The final moments of the first Karate Kid movie transformed two lives forever when Daniel LaRusso pulled off the Miyagi-taught crane kick on Johnny Lawrence. That’s when Daniel ascended to franchise hero at the All Valley Karate Tournament, and Johnny got pushed down into the gutter by his sensei, and arguably life, forever. In the moments immediately thereafter, Johnny admitted, “You’re alright, LaRusso!” Cobra Kai has yet to follow up on how those words fell by the wayside (although I did dig some insight out of Ralph Macchio ahead of Season 3).
Then there’s the question of that crane kick, and whether it should have been allowed to stand. In the decades since that movie has passed, fans have wondered if that kick was actually illegal and, if so, that means that Daniel could be a kind-of villain. People take this very seriously, too, so much so that there’s an oral history of that crane kick. It’s awesome, really, that the moment inspires so much debate, all these years later, but consider this: What if Johnny Lawrence decided to do the crane kick in Cobra Kai.
Chaos, sweet chaos, will reign. Well, it is truly Johnny’s turn to do the move, and co-showrunner tweeted the Season 4 photos to prove it.
Dying for you all to see Season 4 on December 31st. But for now, hopefully these photos can tide you over for a few days. #CobraKai #Netflix pic.twitter.com/yslUyLucj2
— Jon Hurwitz (@jonhurwitz) November 9, 2021
You want some more? Here, have some more! #CobraKai #Netflix pic.twitter.com/ie7QGVwqTf
— Jon Hurwitz (@jonhurwitz) November 9, 2021
Hell yeah. To further hit that point home, Macchio previously told us that the crane kick kick was such a big hit at an early screening that “a majority of the audience — whether they were 10 or 62 years old — they were out on the sidewalk doing the crane pose to each other.” And now, Johnny has that power, so good on him.