 |
This Article Contains Spoilers -
WARNING: This article contains major spoilers. If you do not wish to know vital information on plot / character elements in a story, you may not wish to read beyond this warning: We hold no responsibility for any negative effects these facts may have on your enjoyment of said media should you continue. That is all. |
| “ | You can call me... Stingray. | „ |
| ~ Stingray's introduction. |
Raymond Porter, better known by his nickname Stingray, is a supporting character in Cobra Kai.
He is portrayed by Paul Walter Hauser, who also played Ivanhoe in BlacKkKlansman, Horace Badun in Cruella and Shawn Eckardt in I, Tonya.
Biography[]
Raymond isn't exactly a villain nor is he really in any way an evil person. But at the same time he's hardly a heroic One.
The only real glimpse of Raymond's childhood is in the video game Cobra Kai 2: Dojos Rising, showing he was an overweight boy, constantly teased and excluded by others and left crying. As Chozen introduces his level in the game, he is a man often cast aside by society.
Raymond said he lives with his mother (who is implied to be fed up, fatigued and infuriated at his juvenile behavior and his refusal to grow up). He seems to have stood up to his mother's authority to some extent, finally deciding to enroll in a dojo against her wishes (both at its frivolousness and how ridiculous he looks compared to the much younger students).
When he was approaching Johnny about enrolling in Cobra Kai, Raymond says that he can afford tuition as he saved money from living rent free (which shows Raymond has some sense of thriftiness or at the very least managed to avoid paying rent for a long time). Johnny does not seem excited about this kind of agreement, agreeing to allow Raymond to enroll mainly because he is a paying customer.
Cobra Kai[]
Season 2[]
Raymond first appears in the first episode of Season 2 as an employee of a hardware store where Johnny, Daniel, Robby come to buy tools. He is a fan of LaRusso Auto, Karate and 80's heavy metal like Metallica. However both Daniel and Johnny take a disliking to Raymond because of his obnoxious immature behavior.
After witnessing Cobra Kai's demonstration at Valley Fest Raymond becomes enamored with the dojo and the self deluded childish man views it as a chance at reclaiming his youth in some manner.
He later joins Cobra Kai and adopts John Kreese's ruthless teaching. He ends up winning the Coyote Creek event, as well. Stingray is one of the many Cobra Kai Students who appear at Moon's Party. He tags along with his friends and girlfriend Fawn. He is also seen encouraging a fight between the Miyagi-Dos and Cobra Kai's up until the police arrive and everyone tries to get away. Stingray later decides to quit his job to work as a security guard in West Valley High School in the season finale and demonstrates his competency to the principal by dispatching several members of Miyagi-Do from fighting during the school brawl in the season 2 finale.
Following the school brawl he joins Hawk, Tory, Mitch and some other Cobra Kai students in turning against Johnny and becoming loyal to Kreese in the episode "No Mercy".
Season 3[]
Although Raymond does not appear in this season, he is mentioned during the PTA meeting, when one of the parents asks about Raymond. One school board member answers that while Raymond made an application to be a school employee and was interviewed by Principal Lopez, his application was ultimately disapproved (and he was never on the school payroll).
It is also said he was arrested while participating in the brawl; the charges are never specified, but is likely for assault or assault of a minor. Raymond was sentenced to an unspecified term of probation, as well as being bound to a restraining order where he's not allowed to have contact with minors. As a result, Raymond was forced to relinquish his Cobra Kai membership. For his mother, this proves to be the last straw; finally fed up with his antics, she kicks Raymond out of her house.
Season 4[]
Raymond appears in the Season 4 episode "Party Time" and is shown to be staying at his sister's house while she is out of town.
Raymond also has to deal with his neighbor Greg Hughes (who is greatly disgusted by Raymond); Greg tells him his sister doesn't want him there and she only took pity on Raymond while calling him an "unemployed man baby on probation". Raymond corrects him, saying he's actually off probation now.
When Raymond says he doesn’t have time to talk about his Aerobies because his dojo needs him, Greg remarks he likes to “hang around with a bunch of kids and play kung fu all day”; Raymond corrects him again, saying it’s not kung fu, it’s Cobra Kai. When Raymond is about to tell Greg his nickname, Greg interrupts with, “Stingray. Yeah, I know. And as much as you try to clean your life up, you still stink, Ray” before calling him “Stink-Ray”, which he can’t help laughing about in his own way, while adding how appropriate he finds it to be. Raymond then replies by telling Greg to tread carefully before adding, “You mess with a Cobra, you get the fangs.”
However, Raymond shows he’s unaware of what’s happened since the school brawl when he enters the Dojo expecting to be welcomed back with open arms (showing he hasn’t learned from the incident despite being arrested, being on probation and being kicked out of his mother’s house). Since the dojo is now fully under Kreese’s control, Raymond approaches Kreese, saying he requires no thanks for “taking one for the team.” But Kreese cruelly and vehemently says he was never a part of the team — a statement that visibly shakes Raymond, who meekly responds, “But, Sensei, I’m... one of the guys” (showing his lack of self-esteem). Kreese then cruelly calls Raymond a buffoon, a disgrace and an embarrassment, and says he has no value in the dojo or anywhere. Devastated and clearly on the verge of tears, Raymond struggles to hold himself together, telling himself, “It’s a test I won’t fail you, Sensei” before he turns and leaves the dojo in misery.
Refusing to give up and finally face the harsh realities of adulthood, as well as desperately wanting to be with his former friends, Raymond tries to find ways to get back in the dojo, so he visits the West Valley High School junior prom (an extremely high-risk maneuver, considering the trouble he got into), and finds Bert there; when he asks Bert how he can re-join Cobra Kai, Bert says he’s not in Cobra Kai anymore (much to Raymond’s puzzlement). When Raymond asks if it’s true the prom’s original afterparty was canceled (which Demetri had said was because the host Logan Wang’s little brother had gotten into some middle school fight), Bert confirms it. Raymond then says he wants Bert to tell everyone that he's hosting a huge afterparty at his sister’s house, which Bert does.
Raymond’s party is very well attended by the students. When Greg tries to shut down the party after telling Kyler, Piper and the other students what Stingray is really like, Stingray knocks him out, causing Kyler, Piper and the other students to chant Stingray’s name in jubilation.
A fight later breaks out between Miguel, Sam, Robby and Tory; Stingray appears and, thinking the fight is part of the party, does a cannonball into the pool.
Stingray returns to the Cobra Kai Dojo to ask Terry (instead of Kreese) if he can join Cobra Kai. Silver, heavily intoxicated and on a downward spiral, brutally attacks the lesser student. After delivering a beating, he promises to make him a student if he does something for him first. He delivers a powerful blow to the head that renders Stingray unconscious. He wakes up in the hospital and names his assailant as John Kreese. By lying about his attacker, he secures a spot in Cobra Kai. Meanwhile, Kreese's arrest allows Terry Silver to take over Cobra Kai. Disgusted with himself, Raymond bursts into tears, but is too desperate for the place that made him feel young again.
Season 5[]
Silver re-admits Stingray in Cobra Kai and, to further hide what he did to him, decides to buy Stingray a new house as "atonement". He is later visited by Daniel and Chozen, searching for answers, but he refuses to talk, and in the process, his PlayStation ends up destroyed. After that, he is once again visited, this time by Bert, Sam, Miguel, Hawk, Demetri and Robby. Initially, he refuses to talk to them as well (both out of fear of being beaten to death by Silver and the further criminal charges he'll most likely face for lying to the law), but, after struggling a bit with his own sense of guilt, he changes his mind and somewhat tells them the truth by using the story of his new D&D storyline. Ultimately, he joins Daniel LaRusso and his friends in the assault at Cobra Kai, easily defeating a group of students (who are also minors) and entering in the dojo. He is last seen along with a policeman, telling the truth about Kreese's incrimination. Unbeknownst to him, however, Kreese had faked his death in prison and escaped.
Season 6[]
Despite everything, Raymond's obsession with Cobra Kai continues. Only this time he takes it to extreme by appointing himself a sensei (despite having a yellow belt). He sends Johnny a message to meet him at Coyote Creek. Johnny ends up going to Coyote Creek to meet the mysterious person who texted him and overhears Kreese. It turns out to be Stingray playing a recording of Kreese’s teachings to a group of elementary school students. Stingray tells Johnny that he heard about the Miyagi-Do naming debate, and encourages him to reclaim Cobra Kai as his own since it’s his legacy. Johnny ultimately rejects his offer.
Terry Silver's lawyers ultimately managed to convince the judge to drop the charges against the silver-haired sensei, with Stingray becoming the least credible witness of all time. To add insult to injury, he requested Bert to testify that Silver was the one who had put him in a coma. After this, Silver returned to the lives of Daniel, Johnny and their loved ones and swore to humiliate them all at the Sekai Taikai for ruining his efforts to expand Cobra Kai throughout the Valley. However, this was all foiled when Miyagi Do and Cobra Kai were able to put aside their differences, and thus, merge together to take on the much more worse Iron Dragons and finally use their combined efforts to defeat them for good, with John Kreese sacrificing his life by killing Terry Silver by blowing up his personal yacht, even foiling a kidnapping attempt on Johnny’s wife and newborn daughter. Following this, Cobra Kai would become more popular than ever and eventually reform and be retaken once more by Johnny Lawrence, with Stingray running the dojo on weekends to teach a new generation of beginner students.
Personality[]
Raymond is a complete man-child, desperate to attain the unrealistic goal of getting his youth back, and dreads adulthood and the prospect of being viewed as old, as well as growing old. He's portrayed as outlandishly immature, disgustingly irresponsible and ridiculously gullible, as well as naive and devoid of common sense and ignorant of social norms.
Raymond tries to present himself as happy-go-lucky and a joker, all in a vain attempt to prove he's still a youthful, upbeat, energetic person; however, he's usually seen as boorish and irritating by others, namely Daniel and Johnny, as Raymond is deep in his thirties, and still trying to behave like a teenager. The only known adult who seems to tolerate Raymond to some degree is Kreese, who was seen looking at him in approval when he was the winner in a "red vs. black" combat class.
Raymond lives in the past and is desperate to reclaim his youth, choosing to live vicariously through the Cobra Kai dojo students. He desperately wants to be part of something that will give him a purpose, as opposed to what he views as a meaningless job; he also responsibility at all costs, and prefers the company of those significantly younger than he is, both in keeping with his delusions and desperation to avoid acknowledging his own age; in one instance, when he first met Johnny, he said the 80's rocked, but quickly said he'd been only 5 at the time to cover up his age.
He engages in juvenile activities, such as playing Metallica music very loud, and shows he enjoys making Internet videos of himself dressed as a Ninja Turtle (in a Season 5 deleted scene).
His general manner could be considered a more pronounced version of Johnny's fate. Like Johnny, Raymond seems to be living in the past and focused more on enjoying life than earning a living; however, Raymond has never seemed to come to grips with his own issues, while Johnny sometimes gives self-reflection on how far he has fallen at certain points.
Raymond seems to prefer blue-collar jobs, but has not shown much desire to excel in those (likely to avoid too much responsibility that would come with a promotion). It's quite clear he was in no rush to grow up and had no desire to either; he also dreads the thought of being viewed as old.
He ends up joining Cobra Kai because he is a big fan of karate. However, he can come across as overexcited and even immature; ultimately, this may come across as annoying or funny.
Raymond's cluelessness as an adult and great incompetence as a man in general becomes very apparent in the last two episodes of season 2; at Moon's party, he idiotically taped bottles to his hands and then tried to run from the police. He did have sufficient self-confidence to woo a girlfriend; however, she did remark to Raymond when being invited to Moon's party on why the guests were considerably younger than them. His irresponsibility also shows up when he was ready to see Miyagi-Do and Cobra Kai fight rather than attempt to break it up.
A heavily recurring example of Raymond's ignorance and incompetence is that he seems to have no true understanding of consequences a man his age can face (especially from assaulting minors or supplying alcohol to minors).
Raymond is also devoid of self awareness and truly believes his behavior, humor and personality to be likable and endearing, while completely oblivious to the fool he makes of himself in the process.
While it seemed Raymond was able to be competent to some degree in a blue-collar job as he worked at the hardware superstore, he lacked the ability to handle himself in a professional setting when he was being interviewed by Principal Lopez at the high school, although this may have been due to a first attempt at trying for a professional, white-collar job.
By the end of the season, he is revealed to be one of the handful of Cobra Kai students that is corrupted by Kreese's teachings, as he is training with Kreese and has betrayed Johnny.
Despite being instrumental during the school brawl, he is viewed as a danger to minors. Because of his age, he was arrested, resulting in being put on probation, being hit with a restraining order, having to relinquish his membership at Cobra Kai and not getting hired at West Valley High School.
Raymond also seems intent in forcing his "ideas" on others; one example is when he tries to turn Dungeons and Dragons into Dojos and Dragons, causing his fellow players to call him the worst Dungeon Master.
While Raymond doesn't like being viewed as a loser, it's quite obvious he dislikes being middle-aged and his childhood memories gone even more; despite being a failure, his family and neighbor's animosity towards him, and whatever humiliation and injury he endures, he simply always sees adulthood and old age as the far worse fate.
Deep down, Raymond is in fact greatly miserable at the fact that no matter what he tries, says or does, he will simply never have his true desire: literally become a teenager again and relive his teen years.
In Season 5, Raymond proves himself to be cowardly, and his childishness shows even more. As Chozen puts it, Raymond "is no Stingray. He is turtle" (because Raymond constantly withdraws from life's pressures and problems instead of courageously facing them head-on).
In Season 6, Raymond shows he has some form of self-awareness, but still clings to his delusions, as he still refuses to give up on Cobra Kai (despite the dojo having been closed down and Kreese and Silver now being out of the picture); he even makes himself a sensei despite only having a yellow belt, as he starts copying Kreese and Johnny's mannerisms. He even makes elementary school kids his own "students". His usefulness to the main characters when putting Silver behind bars was ultimately short-lived as the latter's lawyers persuaded the judge to throw away his case and Raymond made an even bigger fool of himself by asking Bert to testify on his behalf, even though he was not at the original dojo to witness his beating at Silver's hands.
Abilities[]
Though he believes otherwise, Raymond barely has any true martial arts skill if any. He is in very poor shape and has a glass jaw. After adopting Kreese's ruthless teachings, Raymond becomes an aggressive fighter; this is evidenced in the school brawl, where he aggressively attacks several Miyagi-Do students. He even uses his hip to attack the students in order to assist Hawk. While hosting an afterparty, he kicks his neighbor after insulting him. After arriving at Cobra Kai to stop the fight between Cobra Kai and Miyagi Do, Raymond alone beats up Big Red and a few Cobra Kai's. He proves that he can be a strong striker. Overall, however, he pales in comparison to experienced fighters such as Terry Silver, as Silver easily beats him senseless; he was floored almost instantly and was incapable of executing any form of defense or counterattack during the beating.
Trivia[]
- His favorite era is the 1980s.
- Before joining Cobra Kai, Stingray always wanted to learn karate, but his mother wouldn’t let him.
- He is the oldest amongst the Cobra Kai students.
- Despite his personality, he is seen as a danger to the valley.
- In Season 5, Raymond’s last name is revealed to be Porter.
- It is unlikely Stingray can participate at an All Valley championship due to his age.
- Stingray’s man-child like behavior also teaches viewers they should try to grow up and become real adults and not even end up like him. As a result, Stingray’s betraying Cobra Kai is one reason why he should redeem himself, as well as possibly try to get a career in something unrelated to karate. That being said, he decides to rejoin the reformed Cobra Kai led by Johnny Lawrence by teaching children on weekends.
- Raymond is implied to be the black sheep of his family, since neither his mother or sister bothered to visit him in the hospital. That said, his sister may tolerate him as she allowed him to stay at her house.
- Raymond can probably be described as a person who needed a mentor like Mr. Miyagi while growing up, but never got one.
External Links[]
- Raymond "Stingray" Porter on the Karate Kid Wiki.
- Raymond "Stingray" Porter on the Heroes Wiki.
