}: Miyagi-Do's BigThinShortTrio become this to Cobra Kai's Mitch, Hawk, and Bert, respectively.
** Mitch and Chris are the stockier students of their respective dojos. Mitch, however, immediately fell right in with Cobra Kai while the sensitive Chris had trouble adjusting to the dojo's hyper-aggro way of thinking and eventually decided it wasn't for him. Mitch generally remained a FlatCharacter throughout Season 2 whereas Chris arguably becomes the most developed Miyagi-Do student who remains a secondary character overall.
** Demetri and Eli were both social outcasts that found self-confidence thanks to karate. Eli's transformation into Hawk saw him abandon his old "pussy" ways entirely in contrast to Demetri who continued to revel in his nerdy interests. Their fighting methods are also a sharp contrast to one another; Hawk being an all-out offensive steamroller while Demetri is almost a purely defensive combatant.
** Nathaniel and Bert are the smallest members of their respective dojos, but are the inverse of each other in several other ways. Bert is not particularly vocal nor as overtly aggressive as his dojo encourages, and is Cobra Kai's TokenGoodTeammate along with Aisha. Nathaniel retains Cobra Kai's combative nature and pugnaciousness even after defecting to Miyagi-Do, which in practice makes him the dojo's TokenEvilTeammate. Also, Nathaniel is the more overtly nerdy of the two and is never seen to express a romantic/sexual interest in anyone, while Bert is something of a secret pervert.
* MartialPacifist: Daniel's approach to martial arts, focusing on concepts like inner peace and balance in contrast Cobra Kai's flashy, aggressive mindset -- although some of the Cobra Kai washouts who join Miyagi-Do take a little longer to adopt the "balance" teachings than others. [[spoiler: It also fails to quite live-up to that standard in Season 2, becoming more of just a straight up counterpart to Cobra Kai, escalating tensions rather than de-escalating them. In fact, Demetri is the only one who actually practices this during the school brawl, attempting to get help from the teachers or flee until Hawk corners him and he's faced with no other choice but to defend himself.]]
* RedOniBlueOni: Blue (and boy, do they ever try) to Cobra Kai's red.
* RivalDojos: In Season 2, with Cobra Kai Dojo, of course.
* TeethClenchedTeamwork: When some Cobra Kai students defect to Miyagi-Do, both the former Cobras and the Miyagis have difficulty accepting each other, and several of them nearly come to blows several times. Daniel's very first challenge is moving them past the "teeth-clenched" part.
* TookALevelInBadass: Across the board for Chris, Demetri, and Nathaniel. [[spoiler:In season 2's final brawl, all three of them manage to outfight their Cobra Kai counterparts -- Mitch, Hawk, and Bert, respectively.]]
* TricksterMentor: Daniel initiates new students with this manner, instructing them to perform chores like fence painting in the same manner Mr. Miyagi taught him. RealityEnsues when he finds that even when charging nothing, this approach turns off a lot of prospective students.
[[/folder]]

[[AC: Students]]

[[folder:Demetri]]
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cobrakaidemetri.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"I'm at peace with my depression. Last thing I need to be is suicidal."'']]
->'''Played by:''' Gianni Decenzo

->''"My whole life I've been, let's just say... less than popular. But at least I had a few friends. And then Cobra Kai comes to town, and the next thing I know, my friends are taking karate and becoming alpha jerks. I'm literally being threatened by my best friend. I just wanted to show I could fight back."''

A sarcastic and awkward nerd who Miguel befriends during his first day of school, Demetri is another victim of Kyler's bullying. He attends only one lesson at the Cobra Kai's dojo before quitting, but remains a part of the Cobra Kai clique until going over to Miyagi-Do to learn karate instead.
----
* AccentuateTheNegative: Demetri is a negative person in general and complains a lot, but Daniel later points out to him that it's a good trait of his, because that means he is always prepared for the worst. Which plays into his fighting style as he's fairly good at [[StoneWall predicting and intercepting attacks]]
* AffectionateNickname: Chris starts calling him "Meet" when they become friends.
* AnalogyBackfire: A RunningGag through his time at Miyagi-Do. Whenever he makes a comparison to a specific action on ''Series/GameOfThrones,'' Daniel neatly counters it.
* ApologeticAttacker: When Hawk fights him in the finale of season 2, Demetri manages to defend himself and whispers, "No hard feelings", before throwing him against the school's trophy cabinet and kicking him right into it. Afterwards, he apologizes again.
* AwesomenessByAnalysis: Daniel calls Demetri "the most neurotic person I have ever met," then states that this can be turned into a positive: Demetri notices things, sees tiny details everyone else misses, and this can be applied to give hyperaware insight into what an opponent is about to do. When Demetri finally commits to actually learning (and defending himself) with karate, he proves capable of reading his opponents. Daniel compares it to "[[ComicBook/SpiderMan Spidey-Sense]]" (which Demetri immediately corrects to "''Spider''-Sense").
* BadassBookworm: Downplayed. He's still a beginner and an insecure pacifist at the end of season two, but he knows enough to fend off Hawk's attacks and send him into a trophy case.
* BashBrothers: [[spoiler:After he and Hawk reconcile, the two prove to be a highly effective fighting team as they dispatch several Cobras with their combined skills.]]
* BullyingADragon: He may be a wimpy, neurotic and insecure whiner but he simply can't help mouthing off when Cobra Kai are involved.
** His bragging that Johnny works for the students because they pay him earns him a swift asskicking.
** His telling Kreese his cobra tattoo (a memento of fellowship with his war buddies) was anatomically incorrect was equally dumb (though more InnocentlyInsensitive than deliberate provocation).
** And his lengthy speech humiliating Hawk, [[spoiler:who'd kicked his ass once already by this point and was only holding back after a telling-off from Johnny]], leads to [[spoiler:Hawk going after him during the school brawl and nearly kicking his face in]].
* ButtMonkey: Almost all of his training at Miyagi-Do leads to him getting beat up.
* BromanticFoil: To Miguel, in season 1.
* ClassicalAntiHero: Demetri's sarcasm is a mask for his insecurities, cowardice and neuroticism, but in season 2, after joining Miyagi-Do, he's able to defend himself when threatened by opposing aggressors like Hawk.
* CowardlyLion: He's still terrified of Hawk, and rightfully so, but once he runs out of running room...
* TheCynic: Demetri is pessimistic and always finds something to complain about.
* DeadpanSnarker: A good chunk of his EstablishingCharacterMoment is him making snarky quips. It's eventually {{Deconstructed|Trope}} in Season 2; a lot of the things Demetri [[JerkassHasAPoint brings up are accurate and sensible]], but his deliveries are so snide and condescending that people shut him down out of not entirely undeserved spite (or in Kreese's case, sock him in the nose).
* DefectorFromDecadence: Demetri joins Miyagi-Do in season 2 after Kreese punches his face in when he goes to sign up for lessons at Cobra Kai again.
* TheDogBitesBack: After Hawk rebukes Demetri's sincere attempt at helping him move on from Moon (which included Hawk spilling his drink all on top of Demetri and spitefully chides him for still being a "pussy"), Demetri proceeds to humiliate Hawk in front of the whole party by going on a lengthy diatribe of embarrassing secrets and trivia about "Eli" that he's learned when they were still friends. Come their confrontation during the school brawl, Demetri endures Hawk's relentless assaults and wins when he kicks his opponent into a trophy cabinet.
* TheEeyore: Demetri tends to expect the worst to happen and generally acts pessimistic even when things are going good. Daniel flat out tells Demetri he's the most neurotic person he's ever met.
* EntitledBastard: When Miguel tells him to stop mouthing off to Johnny during the Cobra Kai lesson, he refuses and says Johnny can't do anything about it believing that, as the kids are paying him, he works for them. Naturally, this earns him a flip throw from Johnny. Saying something like that in ''any'' dojo will likely get you kicked out, as a very important aspect of martial arts is ''respect'', whether it be towards the dojo, sensei, or students.
* FireForgedFriends: With Chris. He’s rightfully the least trusting of the former Cobra Kai students when they join Miyagi Do. But through working together to help clean up the Dojo after Hawk vandalized it, they’re able to overcome their differences. Exemplified when Hawk and co. try to attack Demetri at a party after the latter embarrasses the former and this time Chris comes to his defense in contrast to when he followed Hawk in his assault on Demetrius at the mall. They’re also seen briefly agreeing to get an authority teacher involved early in the school brawl rather than escalating it further.
* FirstNameBasis: Demetri continues to refer to Hawk as 'Eli' well after his transformation, both to spite his former friend and to show his dispproval of what Eli had [[HeWhoFightsMonsters allowed himself to become]].
* {{Foil}}:
** In season 2, Demetri learns to be more confident by accepting his flaws, especially after Daniel encourages him to use his negativity to his advantage. On the contrary, Hawk learns to be more confident by rejecting his flaws.
** Also becomes one to Raymond/Stingray. While neither of them are the best fighters in their respective dojos, both prominently demonstrate their school's core approach when it comes to fighting. Stringray waited until Miguel was the last one standing at Coyote Creek and ambushed him when he let his guard down, showing a willingness to win at all cost, even at the cost of honor and fairplay, completely in-tune with Kreese's concept of No Mercy. When the school-wide fight broke out, Demetri tried to ''avoid'' getting into a confrontation. He attempted to get help from the school staff but then hid and ran after he became a target. Once he ran out of room to run did he finally defend himself (and only [[StoneWall defended]]) and tried to end his fight as quickly as possible. Demetri shows that he follows Mr. Miyagi's teachings of avoiding a fight but if have to then end it quickly and in your favor (i.e. win). Both also initially started out as irksome outliers among their cohorts, Raymond being a {{Manchild}} in a karate class full of teenagers and Demetri's tendency to {{Wangst}} often vexing some of the other Miyagi-Do students and even Daniel himself. Nonetheless, both are eventually accepted among their new peers.
* FragileSpeedster: If Daniel is to be believed, Demetri's speed (when pressured) can match some of the best Olympic athletes. [[note]]All-time 100 yard dash records for men are just under ten seconds.[[/note]]
-->'''Daniel:''' I heard you ran the hundred yard dash in under ''ten seconds.''
* GiveGeeksAChance: LovableNerd Demetri and AlphaBitch Yasmine shared a kiss in season 3 after she became more sympathetic towards him after being humbled in the first season.
* GoodCounterpart: To Eli/Hawk in season 2.
* GoodIsNotNice: Note how most of the tropes here pertain to his negative qualities. In season 1, Demetri never seeks any self improvement and encourages Eli and Miguel to do the same. He has no problem bringing down other people he deems lower than him no matter how bad an idea it is but in season 2, while he's still whiny, inconsiderate and difficult to get along with, he's still a good person in his own way and is often against starting fights with other people.
* TheHeart: Yes believe it or not, the MouthyKid who most people want to punch ends up becoming this for the kids. It’s his speech that gets the kids from Eagle Fang to cooperate with Miyagi Do when Miguel and Sam’s attempts fail and it’s seeing him in distress that’s the final catalyst in turning Hawk to their side.
* HeroicSelfDeprecation: While he may be whiny, he's quick to point out how pathetically weak and skinny he is.
* {{Hypocrite}}:
** Calling Eli "lip"? Totally uncalled for and a Nazi move. Calling Sam the "blowjob girl"? Hilarious.
** When he attempts to join Cobra Kai for the second time, he tells Kreese that he has a lot of personal space issues that the other students are just going to have to deal with...and immediately afterward he notices Kreese's arm tattoo and starts touching it.
* IJustWantToBeBadass: After Demetri continues whining during training, Daniel asks him why he decided to join Miyagi-Do. Demetri says it's because all of his friends are training in martial arts and he felt pressured to learn just so he could show them that he wasn't weak. But his real motivation is. . .
* IJustWantToHaveFriends: The only friends he has (Miguel and Eli) are up to their necks in Cobra Kai, and Demetri has tried and failed twice to adapt to their new social activity. Finding Cobra Kai completely unsuited to him, Demetri came to Miyagi-Do, hoping less to learn badass martial arts and more to find new friends to hang out with.
* ImNotAfraidOfYou: When Hawk confronts him in the mall in season 2, Demetri isn't intimidated and calls him by his real name to make a point. ''Then'' Hawk kicks him...
* InsistentTerminology: Demetri will only refer to Hawk as Eli. At first, it's because they're lifelong friends and he's confused by the latter's new look and attitude. Later on, it's to remind the now bully that he remembers how his life was before Cobra Kai.
* InsufferableGenius: Demetri is a very intelligent person but he's insufferable due to how condescending, impudent and brash he is.
* JerkassHasAPoint: While he was clearly not cut out for Cobra Kai's intense training methods and should have known better than to keep contradicting Johnny in the middle of class, Demetri is still correct that verbally and physically abusing new clients isn't exactly a good business practice. This leads Miguel to give a WhatTheHellHero speech to Johnny, which in turn causes Johnny to change his approach and focus more on the DareToBeBadass aspect of the Cobra Kai philosophy. This eventually becomes {{Deconstructed|Trope}}, in that even though Demetri's ''correct'' on what he says, he's such a snide and condescending know-it-all that even people who know he's right will ignore or shut him up just out of spite.
* LovableNerd: Demetri is definietly a flawed person for the most part but he's also very sympathetic, funny and a geniunely noble friend that is able to get bolder and more confident throughout the show to that he's able to fight off bullies and bring out the best in Yasmine.
* MartialPacifist: Despite training at Miyagi-do, when he's targeted by Hawk during the school brawl, his first instinct [[CowardlyLion is to run]] rather than fight. When cornered, he focuses on [[StoneWall blocking]] rather than attacking. It's only after Hawk [[TheBerserker refuses to let up]] that Demetri [[StrongerThanTheyLook takes him down with a kick through a glass trophy case.]]
* MouthyKid: His penchant for snarking can cause him to veer into this, especially during his one lesson at Cobra Kai. Johnny does not take kindly to his attitude. ''At all.'' He even remembers him as "that mouthy one" when Miguel tries to warn him about Hawk's increasingly erratic behavior.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: The one time Demetri goes out of his way to antagonize Hawk in retribution, by telling embarrassing stories at a party, ultimately ends up being the powder keg to egg on the rest of Cobra Kai during the brawl.
* NoSocialSkills: A lot of Demetri's awkwardness stems from his lack of social awareness. He doesn't seem to realize just how snide and condescending his lecturing can come across and he's absolutely hopeless when it comes to flirting with girls. He also decides to bring ''Trivial Pursuit'' to Moon's party, clearly missing the point that the teens are just going to be drinking.
* OddFriendship: He and Demetri really don't have anything in common, but Robby is happy to hang out with him outside of Miyagi-do lessons and defend him from getting attacked by Cobra Kai nonetheless.
** Moon is a bubbly GirlyGirl and Demetri is a cynical {{Nerd}} and in season 2, they two actually have a platonic relationship with each other and not only is she humored by Demetri, she also breaks with Hawk when she found that he bullied him over a Yelp review.
* OffingTheMouth: [[DownplayedTrope While Johnny didn't kill him]], the argument can easily be made that Demetri brought Johnny's wrath upon himself. Later episodes shows Demetri's mouth got him into trouble more than once.
* OnlySaneMan:
** The only one in Miguel’s group to consistently display common sense, particularly during season 1. He tries in vain to rein them in when they start turning into jackasses. [[spoiler: The tournament proves him right.]]
** In Season 2, Demetri is the one student of both schools who actively tries to avoid hostile confrontations. When the brawl between the two schools breaks out, Demetri's response is to run and get a teacher to try and diffuse the fight.
* ProudToBeAGeek: Unlike Eli, Demetri embraces his nerdiness and wished for Eli to be binary brothers with him again but sadly for him, Eli rejects it and sticks to be being an aggressive Cobra Kai fighter.
* TheSlacker: Demetri isn't one for physical work, and quits the Cobra Kai after only one lesson. That said, he is very diligent when it come to his academic work. On the other hand, despite his complaining, he stuck solidly with Miyagi-do, [[AvertedTrope and it paid off in a big way during the school brawl.]]
* TheSmartGuy: His dedication to physical training is inversely proportional to his dedication to his academic studies. He was also quick to see the purpose of Miyagi-do's [[WaxOnWaxOff training methods]] that even Robby didn't recognize at first.
* StealingTheCredit: To Hawk's annoyance, Demetri piggybacks off of Cobra Kai's victory at the All-Valley Tournament when two girls pass by him and ask him about Cobra Kai after noticing his towel bearing the logo of the dojo.
* StepfordSnarker: Often uses sarcasm as a way to shield his insecurities, cyncism and neuroses.
* StoneWall: Downplayed. He's a defensive fighter who focuses on blocking and intercepting attacks. Normally applicable to those built like Aisha or Chris, his training enabled him to deal with Hawk's persistent attacks and eventually capitalize on his sloppiness.
* StrongerThanTheyLook: When properly motivated (i.e. fearing for his safety), Demetri is capable of performing some praiseworthy physical feats. During the school brawl, when a runaway Demetri was cornered by a bloodthirsty Hawk, he was able to skillfully block Hawk's wild barrage of punches and then sent him flying back into a trophy cabinet with a single inside crescent kick.
* TellMeHowYouFight: Season 2 on, he combines CowardlyLion and StoneWall. Being as weak as he is, he needs to play a thinking man's game. When faced with a confrontation, his first response is to run for assistance, run and hide afterward, and engage only when he has no room left to run. Then he takes a page out of Aisha's book: turtling and soaking attacks until his opponent lapses, upon which he settles the matter with one or two shots.
* TokenGoodTeammate: [[DownplayedTrope While he's still snarky and mouths off to people]], Demetri still counts as one to the Cobra Kai students after they start succumbing to HeWhoFightsMonsters. However, in season 2, he turns against them completely after Hawk reacts poorly to his bad Yelp review for Cobra Kai.
* TookALevelInBadass: His karate skills improve dramatically between season two and season three and he's able to take on several Cobra Kai members head on without relying entirely on defense. During the warehouse fight, he's the last Miyagi-do fighter to go down and it was primarily due to being outnumbered.
* TookALevelInKindness: In the previous 2 Seasons, as seen in the tropes above, Demetri is to put it quite bluntly...a pessimistic, condescending know-it-all that hates the fact that Hawk changed his persona away in order to become more confident (albeit...becoming a gigantic {{Jerkass}} in the process) and has no problem being a massive coward when it suits him. Come Season 3 though, off the heels of beating Hawk in a skirmish he's FAR more confident in himself. While it does make him a little brash still, this actually serves to make him far easier to be around as he's more comfortable in his skin and more accepting of how everyone else functions. Then once he's humbled a bit by [[spoiler:Hawk breaking his arm]] he comes to a good middle ground. He's the one helping to lead the charge at the end of the season to [[spoiler:merge the two dojos]] and he doesn't try to turn it into an AllTakeAndNoGive situation like he's accostomed to. In fact it's his swagger that allows it to really work. That's right friends, somewhere along the way Demetri actually became cool enough to even have Yasmine be his girlfriend.
* WaxOnWaxOff: One of the funniest montages subverts this trope, when Demetri whines the whole time, gets a splinter while sanding floors, and finally has to be walked through the moves slowly while Daniel explains them.
* WeUsedToBeFriends: His friendship with Eli goes out the window completely following the latter's commitment to Cobra Kai and its teachings. Demetri finally exploits this after Hawk's rejection and bullying of him goes too far at Moon's party, promptly proceeding to tell all the guests embarrassing things about Eli. Despite this, Demetri still seems sorry they aren't friends anymore, even when he kicks Hawk into a trophy case at the end of Season 2.
-->'''Demetri:''' [[PreMortemOneLiner No hard feelings.]]
* TheWorfEffect: Inverted. Though Hawk is a top student of Cobra Kai, come their fight during the Cobra Kai/Miyagi-Do school brawl, the pacifistic and amateur Demetri persistently endures Hawk's relentless assaults and wins when he kicks his opponent into a trophy cabinet.
* YouWouldntShootMe: When Hawk accosts Demetri at the mall and threatens to take him down, Demetri says, "You'd actually hurt me?" when he realizes that he's not backing down from his word.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Chris]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/a898c44e_e5dd_4144_a71e_641417ebf8e0.jpeg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"Who's badass now?"'']]
->'''Played by:''' Khalil Everage

->''"I'm not gonna throw the first punch."''

Chris joined Cobra Kai after the All-Valley Tournament along with his friend Mitch. Despite being the largest of the teenage cast, he is also the least aggressive and confrontational. For a time, Chris and Mitch served as lackeys in Hawk's personal gang, but Chris became increasingly disillusioned with Cobra Kai's aggressive ways. When Daniel confronted Johnny over the vandalism of the former's dojo, Chris became the first Cobra Kai student to walk out and join Miyagi-Do.
----
* ApologeticAttacker: When Chris gets a hit in on Demetri during training, he apologizes.
* BewareTheNiceOnes: Right up to the final brawl of season 2, Chris tries to avoid violence as much as possible, be it when he is part of Hawk's gang chasing Demetri, having Demetri frustrate him by throwing his (sincere) apologies back in his face, or being confronted by his former friend Mitch at the end. Only when Mitch actually throws the first punch does Chris decide to lay the smackdown -- [[ThrowTheBookAtThem and lay it he does]].
* CombatPragmatist: Chris may not welcome violence, but when he's in a bind, he doesn't hesitate to end a fight [[ThrowTheBookAtThem however he can]].
* DefectorFromDecadence: Or from worse. Chris is one of the students who decides to leave Cobra Kai to join Miyagi-Do. Unlike some of the other defectors, particularly Nathaniel, Daniel doesn't have to spend any effort reeducating him out of Cobra Kai's "no mercy" mindset.
* GentleGiant: He's a big fella, but Chris is a relatively sensitive and non-confrontational individual who "never liked it here" during his time at Cobra Kai. As a result, he has no trouble fitting in with Miyagi-do.
* GoodIsDumb: He tends to be the most clueless of the Miyagi Dos such as not knowing what a fulcrum is despite being in high school.
* GoodIsNotSoft: Chris is a GentleGiant who prefers to avoid fighting, but when he has no other choice, he can dish it out and knock his opponents around with ease, as Mitch learns the hard way.
* MookChivalry: When he was part of Hawk's gang, Chris is the only one who was reluctant to fight Demetri and even suggested Hawk to let him go, as he felt they'd made their point by scaring him away. Hawk, however, dismissively brushes him off for trying to think for himself.
* MistreatmentInducedBetrayal: Hawk's relentless bullying of Chris plays a large part in his decision to abandon Cobra Kai for Miyagi-Do.
* NiceGuy: Which is why he never quite fit into Cobra Kai. He joined just as Kreese returned and was extending his influence over students. He tries to stop Hawk from assaulting Demetri and only reluctantly and regretfully helps him out of loyalty. Hawk and Mitch violating the Miyagi Dojo was the last straw for him and he joins Daniel Larusso to make amends. Even when confronted with his former friend Mitch, he refuses to throw the first punch.
* ScaryBlackMan: Averted. Anything intimidating about Chris really just comes down to him being larger than most of the other students at either dojo. And even then, Chris never outwardly appears nor acts in any aggressive or menacing manner (except when he was rightfully angry at Demetri for snubbing his sincere apology for assaulting him at the mall with Hawk). Even when he was with Hawk's Cobra Kai gang, he (unsuccessfully) tried to be the voice of reason.
* StoneWall: In many ways a SpearCounterpart to Aisha, Chris is overall a defensive fighter, preferring to block and evade attacks before finishing the fight in one decisive move.
* TeethClenchedTeamwork: This trope ensues when Daniel grows frustrated with Chris and Demetri bickering, and sets the two of them to move a heavy stone as a team. At first, they spend as much time insulting each other as they do actually trying to lift the stone, but once they finish the job they form a solid friendship.
* TellMeHowYouFight: [[GentleGiant Peaceful and sensitive by nature]], he makes it clear that he's not going to throw the first punch. Once it does get thrown, he responds either with a block or a retaliation. ''Then'' he [[ScrewTheRulesTheyBrokeThemFirst goes ahead with the fight]].
* ThrowTheBookAtThem: How he takes Mitch down -- by smashing him in the head with a textbook.
-->'''Mitch:''' ''[while Chris is sprawled on the ground after a kick]'' Should have stayed in Cobra Kai. Could have been a badass.\\
'''Chris:''' ''[KAPOW!]'' Who's badass now?
* TokenGoodTeammate: Initially this to Cobra Kai. Already disillusioned with the jerkassery of his classmates, [[RealityEnsues he finally quits]] once he learns about how Hawk vandalized Miyagi-Do's dojo and stole Miyagi's medal of honor. He also becomes this to Miyagi-Do as he's the only one who doesn't try to provoke Cobra Kai in any way or show any active aggression.
* TheWorfEffect: Gets hit with this in season three as he goes down in every major fight that occurs just to show how much stronger Cobra Kai has become.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Nathaniel]]
->'''Played by:''' Nathaniel Oh

->''"I love math humor."''

One of the former Cobra Kai students, he joined Miyagi-do with Chris and the others.
----
* AsianAndNerdy: He's Asian, and Bert calls him a nerd when they brawl. He also laughs at a math joke during Moon's party.
* TheGlassesComeOff: When Bert breaks his glasses, Nathaniel takes them off and knocks him to the ground for some MMA-style "ground and pound" until a security guard separates them and drags them away.
-->'''Nathaniel:''' ''[to Bert]'' Oh, now you're in trouble.
* GoodIsNotNice: In stark contrast to Chris, Nathaniel carried the Cobra Kai mindset with him to the Miyagi-Do dojo (much to Daniel's frustration). It never quite washes off -- when Bert of Cobra Kai challenges him in the final brawl, Nathaniel eagerly responds to Bert's TrashTalk with a Johnny-esque "[[BringIt Come and get it, dickhead]]."
* PintSizedPowerhouse: He's the tiniest of the Miyagi-Do students, but he can hold his own easily. When he throws down with Bert, Nathaniel is clearly the superior fighter of the two.
* TokenEvilTeammate: Downplayed. Despite remaining firmly dedicated to Miyagi-Do after leaving Cobra Kai, he never does quite let go of the latter dojo's BringIt attitude towards fighting.
[[/folder]]

!West Valley High School
[[AC:Faculty]]
[[folder:Counselor Blatt]]
[[quoteright:150:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/blatt.jpg]]
->'''Played by:''' Erin Bradley Dangar

The guidance counselor at West Valley. She is quite bad at her job.
----
* AdultsAreUseless: Doesn't have a clue how to deal with teenage students, and tends to make things worse rather than better.
* FreudianExcuse: [[WordOfGod According to Dangar]], Blatt's misguided wisdom and sensitivity stem from being bullied as a high school student.
* DidntThinkThisThrough: As we see in Eli's flashback, Eli's mother specifically request Eli's name be left out of the announcement. Unfortunately, Blatt didn't think this applied to any other potential identifiers, mentioning a mother calling about her son being bullied because of his lip. Identifying the complainant's gender is bad enough (reducing the potential suspects by about one-half), but mentioning the specific thing he's being bullied over -- which the bullies would obviously remember, since ''they're the ones making a big deal about it in the first place'' -- means everyone immediately connects the Eli-shaped dots.
* GoodCannotComprehendEvil: Her weaksauce attempt to teach the school's bullies that teasing and cyber-bullying hurts the victims gives away her utter obliviousness to the simple fact that bullies ''[[{{Sadist}} want]]'' to hurt people.
* GoodIsDumb: Seems to not understand teenagers at all, despite her good intentions, hence her incredible incompetence.
* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: In season three, she takes all of Hawk's obvious lies at face value and lets him off the hook for any misdeeds while punishing all of the Miyagi-Do students.
* KarmaHoudini: Everybody in this show will make some errors, and will have to pay for them. Everybody, but this woman. She's the most incompetent counselor EVER, being unable to stop bullying in the first season, unable to stop a fight becoming a battle in season 2, and in 3rs season not only she's unable to stop the tensions (which is part of her JOB) but she's making it worse and worse. Yet, she doesn't pay for making the lives of their students miserable.
* LawfulStupid: She upholds order in West Valley High and has zero tolerance for physical fighting on school grounds. The problem, however, is that she never accounts for the circumstances behind everyone involved.
* LooseLips: While trying to dissuade the students from engaging in cyber-bullying, she ends up telling the entire school that a student cried at home over being teased for his facial scar. Namedropping that deformity immediately tells the students that she's talking about Eli. And she doesn't even seen to notice when she does it. Season 2 reveals that Eli's mother was the one who asked for that announcement to be made, in spite of his (correct) warnings that it wouldn't help.
* MisplacedKindergartenTeacher: She doesn't quite grasp just how apathetic and cruel teenagers can be, as shown when she thinks just lecturing them on how much teasing hurts will convince them to stop.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: She tries to dissuade the students from cyber-bullying by telling them how a student's mother called her about her son getting mocked for his facial scar. Since she's obviously talking about Eli, he just gets mocked even more.
* NoSympathy: The life of EVERYBODY in the show would be better if this woman didn't be there. She's the closest being in fiction to a living, breathing (and incompetently ignorant) Diabolus ex Machina!
** It becomes sidiculous when she grounded the Miyagi team for rough play during a football match, yet she released the Cobra Kai team for the exact same behaviour. She didn't even ask to the P.E. teacher that sent both the groups!
*** And is beyond absurd when the new Cobras started to harass students, when they broke Dimitri's arm, and drew a dick on his plaster. Yet this woman didn't do ANYTHING. It seems that her only reason to be, is to make everything worse.
* ProfanityPolice: She doesn't tolerate swearing on school grounds and reprimands Sam for calling bullshit over the fight between Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do in a soccer match.
-->'''Sam:''' This is bullshit!\\
'''Blatt:''' Miss [=LaRusso=]! That is not how we express ourselves here. I think you need two weekends of rehabilitative detention.
* RememberTheNewGuy: She apparently went to high school with Daniel, Johnny and Ali during the events of the first film, and is apparently [[https://twitter.com/ebdfilmtv/status/1024775681199235072 Ali's friend's younger sister]].
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: If she was even slightly more competent at her job, Cobra Kai may have never experienced a comeback thanks to the rush of bullied students looking to Cobra Kai for solving their bullying problems.
[[/folder]]

[[AC:Students]]
[[folder:Yasmine]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/yasmine.jpg]]
->'''Played by:''' Annalisa Cochrane

The resident queen bee at the high school. She, Sam, and Moon are a trio at the beginning of the series... before Sam and (later) Moon tire of Yasmine's cruelty.
----
* AlphaBitch: She's considered the hottest girl in school and she's loaded, but she also happens to be a bully and a complete asshole to almost everyone around her. While she doesn't beat people up the way Kyler does, she unloads a ton of psychological abuse on people and has no problem using cyber-bullying on them. [[YouAreFat Aisha]] can testify to this firsthand. She hasn't changed much come her return to school in Season 3, but is since more prone to making snide remarks at worst than malicious attacks.
* TheAtoner:
** Defied at first. Moon tries to convince her to apologize to Aisha for their actions, but Yasmine dismissively brushes Moon off, and walks off while bumping into Aisha at the same time.
-->'''Yasmine:''' Whatever. You deserve them, Moon.
** Became one by season 3, episode 7, after the wedgie Aisha gave her and her vacation in France. Yasmine is one of the few people who doesn't laugh when Kyler draws a big dick in Demitri's cast at the cafeteria, and later helps him fix her cast.
--->''"I love your big dick. - Yas"''
* BlatantLies: Her father buys her claim that she ran into a deer while driving (when she actually hit Johnny's car) without question, and buys a brand-new car for her instead.
* BookDumb: Not the brightest light-bulb in the chandelier, academically speaking.
* BreakThemByTalking: Subverted. Yasmine confronts Aisha for crashing the canyon party and tries to verbally put her down in front of her face. Unfazed, [[TheDogBitesBack Aisha delivers a well-deserved comeuppance to Yasmine]] in the form of a super painful {{wedgie}}.
-->'''Yasmine:''' Yeah, well, I know you and your little karate gang think you're cool. But we all remember who you really are. You're just a fugly bitch, and your friends are all freaks.
* BullyingADragon: Sure, Yasmine, get in Aisha's face when she's NotAfraidOfYouAnymore. Go ahead and call her a fugly bitch (see BreakThemByTalking above) when you're completely outside the school grounds and she's got a small army on her side (which she doesn't even need because you don't even know how to fight). WhatAnIdiot.
* TheBusCameBack: She returns from France in Season 3 and - understandably - is confused by the huge shift in the school's power dynamics since Season 2.
* TheCheerleader: Her costume at the first-season Halloween party (specifically a Laker Girl), and she fits the dumbass and jerkass criteria to a T.
* DaddysGirl: Her father dotes on her, to the point that he doesn’t question her BlatantLies about hitting a deer (she actually t-boned Johnny’s car) and buys her a brand-new car instead.
* DeadpanSnarker: On Facebook, she makes a snide and condescending remark about Aisha and her board breaking skills (and her size).
-->'''Yasmine:''' Impressive... can't believe the belt made it around ur waist.
* DirtyCoward: ''Loves'' cyber-bullying, which Johnny Lawrence is quick to point out as extremely pathetic. She also nearly enters the fetal-position when a homeless person stands outside of her locked car. Oh, and she doesn't do any of her own physical fighting.
* DudeMagnet: Several guys vie to be close to her, though she's really ''not'' interested in any of them.
* GeekyTurnOn: She seems to be put off by Demetri's awkward and quirky personality but in season 3, he manages to impress her with his lego volcano project and was genuinely disappointed when Hawk destroyed it.
* GiveGeeksAChance: LovableNerd Demetri and AlphaBitch Yasmine shared a kiss in season 3 after she became more sympathetic towards him after being humbled in the first season.
* HateSink: In season one, she's an unrepentant bitch who thrives off of posting hate comments on social media. It's notable that even Kyler (her SpearCounterpart in this regard) is more respected by her posse at this time. When she [[TheBusCameBack comes back]] in season 3, she seems to have gotten a bit nicer.
* HumblePie: She becomes a laughing stock after Aisha introduces her to the Melvin while in the presence of the other canyon party attendees. It even causes her to sympathize with outcasts like Demetri when she returns in season three.
* ImplausibleDeniability: Sam and Miguel catch her making out with Demetri in Season 3, but she denies harboring any romantic feelings for him... even though they just shared a passionate kiss in the middle of a school hallway in plain sight of everybody.
* ItsAllAboutMe: ''And holy shit how!'' She has zero respect for anyone or anything except herself. She doesn't even consider Moon to be a MoralityPet!
* JerkWithaHeartOfGold: In season three, while she is still snobbish and unhappy with how the social structure at West Valley has changed following the brawl, she's more empathetic towards outcasts like Demetri and shows signs of becoming a better person.
* KickTheDog: She thrives off of posting hateful comments and memes on social media, which are especially directed towards Aisha.
* LaserGuidedKarma: By the end of Season 1, Yasmine ends up on the receiving end of the very cyber-bullying that she would normally unleash on others after the episode in which she is hit with Aisha's Melvin is [[CaughtOnTape recorded on the partiers' devices]].
* PetTheDog: After Kyler doodles a penis on the cast covering Demetri's right arm, she writes "I love your big dick" on it.
* PutOnABus: During Season 2, she spends the summer in France and she was offscreen when school resumes. She returns onscreen in season 3.
* RedemptionRejection: As mentioned above, Yasmine refuses to apologize to Aisha for humiliating her. This prompts Aisha to give Yasmine a painful and humiliating Melvin in front of a crowd.
* RichBitch: She comes from a well-off family whose parents dote on her all the time, and is overall unpleasant to be around.
* SpoiledBrat: She is used to her parents giving her everything she wants.
* SmugSnake: She thinks she's being clever in her desires to get in the face of everyone along with talking a load of bull behind a computer screen, but the fact that she cowers at the mere sight of a homeless woman outside her car along with the fact that she went out of her way to trash a trained martial artist ForTheEvulz and paid the price for doing so only showcase that while she's rich, she's nothing but a spiteful cowardly idiot.
* ATasteOfTheirOwnMedicine: The LaserGuidedKarma of cyber-bullying mentioned above. It might not have happened if she had left well enough alone and not memed Aisha ''after'' learning she was [[BullyingADragon a Cobra Kai member]].
* ThinSkinnedBully: After that taste of HumblePie at the canyon where she wants to have her party, she hightails it out of there hobbling.
* TookALevelInKindness: She takes one of these over the course of Season 3 after spending time with Demetri.
* ToxicFriendInfluence: Almost all the negative traits displayed by Sam during the first season are the result of Yasmine’s influence.
* UnderestimatingBadassery: Yasmine decides to try her Mean Girls shtick on Aisha before she leaves the party despite Aisha [[StoutStrength outweighing her by a hundred pounds]] and practicing a [[ThugDojo martial art that prides itself on aggression and pragmatism]]. The brutal [[GroinAttack Melvin]] she gets in response could honestly be seen as merciful compared to what Aisha [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown was capable of doing instead]].
* YouAreFat: Whether in-person or online, this is her go-to tactic toward Aisha (the former in which she refers to a "one size fits all" costume as "false advertising").
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Moon]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/moon_1.jpg]]
->'''Played by:''' Hannah Kepple

Yasmine's former right hand in their clique of hot, rich girls.
----
* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: After Eli undergoes his transformation into Hawk, with his mohawk, punk attitude, and tattoo, he starts getting a LOT more attention from Moon. She still draws lines, however. In Season 2, she dumps Hawk for attacking Demetri over a Yelp review. As she tells him, she likes his look and his confidence, but she doesn't like him beating up their friends.
* AscendedExtra: Moon is merely a side character in season 1, but gains a more prominent role in season 2.
* TheAtoner: Near the end of season 1, she befriends the Cobra Kai students and apologizes to Aisha for what her clique did to her. She tries to convince Yasmine to do the same, but Yasmine dismissively brushes Moon off.
-->'''Moon:''' I apologized to Aisha for what we did, and you should too.
* CloudCuckoolander: "Spaced out" is a mild way of putting it.
* TheConfidant: By the time season 2 rolls around, she's Sam's only remaining female friend and, thus, the only one she can talk about stuff like her developing feelings for Robby.
* TheDitz: In season 1, between her and Sam and Yasmine, she appears to be the dumbest of the trio by a pretty large margin. In season 2, she invites [[RivalDojos both Cobra Kai students and Miyagi-Do students]] to the same party. If the police hadn't come, the big brawl might have started on ''her'' property!
* {{Foil}}: To Bobby Brown. Both were a part of a posse of popular kids who bullied others. However, both show that they are more compassionate and conscience-stricken than they let on and later do apologize to their respective victims.
* GranolaGirl: In season 2, when she gets to show more of her personality, Moon turns out to be mostly a hippy, but without the dirt.
* {{Hypocrite}}: Breaks up with Hawk for being a bully, yet earlier in the episode she's admiring a photo of Yasmine on Instagram, implying they're still friends.
* InnocentBetaBitch: While she did participate in the cyberbullying of both Aisha and Sam alongside Yasmine, she does make a turnaround and apologizes for her actions. Later on, she actually [[spoiler:breaks up with Hawk because of his new bullying attitude]]. Not only that, but she attempted to mend the friendship amongst the students of Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do Karate.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Compared to her friends [[TheBully Kyler]] and [[AlphaBitch Yasmine]], Moon is not a mean person by nature. In Episode 9, she befriends the Cobra Kai students, leading her to apologize to Aisha and trying to encourage Yasmine to do the same. Moon is also the only student to not laugh at Yasmine after she is given a front wedgie by Aisha, showing that she still cares about her friend despite everything Yasmine has done. Season 2 sees her trying to heal the tensions between Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do, and she is the only person to remain friends (not a FriendlyEnemy as Sam and Aisha sometimes are, but actual friends) with students of both dojos.
* NiceGirl: As long as she's not with [[ToxicFriendInfluence Yasmine]], Moon is a friendly girl who just wants everyone to get along.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: She decides to have a house party and invite both dojos in the hopes everyone will have fun together and be friendly again. Instead, AlcoholInducedStupidity ensues and the two groups pull several stunts against the other that make tensions worse. It swells up until a drunk Sam and Miguel kiss each other, causing Tory to get jealous and kick off the school brawl by assaulting Sam the next day.
* OddFriendship: Moon is a bubbly GirlyGirl and Demetri is a cynical {{Nerd}} and in season 2, they two actually have a platonic relationship with each other and not only is she humored by Demetri, she also breaks with Hawk when she found that he bullied him over a Yelp review.
* OnlySaneWoman: She tries to defuse the situation when the entirety of West Valley High School gets into an all-out brawl. Unsurprisingly, it has [[UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom the reverse effect.]]
* PeerPressuredBully: Moon is actually a very nice person and only goes along with Yasmine's bullying to stay in her good graces. However, she eventually gets tired of it and decides to confront Yasmine about what they've been doing to Aisha after apologizing to the latter first. The fact that she's close friends with Demetri really emphasises how much of an accepting and friendly person she is for most of the show.
* TheReveal: Of the Suddenly Sexuality variety. After breaking up with Hawk, he tries hitting on a girl, Piper, at Moon's party, only to find out she's Moon's girlfriend. Not only is he stunned (and too bummed to appear to find GirlOnGirlIsHot), Moon's phrasing makes it sound like she hasn't dated girls before.
-->'''Moon:''' It's...new.
* ShipperOnDeck: Becomes one for Sam and Robby in season two.
* StupidGood: Moon hopes that she can ease tensions between Miyagi-Do and Cobra Kai by inviting their members to party at her house and hoping that they'll all get along. Boy, does she have no idea what comes afterwards...
* TheStoner: Gets her weed from her mom.
-->'''Moon:''' It's supposed to be lower in calories, or something.
* WhatAnIdiot: How does she decide to ease the tension between Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do? By inviting all of their students to her party despite the fact that they don't get along at all. Naturally this, along with the alcohol being served at said party, almost leads to a brawl on her property, attracts the arrival of the police which forces everyone to flee, and indirectly contributes to the brawl that happens at ''school.'' By the end of the season it's safe to say that even ''she'' realized just how bad an idea it was.
* WideEyedIdealist: She believes that having both dojos get together at her party (complete with ''booze!)'' will help soothe things over and make everyone friends again. [[{{Understatement}} Whoops!]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Brucks]]
->'''Played by:''' Bo Mitchell

Kyler's best friend among the bully clique, Brucks is a portly bruiser with a distinctly annoying voice.
----
* TheBully: Being Kyler's best friend, Brucks shares his mean streak.
* TheBusCameBack: He returns in Season 3 along with Kyler and his gang, visiting the Cobra Kai dojo at Kreese's invitation.
* TheDragon: To Kyler.
* DumbMuscle: Brucks is obese and not particularly bright, but Johnny recognizes him as the strongest of the bullies and was most impressed that Miguel was able to defeat him out of all of Kyler's gang.
* {{Jerkass}}: He's just as much of a dick as Kyler is. That's all you need to know about him.
* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: Ends up on the receiving end of this by Hawk, so much it almost kills him. After that, Brucks isn't seen again.
* SatelliteCharacter: There is not much to say about Brucks other than that he is Kyler's {{Jerkass}}, DumbMuscle best friend.
* VillainousFriendship: He is a genuinely loyal friend to Kyler, which would be admirable if they weren't both massive jerkasses.
* VillainousValor: If there is anything remotely redeemable about him, it's that he will continue to fight alongside [[VillainousFriendship Kyler]] even against opponents he clearly wants to run away from, namely Johnny in the first episode. [[spoiler:Unfortunately for him, Kyler abandons him after joining Cobra Kai.]]
[[/folder]]

!Other San Fernando Valley Residents

[[folder:Lynn the Homeless Woman]]
[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cobra_kai_9.jpg]]
->'''Played by:''' Susan Gallagher

A crystal meth-abusing homeless woman who "hustles" the mini-mall where the Cobra Kai Dojo is located.
----
* AccidentalInnuendo: In-universe. There are a couple of instances where Lynn twists what Johnny says to her to take on a suggestive meaning, much to the latter's dismay.
* AttentionDeficitOohShiny: At one point, Johnny attempts to hire Lynn to hold up a sign advertising the Cobra Kai dojo, but she soon loses interest and uses the sign as a roof for her stuff.
* CrazyHomelessPeople: Lynn doesn’t appear to be mentally balanced, and she scares the crap out of Yasmine and Moon. (Though in fairness, the latter was more because Yasmine and Moon are [[RichBitch Rich Bitches]] who fear/despise the poor than anything Lynn actually ''does'' to them.)
* TarnishingTheirOwnBeauty: A meta-example, as Lynn looks like an old, meth-addled street woman, yet the same definitely could not be said of her actress, Susan Gallagher.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Xander Stone]]
[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/xander.jpg]]
->'''Played by:''' Talin Chat

The previous year's All Valley Under-18 Karate Champion who represents the Topanga karate school. He makes into the semi-finals during the championship in the Season 1 finale.
----
* AffectionateParody: Of the heroes of 80s martial arts movies like [[SelfDeprecation The Karate Kid]]. He goes out of his way to give an [[AnAesop Aesop-tastic speech about "fighting against hatred"]] and focuses on a flashier martial arts style that focuses more on looking cool than being an effective martial art.
* AwesomeButImpractical: Why he barely defeats Aisha and why he loses to Miguel. His method of fighting seems to focus more on flash than inflicting damage. Put against someone like Miguel [[SimpleYetAwesome whose moves are simple yet quite powerful]], he loses the semi-final match three points to one.
* AwesomeMcCoolname: "Xander Stone" has such a nice ring to it.
* DanceBattler: The guy really loves to show off his flips. While it winds up being effective against a MightyGlacier like Aisha, [[RealityEnsues it is part of the reason he loses the Semi-Final Match to Miguel.]]
* {{Expy}}:
** Of Daniel [=LaRusso=] in his youth. A Caucasian martial artist going up against one of the students of Coba Kai in a martial arts tournament who's a full blown AffectionateParody of movies like ''The Karate Kid.'' The only things missing are an Asian mentor and a parody of the Crane Kick.
** Of Vidal from the original movie as well. A tough martial artist (in this case the defending champion) that defeats a Cobra Kai member, only to lose to the ace of the dojo to show how tough said ace is.
* GracefulLoser: He takes his defeat from Miguel very well, offering his opponent a congratulatory handshake and bow after the match. His [[StageMom mother]], on the other hand...
* NiceGuy: To an almost obnoxious degree.
* SheepInSheepsClothing: He give a rather lengthy speech about "fighting against hatred" just before the semi-finals. His speech can be interpreted as a publicity stunt, but the fact that he acts like a GracefulLoser after being defeated by Miguel suggests that he is indeed a nice guy.
* SoapBoxSadie: Takes time right before the semi-finals to go on a long speech about fighting intolerance. Even the nicer members of Cobra Kai find the speech annoying. Though this may be justified because there's an possibility his stage mom had made him like this to make them both look good.
* TheWorfEffect: On both ends of this. During the championship he is able to fight on par with and eventually defeat Aisha, who is arguably Cobra Kai's second best student. However, he loses to Miguel, Cobra Kai's star pupil, during the semi-finals. This is mostly done to show off the extent of Miguel's fighting skills before Robby has to fight him.
* WouldHitAGirl: He has no bones about going all out against Aisha, though downplayed since he's obviously not trying to genuinely hurt her.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Trey and Cruz]]
->'''Played by:''' Terayle Hill (Trey) and Jeff Kaplan (Cruz)

Robby's two hoodlum friends. They make their living by trafficking in stolen goods, but they're not above resorting to violence to get their way.
----
* DirtyCoward: While a third, unnamed guy accompanying the pair restrains Robby, Cruz brandishes a switchblade and prepares to knife his unarmed opponent.
* DualBoss: They fight Robby in a 2 against 1 brawl when Robby tries to stop them from robbing Daniel's dealership.
* KarmaHoudiniWarranty: The two were not punished for their crimes after fleeing Daniel's dealership in Season 1 Episode 7. Come their next encounter with Robby in Season 2 Episode 4 (backed up by a third guy), however, Daniel arrives to Robby's rescue and effortlessly floors his attackers. However, it's still rather glaring that Robby had the whole confrontation on video including the part where they admit to stealing the wallets and he never thought to show it to the manager or police.
* ToxicFriendInfluence: Robby wasn't exactly a good kid when he was introduced, but their influence on him certainly didn't help.
* UnskilledButStrong: During the dealership fight, the two are eventually able to beat the karate trained Robby, despite no indication that they have any formal training. Granted, [[RealityEnsues Robby just started to learn karate only a few weeks ago]]. The only reason they didn't beat Robby to a pulp is because Robby pointed out that a security camera was filming them, meaning they would be caught if they tried to rob the dealership.
* WeWillMeetAgain: Cruz warns Robby to "watch his ass" after their attempt to rob Daniel's dealership failed, before fleeing with Trey.
* TheWorfEffect: An interesting retrospective example. Their fight with Robby at the dealership is partly done to give the audience a gauge of Robby's karate skills. Although Robby put up a good fight, [[RealityEnsues he ultimately loses since he was outnumbered two to one and only had a few weeks of training]], and Trey and Cruz only left after he pointed out that a security camera was filming them. Now compare that to Miguel, who could easily defeat four bullies trained in wrestling just 2 episodes ago. It really shows the difference in skill and experience when Robby has to fight Miguel in the season finale.
* WouldHarmASenior: They, along with their inside man, don't hesitate to attack Daniel when he steps in to defend Robby. It doesn't end well for them, as he makes short work of them in seconds.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Armand Zakarian]]
->'''Played by:''' Ken Davitian

A wealthy developer who owns many properties in the Valley, including the strip mall where the Cobra Kai dojo is located.
----
* CorruptCorporateExecutive:
** Downplayed in Season 1. He does double the rent for his tenants without considering their ability to keep paying it, but Armand legitimately believes he's matching the market rate. He's last seen telling his son to be harsh and resolute in his trade.
** In Episode 4 of Season 2, he decides to increase the rent for the Cobra Kai dojo again just because Johnny's business is booming and he can easily pay the extra rent.
** Played with at the end of Season 2, in that while [[spoiler: he signed ownership of the Cobra Kai dojo over to Kreese while Johnny was away on his weekend trip with his old friends, Johnny only ever made a "handshake deal" with Zakarian for the dojo and technically never actually owned it. Then again, Kreese also mentioned that said landlord told him he never liked Johnny.]]
* CrankyLandlord: Actually worse than most examples of this trope. Armand couldn't care less if his tenants' businesses are legal, as long as they can pay (and keep paying) the rent no matter how much he jacks it up. And yes, he ''is'' cranky all the time.
* GoodParents: While he has his faults he is a good father to his son Roland. He took him to lobster night when Daniel invited them, and he took him with him to show how to raise rent on people. Letting him know you have to be tough, though he should had made sure Roland was paying attention to him instead of his phone at first.
* JabbaTableManners: The man eats like a pig, even when he is in a fancy country club.
* NoSocialSkills: Incredibly blunt, barely groomed, and lacking in everything but simple business savvy. It's even revealed that the reason he was kicked out of Encino Hills Country Club in the first place is because he was caught urinating in the showers, which he tries to rationalize with "everybody does it".
* SelfMadeMan: Perhaps Armand's only redeeming quality. During his conversations with Daniel, the latter attempts to flatter him by reminding him that neither of them were born into wealth (unlike everyone else at the country club).
* UnwittingPawn: Daniel plays him like a fiddle to manipulate him into raising Johnny's rent. He never even realizes it wasn't his own idea.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tom Cole]]
Daniel [=LaRusso=]'s local business rival in the auto dealership industry. While his enmity with Daniel is non-violent, Cole is not above trolling Daniel or even poaching his employees.
----
* BullyingADragon: He's the first of many to ''think'' Daniel is merely riding off his success decades ago, not realizing Daniel has retained most of his karate skill.
* TheBusCameBack: After one appearance in Season One, he's only referenced by other people until he returns in Season Three.
* JerkassHasAPoint: While his antics vary between PokeThePoodle and KickTheDog he does bring a lot of valid points in his first appearance:
** While gimmicky, a cactus is a more responsible plant to own than a bonsai, given California's frequent droughts.
** He rightly points out Daniel was making a bigger deal of Tom's American-laden commercial than need be.
** He notes that Daniel takes too much pride in winning the All Valley Karate Tournament in high school and the accomplishment isn't as big a deal as he treats it as.
* NiceJobFixingItVillain: While it takes most of season 3 to play out, his attempts to run the [=LaRusso=] Auto Group out of business ultimately end up saving Daniel's life. [[spoiler:His attempt to destroy Daniel's business relationship with Doyona International, forced Daniel to travel to Japan, where he visited Okinawa, and learned from Chozen the secret PressurePoint techniques that save his life during the fight with Kreese in the season finale.]]
* NotSoHarmlessVillain: In season 1, Cole is mostly a jerkass {{Troll}} to Daniel, and Daniel humiliates him during his one appearance. In season 2, Cole makes quite a hit on Daniel's business, as Daniel is unable to keep him from swiping some of [=LaRusso=] Auto Group's best salespeople. By Season 3, he's signed an exclusive deal with the main distributor of all the major Japanese car companies, convinces them to cut their ties with the [=LaRussos=] and tries to buy the dealership out from under Daniel and Amanda. [[spoiler:Only a massive dose of KarmicJackpot prevents his complete victory.]]
* OpportunisticBastard: While it never goes beyond the confines of their business rivalry, Cole always seems ready to take advantage of Daniel's misfortune, be it the billboard vandalism or his distraction with Cobra Kai.
* PokeThePoodle: After Johnny spray-paints a dick on Daniel's billboard, he rubs it in Daniel's face by ordering 100 sausage pizzas for [=LaRusso=] Auto Group. Then there's also the subtle jab at Daniel's bonsai deal that he put into his Revolutionary War-themed commercial.
* SitcomArchNemesis: Not to be confused with his actual nemesis (Johnny), Tom is [=LaRusso=] Auto's rival in the car dealership business.
* UnderestimatingBadassery: "I'm not really a Revolutionary soldier, and you're not really a karate guy". One spin kick later, Cole's drink is airborne.
* VillainyFreeVillain: Never does anything illegal or reprehensible appearances in season 1 and 2. He was just a jerk, and not as bad as Daniel or Johnny had been the same season. In season 2 he does take many of Daniel's best employees, but he does so by offering better salaries and terms than what Daniel does. [[spoiler:Anoush]] only took the deal because Daniel blew off the opportunity to match it.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Ali Mills Schwarber]]
->'''Played by:''' Elisabeth Shue

The former girlfriend of Johnny and Daniel during their high school days, she is now a Denver-based pediatric surgeon.
----
* BigDamnReunion: Johnny embraces her when they meet for the first time in over three decades, at a cafe. She and Daniel also share a hug when they meet at a Christmas party.
* TheBusCameBack: After 36 years, she makes her return to the franchise come late Season 3.
* MistakenForCheating: Daniel assumed that she left him for a football player from the UCLA, six months after the 1984 All-Valley Tournament. The fault lies on Daniel, however, for reading too much into a conversation between herself and an old friend.
* TheOneThatGotAway: Johnny considers her this in seasons one and two, but after they reconnect in season three, he finally gets closure and decides not to pursue her even after learning she's divorcing her husband.
* OnlySaneMan: After learning about everything that has happened between the two, Ali tells both Johnny and Daniel that they need to accept neither of them is wholly innocent for what happened in the past and they have a lot more in common than they'd like to admit. [[spoiler:It helps them finally put away their differences and team up to take down Kreese once and for all.]]
[[/folder]]

[[AC:Johnny’s family]]
[[folder:Sid Weinberg]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ed_asner.jpg]]
->'''Played by:''' Creator/EdAsner / Michael H. Cole (1979 flashback)

Johnny's wealthy and emotionally abusive stepfather.
----
* AbusiveParents: Of the emotional kind; he did nothing but verbally demoralize Johnny throughout his childhood and even now as an adult.
* DirtyOldMan: 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.
* FatBastard: Not only to Johnny; Sid is a big {{Jerkass}} to just about everyone.
* FirstNameBasis: Johnny calls him by his first name, as is fairly typical for stepparents.
* GrumpyOldMan: Always seems to be in an irritable mood, Johnny or no Johnny.
* HypocriteHasAPoint: While Sid was an AbusiveParent to a T, he correctly points out that Johnny hasn't been an ideal father to Robby, either.
* PetTheDog: He promised Laura, whom he probably valued as little more than his TrophyWife, 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 a final bank check as a "settlement". The check was not a pittance, either, but enough to pay for the revival of Cobra Kai.
* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Sid has a rather low opinion of women, referring to his deceased wife (Johnny's mom) as a "hot piece of ass".
* UglyGuyHotWife: Even more egregiously than usual, as Sid is plenty ugly [[{{Jerkass}} on the inside]], too.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Laura]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/laura_7.png]]
->'''Played by:''' Candace Moon

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.
----
* DeceasedParentsAreTheBest: 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 [[{{Jerkass}} Sid]] for her son's sake.
* DotingParent: 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.
* EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: 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.
* GoldDigger: 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.
* GoodParents: Issue #3 of the comic book series shows that while she may have doted on Johnny, she was by no means a [[PushoverParents Pushover Parent]]. Back when Johnny planted the kiss on Ali at the country club, Laura scolded him for the act afterwards and made it clear she expects better behavior from him.
* TrophyWife: To Sid. Johnny admits that she likely only married Sid so that her and Johnny's financial futures would be secure. A GoldDigger by need.
* UselessBystanderParent: Despite being loving, Laura was unable to protect Johnny from Sid's abuse or seemingly notice Johnny's delinquency or bullying or what Kreese was turning him into. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Or even get him to wear his bike helmet]]. Despite loving her, it's clear Johnny tuned her out frequently.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Shannon Keene]]
[[quoteright:150:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shannon.jpg]]
->'''Played by:''' Creator/DioraBaird

Robby’s mother and Johnny’s ex.
----
* AbusiveParents: 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.
* TheAlcoholic: Johnny can track her down simply by visiting her usual bars, where she is on a first name basis with the bartender. [[spoiler:Late in Season 2, she agrees to check into rehab.]]
* BirdsOfAFeather: 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.
* GoldDigger: 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 [[ItsAllAboutMe herself]] in mind.
* HypocriteHasAPoint: 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?
* ItsAllAboutMe: Shannon's reason for cancelling plans with her son is that she has to meet a man to take care of her when Robby leaves.
* NeverMyFault: [[HypocriteHasAPoint 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. [[SubvertedTrope 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.
* ParentalNeglect: She spends so much time drinking in bars and picking up random guys that Robby’s school has a hard time getting a hold of her. The kid is practically raising himself. Downgrades to ParentalAbandonment as of Season 2.
* PetTheDog: 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.
[[/folder]]

[[AC:Miguel’s family]]
[[folder:Carmen Diaz]]
[[quoteright:256:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/carmen4.png]]
->'''Played by:''' Vanessa Rubio

Miguel's overly protective mother, Carmen is kind and hard-working -- if utterly terrified that any harm might come to her son.
----
* AdultFear:
** It's implied that Carmen has been through some traumatic experiences and is therefore terrified of anything similar occurring to her only child. It becomes a [[JustifiedTrope justified]] reaction when Miguel comes home badly beaten.
** Cranks UpToEleven when [[spoiler: Miguel is knocked off a landing and appears to have broken his spine in the finale of Season 2]].
* DarkAndTroubledPast: She fled Ecuador after finding out about her abusive husband's illegal activities.
%%* DeadpanSnarker: Shows signs of this when inviting Johnny over to dinner.
* GenerationXerox: To Lucille [=LaRusso=] being the StrugglingSingleMother to a bullied new kid who is studying karate.
* HospitalHottie: Frequently seen wearing scrubs. We find out in Season 2 she's an x-ray technician.
* MyBelovedSmother: Although she means well, she can be this to Miguel. Given her DarkAndTroubledPast, this is understandable.
* SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan: 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. Fortunately for Johnny, when he TookALevelInKindness, he qualified for the “good man” part.
* SoProudOfYou: Her reaction when Miguel wins the tournament or whenever he wins a match. She may want to watch her son's behavior, however.
* SkewedPriorities: She seems more worried about her son losing the tournament for his self esteem than the risk of him actually getting hurt.
* TeenPregnancy: She was pregnant with Miguel when she was 18 years old.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Rosa]]
[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rosa_5.png]]
->'''Played by:''' Rose Bianco

Miguel's grandmother and Carmen's mother.
----
* CoolOldLady: 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.
* DeadpanSnarker: In Spanish, no less. Pretty much only Carmen and sometimes Miguel can understand her sarcastic humor when speaking so, and leaving English speakers like Johnny oblivious to it.
* OpenMindedParent: 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.
* SecretKeeper: In Episode 5, she keeps Miguel's fight with Kyler a secret from Carmen so that Miguel can continue to train with Johnny.
* SoProudOfYou: Implied to be her reaction from Miguel when she learns about the cafeteria fight. Definitely her reaction when Miguel wins the tournament.
[[/folder]]

[[AC:Johnny’s Friends]]
[[folder:Bobby Brown]]
->'''Played by:''' Ron Thomas

The least vicious of Johnny's original Cobra Kai gang, Bobby was the only one who ever expressed concern that their harassment of Daniel was going too far. Now he is a Christian pastor who has left the Cobra Kai way far behind.
----
* BadassPreacher: He may be a pastor now (and who knows how long out of training), but the {{bar brawl}} shows he can still use his Cobra Kai training to kick ass when necessary.
* BaldOfAwesome: Like we said about the BadassPreacher...
* CassandraTruth: He and Jimmy attempt to warn Johnny of the threat Kreese poses now that he's involved with the new Cobra Kai. Johnny ignores their warnings, however, adamantly believing that his former sensei can get out of his old ways and change for the better. Tragically, the OG Cobras turn out to be right.
-->'''Bobby:''' John Kreese is bad news. All that crap we dealt with after high school, taking that "no mercy" bullshit out into the world.
* ChristianityIsCatholic: Subverted and lampshaded. He reminds the others that [[InsistentTerminology he's a pastor, not a priest.]]
* TookALevelInKindness: Granted he was the TokenGoodTeammate in the original film, but rather than reluctantly supporting his friends' actions, he now regrets everything their gang did as teenagers and is wary of Johnny's students being influenced by Kreese.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tommy]]
->'''Played by:''' Rob Garrison

One of Johnny’s friends from high school and a former Cobra Kai student. He’s since been stricken with a terminal illness, prompting most of their old gang to reunite for OneLastFieldTrip before he passes.
----
* BaldOfAwesome: During the BarBrawl, Tommy doesn't get as much of the camera as the others (particularly Johnny), but his one punch that was shown definitely had some impact.
* FaceDeathWithDignity: When Johnny and Jimmy show some concern about going on a road trip with him in his state, Tommy just rips out the wires connecting him to the machinery and tells the others he's ready to roll.
* {{Flatline}}: One is heard briefly when Tommy gets out of the hospital bed for his road trip. As Johnny and Bobby were in the next room at that moment, their reaction suggests that they feared Tommy had already died.
* IronicDeath: He was the one who told Johnny to get Daniel a body bag ("YEAH!") during their final fight in ''The Karate Kid''. When Tommy dies, ''he's'' the one who is put into a body bag.
* ReformedBully: In contrast to the bloodlust he displayed in the first film, he's become a mature, well adjusted adult who regrets how he acted as teenager.
* SelfDeprecation: When the gang are reminiscing about their teenage antics at the bar, one of the things mentioned is the time that a bartender saw right through their fake [=IDs=] and served them dishwater, with Tommy drinking his entire mug because he didn't know what beer tastes like. It's ''Tommy himself'' who tells that story, laughing at his own folly as he narrates it.
* TheStoic: Unlike Bobby and Jimmy who flip out when they learn Johnny has gotten Kreese involved in his dojo, Tommy just listens to Johnny's reasons for doing so, then calmly asks him if he really trusts Kreese.
* SuddenSequelDeathSyndrome: He's reintroduced dying of a terminal illness and passes at the end of the episode. (Tragically became a meta example a few months later, when Garrison himself passed away.)
* UnrequitedLove: During the camp out, he reveals to Johnny that he actually had feelings of his own for Ali back in high school as well. He was going to ask her out, but Johnny "struck first".
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Jimmy]]
->'''Played by:''' Tony O’Dell

One of Johnny’s friends from high school and a former Cobra Kai student, now a HappilyMarried father with multiple sons.
----
* AscendedExtra: While he was part of the Cobra Kai gang in the first two films, he didn't get any memorable scenes or lines, nor was even referred to by name. Here, he shares the spotlight with Bobby and Tommy, and even gets a spectacular fight scene.
* BrutalHonesty: He flat out tells Johnny letting Kreese back in the fold is a stupid idea and he doesn't believe the man has changed a bit.
* CassandraTruth: He and Bobby attempt to warn Johnny of the threat Kreese poses now that he's involved with the new Cobra Kai. Johnny ignores their warnings, however, adamantly believing that his former sensei can get out of his old ways and change for the better. Tragically, the OG Cobras turn out to be right.
* ChairmanOfTheBrawl: During the BarBrawl scene, he cracks Bobby's opponent over the back with a chair.
* HappilyMarried: He's first seen speaking with his wife on a headset. While we only see this interaction for a few moments, it suggests that he has a loving relationship with his family, and even that Tommy is something of an honorary uncle to his children.
* ReformedBully: Just like the others, he's become a decent man who has rejected the old Cobra Kai philosophy.
[[/folder]]

!Okinawa
[[folder:Kumiko]]
->'''Played by:''' Creator/TamlynTomita

The niece of the late Yukie and Daniel's former love interest.
----
* TheBusCameBack: She and Daniel reunite in Okinawa for the first time in over three decades since the conclusion of ''Part II''.
* TheConfidant: She listens to a troubled Daniel's problems while also sharing with him her past troubles, and helps him out with his emotional troubles.
* ConfirmedBachelor: Despite her aunt's wishes, Kumiko has remained unmarried throughout her whole life.
-->'''Kumiko:''' I stayed, uh... What was your word for it? A "free agent".\\
'''Daniel:''' Come on, I'm supposed to believe that a guy never got a ring on that finger?\\
'''Kumiko:''' Many tried. But... none of them fought to the death for me.
* EarnYourHappyEnding: After everything she went through in the second film, she achieved her dream of becoming a world-famous dancer.
* NiceGirl: She remains on good terms with Daniel even after not having seen each other for over three decades, and helps him out with his emotional troubles.
* TricksterMentor: She does Miyagi proud by secretly arranging for Daniel to meet with Chozen again, leading to Daniel learning a new special technique.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Chozen Toguchi]]
->'''Played by:''' Yuji Okumoto

The nephew of the late Sato and former enemy of Daniel.
----
* TheBusCameBack: He and Daniel have not seen each other in over three decades since the end of ''Part II'', until he encounters him at a bar, on Kumiko's invitation.
* CallBack: He says his famous line ''[[Film/TheKArateKidPartII "You keep for your collection"]]'' yet again, albeit in a far more civil context this time.
* ConfirmedBachelor: Like Kumiko, Chozen is not married to anyone nor does he have children.
* DeathSeeker: Defied. He was this way at the end of ''Part II'', especially after losing to Daniel in the final fight, but his uncle guided him back to sanity.
-->''"After our fight, I felt great shame. I... I wanted to die. But, my uncle saved me. He gave me a chance to prove myself. I spent my life trying to do just that. But... regret is sometimes difficult to overcome."''
* TheGadfly: While he TookALevelInKindness and forgave Daniel following the events of ''Part II'', he decides to act like he still holds a grudge as part of being a TricksterMentor and just to have a laugh.
* SilverFox: While he, like the rest of the cast, has aged, he still is a very handsome fellow and if his huge bulging biceps are any indication, he still is as much of a MrFanservice as he was [[Film/TheKarateKidPartII years ago]].
* TookALevelInKindness: Chozen appears to not have changed much come his first encounter with Daniel in over three decades. However, this is only an act, and he reveals that his experiences following the end of ''Part II'' have humbled him over the years. After an extended training montage, the two depart on good terms. It is also revealed that Chozen ultimately made up with Sato and even Kumiko (at least enough for her to feel comfortable inviting him to meet Daniel again).
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Yuna]]
->'''Played by:''' Traci Toguchi

A friend of Kumiko and the Senior Vice President of Sales at Doyona International.
----
* BigDamnReunion: She and Daniel share a hug after she reminds him that she was the same girl Daniel saved during a typhoon in Okinawa.
* DeusExMachina: Just as it seems Daniel has no hope of getting a deal with Doyona and therefore may have to sell his dealership, he reunites with the little girl who he saved during the storm back in ''Part II'', who is now all grown-up and is in fact the Senior Vice President of Sales at Doyona International.
* NamedByTheAdaptation: She was not named in ''Part II''.
* SurprisinglyGoodEnglish: She speaks fluent American-accented English. Justified, given her position as Senior Vice President of Sales at Doyona International.
[[/folder]]

!Vietnam

[[folder:Captain Turner]]
->'''Played by:''' Terry Serpico

The captain of a Green Beret squadron in Vietnam who recruits Kreese.
----
* BadassInCharge: He trained in Tang Soo Do in the Korean War, and in turn teaches all his men.
* BadBoss: Upon the mission going south, he abruptly turns horribly abusive and has no problem killing his own men for his survival.
* EvilMentor: He's the one who set the kindly, chivalrous busboy-turned-soldier John Kreese on the path to becoming the nightmare we know him as today.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: [[spoiler: Captain Turner belittles Kreese for failing to grasp his Social Darwinist, kill or be killed teachings when in the POW camp. During the death battle staged by their captors, which ends right as the camp is being liberated, Kreese internalizes this lesson and kills Turner.]]
* KickTheDog: He originally hid the information about the death of Kreese's girlfriend so that Kreese wouldn't lose focus in the war from grief. Later, when the two of them have become [=POWs=], not only did Turner rub the mission's failure in Kreese's face, but when Kreese volunteered to fight him, Turner bluntly revealed Betsy's death to Kreese to screw with his head.
* MeaningfulName: Captain Turner was indeed the start of Kreese's "turn" into a monstrous sociopath.
* SmallRoleBigImpact: He only appeared in flashbacks of Kreese's time as a Vietnam War soldier, but if it weren't for him abusing him for not doing his mission properly and rubbing his crush's death before they fought each other, Kreese would have never become the sociopath he is, Cobra Kai would never have existed, and Daniel might not have formed his strong bond with Mr. Miyagi.
* PredecessorVillain: He has been dead for over half a century, but he is ultimately responsible for most if not all of the conflict in the series. He is the one who turned Kreese into the amoral sociopath he is today and trained him in martial arts.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Terry Silver]]
->'''Played by:''' Nick Marini (1960s flashbacks)

One of Kreese's Green Beret squadmates, whose mistake on a mission has fatal consequences.
----
* BaitAndSwitch: We're initially led to think another squadmate nicknamed Ponytail is Terry due to his distinctive hairstyle, but then he dies and it turns out the one called Twig is actually Terry.
* EmbarrassingNickname: The squad nicknames him Twig due to his unimpressive physique.
* MyGreatestFailure: He's horrified when his failure to evacuate the base the squad is supposed to blow up results in the team's capture.
* UndyingLoyalty: Kreese not only refuses to blow him up against orders when he fails to get away from the squad's target, but takes his place fighting Turner ''and'' ultimately frees him from the POW cage. In turn, Terry swears a solemn debt to him which will be paid back in the third film, and ultimately Season 4 of this show.
[[/folder]]

'''Daniel:''' ''(after kicking Kreese off of Johnny)'' You sent them to my house! You came after my daughter! You wanted a fight, you son of a bitch!? Well NOW YOU GOT ONE!!!

* BerserkButton: If you damage or steal anything that was handed down to him by Miyagi (such as his prized car and Purple Heart respectively), all bets are off.
* BigDamnHeroes: Daniel leaps in to save Robby from his former friends, literally, with a stance and moves which invoke Mr Miyagi.

** Kreese seems completely dismissive of him, despite the fact that Daniel inadvertently, with Miyagi, destroyed his dojo 30 years ago (this is less straight though).

* KharmaHoudini: Everybody in this show will make some errors, and will have to pay for them. Everybody, but this woman. She's the most incompetent counselor EVER, being unable to stop bullying in the first season, unable to stop a fight becoming a battle in season 2, and in 3rs season not only she's unable to stop the tensions (which is part of her JOB) but she's making it worse and worse. Yet, she doesn't pay for making the lives of their students miserable.

* NoSimpaty: The life of EVERYBODY in the show would be better if this woman didn't be there. She's the closest being in fiction to a living, breathing (and incompetently ignorant) Diabolus ex Machina!