Cobra Kai: Every Original Karate Kid Character In Seasons 1 & 2

Cobra Kai, which takes place decades after the events of Karate Kid, has captivated nostalgic adults who have enjoyed watching a continuation of the story. In the original film, new kid at school Daniel LaRusso finds himself studying karate under the instruction of a mysterious man named Mr. Miyagi after being relentlessly bullied.

In the grand fight at the All-Valley Karate Championships, Daniel takes down his formidable opponent, Johnny Lawrence, who studies at the more aggressive “no mercy” dojo, Cobra Kai. And, spoiler alert, Daniel uses various techniques to win the tournament.

Now 34 years later, a troubled, lonely Johnny decides to re-open Cobra Kai to help high school kids who are being bullied, unintentionally reigniting his rivalry with Daniel in the process. Along with the two main characters, the show brings back plenty of others from the original movie on which it is based, most of whom actually return to reprise their roles.

10 Daniel LaRusso

At the heart of the show is Daniel LaRusso, played by Ralph Macchio. He was the underdog who joined a new school and was the social outcast, bullied by the Cobra Kais. Now a grown man, Daniel owns a series of car dealerships, leveraging his karate past by advertising how they “kick the competition.”

Happily married with two children, when he encounters Johnny and learns of the dojo, he discovers there’s a lot of fight left in him and opens his own rival dojo to teach kids karate the Mr. Miyagi way.

9 Johnny Lawrence

William Zabka reprises his role except now, the story is being told from his perspective. Divorced, estranged from his teenage son, and living in a rundown complex, he drinks every night and goes through the motions of life.

But a spark begins to burn in him when he witnesses a neighbor kid being bullied. He realizes he can make Cobra Kai into something better and wants to redeem himself by helping misfit kids who don’t know how to defend themselves. Despite his best efforts, however, he keeps getting kicked down at every turn.

8 Ali

She’s only mentioned, not seen. During a season one conversation in a bar after Daniel and Johnny reluctantly test drive a car together, it seems the two might actually bury the hatchet once and for all and become friends. They reminisce about the old days and the girl that got away.

In Karate Kid, Daniel “stole” Ali from Johnny, which is what made him so angry in the first place. Ali and Daniel dated for some time but it’s revealed that they broke up after high school and she has since moved away, become a doctor, and is married. In one scene, Johnny sends a message to her on Facebook. In the final moments of season two, it’s revealed that she has accepted his friend request. But at his worst point, Johnny never sees the message. Will Elisabeth Shue appear in the upcoming and already confirmed season three?

7 Lucille LaRusso

Randee Heller returns to play Daniel’s mother, who is fiercely proud of her son who she raised on her own. She also seems to butt heads with Daniel’s wife, though she clearly loves her, and her two grandchildren, dearly.

In Karate Kid, Lucille moved to Southern California with Daniel following a transfer with her job. A strong woman, she was on board with Mr. Miyagi helping her son after she saw what Johnny and his friends were doing to him. And it seems she’s still fiercely on board with her boy, even in adulthood.

6 John Kreese

The main villain of the original film, Kreese runs Cobra Kai like a military operation, training his students to show no mercy, fight dirty, and win at any cost. He returns in Cobra Kai as a primary antagonist once again.

Showing up at the end of season one, Martin Kove returns to portray the cruel man who tries to show Johnny he has changed. But in the end, his true colors show. He is out to teach a new generation of kids the way of the fist. And he has no intention of changing his brutally violent ways.

5 Mr. Miyagi

Of course, Pat Morita, who played Mr. Miyagi, sadly passed away in 2005. However, his presence is core to the new show as LaRusso recalls everything he taught him about karate, his philosophies and methods, and the lessons he taught him about life in general, which he continues to strive to live by.

In a season one scene, Daniel visits Mr. Miyagi’s grave to leave flowers and talk with his old friend and mentor, expressing how much he wished he was still around. In another, he puts Robbie through the ringer to train him, using all of the same methods that Mr. Miyagi used on him way back when. Even though he isn’t on the show, per se, he’s a big part of it and is referenced often.

4 Louie LaRusso

In the original film, it was actually Louie’s father who was a character. Uncle Louie, as he was known in the original, was only seen in the third movie. He was bedridden and ill at the time, and Lucille returned to New Jersey to help care for him.

His son Louis was mentioned as having moved to California, but never seen. In Cobra Kai, Louis, now a grown man, works for Danny at his auto shop. But it seems Louis was only given the job so Danny could help out his cousin and keep Louis out of trouble.

3 Tommy

Tommy is the reason the old Cobra Kai gang (minus Dutch, who hasn’t yet made an appearance) gets together in the new series after they learn that he is dying from cancer. The guys break him out of the hospital to give him one last night of fun, complete with a bar fight and a quiet evening in the woods.

Tommy, played by the late Rob Garrison, admits to Johnny that he was in love with Ali in high school, and that he was always jealous of him. In a bit of poetic justice, Tommy’s final scene in Cobra Kai is being zipped up in a body bag. In Karate Kid, one of Tommy’s most memorable lines was shouting “Get him a body bag!” after Johnny purposely hurt Daniel’s existing leg injury during the tournament.

2 Bobby Brown

Always in Johnny’s shadow, Bobby (Ron Thomas) was the second-best student at Cobra Kai and the one who injured Daniel during the tournament, at Kreese’s instruction. He returns in one episode when the old gang reunites to say their goodbyes to the terminally ill Tommy. Now a pastor, he seems to have left his violent past behind him.

Though in their last hurrah with the old gang, the now middle-aged men do get into a bar fight proving that despite being a man of the cloth now, once Cobra Kai, always Cobra Kai.

1 Jimmy

Also seen in that old gang reunion episode of season two, a now grown Jimmy, played by Tony O’Dell, is married with two sons. When Johnny tells him that Kreese is back working with him and claims that their old sensei has changed, Jimmy isn’t so sure and warns Johnny to stay away.

In Karate Kid, Jimmy didn’t have many lines. But he participated in the All-Valley tournament and was one of many who were defeated by Daniel. He witnessed Kreese telling Bobby to purposely injure Daniel and was visibly distressed by what went down.

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