Every Karate Kid And Cobra Kai Villain Ranked (By How Evil They Actually, Truly Are)

"Cobra Kai" is one of the best legacy sequels of the past decade, a show that respects and honors what came before while telling a new story that is both familiar and fresh. The series follows Johnny Lawrence and Daniel LaRusso 40 years after the events of the 1984 original "Karate Kid" as they continue to struggle with how they were in high school, and the lessons their senseis imparted on them as they decide to teach karate to a new generation of kids.

Much like the original movies, our heroes are only as good as the villains, but what the "Karate Kid" movies didn't have that "Cobra Kai" does is an anime-like tone wherein sworn enemies become allies and then become enemies again. It's these same rivalries that make the show, although that complicates things a little when it comes to evaluating them. Do you take these characters at their worst, or does their best erase some of their sins? Well, we're about to break it down. Now that "Cobra Kai" is in its final season, here is a list of every "Karate Kid" and "Cobra Kai" villain ranked by how evil they actually, truly are.

Note: This list excludes "The Next Karate Kid" since "Cobra Kai" has yet to fully acknowledge that movie.

I know what you'll say: How is Daniel LaRusso on this list? He's the titular Karate Kid! Well, he isn't wholly innocent either. Not only did he escalate the conflict with Johnny Lawrence and the Cobra Kai students in the first movie, but he was also corrupted (albeit briefly) by Terry Silvery in the third movie and became a violent thug.

Even in "Cobra Kai," Danny isn't without fault. He lets his personal vendetta against Cobra Kai get the best of him time and time again, and he causes his students to get involved in what is essentially a karate gang war that gets out of control. He fuels the conflict between Miyagi-do and Cobra Kai at every chance, and if teachers are to be blamed for the actions of their students, then Daniel is at least somewhat responsible for Robby temporarily paralyzing Miguel.

He also lets his personal history with Terry Silver bleed into his work, and even his wife's work. Still, Daniel is saved by the fact that he is at least self-aware enough to recognize when he's going too far and comes back to the light.

Virtually every one of the young students of Miyagi-do and Cobra Kai has at one point acted like a villain from the original movies. Miguel, Mitch, Devon, and Sam were too influenced by their senseis and took things too far, with Miguel almost pulling a "sweep the leg" moment. Likewise, Hawk and Kenny went from bullied kids to becoming the bullies themselves, taking things too far and terrorizing other kids mercilessly.

Then there's Tory and Robby, the two Big Bads of the kids and the most aggressive in the ring. Robby, in particular, started out as the Johnny to Miguel's Daniel, and in the season 2 finale he and Tory beat the living crap out of Miguel and Sam, the latter ending up with a broken arm while Miguel wound up in a coma and even temporarily paralyzed. Of course, they learn balance eventually and all join together in a single dojo as friends, but still, they put people in a hospital during a karate gang war.

Johnny Lawrence is the very first bad boy of karate, the original bully. He was demeaning toward Daniel in the original film, culminating in his sweeping Daniel's leg in an illegal move in order to win the All-Valley Karate Tournament. Even after 40 years, in "Cobra Kai" he is rude, mean, cruel, and offensive, and he constantly mistreats his students.

Of course, the whole point of "Cobra Kai" is redeeming Johnny Lawrence. When he decided to bring back the Cobra Kai dojo, he did it for the same reason Mr. Miyagi decided to teach LaRusso — to help some kids being bullied. Throughout the show, he actually has used the teachings of Cobra Kai — not the "no mercy" part, but the strike first and defend yourself part to help kids gain confidence and be better people. So, sure, he's done some evil things, but deep down he is a good guy and has proved so time and time again.

Just as bad, if not worse, than Johnny were his old friends at Cobra Kai. After all, they never complained or said anything about the horrible things Johnny asked them to do in his campaign of vengeance against Daniel. What's worse, Bobby is the one who listens to Kreese and illegally kicks Daniel in the knee to injure him and make it easier for Johnny to cheat and try to win the All-Valley. Likewise, Tommy cheered as Johnny sweeps the leg in a dirty move and proclaims his immortal words, "Get him a body bag! Yeah!"

As bad as these kids were back in the day, they also got their redemption eventually. When Tommy, Bobby Brown, and Jimmy show up again in "Cobra Kai," they reminisce about their time together and the awful teachings of John Kreese, in the process bonding one last time before Tommy passes away. It's actually a very sweet end to this dynamic and these characters. Sure, they were once evil, but like (most) everyone on "Cobra Kai," they eventually found balance.

Kim Da-Eun is the newest character on this list, having only been introduced in season 5 of "Cobra Kai." Because of that, she is the character we know the least about, but she has already made quite an impact. Kim is the granddaughter of the karate master who taught both Kreese and Silver the way of the cobra, and she is as merciless as any of them. While her goals are noble — to showcase her family's traditions to the world in the Sekai Taikai — her approach is brutal. For one, she stuck by Silver even after it was obvious that he is nothing but an actively terrible person, and as a teacher she is not much better than him.

Just as manipulative and brutal as Terry Silver, Kim horribly abused her students mentally and physically, forcing Tory to damage her hand severely while punching a stone for no reason at all.

If Johnny Lawrence was bad because he occasionally cheated in official competitions, then Chozen was a whole other level of evil. Sure, just like Johnny, he was a victim of bad blood and hatred instilled on him by his sensei — hatred born out of jealousy from Chozen's father toward Miyagi. Still, from the moment we first meet Chozen, he was a ruthless karate fighter out for blood. After all, the climactic fight in "The Karate Kid Part II" is meant to be a literal fight to the death between Chozen and Daniel.

By the time we reunite with Chozen in "Cobra Kai," he acts like a yakuza assassin, willing to go straight for the attack and end Silver's life at the first chance he gets. But the decades have been kind to Chozen, who realizes the error of his ways and becomes one of the best characters on the show, transforming into Daniel's closest ally and a hilarious presence that's equal parts funny and somber because of his murderous intent.

"The Karate Kid Part III" is essentially a live-action anime movie, complete with comically evil villains. Though Silver gets all the attention (more on that later), Mike Barnes is not too far behind. The so-called Bad Boy of Karate, he was once hired by Silver to explicitly torment and bully Daniel until he agreed to fight in the All-Valley Tournament. He is much more cruel than either Chozen or Johnny, going so far as to trash Mr. Miyagi's bonsai tree shop.

Thankfully, Barnes does the biggest 180 turn of the show in "Cobra Kai." He apologizes to Daniel for his behavior in the '80s and pledges to help Daniel and Chozen defeat Silver — which results in Mike's shop being burned down by Silver. He even comes back in season 6 to help coach the Miyagi-do students. As evil and violent as Barnes once was, his redemption shows that no one is above finding balance if they're willing to put in the work.

Sure, "Cobra Kai" has kind of redeemed John Kreese a bit, giving the "Karate Kid" villain a tragic backstory and showing that he's almost remorseful for the damage that he did to Johnny (because he genuinely cares about him). Except, at every chance, Kreese goes back to being evil and doing awful things. He also continues to manipulate students, pushing them to be their most violent and aggressive selves. He's simply abusive and cruel.

Case in point: Kreese steals Cobra Kai from Johnny when he realizes he was not going to be a part of his student's life, nearly killing Johnny during a fight and manipulaitng his kid against him. Oh, and he also beat Stingray within an inch of his life. Still, the worst thing Kreese has ever done is team up with the horrible Terry Silver — not once, but twice. And let's not forget how he orchestrated his whole escape from prison just so he could take revenge on his former student.

Here he is. The worst of the worst. The only fully, indubitably unredeemable character in all of "Karate Kid" and "Cobra Kai." The only person who likes "The Karate Kid Part III" (well, the actor behind him does), and someone who has most definitely killed people even outside of his time fighting in the Vietnam War. Terry Silver is the ultimate bad guy of both "Karate Kid" and "Cobra Kai," a bonafide monster with no good side and no chance at redemption. Sure, he also has a tragic backstory that shows Silver was traumatized fighting in the war, but that doesn't make up for all the horrible things he's done since then.

Let's run down the list, shall we? Silver almost got Daniel separated from his wife; he burnt down Mike Barnes' store; he threatened to kill Daniel; and he also left Chozen to die in a pool of his own blood after he stabbed him with a katana. Silver is not just violent, but he also relishes it.

"Cobra Kai" season 6, part 1 is now streaming on Netflix. Part 2 will premiere on November 28, 2024, with the third and final part arriving in 2025.