Cobra Kaiabandoning its original premise allowed the saga to expand and introduce the show’s best villain.Cobra Kaiwas designed as a sequel and continuation toThe Karate Kidmovies, but with the focus on Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka). Johnny was Daniel LaRusso’s antagonist inThe Karate Kid,but he vanished from the later films after a brief cameo at the start ofThe Karate Kid Part II.Originally, however,Cobra Kaiwas Johnny’s Story.
Cobra Kaiended after six seasons, withthe series far exceeding its modest original premise. In its later seasons,Cobra Kaiadded almost every major and ancillary character fromThe Karate Kid’s first four movies, except for Hilary Swank, who played Julie Pierce, the lead ofThe Next Karate Kid. Cobra Kaialso introduced a multitude of younger characters who shared the focus of the saga with Johnny and Daniel, includingMiguel Diaz (Xolo Mariduena), Samantha LaRusso (Mary Mouser), Robby Keene (Tanner Buchanan), and Tory Nichols (Peyton List).
Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence resumed their rivalry fromThe Karate KidinCobra Kai.Slowly but surely, however, Daniel and Johnny went from competing senseis to becoming grudging partners, to, ultimately, trusted friends.Cobra Kai’s original premise had to expand beyond Johnny’s point of viewfor the saga to reach its full potential. By tapping into Daniel LaRusso’sKarate Kidmovie history,Cobra Kaibenefited by reintroducingTerry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith), the main villain who upended the series and nearly took over karate in the San Fernando Valley.
Cobra Kai Started As Johnny Lawrence’s Story
Johnny Doesn’t Have The Karate Kid History Daniel Has
The genius ofCobra Kai’s original premise was to reintroduceThe Karate Kid’s world through the eyes of Johnny Lawrence, an"ace degenerate"who never evolved beyond his glory days as the Valley’s karate champion in 1984. Broke, washed up, and desperate for a break, Johnny reopens the Cobra Kai dojo, and gains his first student: Lawrence’s nerdy, young neighbor, Miguel Diaz.Cobra Kaiseason 1 was a brilliant twist onThe Karate Kid,with Johnny molding Miguel into a karate champion.
Cobra Kai reintroduced Daniel LaRusso as Sensei Lawrence’s polar opposite.
With Johnny as the sympathetic antihero,Cobra Kaireintroduced Daniel LaRusso as Sensei Lawrence’s polar opposite. A successful car dealership owner with a loving family, Daniel had everything Johnny lacked. Furious that his high school karate rival relaunched the Cobra Kai dojo that tormented him as a teenager, LaRusso did everything in his power to stop Johnny, including opening a competingMiyagi-Do dojoand training Johnny’s estranged son, Robby Keene.
However, forCobra Kaito truly have legs,the series had to tap into the history of The Karate Kidmovies, which was Daniel LaRusso’s history. WhileJohn Kreese (Martin Kove)enteredCobra Kaiat the end of season 1 and was established as the show’s central villain, Daniel’sKarate Kidties are what allowedCobra Kaito travel to Okinawa and introduce important names fromThe Karate Kid Part IIandPart III,including Terry Silver.
Daniel LaRusso Became More Important As Cobra Kai Went On
LaRusso & Lawrence Became Cobra Kai’s Co-Protagonists
Cobra Kai’s initialJohnny Lawrence vs. Daniel LaRussodynamic quickly shifted from the show being ‘Johnny’s story’ to a co-op. Daniel’s importance toCobra Kaigrew as the series flowed andalternated between Johnny and Daniel as protagonist and antagonist.Cobra Kainever shied from portraying Lawrence and LaRusso’s glaring character flaws, but also highlighted their admirable and heroic aspects. Johnny and Daniel began grudgingly working together inCobra Kaiseason 3, eventually becoming co-senseis in the series' later seasons.
Daniel LaRusso simply had more to offerCobra Kaithanks to hisKarate Kidmovie legacy.Cobra Kaicreated numerous original supporting characters for both Daniel and Johnny, but it was because of LaRusso’s big-screen franchise that Chozen Toguchi (Yuji Okumoto), Kumiko (Tamlyn Tomita), Jessica Andrews (Robyn Lively), and Mike Barnes (Sean Kanan), as well as the all-importantlegacy of Mr. Miyagi(Noryuki “Pat” Morita)became pillars ofCobra Kai.Despite Johnny’s personal ties to John Kreese, it can even be argued that Kreese was Daniel’s enemy first since Kreese and Terry Silver tried to ruin LaRusso in The Karate Kid Part III.
Cobra Kai Shifting The Focus To Daniel Allowed For Terry Silver To Shine
Terry Silver’s arrival inCobra Kaiseason 4 supplanted John Kreese as the saga’s main villain and took the show to another level. For all of Kreese’s diabolical abilities,Silver was a heightened super villain. A multimillionaire, Terry had unlimited resources Kreese lacked, and he had a clear motivation, which was the same goal Daniel LaRusso prevented inThe Karate Kid Part III:taking over karate in the San Fernando Valley and controlling the hearts, minds, and loyalties of his legion of karate students.
Cobra Kaiwisely didn’t allow Terry Silver and John Kreese to remain on the same side for very long. The two king snakes turned on each other, with Terry manipulating John into prison to give him total control over Cobra Kai.It’s thanks to Terry that Cobra Kai went international, introducing Master Kim Da-Eun (Hannah Alicia-Kim) and Master Kim Sun-Yung (C.S. Lee) from his shared origin with Kreese. Silver was the lynchpin that widened Cobra Kai’s scope, moving out of the Valley and becoming international with theSekai Taikai tournament.
Terry Silver’s Return Was One Of Cobra Kai’s Best Decisions
Silver Was Cobra Kai’s Ultimate, Irredeemable Villain
John Kreese is the most fundamentalCobra Kaivillain, butTerry Silver was the saga’s most compelling big bad.Cobra Kai’s later seasons opened up Kreese’s character and gave him more dimensions, revealing that at his core, he does genuinely care about his ‘kids’: Johnny Lawrence and Tory Nichols. The tragicdeath of Kwon Jae-Sung(Brandon H. Lee) inCobra Kaiseason 6 finally shattered Kreese’s armor of evil and set him on a path to make amends for his lifetime of sins.
However, unlike Kreese, Terry Silver would prove to be irredeemable. After all, Terry is a man who ran Dyna-Tox, a corporation that gleefully committed environmental crimes to line Silver’s pockets. Not even the revelation thatTerry is dyingof cancer softened his edge.Silver is morally bankruptand has repeatedly bribed officials in the All Valley and Sekai Taikai tournaments. Some Cobra Kai students, like Tory, found Kreese to be somewhat trustworthy, but Terry Silver never earned anyone’s trust or faith.
Terry Silver and John Kreese died together in a boat explosion at the end ofCobra Kaiseason 6.
Cobra Kaino longer resembled its original, Johnny Lawrence-centric premise in its later seasons. Johnny’s story with Miguel, with Daniel LaRusso as Lawrence’s foil, was the hook that captured old-schoolKarate Kiddiehards and created a new generation of fans, but tapping into Daniel-san’sKarate Kidhistory and bringing back movie villains like Chozen and MIke Barnes gaveCobra Kailegs. Terry Silver joiningCobra Kaias the uber villain of the show’s back half proved to be one of the best decisions in the series' acclaimed run.
