Warning! This article contains spoilers for Cobra Kai season 4!
Cobra Kai has had some interesting character arcs whereby ones who were once villains became heroes and vice versa. Some characters, however, like John Kreese, have been villains from the moment they appeared on the screen. Others, meanwhile, like Daniel LaRusso, and even Sam, could be considered low-key villains. A few, like Kenny from season 4, are being groomed to become villains if they aren't led in the right direction.
Whatever the case, Cobra Kai amps up the action every season with exciting karate battle scenes and intense arguments with both fists and words. Among the many villains who have appeared on the series to date, however, some stand out as the biggest.
Johnny Lawrence
Johnny Lawrence is the villain who isn't really a villain. While he is hard on the kids and often lacks social decorum, he is deep down just a troubled man who is fighting his own demons. It's tough to fault Johnny for what he does now as he's simply trying his best.
Thus, while Johnny is still a villain on Cobra Kai, he ranks at the bottom of the list since he has acted more like a hero in this show than a villain. He tries to do the right thing, which is all an audience can really ask. With that said, there are times when Johnny from Cobra Kai should have gone to jail.
Tom Cole
Tom Cole appeared in the first and third seasons of the series as Daniel LaRusso's archrival in the car sales business. He antagonized Daniel, poked fun at LaRusso Auto when their billboard was vandalized, and even poached one of the star employees.
Tom was seemingly harmless until he tried to buy the company from Daniel when they were in trouble, leading to Daniel's soul-searching trip to Okinawa. Aside from that, Tom was seemingly harmless, but he was able to work Daniel up enough to make him karate kick a cup of Boba tea right out of his hand in one of the funniest scenes of the show.
Kyler
Kyler is the typical high school bully, a tall, good-looking, athletic young man who seems to have a natural talent for karate. He took every opportunity he could, however, to get under an enemy's skin, start fights, and generally be mean.
It was Kyler's bullying, in fact, that was the catalyst for Miguel starting to learn karate in order to defend himself. Kyler's character has a lot of similarities with Johnny Lawrence from the original Karate Kid movie in that he is wealthy, popular, and looks down on others who get in his way.
Anthony LaRusso
Interestingly, while Anthony didn't have much of a role in the first three seasons of the series, only popping in every now and then, most often seen playing video games in the background, he took on a larger part of the story in season 4. He and his friends, it turns out, were bullies who tormented a young boy named Kenny who just joined the school.
While his friends assume Anthony knows karate, he never showed an interest in training, preferring instead to act like a spoiled rich kid. It was clear he felt bad about some of the things he was doing to Kenny but he still went along with them anyway for the sake of his reputation.
Eli "Hawk" Moskowitz
Eli had an interesting arc on the series, going from the shy, nerdy kid who everyone bullied and made fun of to an over-confident bully himself who literally hurt his former friends. One thing to remember before watching season 4 of Cobra Kai, however, is that Eli was back to his old self and returned to Miyagi-do by the end of season 3.
After being on the receiving end of bullying once again, and finally finding his confidence beyond hiding behind tattoos and colored mohawks, Eli was one of the biggest heroes of season 4. With that said, looking at the entire series, Eli did some terrible things when he was going by the name of "Hawk."
Daniel LaRusso
The sentiment has always been that Johnny was the villain in The Karate Kid and Daniel was the hero. But it's all about perspective. After learning about Johnny's story and understanding more about how he viewed the situations, some have come to believe that it's Daniel who was actually the villain.
This carries forward to Cobra Kai where Daniel is portrayed as a pompous, stubborn man set in his ways. He did some terrible things in the name of his grudge against Johnny. Often failing to see that sometimes, it was his unwillingness to bend that created even more tension between them.
Robby Keene
Robby is a troubled young man looking for direction in his life. When he couldn't find it with his own father, and things went sour with Daniel, he found solace in the wrong place – with John Kreese. It's tough to fault Robby for his actions given that he was under the thumb of someone very manipulative. Robby from Cobra Kai was also sometimes a hero as well as a villain.
However, Robby's fight with Miguel, and his decision to continue to strike when it was clear he could do real harm to the young man, was a heinous act that puts him firmly among the top villains.
Tory Nichols
Fans got to learn more about Tory's backstory in seasons 3 and 4, and Amanda seemed to finally start getting through to her. With that said, Tory, one of the most skilled fighters on Cobra Kai, has a huge chip on her shoulder that took some time to begin wearing down.
She was unnecessarily cruel, did things purposely to hurt others and physically scarred Mary in their epic fight. Mary did start to show some villainous behavior in return in the fourth season. But she still never came near to the level of hatred Tory carried around that manifested in her torturous behavior.
John Kreese
John Kreese seems to be evil to the core, a manipulative, self-serving man who doesn't care about the kids he teaches. Instead, he simply wants to win at any cost so he can be known as the best.
He is willing to harm others, both physically and mentally. If he does something nice for someone as he did for Terry back in the war, then he will never let them live it down. While it seems John's behavior is a product of the troubled life and trauma he suffered during the war, it doesn't excuse it.
Terry Silver
It seemed there could be no bigger villain in Cobra Kai than John Kreese until Terry Silver showed up in season 4. The original co-founder of Cobra Kai, he appeared in the third Karate Kid movie and terrorized Daniel, almost turning him into the very type of fighter he never wanted to be.
While Terry only rejoined Cobra Kai reluctantly, he soon became obsessed with it, and the team, going to great lengths to ensure their victory. He went to lengths even Kreese wouldn't go to. He also stabbed his old friend in the back, creating a rift that will no doubt make him the biggest villain of season 5.