John Kreese and Johnny Lawrence shared a special — and altogether dysfunctional — mentor-mentee bond that ended in mutually assured destruction. Their relationship was first revealed in the original Karate Kid film before entering a whole new chapter in the follow-up hit series, Cobra Kai.
Since he was a young boy, Kreese’s presence in Johnny’s life has allowed chaos to follow in its wake, and things show no signs of slowing down just yet. With the fifth season of Cobra Kai due out in the near future, it remains to be seen whether this not-so-dynamic duo can finally work things out… or remain brutal antagonists.
Kreese Corrupted Johnny At A Young Age
Kreese first sunk his talons into Johnny when he was just an impressionable, optimistic young man trying to escape a bad family situation. With nothing resembling a strong father figure, Johnny was lured to Cobra Kai under Kreese’s leadership, helping to fill a void he’d been feeling ever since he was a little boy.
From the start, Kreese taught Johnny that weakness of any sort would need to be exorcised, paving the way for ruthlessness and savagery. This followed Johnny into his high school years, and later, into his adult life, robbing him of several major life opportunities to make something of himself.
Kreese Taught Johnny To Fight Dirty
Kreese’s methods were the polar opposite of what true karate is all about — the art of self-defense. In Kreese’s world, only the strong survived, and that meant striking first, striking hard, and showing no mercy. Johnny was lured into this ideological mindset, and it ended up costing him.
Not only did Johnny become a savage bully, but it would serve as the preface for a devastating loss against Daniel LaRusso, which would follow the former for decades. For all of Kreese’s lessons about fighting dirty, they ended up backfiring in the end, and dealing a devastating blow to Johnny’s sense of self-worth.
Kreese Attacked Johnny After He Lost The Tournament
In Cobra Kai, second place was unacceptable, and Kreese made that quite clear when Johnny lost the All-Valley Karate Tournament to Daniel. Even though he tried his best, Kreese felt that the trophy was nothing, and accused him of being a loser who did not amount to anything.
When tempers spilled over, Kreese put young Johnny Lawrence in a chokehold, which was one of the most terrifying moments in the Karate Kid franchise. If not for the timely intervention of Mr. Miyagi, it could have ended much worse. Yet in that exact moment, Johnny lost the only father figure he’d ever really known.
Kreese Re-Entered Johnny’s Life
Decades after his ill-fated loss to Daniel LaRusso, Johnny decided to fire Cobra Kai back up and teach a modified version of Kreese’s code. It ended up working, allowing Cobra Kai to win the All-Valley Karate Tournament after Cobra Kai hero-turned-villain Miguel defeated Johnny’s son, Robby Keene, who was fighting for Miyagi-Do.
Upon hearing the news, Kreese decided to come out of the shadows and re-enter Johnny’s life, making him one of Cobra Kai’s best characters introduced after season 1. This would have massive ramifications moving forward, giving Kreese the opportunity to once again cause chaos for his former protege.
Kreese Lied About His Life After Cobra Kai
Kreese came back into the Cobra Kai fold under the guise of a man who engaged in secretive special ops missions around the globe. However, his tall tales soon got the better of him when Miguel began pointing out flaws in the story. Eventually, Johnny decided to investigate.
He found Kreese living in a shelter after falling down on his luck. Though it was one of the most honest moments of his entire life, it was prefaced with a deeply immoral bag of lies that were designed to make Johnny feel as if Kreese were still in control of his own life.
Kreese Stole Cobra Kai Away From Johnny
When season 2 came to a close, Kreese had managed to usurp control of Cobra Kai from Johnny thanks to some backroom deals with the landlord. The Cobra Kai students weren’t exactly supportive either, since they blamed Johnny for the fight at the high school, which left Miguel paralyzed and in a coma.
This was Kreese’s plan all along — to wrestle control of the dojo he created and turn it into his own personal passion project. It was also one of the most nefarious and ruthless things Kreese had ever done to Johnny, becoming part of a very long list of offenses.
Kreese Tried To Lure Him Back Into Cobra Kai
After jettisoning Johnny from Cobra Kai, Kreese used the experience to further humiliate him. It was his hope that Johnny would believe he had no other alternative but to re-join Cobra Kai as a subordinate to Kreese.
It was a shady tactic that caught Johnny at his lowest point, but it didn’t work. Instead, Johnny founded Eagle Fang Karate in direct opposition to Cobra Kai, which was probably for the better. Kreese’s terrible act forced Johnny to claw victory from the jaws of defeat.
Kreese Influenced Robby Keene
Mistreating and abusing Johnny was one thing, but when Kreese started grooming his son to go down the same path, it was unforgivable. Granted, Robby wanted nothing to do with having a sensei or a dojo; he merely wanted to learn from anyone who could teach him a thing or two.
In Kreese’s mind, this wasn’t entirely a bad thing. The ability to pit father against son was more than enough, and it all came to fruition at the end of season 3 when they fought each other inside the Cobra Kai dojo. Robby would stay on to learn from Kreese and prepare for the next tournament.
Kreese Nearly Killed Johnny
When Johnny confronted Kreese at the end of season 3, he had to contend with Robby, who attacked him. Johnny was forced to knock his own son out, giving Kreese the distraction he needed. He attacked Johnny and tried to choke him, possibly with murderous intent.
If not for the timely intervention of Daniel LaRusso, it could have gone badly once again. Johnny may have ended up in the morgue, which proved just how devious and out of control Kreese’s mind had become at that point. It solidified Kreese and Lawrence as having one of the most intense rivalries in the Cobra Kai franchise.
Kreese Reteamed With Terry Silver
Not content with maintaining control over Cobra Kai, and influencing Johnny’s son Robby, Kreese turned his attention to bigger things. He eventually reached out to the sinister Terry Silver, a man who once nearly drove Daniel down a path of self-destruction.
Re-teaming with Silver was especially hard on Johnny, especially when the former attacked the latter in one of Cobra Kai season 4’s best fights. The only silver lining in the ordeal was Kreese having a change of heart and ordering Silver to stand down.
