Cobra Kai: 10 References To The Karate Kid Movies Fans Missed
Anytime a new show pops up in the realm of Hollywood, fans crave easter eggs and references, little things from previous shows or films that only the most avid of fanbases are able to find. Yet, every now and then, some references go unseen.
In the case of the Karate Kid sequel series, Cobra Kai, the references are boundless, so much so that many fans and nerds fail to see the ones right beneath their very noses even with help from some behind the scenes facts. Some are obvious while others are so deeply buried, it takes a true expert and fan to discover them among the rest.
10 Daniel's Car
Again, sometimes the most easily missed references are those so obvious, that fans somehow still miss them. Sure, a good amount of fans may manage to catch the reference but casual viewers may end up missing the obvious.
Throughout the second season, Daniel starts driving around a new car, a yellowed, old car. Eagle eyes viewers may be able to notice that the car as a gift from Mr.Miyagi for the boy's birthday all those years ago, now back in business and working once again. Daniel even gifts one of Mr.Miyagi's old cars to Robby, cementing their relationship as one of the series bests.
9 Unseen Footage
Whenever a film's being created, it always goes through a difficult process: the cutting room. Going into the cutting room means that some footage, some scenes, may end up being cut from the finished copy and then end up being lost forever.
However, Cobra Kai managed to bring some long lost cut scenes to life. Going through old footage, the filmmakers were able to discover old footage from the original film that was put in via flashbacks and stock footage, making for one awesome easter egg that many can miss.
8 Bill Conti's Score
Every film and show needs a score or musical number to help drive the story and media forward and provide emotional beats and scenes. Of course, there are times when music can end up being nostalgic and bringing back memories of the original series or film.
Crafting the score for a karate-based series doesn't sound incredibly complicated yet utilizing the original score created by composer Bill Conti is a great way to revitalize the original series and bring back that same feel The Karate Kid, one of the 80's best martial arts movies created years ago.
7 Logo At The End
It's funny how one single line can have so much layer and depth to it. Throughout the two seasons of Corba Kai, each episode ends with the shows logo popping up right before the credits roll and the episode comes to an end.
So oftentimes is it used that the creators felt it necessary to reference it in their own show. While filming a promotional video for his dojo, Johnny Lawerence demands that the editor put the Cobra logo at the end, a nice little nod to the credits.
6 Downard Cobra
Miniscule references are sometimes the best and also the hardest for fans to notice. Running a dojo, if you're someone like Johnny Lawerence, can be difficult, so in order to make more money, he begins subletting Cobra Kai to other businesses, like a yoga group.
Ignoring Johnny trying to explain himself to one of the shows more likable characters, Miguel, the yoga goers leap right in, starting their lessons and pose with the first pose being the cobra pose, an almost ironic easter egg for eagle-eyed watchers.
5 Miyagi-Do Vandalism... Again
What is it with something always getting destroyed, dying, or ruined time and time again? Sometimes it's a giant space ship, other times it's a character who just won't stay dead. For the Karate Kid saga, it's Mr.Miyagi's home being vandalized.
Two times before, in Karate Kid Part II and Part III, the home and dojo were destroyed by vicious students and no good karate practicers for their own nefarious or ulterior methods or goals that always seem to involve Daniel or Mr. Miyagi.
4 Reseda Heights
Reversals are always fun in sequels or spinoffs. Little details or turn arounds for characters set on someone else, usually dealing with different fates, with the lucky ones becoming unlucky and the less fortunate becoming fortunate.
When audiences first met Daniel Larusso for the first time, he's moving into a rundown apartment that's miles away from his home in New Jersey. As such, when fans first see Johnny Lawerence Thirty-four years later, he's in a similar rundown apartment and struggling, like Daniel did, to adjust to his new normal.
3 Students Names
Nothing quite says reference or tribute like naming a character after someone else whose of equal importance. Connecting the strands between real life and the fantasy that the series of the film creates allows for an amazing little easter egg to form.
Every student who appears in the series obviously has a name but the true meaning lying behind the game has more weight than many realize. The students are named after a crew member working on the show, a nice little reference to the hard workers behind the series.
2 Body Bag
Not all references are upbeat or joyful. Oftentimes, the best references are the morbid ones, ones that call back to a character's line from their past.
In one of the best episodes of the second season of Cobra Kai, audiences see Johnny reunite with his old gang, including his best friend Tommy, who's become famous for yelling "Get him a body bag!". However, when Tommy dies, a sad reflection of real-life given that the actor, Rob Garrison, passed away a few months later, his line comes true as he is mournfully put in a body bag.
1 True Antagonist?
Fans always have their little fan theories, some that make sense, others that raise a few eyebrows with how strange they can be. Yet, one theory from Karate Kid actually maybe more true than most realize, that Daniel Larusso is actually the villain of the story.
As strange as it may sound, Daniel going from being a helpless victim to a strong karate student whoops the bullies butts isn't that far of a reach given that he and Johnny have one of the best rivalries in the show, making the possibility not that far off.