Cobra Kai characters include those audiences already knew and loved from the Karate Kid movies as well as new characters created for the show, though some are better developed than others. Cobra Kai follows a now adult Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) and Daniel Larusso (Ralph Macchio) in a new chapter of their previous rivalry. The series sees each of them create their own karate dojos before eventually teaming up against a common enemy with plenty of fights and tournaments along the way.
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Season 6 is the final season of Cobra Kai, culminating in a worldwide tournament, raising the stakes of the franchise in a big way. Not every character from the first season of the show has made it to the end, and even of those who have, some have had a lot more screen time than others, allowing the audience to get to know them better. Overall, Cobra Kai has managed some great characters with engaging, fun, and entertaining personalities and arcs—but which is the best?
You are watching: 20 Cobra Kai Characters, Ranked Worst To Best
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Seasons |
Rotten Tomatoes Score |
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1 |
100% |
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2 |
91% |
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3 |
90% |
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4 |
95% |
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5 |
98% |
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6 |
82% |
20
Mitch
Portrayed by Aedin Mincks
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Mitch is largely a background character for much of the series. That happens with a lot of the teens recruited to learn karate under Daniel and Johnny other than the core group of characters. Many of the others only get brief parts or make appearances to provide a little comic relief. Mitch is there to be insulted by Johnny and the other members of Cobra Kai, and then Eagle Fang, when he cannot keep up or is not seen as doing very well.
Beyond that, he does not have much personality outside of being a typical teenage boy who wants to fit in. That, he does not until it is revealed that he is actually a turncoat at the end of season 5. He has been Cobra Kai all along, even as he has been pretending to be a member of Eagle Fang and then training alongside Miyagi-do as well. The reveal paints him as insecure and selfish, but season 6 sees him back alongside his former friends.
While the reveal of his betrayal in season 5 is a shocking one for his friends, it also is not particularly built up well for the audience since the audience does not get to know much about him before that. It’s surprising, but not exactly effective.
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19
Aisha
Portrayed by Nichole Brown
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Aisha has so much potential as a character in the first two seasons of the show. Sam’s best friend before Sam becomes a member of the popular crowd, Aisha continually gets bullied by Sam’s new friends. She joins Johnny’s version of Cobra Kai as a way to learn how to defend herself. Learning karate does actually increase Aisha’s self-confidence and allows her to get even with her bullies.
After that, however, Nichole Brown’s character is written out of the show pretty suddenly. The explanation is that her family does not like how karate has changed her, or how the conflict between dojos has consumed her. While that is fair from the parents of a teenager, the show only gives a brief reunion with Sam to wrap up Aisha’s storyline.
Aisha is not given the same lengthy character arc that Hawk and Tory get, but she had the potential to be just as fascinating and well-rounded of a character as the two of them.
18
Moon
Portrayed by Hannah Kepple
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Moon is one of the popular girls that Sam befriends in the first season of the show. Though Moon is Yasmine’s best friend, she is not as judgmental as Yasmine or someone who bullies others. She does stand by when Yasmine does though, and she could have just been a stereotypical popular girl if the show had not decided to give her a bit more depth.
Moon becomes interested in Eli when he gains confidence from his learning of karate. She cheers him on at competitions, but she draws the line when she finds that he has become a violent bully. Moon cuts ties with him until he begins to redeem himself, which is a good way for the show to demonstrate that she has learned from her experiences with Yasmine and Aisha.
Moon is also shown to be something of a modern hippie. She cares about the environment, sings songs about peacekeeping, and encourages Eli to let go of negativity. The audience actually gets to learn more about Moon in her few appearances than they do some of the members of the rival dojos. If she was made into a more integral member of the cast, she could be a standout character.
17
Zara
Portrayed by Rayna Vallandingham
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Zara is introduced in the sixth season of the show, so the audience does not get to spend a ton of time with her. That’s a shame because she is absolutely a fascinating character. She has traits in common with both Yasmine and Tory, but she also seems to be one of the best fighters that has ever been on the show, which might be because Rayna Vallandingham is actually an incredibly accomplished martial artist.
Rayna Vallandingham is the youngest black belt martial artist in the world to earn 12 World Championship titles and is trained in a variety of forms and weapons.
When Zara joins the series, it is as a competitor for a rival team in the Sekai Taikai. She is incredibly focused on the win, but she has some unorthodox methods for getting into the heads of her competitors. She allows Tory to think that she slept with Robbie, for example. She also is a popular social media influencer who touts healthy lifestyles and feminist attitudes while actually trashing the other female competitors in private.
She makes for an interesting commentary on how what influencers present to the world is a very carefully cultivated image. It’s a shame she did not appear earlier in the show.
16
Kenny
Portrayed by Dallas Dupree Young
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Kenny is Cobra Kai’s cautionary tale. He is a young kid, initially mentored by Robby, who is relentlessly bullied by Anthony LaRusso and his friends until he starts to get serious about his karate. Kenny becomes focused on his anger and his need for revenge, which is what he is initially taught when it comes to karate.
Most of Kenny’s storyline focuses on him getting back at Anthony and becoming a bully himself. It takes a long time for him to let go of his hatred of Anthony, and even when he tries to, he immediately assumes that Anthony is to blame for any misfortune that befalls him, including his drink being laced with a laxative when the dojo is trying to determine who will represent them at the Seakai Taikai.
While Kenny’s arc is a great one because it shows how bullying leads to anger and resentment, certain aspects of it play out for a little too long. Seeing Kenny and Anthony as part of a united team is a lot more satisfying than seeing them constantly play out the cycle of bullying and abuse that has gone on between dojos in the franchise.
15
Devon Lee
Portrayed by Oona O’Brien
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Oona O’Brien’s Devon Lee is one of Johnny Lawrence’s students, and she has an interesting narrative that sees her join several rival dojos before finding her way back. Devon was introduced in Cobra Kai season 4 when she joined Johnny’s Eagle Fang Karate, and she eventually wound up at Cobra Kai under Terry Silver. She has the potential to be a great character — she’s certainly strong, and her relationship with Tory and the decision to help work against Cobra Kai in season 5 helped push her arc along.
However, Devon hasn’t been given enough attention to really stand out against the other Cobra Kai characters. In the most recent season, Devon did fairly well in the Sekai Taikai. Unfortunately though, her reputation is somewhat tarnished by lacing Kenny’s water bottle with laxatives. She’s one of the most competitive characters in Cobra Kai, though she doesn’t share in many of the other members of the Cobra Kai dojo’s more toxic traits – a fact Johnny recognizes, which is why he welcomes her back with open arms.
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Carmen Diaz
Portrayed by Vanessa Rubio
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Vanessa Rubio’s Carmen Diaz has been in Cobra Kai since the beginning and has been an essential character for fleshing out the personality of the adult Johnny Lawrence after viewers last saw him in The Karate Kid. It has been great to watch Johnny fall in love and begin to settle down in Cobra Kai, and his personality has been all the better because of it, which can be attributed to Carmen.
Johnny Lawrence in Cobra Kai season 6 is a significant contrast to where he originally started in season 1, and this has a lot to do with Carmen’s influence. Mother to Miguel, Carmen has been a relatively constant presence throughout the Netflix series, but she doesn’t stand on her own. Her character feels more like a tool for other Cobra Kai character arcs rather than a defined character all her own. As of the start of Cobra Kai season 6, she has a new baby on the way, but she is not a huge part of the storyline in the final season.
13
Anthony LaRusso
Portrayed by Griffin Santopietro
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Like Carmen, Griffin Santopietro’s Anthony LaRusso has been a presence since the very beginning of Cobra Kai and is Danny LaRusso’s son. Despite being the child of the Karate Kid himself, Anthony LaRusso was pretty difficult to like for the majority of Cobra Kai. During the first couple of seasons, he was simply a spoiled rich kid who was largely ignored by his distracted parents. Then, when Anthony became a larger part of the plot, he played the role of bully.
To Anthony’s credit, he turned things around (after his victim Kenny started making a stand) and has seen a lot more development in the final few seasons of Cobra Kai. He has attempted to make amends and learn from his mistakes. However, there hasn’t been enough time for Daniel’s son to stand center stage for him to rank among the series’ central characters.
12
Terry Silver
Portrayed by Thomas Ian Griffith
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Terry Silver is an excellent villain.
Cobra Kai brought back many characters from the Karate Kid movies alongside Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence, one of them being Thomas Ian Griffith’s Terry Silver, the antagonist of The Karate Kid III. Terry Silver is an excellent villain. Though the trajectory of most of the bad guys of Cobra Kai has been from bad to better, Silver has worked in the opposite direction. When he was first introduced, he was eager to keep his life on the straight and narrow.
However, Terry quickly got sucked into the karate dojo drama and wound up being the very worst of the worst. Though Silver’s definitive evilness has worked great for keeping the conflict of Cobra Kai going strong, the fact that there is little motivation for Silver’s action aside from wanting to be the best leaves him a little one-note, and his presence does make the show feel repetitive.
11
Samantha LaRusso
Portrayed by Mary Mouser
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Anthony LaRusso isn’t the only one of Daniel’s children to be a prominent figure in Cobra Kai, as his daughter, Mary Mouser’s Sam, is also a significant presence in the show. If the Cobra Kai characters were to be ranked by fighting ability, Samantha LaRusso would undoubtedly be ranked among the highest. However, when it comes to her character, there is something to be desired. Much like her younger brother, Sam doesn’t start Cobra Kai on her best footing and takes several seasons to come into her own.
Admittedly, Samantha has seen a significant amount of development through her relationships with Robby and Miguel, as well as her rivalry with Tory. However, her struggle and floundering regarding decision-making made her story more frustrating than satisfying. What’s more, Sam’s story is basically already settled by the end of Cobra Kai season 5, which leaves little interest left over for the series’ final season.
Much of the conflict created for her in season 6, like anger at Tory moving to a new dojo and a new boy being interested in her, all feel like retreads of old storylines.
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Eli “Hawk” Moskowitz
Portrayed by Jacob Bertrand
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Jacob Bertand’s Cobra Kai character, Hawk, shared several traits with the young Danny LaRusso in The Karate Kid at first, as both were outsiders who sought to use Karate is a way to work through some personal issues. However, as the sequel show progressed, it became apparent that Hawk and Danny almost couldn’t be more different. Eli’s character arc in Cobra Kai has certainly been a rollercoaster. He started out as a “nerd,” always getting picked on, but once he joined Cobra Kai, he transformed into an outrageous jerk.
Renaming himself “Hawk,” Eli quickly became a secondary antagonist of the series, and a good deal of the Cobra Kai dojo’s bad decisions came down to his newly discovered violent tendencies. Were he left there, there wouldn’t be much left to say about his character. However, Eli’s redemption and decision to join Miyagi-Do rather than Cobra Kai or Eagle Fang allowed him to stand out as an interesting addition to Cobra Kai.
His decision in season 6 not to attend the same college as Demetri also allows him another small arc as the season focuses on a larger competition. Eli is someone who is searching for a sense of self, and he needs to find that on his own. For Eli, as well as many of the best characters in the series, Cobra Kai is a true coming-of-age show.
9
Amanda LaRusso
Portrayed by Courtney Henggeler
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Daniel’s wife, Courtney Henggeler’s Amanda LaRusso, is one of several Cobra Kai characters who sees the rivalry between the various dojos for what it is, and this makes her an incredibly endearing presence. Though Amanda LaRusso isn’t pivotal to the plot of Cobra Kai, this doesn’t mean that she isn’t essential to the series as a whole. From season 1 onward, Amanda has been the voice of reason among the chaos and outrageousness of Cobra Kai.
In many ways, the Netflix Cobrai Kai series makes absolutely no sense — the idea of adults getting so wrapped up in kids’ karate is ridiculous, and the fact that no one ever seems to call the police is difficult to believe. However, Cobra Kai pulls off its outrageous story by building in a character like Amanda, who calls this out around every corner. So, even though Amanda’s character hasn’t been developed much, she is entirely underrated.
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Demetri Alexopoulos
Portrayed by Gianni DeCenzo
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Several of the best Cobra Kai characters are those who actually have more of a sideline role. One of the most key examples is Giannai Decenzo’s Demetri, who in hindsight should have, perhaps, had more of a prominent role than he did. Demetri is another Cobra Kai character who hasn’t been at the center of the plot but still manages to fill an important role. Like Amanda LaRusso, Demetri seems to be one of the few characters who recognizes how ridiculous the rivalries between the various dojos are.
He questions the decisions of his fellow students and teachers alike and refuses to take part in violence if it isn’t entirely necessary. This wound up being critical to Hawk’s development since it was through Demetri’s example that he realized he had gotten out of control. Ultimately, this has made Demetri an unlikely favorite of the Cobra Kai series.
Because of how tied Demetri is to Eli’s story, it is also satisfying to get to see him stand on his own a bit more in season 6. Demetri is really the underdog of the group who manages to make it into the group competing in the Sekai Taikai. He might not be the most skilled of the dojo, but he is the most improved since the start of the show.
7
John Kreese
Portrayed by Martin Kove
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The episodes of Cobra Kai dedicated to Kreese’s past added a foundation that had been missing…
Like Terry Silver, Martin Kove’s John Kreese is an antagonist that Cobra Kai brought in from the original movie franchise, as he’s Johnny Lawrence’s nefarious and ruthless sensei in The Karate Kid. John Kreese has been a real piece of work ever since The Karate Kid, and that hasn’t changed in Cobra Kai. He’s violent, manipulative, and emotionally immature. However, the Netflix series has done a spectacular job of building around his character without damaging what had been established in the 1980s movies.
The episodes of Cobra Kai dedicated to Kreese’s past added a foundation that had been missing and allowed audiences to understand him without excusing him for his bad behavior. Additionally, Kreese has clear (if not misled) motivations throughout Cobra Kai, making him one of the best-developed characters of the series. He has been present since the very beginning of Cobra Kai and has maintained a significant role through to the conclusion.
6
Chozen Toguchi
Portrayed by Yuji Okumoto
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Not every villain from the original Karate Kid movie franchise that appears in Cobra Kai has remained a villain, as Yuji Okumoto’s Chozen Toguchi was given an incredible redemption arc that completely repositioned him in the wider franchise. Chozen was originally the villain of The Karate Kid Part 2 but has since become an extremely lovable character.
When Daniel was first reunited with the man in Japan, he seemed just as stern and violent as ever, but this hard exterior was quickly sloughed away to reveal a man genuinely eager to help. Chozen’s development accelerated even more once he came to America, where he became a double agent spying on Terry Silver. Finally, his epic battle in the finale of Cobra Kai season 5 and the reveal that he was in love with The Karate Kid‘s Kumiko only added to the interest in his wonderfully developed character.
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Robby Keene
Portrayed by Tanner Buchannan
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Just like Daniel getting married and starting a family between The Karate Kid and Cobra Kai, Johnny Lawrence also has a child of his own — Tanner Buchannan’s Robby Keene. As Johnny’s son, Robby would always be a natural character of interest. He started as a teen struggling to make the right decisions, but this alone wasn’t enough to elevate him among his fellow Cobra Kai characters. What makes Robby’s character fun is the fact that he first began learning karate from Daniel LaRusso.
The idea that Johnny’s son was learning Miyagi-Do was a delicious way to build off The Karate Kid, and the fact that he fell in love with Daniel’s daughter only added to the fun. Unfortunately, this plot dropped off after a couple of seasons, and Robby’s development centered on his relationship with his father instead. This was satisfying but not quite as fun.
4
Miguel Diaz
Portrayed by Xolo Maridueña
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Xolo Maridueña’s Miguel has been a strong and intriguing presence on Cobra Kai since the very beginning of season 1, and many fans of the Karate Kid movies instantly picked up on the similarities between his story and that of young Daniel LaRusso. Aside from Johnny and Daniel, Miguel is the true main character of Cobra Kai. In season 1, he filled Daniel’s shoes as the underdog “Karate Kid,” but the methods of Cobra Kai took his development in an entirely fresh direction.
Overall, Miguel’s character is a solid A-plus
Miguel has always been easy to like, so his temporary turn toward darkness didn’t hinder his character in any way. Then, as he learned to be and do better, his influence over Johnny and the father-son relationship they developed was invaluable to the plot of Cobra Kai. Unlike the adults he has spent so much time with, Miguel has also not tied all of his self-worth to karate. He has already begun looking to the future. Overall, Miguel’s character is a solid A-plus.
3
Tory Nichols
Portrayed by Peyton List
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One of the characters who has developed the most since she first appeared in Cobra Kai has been Peyton List’s Tory, who’s been at various points both an antagonist and a hero. Tory’s character arc has been all over the place in Cobra Kai, but that’s part of what makes her so great. She was a destructive villain when first introduced, but the added context of her family situation allowed audiences to sympathize with her even while she was making atrocious decisions.
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Tory is strong, ambitious, and competitive, qualities she often finds steering her in the wrong direction. However, when she and Amanda LaRusso leveled with each other, and Tory promised to play fair, her character took a really interesting shift. From there, she became determined to win the right way, so her conflict over Terry Silver’s cheating became the hinge for the plot of Cobra Kai season 5.
With the death of her mother in season 6 and the reality that she does not have the easy path to a strong future, Tory’s competitive nature and desperation kick in, causing her to leave the dojo she has become a part of to join Cobra Kai all over again. This time around, the audience understands her, making her arc in season 6 one they can root for, despite the conflict it causes.
2
Daniel LaRusso
Portrayed by Ralph Macchio
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No matter how many great characters Cobra Kai added to the mix, it’s hard to beat the OG The Karate Kid characters. While the Netflix show brought back many incredible villains, it also, of course, focused on the adulthood of the Karate Kid himself — Danny LaRusso, played once again by Ralph Macchio. As the hero of the franchise, Daniel LaRusso has long been a beloved character, and his relationship with Mr. Miyagi is still the foundation of the series even in Cobra Kai.
As a teen, he had that underdog energy without being an entirely perfect character. He made mistakes, learned from them, and made new ones later. This has continued into Cobra Kai, where the several levels of imperfection have only made Daniel’s character more interesting. He’s still that titular karate kid the audience knows and loves, just grown up, more developed, and even better.
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Johnny Lawrence
Portrayed by William Zabka
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In many ways, the point of Cobra Kai is that it completely repositions the relationship between Daniel LaRusso and his main rival in the original Karate Kid — William Zabka’s Johnny Lawrence. Johnny is inarguably the hero of Cobra Kai, and the show has elevated him from simply being a secondary antagonist in an ’80s sports movie to an essential part of the franchise. A considerable part of what makes Cobra Kai work where other nostalgic spinoffs have failed is Johnny Lawrence’s character.
From Daniel’s perspective in The Karate Kid, Johnny was a wealthy, spoiled, and violent bully — and he wasn’t entirely wrong. However, Cobra Kai allowed audiences to see the deeper levels of Johnny’s character, and there is much to love there. Though he has been redeemed in the way of audience opinion, he’s still a deeply flawed character with a definitive bad-boy quality. However, understanding where he came from and what has happened to him since the “good old days” makes Johnny the most dynamic and well-thought-out character of Cobra Kai.
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Cobra Kai
TV-14
Drama
Comedy
Action
5/10
149
9/10
Release Date
2018 – 2024
Network
Netflix, YouTube Premium
Showrunner
Jon Hurwitz
Directors
Hayden Schlossberg, Jon Hurwitz, Joel Novoa, Jennifer Celotta, Steven K. Tsuchida, Sherwin Shilati, Marielle Woods, Steve Pink, Lin Oeding, Michael Grossman
Writers
Josh Heald, Ashley Darnall, Chris Rafferty, Bill Posley
Cast
See All
-
Ralph Macchio
Daniel LaRusso
-
William Zabka
Johnny Lawrence
Seasons
6
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Source: https://truongnguyenbinhkhiem.edu.vn
Category: Entertainment