These characters deserve a shot! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the top 10 karate kid franchise characters who should appear on “Cobra Kai”.
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00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the top 10 Karate Kid franchise
00:09characters who should appear on Cobra Kai.
00:17As we talk about ways they could affect the series, we will be kicking up spoilers.
00:2210.
00:23Eric McGowan – The Next Karate Kid When we first met Eric, he joined a squad
00:28known as the Alpha Elite in hopes of getting recommendation for a military career.
00:38But once he realized that the group had a dark side, he left them behind.
00:43Eric's military aspirations and brush with a twisted group of fighters could make him
00:48a great mentor for Kenny Payne.
00:50The young fighter joined Cobra Kai for the wrong reasons before realizing he was becoming
00:55a more sinister person.
00:57At the start of Season 6, Kenny may still struggle with his checkered past.
01:08But what if his father, a soldier in the army, reveals that he knows Eric?
01:12We'd love to see the former Alpha Elite member reassure Kenny that it isn't too
01:17late for redemption.
01:219.
01:27Snake – The Karate Kid Part 3 By the end of Season 5, Terry Silver had burned
01:39bridges with pretty much every Cobra Kai ally he had.
01:43However, he might still have one last connection in his corner.
01:47The appropriately named Snake once worked for Silver as a goon of all traits.
01:52In Karate Kid Part 3, the two-bit villain was hired to do whatever it took to pressure
01:57Daniel LaRusso into fighting Mike Barnes.
02:07Snake was seemingly willing to sink to any low to keep his boss happy.
02:12Although Silver has been disgraced and discredited, we're betting his old goon would still help
02:18out if the price was right.
02:20Snake would serve as an entertaining wildcard that ensures his former boss has what he needs
02:25to give the heroes grief.
02:308.
02:33Master Li – The Karate Kid Since the 2010 martial arts film is set to
02:43officially be canon to the bigger fighting franchise, we'd love the movie's best
02:47characters to return.
02:49If so, Master Li definitely has to be brought into the series.
02:54He was a brutal martial artist who taught his students to be ruthless.
03:04While he has a lot of similarities to John Kreese, there's still a distinct spot for
03:08him in the series.
03:10Master Li could bring a merciless group of students to the Sakai Takai tournament to
03:14duel Cobra Kai's heroes.
03:16And since Li proved to be an impressive fighter in a deleted scene, it would be awesome if
03:21he fought one of the American senseis to demonstrate his sharp skills.
03:327.
03:35The Buddhist Monks – The Next Karate Kid While this may seem like an obscure group
03:47of characters to focus on, we do think a Cobra Kai character would seriously benefit
03:52from their presence.
03:54After a new and angry Karate Kid was kicked out of school, she was brought to a monastery
03:58to face her anger issues.
04:01The monks taught her how to slow down and treat every life as sacred.
04:05Additionally, they reminded her that it's okay to put your responsibilities aside and
04:10unwind.
04:19We think their lessons would be great for Cobra Kai's Tori to hear.
04:24She has struggled with rage and the burden of taking care of her sick mother.
04:28If Tori got to spend time with the monks, she may find a new sense of inner peace.
04:376.
04:40Freddy Fernandez – The Karate Kid One of the franchise's most crucial characters
04:50might actually go overlooked by many fans.
04:53Shortly after Daniel first arrived in California, he met Freddy Fernandez.
04:58This energetic local invited the New Jersey transplant to a beach party that was eventually
05:04crashed by Johnny Lawrence.
05:06If Daniel hadn't been brought there, he may have never needed to become The Karate
05:10Kid.
05:11Despite Freddy's pivotal role in the story, he didn't have a ton of scenes in the 1984
05:15movie and never reappeared after that.
05:23Certain fans have theorized that the Fernandez Meat Company Daniel trained in on Cobra Kai
05:29was owned by his old friend.
05:31But even if that's true, we still think Freddy should make a full return and finally
05:35learn karate from Daniel.
05:445.
05:45Chang – The Karate Kid This villain made it his job to torment the
05:55new kid in the neighborhood.
05:57And unfortunately for the hero, Chang worked overtime.
06:00Although he spent most of the movie as a relentless antagonist, he chose to bow to his rival sensei
06:06at the end of this movie.
06:08This symbolic gesture could turn into something bigger in Cobra Kai.
06:12What if Chang went further than showing respect and actually started training with the heroic
06:17sensei?
06:18After years of walking a lighter road, he would return to Cobra Kai as a reformed villain
06:22that has begun teaching younger students.
06:25Chang could either have a fun rivalry with the show's heroes and the Sakai Takai tournament,
06:30or just be there to support a few familiar faces.
06:384.
06:42Colonel Dugan – The Next Karate Kid A malicious military man once took his job
06:55of keeping order at a school way too far.
06:58Colonel Dugan made his students go through harsh training and encouraged them to beat
07:02enemies into the dirts.
07:04The combination of his profession, military status, and the fact that he's played by
07:09the great Michael Ironside makes his inclusion a no-brainer.
07:22Since fighting amongst kids in the valley has gone up 200% since Cobra Kai began, we'd
07:27love to see Dugan brought in to keep order.
07:30He could clash with the heroic senseis and have a dark history with fellow Vietnam vets
07:34like Kreese.
07:35For added fun, the show could also bring back his top student, Ned, as a fierce friend or
07:41foe.
07:423.
07:43Dre Parker – The Karate Kid Although Jaden Smith's Kung Fu character
08:04was going to be brought back for another movie, his sequel never came.
08:08We think it's time that Dre Parker got another chance to flex his techniques.
08:13Instead of giving him a serious introduction, he could make a surprise appearance while
08:16Daniel is enjoying a night out on the town.
08:19Before they could meet, a group of local patrons would start causing trouble.
08:31Daniel would be ready to take them apart, however, Dre would instead step in and take
08:35all the villains down himself.
08:37After that point, Smith wouldn't need to stick around too long, Dre just needs to stay
08:43long enough to bond with Danny about winning tournaments by delivering kicks to their rival's
08:47heads.
08:482.
08:49Julie Pierce – The Next Karate Kid When Daniel brought in Chosen to help him teach
09:11karate, we were a little disappointed that another Miyagi-Do veteran was missing.
09:16Julie Pierce formed a tight bond with the late master in her solo film.
09:20While the movie wasn't well-received, she was still a great heroine that always fought
09:25hard.
09:30Season 6 could easily bring her into the fold in a small but meaningful way.
09:34While preparing his students for the Sakai-Takai, Daniel would learn of another secret Miyagi-Do
09:39technique.
09:40He'd eventually realize that Julie Pierce has the hidden scroll or move that he needs.
09:46In an emotional and cathartic scene, the two could reminisce about Miyagi while Julie teaches
09:51a technique that could shape the future.
10:151.
10:16Mr. Han – The Karate Kid The legendary Jackie Chan will reprise his
10:33franchise role in a 2025 Karate Kid film, but before he dominates the big screen, he
10:39could make a last-minute appearance on Cobra Kai.
10:42According to early reports, the 2025 film will follow a kid moving from China to the
10:47east coast of the US and studying martial arts.
10:51Our proposed scene would take place after Daniel's students win the Sakai-Takai.
10:56After seeing their huge victory, the new character from China would run away to the west coast
11:00to train with Mr. LaRusso.
11:12When the kid's parents realize he's missing, they'd call in Mr. Han to find him.
11:17The post-credits scene would prepare us for the moment where Chan would finally meet Machio.
11:28Which franchise character do you want to see most on Cobra Kai?
11:31Shout them out in the comments below!