However, one of the biggest ways Cobra Kai establishes that neither Jonny nor Danny is the villain in The Karate Kid is the reintroduction of Kreese. It made it clear that the toxicity in the Cobra Kai dojo of the 1980s came from its sensei, not its students.
Both Daniel and Johnny had their fair share of vengeful tendencies, lest fans forget when Daniel joined Cobra Kai in the third Karate Kid. Neither Johnny nor Daniel are the real bullies in The Karate Kid franchise, for they are both at fault, and neither are innocent victims.
Backstory. John Kreese in 1968 during the Vietnam War (as portrayed by Barrett Carnahan in Cobra Kai). Kreese was born on October 2, 1946. When he was young, he was troubled, as his father left him and his mentally unstable mother committed suicide and was picked on by other kids.
Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) was at his worst in The Karate Kid Part III, and he even turned his back on Mr. Miyagi (Noriyuki "Pat" Morita) and joined the Cobra Kai.
Mike Barnes is the tertiary antagonist in The Karate Kid Part III and a guest character in Season 5 in the Netflix series Cobra Kai. He is portrayed by Sean Kanan.
Daniel Vs. Johnny Debate: Who's The REAL Bad Guy? | Cobra Kai | Netflix
Why was Danny the bad guy in Karate Kid?
Johnny Was More Of A Flawed Hero Than A Villain
It's said that Daniel made things worse by getting involved, and that Johnny was only defending himself when Daniel attacked him. Notably, while Johnny did start the fight by pushing Daniel, Daniel was the first to actually throw a punch.
After pranking Johnny by pouring water over him in the bathroom, Daniel ran off, hoping to escape. Of course, this didn't work out, and Johnny gave him a beating that could very well have killed him. As far as Johnny and Daniel go, this is technically a win for Cobra Kai's golden child.
Season 1. 34 years after the first film, Daniel is happily married to his wife Amanda Steiner, and has two children, Samantha (born 2002) and Anthony (born 2005). He and his wife own the LaRusso Auto Group, a chain of car dealerships in the San Fernando Valley.
They bond over their mutual amusement over how absurd it seems. Ali, Johnny, and Daniel then tell stories of high school over dinner. During this time, Ali reveals that what actually caused her breakup with Daniel was his jealousy over a college friend of hers (which Daniel mistook for a love affair).
The titular character, originally named Danny Webber, was renamed Daniel LaRusso to suit Macchio's Italian-American heritage. In the film, Daniel is a New Jersey kid who has just relocated to California and is suffering at the hands of a gang of boys who are part of a local karate school called Cobra Kai.
Chozen ultimately survives and is put into an ambulance, being helped out by Barnes and Johnny just as they arrive at the Cobra Kai Encino dojo where Terry Silver had recently been defeated by Daniel and arrested for his crimes.
While Cobra Kai confronts them, it's later revealed by Kenny and Kyler that Mitch has been undercover for his former dojo. Mitch reveals his betrayal by siding with Cobra Kai.
Terry Silver tormented Daniel LaRusso in The Karate Kid Part III. The multimillionaire insanely devoted his time and money to hounding the teenage Daniel, and he manipulated LaRusso into breaking with his mentor, Mr. Miyagi (Noriyuki "Pat" Morita), and joining Cobra Kai.
In the All-Valley Tournament, it was Daniel LaRusso who famously won by beating Johnny Lawrence. However, that wasn't the only competition that Daniel won. In The Karate Kid III, he went up against Mike Barnes in the All-Valley Tournament and took first place trophy home once more.
Daniel, not Johnny, was the bully. Johnny was just trying to live his life when Daniel San came roaring into California, causing fights and car accidents, bullying up the town, picking up demon sorcery power from Mr. Miyagi, and unjustly winning blood-soaked trophies.
Johnny is the leader of the Cobra Kai and the second meanest of them (only second to Dutch). Throughout the film, he bullies and harasses Daniel due to the latter becoming friendly with Ali Mills, his ex-girlfriend. Johnny does not show the enemy any mercy, which is what Kreese has taught him to do.
Ali Mills, M.D. (formerly Ali Mills Schwarber) is the high school love interest of Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence in the 1984 The Karate Kid film. She returns to the San Fernando Valley in Season 3 of Cobra Kai as a soon-to-be divorced adult, and reconnects with her old flings.
Despite Johnny's behavior, Ali and Daniel began a relationship. But the lovey-dovey couple broke up on prom night, as Daniel relayed to Mr. Miyagi in The Karate Kid Part II.
This eventually leads to Sam and Miguel getting back together after they break up with Robby and Tory, respectively. After Robby quit Miyagi-Do Karate and joined Cobra Kai, Sam became the strongest student of Miyagi-Do. In the video game adaptation, she is voiced by Valerie Rose Lohman.
This is the conclusion to the Cobra Kai journey that the executive producers wanted to offer Daniel and Johnny — and everyone else in the Miyagiverse. “Our Day 1 goal with Cobra Kai has always been to end it on our terms, leaving the Valley in the time and place we've always imagined,” they wrote.
Who does Johnny Lawrence end up with in Cobra Kai?
Johnny eventually discovers that Kreese has been teaching his students the old ways of Cobra Kai behind his back and expels him from the dojo. During this time, Johnny buys a used laptop and discovers the Internet. He also upgrades to a smartphone, joins Facebook, and eventually finds love in Miguel's mother Carmen.
Though it took them a while to get over their own differences, work together, and even learn each other's fighting styles, Daniel and Johnny are now legitimate friends who fight for one another.
After the tournament, Robby broke down to Johnny saying he was tired of letting his anger always get the better of him, and the two started to rekindle their fractured relationship. After finally making peace with Miguel, Robby has come to his senses, and has returned to being a kind individual.
Miyagi (Noriyuki "Pat" Morita) traveled to Okinawa for the summer where Chozen became LaRusso's new enemy. Chozen's enmity with Daniel was even more violent, and they fought to the death at the end of The Karate Kid Part II, although Daniel-san won and spared Chozen's life.
