Cobra Kai is very much about Johnny, and the TV series reveals more about his past than The Karate Kid ever could — which explains how he turned out.
Here's everything Cobra Kai has revealed about the turbulent past of sensei Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka). Originally the antagonist and arch-rival of Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio), Johnny is the co-lead protagonist of The Karate Kid sequel series set 34 years after the events of the original hit film. Cobra Kai also develops Johnny's character more deeply and thoroughly than The Karate Kid ever could.
Johnny only appeared in The Karate Kid and briefly in the prologue of The Karate Kid Part II. He was the prize student of Cobra Kai's sensei John Kreese (Martin Kove); Johnny was the leader of the Cobra Kai gang comprised of his high school friends, and he was a two-time All Valley Under 18 Karate Champion. Johnny also dated Ali Mills (Elisabeth Shue), but their relationship was over by the time she met Daniel at the start of The Karate Kid. Dating Ali earned Daniel Johnny's enmity, but their rivalry would quickly escalate beyond her. Johnny always saw Daniel as the villain of the story and, in his mind, the good guy unfairly lost when LaRusso beat him in the finals of the All Valley Tournament to become the new champion. Kreese then attacked Johnny in the parking lot because he lost, which ended Lawrence's association with Cobra Kai for the next three decades.
Cobra Kai is very much Johnny's story and the show reveals many details about his past, which helps fans understand why Lawrence turned out the way he did. Johnny was born in 1967 and grew up without his father. His mother Laura (Candace Moon) married a wealthy but abusive older man named Sid Weinberg (Ed Asner) and Johnny lived in Sid's home in Encino Hills, CA. Johnny was a problem child who got into fights at school and he isolated himself by listening to his favorite hair metal rock bands on his Walkman. When Johnny was 12 years old, he came upon the Cobra Kai karate dojo and watched John Kreese train his students through the window. Johnny decided that he wanted to learn karate, and Sid financed his stepson's new hobby, although he heaped insults on the boy and expected Johnny to fail.
Despite this, Johnny flourished as a Cobra Kai student. Kreese called Lawrence "the best student in the history of Cobra Kai" and Johnny became the first back-t0-back All Valley Under 18 Karate Champion in his sophomore and junior year; Lawrence beat his friend Tommy (Rob Garrison) in the finals of the 1983 tournament and Johnny is still proud that he never lost a single point. Johnny also began dating Ali in the summer of 1982 when they met during a screening of Rocky III. Johnny described them as "madly in love" but two years later, he got drunk at a bar with the Cobra Kai and missed Ali's birthday. They got into a fight and broke up. Johnny assumed they'd get back together eventually, "but then Daniel LaRusso came to town".
After The Karate Kid, Johnny served in the U.S. Air Force but he was discharged because of misconduct. He moved to Colorado and took odd jobs, eventually getting certified as a construction worker. Johnny then moved back to Encino Hills and took a job as a contractor doing home improvement jobs. Lawrence also became an alcoholic and dated several women but his relationship with Shannon Keene (Diora Baird), who was a fellow alcoholic, resulted in her getting pregnant. Sadly, Johnny's mother passed away not long before his son Robby (Tanner Buchanan) was born in 2002. Johnny was devastated by the loss of his mother and he missed Robby's birth because he was getting drunk in the bar across from the hospital. Johnny not being around for Robby would be a pattern he'd maintain into his son's teenage years and he was considered a deadbeat dad by Robby and Shannon.
When Cobra Kai season 1 picks up Johnny's story, he's living in a rundown Reseda apartment and barely scraping by before he decides to resurrect the Cobra Kai dojo and begin his rocky path to redemption and self-betterment. Johnny never really outgrew his glory days in the 1980s, nor did he ever move past his infatuation with Ali, which helps explain his many failed relationships. Yet in Cobra Kai, the self-styled karate badass emerges as loveable and, somehow, still admirable despite his many glaring flaws and his tragic past.
Next: Johnny Vs. Daniel: Who Is Better At Karate In Cobra Kai
