Cobra Kai has seen several villains and rivals throughout the first five seasons, many of whom can return to challenge Johnny and Daniel in season 6.
Cobra Kai has been full of great villains, many of whom can return in season 6. The Netflix series will wrap up with this final season, which means it will need an impactful and dramatic ending. This requires the perfect villain to make the lives of protagonists like Johnny Lawrence, Daniel LaRusso, and all their students challenging (and, therefore, entertaining). It’s possible that Cobra Kai will end with a bang by bringing in a brand new bad guy. However, it seems all the more likely that the season will be full of familiar faces, especially with the several unresolved villainous character arcs.
Going into Cobra Kai season 6, Daniel LaRusso finally put Terry Silver in his place at the titular Cobra Kai Dojo. This dramatic final battle ended with Silver being put behind bars, but the reveal that John Kreese managed to escape these bars means that Johnny and Daniel’s troubles are far from over. Naturally, these characters will likely be present in the upcoming seasons, but they aren’t the only ones. Silver’s accomplices and students are sure to continue being a problem, and nearly all of them are expected to make a return for Cobra Kai’s sixth and final season.
8. Sensei Kim
With Terry Silver behind bars, Sensei Kim seems the most likely to lead Cobra Kai after season 5. Though she managed to disappear before the police arrived to arrest Silver, it seems unlikely she is gone for good. She has invested much into these students and will probably take Tory Nichols’ betrayal personally. To make matters worse, Sensei Kim has proven that she is a force to be reckoned with, and with Silver out of the picture, we may see even more of her potential in Cobra Kai season 6.
7. Terry Silver
As a villain, Terry Silver made John Kreese look like a gentle kitten. His cruelty and power (much of which came from his extreme wealth) made him seem downright unbeatable. Still, Daniel LaRusso managed to get the better of him—but that doesn’t change the fact that Terry is a rich and powerful man with a good deal of influence. He’s precisely the kind of guy that won’t be easy to keep behind bars. Moreover, getting arrested doesn’t change the fact that he legally owns Cobra Kai Dojo, so if Johnny of John Kreese hope to regain possession of the school, Silver will be their central obstacle.
6. John Kreese
John Kreese is guaranteed to play a significant part in Cobra Kai season 6. His escape from prison was at the center of the season 5 cliffhanger, so upcoming episodes of the Netflix series must answer what that means for characters like Johnny Lawrence. Still, it’s unclear how much of a villain Kreese will be going forward. The Cobra Kai character felt close to redemption in season 5, but that seemed to go out the window with his prison escape. However, he genuinely seems to have a misguided love for Johnny, which means it’s always possible for him to turn things around.
5. Mitch
Mitch’s betrayal in Cobra Kai season 5 nearly got in the way of Eagle Fang and Miyagi-Do’s victory. However, when the group successfully proved that Silver had cheated at the All-Valley Tournament, he was one of those who walked out of the dojo. This puts him on somewhat unsteady ground in Cobra Kai season 6 since he currently has no dojo affiliation and is unlikely to be accepted by the friends he turned his back on. This may be the end of his story since he was never much of a central character in Cobra Kai, to begin with. Still, it’s always possible that this series of events will turn him into an even more prevalent villain.
4. Kyler Park
Kyler was one of the first bullies of Cobra Kai, and he has seen little to no improvement since then. He is sort of the replacement for Johnny Lawrence since he was the head of the gang of bullies beating up on Miguel when Johnny had his Mr. Miyagi moment in Cobra Kai season 1. Approaching the end of season 5, Kyler was a loyal follower of Silver, but he was among those who threw down his Cobra Kai shirt at the revelation that the sensei had been cheating at the All-Valley. Still, this is far from redemption, and since Kyler has been a solid jerk from season to season, that will likely continue with future episodes.
3. Dutch
Though Dutch hasn’t technically appeared in Cobra Kai, he can still be considered a character of the show since he has been mentioned several times. He had been a friend of Johnny’s and a member of Cobra Kai Dojo in The Karate Kid and has since been revealed to have not improved morally after high school. In Cobra Kai season 2, when John Kreese’s former students Bobby, Tommy, and Jimmy met up with Johnny, they discussed how Dutch had been imprisoned for various crimes. This seems to imply that the character will eventually come into play, and with Terry Silver on his way behind bars, Cobra Kai season 6 seems like the perfect opportunity.
2. Tom Cole
Tom Cole is the rival of Daniel’s car dealership in Cobra Kai and was something of a pain in the neck in earlier seasons. Though nowhere near the villainous caliper of Terry Silver, Cole was extremely unlikable and pretty good at pushing Daniel’s buttons. Though he mainly served to push the former Karate Kid over the edge in tandem with the various dojo rivalries and battles, it’s always possible that he will return to leave a more significant mark. After all, Daniel kicked a boba tea out of Cole’s hand, and this could inspire the man to team up with some of Cobra Kai’s other villains.
1. Kenny Payne
At the end of Cobra Kai season 5, Kenny Payne joined the rest of Terry Silver’s students in walking out of the dojo. This could indicate that his time as an antagonist is over, but it’s hard to say since he refused to talk to Robbie in the season 5 finale, stating that he needed more time. Especially with John Kreese’s return, Kenny may be eager to get back to his destructive and bullying behavior. He and Anthony LaRusso are far from resolving their differences, which could mean Kenny will continue to be a massive jerk in the future in Cobra Kai.
