(Adding categories) |
|||
| Line 145: | Line 145: | ||
[[Category:Youtube Movie Villains]] |
[[Category:Youtube Movie Villains]] |
||
[[Category:Insecure]] |
[[Category:Insecure]] |
||
| + | [[Category:Envious]] |
||
Revision as of 22:13, 26 April 2019
| “ | You couldn't leave well enough alone, could you, little twerp? No, you had to push it. Well, now you're gonna pay! | „ |
| ~ Johnny Lawrence to Daniel LaRusso. |
John "Johnny" Lawrence is a recurring character of The Karate Kid series. He serves as the secondary antagonist of the 1984 film The Karate Kid, and the anti-heroic protagonist of the YouTube Red TV series Cobra Kai.
He is portrayed by William Zabka.
Biography
Pre Karate Kid
When Johhny was a little kid he was gentle and distant, and often bullied by his stepfather Sid. One day he came across the Cobra Kai Dojo. Immediately taking an interest, Johnny requested his mother and Sid to enroll him in the dojo. While Sid ridiculed him, Johnny's mother believing that Karate would allow him to make friends convinced Sid to let Johnny join. Johnny enrolled in the Cobra Kai dojo and became the top student. He won the All Valley tournament in 1983 and 1984.
At some point, he started a relationship with Ali Mills. The two dated for two years. However, the summer before the events of the original Karate Kid the two broke up after having a huge argument. Despite their breakup, Johnny wanted to fix their relationship.
The Karate Kid
Johnny was the best student of John Kreese's Cobra Kai Dojo and the leader of the gang of bullies representing the dojo, as well as the ex-boyfriend of Ali Mills.
Throughout the film, Johnny torments and bullies the protagonist Daniel LaRusso. But when Kreese told Johnny to "sweep the leg" in order to beat Daniel at the All-Valley Karate Tournament, Johnny gives Kreese a frightened glance (while also possibly realizing that Kreese had gone too far).
After he lost to Daniel, Johnny shows respect to Daniel and gives him the first-place trophy. With that, he and Daniel patch things up and become friends.
The Karate Kid Part II
At the beginning of the second film, while Johnny was perfectly fine with winning second-place, Kreese was not as he broke the trophy in two after Johnny called him a sore loser. After an argument between Kreese and Johnny (which Daniel and Miyagi take notice of), Kreese violently berates Johnny, but Miyagi stops him. After that, Johnny and the rest of the Cobra Kai students left Kreese in the parking lot, now seeing Kreese for the kind of man he really was.
The Karate Kid Part III
Johnny appears in a montage at the beginning of the movie. It can be implied that Johnny and his friends left Cobra Kai, following Kreese's actions at the beginning of The Karate Kid Part II, because in the present day, Kreese does not have any students left.
Cobra Kai
Season 1
Johnny as he appears in Cobra Kai.
34 years after losing the tournament, Johnny is down on luck. When he meets his new neighbor Miguel he is hostile with him. He later beats up a group of bullies who were harassing Miguel who asks him to teach him karate. At first, Johnny refuses at first. However, he later changes his mind and decides to train him. He reopens the Cobra Kai dojo and managed to have it reinstated, which causes his rivalry with Daniel to get reignited. He later gets more students at the Cobra Kai thanks to Miguel. He teaches all of them to strike first, and act mercilessly to their opponents which is what Kreese taught him. While Cobra Kai was initially banned from the All-Valley Tournament due to the actions of Kreese, Terry Silver and Mike Barnes in 1985 (Karate Kid 3) Johnny convinces the committee to reinstate Cobra Kai.
During the tournament, his students Miguel and Eli (Hawk) make it to the semifinals, but Johnny's son Robbie also makes it to the semifinals. During the semifinals, Hawk commits an illegal move by kicking Robbie in the shoulder while they were not fighting which got him disqualified. Johnny got angry at Hawk for what he did and was worried for Robbie. In the final round, Miguel attacks Robby's shoulder which is dislocated thanks to hawk, and even yanks his shoulder after losing the point. When Johnny tells him not to fight dirty Miguel said there is nothing dirty about winning which makes Johnny realize what he has turned Miguel into. While Miguel wins the tournament for Cobra Kai, Johnny is upset at what happened and even apologizes to Robby for it as well.
While drinking his sorrows upon looking at the winning trophy, Johnny is visited by an arriving Kreese (who has bigger plans of putting Cobra Kai up to the top, by all means, much to Johnny’s distress.
Season 2
Johnny is shocked that Kreese is alive. He however is still angry at Kreese and even attacks him. Despite struggling at first he is able to get the better of Kreese, but decides to show him mercy to him as he does not want to be him. At the dojo he scolds Miguel and Hawk for their cheap moves at the tournament, announces that cheating will no longer be tolerated strips all his students to white belts, and forces Miguel and Hawk to do 50 push ups.
After Kreese fixes his second place trophy from the 1984 All Valley tournament and apologizes to him for the way he acted Johnny forgives him and allows him to co-teach with him at the dojo.
When Miguel and Hawk find out that Robby is Johnny's son they believe he is being hard on them because they cheaply attacks his son and even confront them who reveals while Robby is his son he does not tolerate cheating and tells them to mind their own business. However, he soon tells Miguel how badly he screwed up with Robby and that what he likes the most is training him. He even advises him not to be merciless like him as he paid the price for that.
Under Johnny's nose Kreese poisons several of Johnny's students minds particularly Hawk. When Daniel confronts Johnny about destroying his dojo, Johnny tells him he does not know what he is talking about as he had nothing to do with that and is unaware Kreese ordered Hawk and some other of his students to do this. Johnny then tries to get one of them to reveal that they destroyed the dojo by punishing them but no one cracks. Johnny however gets a phone call which forces him to leave for the day but not before telling Kreese to run the dojo for the day.
Johnny goes to a hospital where he meets former Cobra Kai friends Bobby and Tommy and soon Jimmy. Tommy has been diagnosed with hospice. Knowing that Tommy won't live much longer the four spend the day hanging out so Tommy can spend his last day having good memories. Tommy last speaks to Johnny before his death the following morning. Johnny is saddened by Tommy's death.
After discovering that Kreese has been poisoning his students minds and turning them into corrupt and vicious human beings, ana gry j forceohnny forces Kreese to leave the dojo for good.
Johnny develops feelings for Miguel's mom Carmen, but is upset when she is seeing someone else. However, after he notices that her date is unfaithful, he beats him up and force him not to see her again. He then asks her out and the two go on a date. However, when Daniel and his wife Amanda LaRusso come to the same restaurant and have to sit with Johnny and Carmen both Johnny and Daniel are unhappy. At first they brag about their dojo's but after some time the two bond, joke around and appear to be getting along. When Daniel reveals Robby who is staying with him has enrolled him in school Johnny appreciates what he did.
After Johnny comes home from his date someone knocks on his door. He thinks it's Carmen at first, but when he opens the door he is surprised to see Robby and a drunk Sam (Daniel's daughter). He allows them to spend the night. He tells Robby the following morning that he will have to tell Daniel what happened, but Robby tells him not to and that he will take the fall. However, when Daniel knocks on Johnny's door Johnny opens it. Daniel asks if Sam is there to which Johhny replies that both Sam and Robby are there and he tells him to calm down which infuriates Daniel. Unhappy with his attitude Johnny shits the door. Daniel then kicks the door opened and the two have a brief fight which is stopped by Robby and Sam. Daniel angrily takes Sam home.
Johnny takes Robby to school which the latter appreciates. After Miguel is rushed to the hospital as a result of Robby kicking him off a railing at school Johnny goes to the hospital where Carmen blames him for Miguel's injury and tells him she does not want to see him again, and Johnny himself feels guilty.
Johhny goes back to the dojo where he sees Kreese training several of his students. Kreese tells him he and a landlord made a agreement for him to take full ownership of the dojo. Several of Johnny's students are now training with Kreese, and Hawk blames him for Miguel's injury. Johnny angrily leaves the dojo.
Johnny goes to the beach where he angrily throws his phone and then walks away. Unbeknownst to him Ali whom he sent a Facebook message to has sent him a friend request.
Personality
Karate Kid
Johnny is the leader of the Cobra Kai and the meanest of them. He bullies and harasses Daniel due to the latter becoming friendly with Ali. He does not show the enemy any mercy which is what Kreese has taught him to do. In the final round of the tournament, however, when Kreese tells him to sweep Daniel's leg Johnny is shocked, and he expresses reluctance to do so which shows that Johnny knows that things are going too far. After Daniel defeats Johnny, the latter shows respect to Daniel by handing him the trophy and saying you're alright.
Cobra Kai
Season 1
34 years after his defeat (Cobra Kai) Johnny is still bitter. After he begins training his neighbor Miguel he teaches him to be merciless. Over the course of the first season of Cobra Kai, he begins to care for Miguel and realize that he is the only person that has not given up on him.
His relationship with his son Robby is strained due to Johnny neglecting him his whole life, which has made Robbie resentful towards his father and bent on doing everything he can to make Johnny suffer. While Johnny has expressed desire to make amends with Robby and Robby himself did seem to want to work things out with Johnny after Shannon tells him Johnny wanted Robby to live with him, Robby goes back to disliking him after seeing Johnny hugging Miguel, though Johnny was unaware that Robby saw him. Despite their failed relationship, Johnny does care about Robby, and Robby, in turn, does show that he does care for Johnny by accepting his apology following his loss in the All-Valley Tournament.
In the 6th episode of the first season of The Cobra Kai, it is revealed that when Johnny was a young kid he was nice and caring but was often bullied and ridiculed by his stepfather Sid. In the ninth episode of the first season of The Cobra Kai Johhny tells Daniel that he was often bullied by Sid. It is possible that Sid's poor treatment played a role in Johnny becoming an aggressive bully.
Following the Cobra Kai winning the All Valley tournament, Johnny begins to feel guilty that his karate lessons have turned Miguel into a vicious and dirty fighter.
Season 2
Johnny tries his best to be a better human being. He disallows his students from cheating and fighting dirty, aadvises Miguel not to be merciless like him, and gives his former sensei Kreese a second chance, beats up Miguel's mom Carmen's date who is unfaithful and an opportunity to teach with him as he beleives he has changed.
Unfortunately things start to take a turn when Kreese corrupts the minds of several of Johnny's studnets, which makes them vicious and ruthless. After Johnny finds out he kicks Kreese out, but things only get worse. Miguel is admitted to the hospital after his decsion to show mercy to Robby resulted in him being kicked off a railing at school by the latter, which makes johnny feel guilty, Kreese has taken full ownership of the dojo, and a handful of his studnets have betrayed him and blamed him for Miguel's injury. In the end it appears that he has lost everything, which makes him angry and feel very guilty.
Trivia
- Johnny's actor, William Zabka is notable for playing villains in various 1980s movies (with another one of his roles being Greg Tolan from the 1985 coming-of-age high-school comedy-drama film Just One of The Guys). However, he played a good guy in a 1980s sitcom To Protect & Surf, as well as being featured in The Equalizer. Out of homage to his 1980s villainous roles, Zabka was cast as Rick Steelman in the 2010 film Hot Tub Time Machine.
- Johnny Lawrence returns in Cobra Kai and resurrects Cobra Kai from his former sensei. He is an anti-hero and protagonist of the series. Ironically, Johnny seems to have changed to be less villainous while Daniel becomes more of a villain due to his past grudge against Johnny and Cobra Kai as Johnny and his gang nearly killed him in the past for dousing one of them. Except Daniel was not the villain in the series. He still teaching the same methods that made him and Daniel's enemies that made him a villain in the series that Daniel was trying to prevent. He even turned Miguel who was just like Daniel into a bigger villain like Johnny.
