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| “ | Tory. With a Y. | „ |
| ~ Tory introducing herself to Miguel. |
| “ | Samantha LaRusso. You know what you did, and you're going to pay for it. I'm coming for you, BITCH! | „ |
| ~ Tory threatening Sam over the loudspeaker: Her most famous quote. |
| “ | No mercy. | „ |
| ~ Tory during her fight at the school with Sam. |
Tory Nichols is a major character in the YouTube Red/Netflix original series Cobra Kai.
She is a troubled teenager with a dark past who joins John Kreese's (later Terry Silver's) Cobra Kai dojo and becomes his right-hand student. She is the (former) arch-nemesis of Samantha LaRusso.
She is portrayed by Peyton Roi List, who also played Aileen Wuornos in Aileen Wuornos: American Boogeywoman.
Biography[]
Past[]
Tory was the daughter of a poor waitress who often struggled to make ends meet. After finishing her shift, Tory's mother would bring home leftover food for her children to eat. However, her manager eventually discovered what she was doing and, despite the fact that the food would have been thrown out anyway, fired her. This helped shape Tory's view of the world as being a cruel place where you have to fight to survive.
Season 2[]
After witnessing Cobra Kai's demonstration at the Valley Fest Fair, Tory goes to the Cobra Kai dojo to sign up. When John Kreese asks if any wants to take on Miguel, "the champ", Tory volunteers and faces off against him, fighting him to a standstill.
Tory later goes with Aisha to a country club, where she meets Sam LaRusso and the two develop a dislike of each other when Sam accuses her of stealing her mom's wallet due to her having previously stolen a bottle of liquor from the country club bar. When Sam attempted to check in Tory's bag, Tory shoved her into a cart full of food.
Later, when Miguel goes to her to ask her for advice on repairing his relationship with Sam, Tory instead convinces him to go out with her culminating in them kissing and dating afterward.
After witnessing a drunk Sam kissing Miguel at Moon's party on the last day of summer, Tory decides to seek revenge on Sam the next day on the first day of school. While the school's morning announcements are being read out, Tory bursts into the announcement room and threaten Sam through the intercom. As soon as Sam gets out of class, Tory goes to confront her in the hallway, revealing to the crowd around them that she kissed Miguel before leaping at her and attacking her. Robby Keene attempts to break up the fight but Miguel sees him and believes he is trying to hurt Tory and pushes him away.
The fight then sprawls into a massive brawl between Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do, leading out into the lunchroom. Miguel attempts to pull Tory off of Sam but Tory shoves him away and continues going after her. When Sam manages to push her back, Tory pulls her spiked wrist collar around her hand and punches Sam with it, gashing her skin. Despite this, Sam still is able to fight Tory off and knock her down a stairway. Tory is later shown to have gotten up, only to witness Miguel being knocked off a ledge by Robby and suffering critical injuries after hitting the ground.
Tory is later shown to be among the students training under John Kreese after he takes the Cobra Kai dojo away from Johnny. When Johnny tries to confront Kreese, Tory and the other Cobra Kai students block his path. It was also told in the hospital that upon hearing about the incident, Sam's mother Amanda angrily swears to have Tory expelled for her actions before demanding Daniel to shut down Miyagi-do.
Season 3[]
In the aftermath of the fight that took place in season 2, Tory is placed onto probation after being expelled from school. Her first scene in season three shows her being the victim of sexual harassment at the hands of her landlord, Rodney. Despite showing no remorse or regrets for almost killing Sam and for her part in the school fight, Tori quits Cobra Kai due to her responsibilities to her family. Because she's being forced to work two jobs to pay for her family's rent, Rodney offers alternative methods of payment, those being sexual favors. When Tory refuses, he threatens to call her probations officer to send her to juvie if she attempts to resist. When Kreese notices that Tory is being sexually harassed by Rodney, he beats him up to waive the rent.
Later in season 3, when Sam and the Miyagi-Dos attempt to fight back against when they harass Chris at his job, Tory appears and challenges Sam to a fight. Having Demetri pinned down, Tory psychologically abuses Sam before she encourages Hawk to break Demetri's arm. Afterwards, Tory befriends Robby after he joins Cobra Kai when they find common ground in their broken home lives and their own betrayals from Miguel, Johnny and Sam as well as their resentment towards their probation and expulsion from school for their roles in the school brawl. Upon finding out that Sam has gotten back together with Miguel and helped him save the All-Valley Tournament from being cancelled due to the aftermath of the school brawl, Tory chooses to lead her Cobra Kai gang in an attack on the LaRusso household, engaging the students of Miyagi-Do and Johnny's new dojo Eagle Fang Karate. She singles out Sam, chasing her into the Miyagi-Do dojo and attacking her with nunchucks. When Tory breaks a portrait of Mr. Miyagi, however, Sam regains her resolve and fights back with a bo staff, disarming Tory with Sam defeating Tory a second consecutive time. She attempts to escalate the situation, only to be betrayed by Hawk in the process as well as vowing that her feud with Sam will never end, in which Sam says that she knows where to find her. Tory leaves, but not before vowing revenge on Hawk, Miguel, Demetri and Sam.
Season 4[]
On this season, Tory is befriended by Amanda LaRusso who helps Tory find another job and with her mother. Tory is later able to return to school after Amanda gives her permission, revealing that she has come to sympathize with Tory because of her sharing a similar past; Sam later reluctantly agrees as well to satisfy her parents, but she remains suspicious of Tory's motivations. This resulted clashes between them escalating still, especially when Tory was mocked by her at a birthday party and during a fight at the after-party Prom hosted by Stingray. Afterwards, Robby and Tory drive to the peer and share a kiss. Tory then straddles Robby and they have sex in the car. During the All Valley Karate Tournament, she defeats several students from other rivaling dojos including Eagle Fang rookie Devon Lee. At the finals, she faces off against Sam, but Amanda asks Tory to fight within the rules and expresses hope that the match will finally end the rivalry between the two girls.
With Sam combining Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang techniques, she proves to be a match for Tory, who accidentally elbows her in the eye. Despite Terry Silver encouraging Tory to illegally hit Sam in the other eye to win, Tory, recalling their previous fights, decides to fight clean and wins under the advice of John Kreese (who overheard Tory saying she didn't need to cheat to win, and realized the lines he'd crossed from the aftermath of the 1984 All-Valley Tournament). Much to Sam's surprise, Tory expresses genuine concern for Sam's injuries once the fight is over, showing that she has agreed to honor Amanda's request to end her rivalry with Sam once and for all.
Tory's win gives Cobra Kai the All-Valley championship, along with the bet that the losing dojo must close their doors and leave town forever. But Tory is devastated when she subsequently discovers Silver had bribed the referee to rig the final match between her and Sam in Cobra Kai's favor (which was why he hadn't deducted a point from Tory after her hit to Sam's eye, and had earlier refused to give Sam a point saying Tory was out of bounds even though she stepped out of bounds after Sam scored).
Season 5[]
Tory is shown to remain at Cobra Kai, even despite knowing her victory wasn't legitimate. She is introduced to sensei Joe, who was actually Daniel's ally Chozen Toguchi and a fellow Miyagi-Do Karate master, and trains under his supervision. Chozen sees that she was not as focused as she should be and gives her a lesson over fighting for her honor as it was the only thing that she should fight for. Once all students and senseis including Chozen are gone, Tory confronts Silver for resorting to bribery in the All-Valley but Silver insists that Cobra Kai's survival depended on their victory in the tournament and gives Tory the chance to leave, but if she agreed to stay, he would make her the future of the dojo. Tory ultimately chooses to remain in the dojo.
At the waterpark, Tory gleefully reunites with Robby, who had just returned from his trip to Mexico. He tries to convince her to quit the dojo and that Silver is an even bigger threat than Kreese, only for Tory to insist that she was not leaving and she could make her own choices. Unfortunately, the Miyagi-Fang and Cobra Kai students continue to get into conflicts with each other, causing them to be all kicked out of the park. Robby gives Tory one final chance but Tory refuses to leave Cobra Kai, prompting Robby to end their romance.
It is eventually revealed that Tory was not leaving Cobra Kai under the orders of an imprisoned Kreese, who had her in Cobra Kai acting as a spy. When Tory leaves a note in the LaRusso Family's mailbox containing Stingray's lie about Kreese assaulting him and the address to his new apartment, which was a "consolation prize" from Silver, Daniel engages in a fight with Silver, who brutalizes him and guarantees that the real pain was just beginning. Upon learning of this, Tory feels guilty and speaks to Kreese that their alliance and their actions were not supposed to leave more people hurt before asking him if there is an endgame. Kreese reassures her that Silver's downfall was near.
Disappointed with the local senseis, Silver calls the granddaughter of his former mentor, Kim Da-Eun, who brings the best senseis from her dojang in Korea, to aid him in spreading Cobra Kai throughout the Valley and the wider world. They begin taking over other dojos, such as Topanga Karate, where former Eagle Fang member Devon Lee is currently training. Despite their animosity during their tournament match, Devon and Tory soon strike up a friendship, especially when Devon divulges that her mother had recently passed away from cancer, causing Tory to reflect upon her own sick mother. Sensei Kim and Sensei Hyan-Woo pit both girls against each other, forcing Tory to use brutal strength to prevent her from grabbing the bamboo stick used in the exercise. Pleased, Sensei Kim warns Tory that the Way of the Fist should never involve pulling back and strength and determination were its key characteristics. In spite of her brutal loss at Tory's hands, Devon becomes determined to learn under Tory's wing and joins Cobra Kai, much to Tory's secret displeasure.
During a training session, Tory and Devon join forces against Sensei Kim and lose to her numerous times as a result of their non-coordinated attacks and lack of communication. Eventually, Tory gains the opportunity to score a point but instead wastes it in her attempt to save Devon, resulting in yet another loss at the hands of the sensei.
Determined to spread Cobra Kai's lessons worldwide, Silver decides to have Cobra Kai qualified for the Sekai Taikai Tournament, naming Kenny as the male fighter and Tory the one to represent the female fighters. More anxious than ever, Tory speaks to Kreese over what she was supposed to do and Kreese asks her to do whatever she thought was best for her, admitting that he is bailing on the plan to destroy Silver and his empire. This response leaves Tory upset and she cuts ties with Kreese before storming out of the visiting room. During the tryout matches, Tory realizes she was going to face Samantha once again and appears saddened when she realizes she was utterly alone, compared to Samantha receiving support from her father and other two senseis, Johnny and Chozen. During the match between Kenny and Hawk, Tory realizes Silver had once again bribed the referee, leaving her disgusted to the point of secretly leaving the dojo before the end of Kenny and Hawk's match, which ends in Kenny's victory. Sensei Kim names Devon as Tory's replacement but despite her best efforts and the bribed referee, Samantha scores three undeniable points upon Devon, qualifying Miyagi-Fang into the tournament. That evening, Tory approaches Sam and reveals SIlver's actions in the All-Valley.
Samantha is enraged beyond belief and tries to beat up Tory, blaming her for all the pain her family and friends were going through. Tory believes it was a mistake coming there and leaves, with the Miyagi-Fangs recovering from the shock of what they had just learned. The next day, Tory gives an excuse for missing her match against Sam but sensei Kim sees through her lies. During a session, Robby arrives and tries to warn the Cobra Kais, particularly Kenny, that the dojo, Silver and Kim are terrible influences that are turning them into people that they aren't. Unfortunately, all Cobras, with the sole exception of Tory, are under Silver's total control and dismiss his words. Meanwhile, Sensei Kim notices the exchange of looks between Tory and Robby. After the end of the session, Kim, SIlver and their fellow senseis bring Tory to a dummy containing solid stone plates and instruct her to break one of them. After her first few attempts are unsuccessful, Kim begins taunting Tory for her relationship with Robby, and a furious Tory tries to punch the sensei, only to miss and destroy one of the stone plates instead, leaving her hand bleeding and nearly broken. Upon returning home, she is visited by Samantha, who wishes to hear Tory's side of the story and who finally discovers how hard Tory has to work to sustain her family. The two rivals finally speak to one another in civil terms and Sam suggests they cooperate to bring Silver down, to which Tory agrees.
Tory and Sam reunite with Miguel, Hawk, Demetri, and Robby as well as the rest of the Miyagi-Fangs to infiltrate the Cobra Kai flagship dojo and steal the footage of Silver attacking Stingray. Thanks to Tory's keycard, they manage to infiltrate the dojo without burglarizing anything but discover that the video was deleted. Tory suggests taking the footage of Silver admitting his actions in the All-Valley but their plan comes to a halt when Mitch reveals himself to be a traitor and informs the other Cobra Kais of the break-in. A huge fight between dojos breaks out and Tory is confronted by Sensei Kim. Both Sam and Devon, the latter of whom realizes that Kim and Silver's methods are not correct, come to her defense. Thanks to their collective efforts, the Miyagi-Fangs and Tory reveal Silver's true colors to his students, prompting them to disown him and leave the dojo. As they witness the villain being taken to prison for a litany of charges, Tory and Robby end up rekindling their relationship.
Personality[]
Tory has a confident and outgoing demeanor. She is generally welcoming to those she considers her friends and acts flirtatious towards Miguel. However, Tory also has little regard for most rules, believing in doing whatever it takes to survive including theft. Her philosophy and worldview make her very easily embrace the Cobra Kai motto of "no mercy".
She is very devoted to Miguel and has an intense hatred of Samantha for being privileged and an object of Miguel's affections, causing her to often antagonize Sam and even go so far as to almost tear her face off with her spiked collar after witnessing her and Miguel kissing.
Despite this, Tory seems to be very good at hiding her more vicious and sadistic nature from her friends, as she was able to convince Miguel that Sam was the aggressor in most of their encounters.
She also has a kinder and wilder side to her in regards to her dating life. She was very playful and outgoing with Miguel and when she started dating Robby, she and Robby jumped each other’s bones in Terry Silver’s car, indicating she has had sex before with previous boyfriends.
When talking about her emotions, she often comes out as a cold hearted person who doesn’t trust anyone. Sensei Kim Da-Eun has stated that Tory presents a tough facade all to hide a scared little girl underneath. When Tory’s relationship with Robby became serious, she fell deeply in love with him, as he is the only boy who has ever been able to tear down her walls.
Relationships[]
Friends/Allies[]
- Robby Keene - Boyfriend
- Amanda LaRusso
- Miyagi-Do - Allies, Former enemies
- Daniel LaRusso
- Chozen Toguchi - Brief Sensei
- Samantha LaRusso - Former arch-rival turned current ally
- Eli "Hawk" Moskowitz - Former co-student and Former enemy
- Demetri Alexopoulos - Former enemy
- Anthony LaRusso
- Chris - Former enemy
- Nathaniel - Former enemy
- Miyagi-Do students - Former enemies
- Eagle Fang Karate - Allies, Former enemies
- Johnny Lawrence - Former sensei
- Miguel Diaz - Ex-boyfriend
- Devon Lee - Close friend, Mentee, Former enemy
- Bert - Former co-student
- Eagle Fang students - Former enemies
- Raymond "Stingray" Porter
Enemies[]
- John Kreese - Former sensei and Grandfather figure
- Terry Silver - Former sensei
- Kim Da-Eun - Former sensei
- Kyler Park - Former co-student, Former ally
- Mitch - Former co-student, Former ally
- Cobra Kai students - Former Teammates
- Cobra Kai sensei's
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- This was Peyton List's first role as an antagonist. Previously, she portrayed Holly Hills in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid film series and Emma Ross in Disney Channel's Jessie and its spin-off Bunk'd. List even starred with Jacob Bertrand in the Disney Channel Original film, The Swap, in which the latter also starred in Cobra Kai as Eli "Hawk" Moskowitz. Prior to appearing in Cobra Kai, she portrayed Laina Michaels in the YouTube original thriller film The Thinning and its sequel, The Thinning: New World Order, in which the sequel was released before the second season of Cobra Kai.
- Peyton List mostly has blonde hair when portraying characters from other shows and films such as the ones said above, though for her role in Cobra Kai, she first has blonde hair but has dark red hair later on, and eventually back to blonde hair in the fourth season. This was meant to symbolize her antagonistic personality.
- Peyton List has stated that Tory has been the most fun role she has ever played on her career as of now.
- Despite being an antagonist, some Karate Kid fans do root for her as they don't like Samantha LaRusso and her bratty attitude. Because of this, Tory would become a fan favorite due to her relationship with Robby and her character development in the fourth season, as the fans would cheer for her and Cobra Kai in the fourth season finale instead of Sam, despite the fact that the dojos of the leading protagonists, Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang, would shut down if they lost.
- Despite Sam and Tory's rivalry (until the end of Season 5), the actresses Mary Mouser and Peyton List remain good friends in real life, on or off set.
- As of 2022, Peyton List and Jacob Bertrand are currently dating.
- She is like a female version of Johnny Lawrence, as she jumps into conclusions without thinking.
- There were many rumors that Tory was Mike Barnes's daughter, but they were never confirmed.
