Cobra Kai theory: Is Robby the Anakin Skywalker of The Karate Kid Universe?
By Noah Mussay
Is Cobra Kai’s Robby Keene the Anakin Skywalker of The Karate Kid universe? I think so.
The Karate Kid and Star Wars series share a lot of similarities. For starters, both series tackle the battle between good vs. evil, and both have heroes tempted by their series’ version of the “dark side” by their respective villains. While Cobra Kai is a new take on an old story, there’s no denying that it too may share similarities with the Star Wars franchise.
With the release of Season 3 of the Netflix spinoff of The Karate Kid, it seems as though Robby Keene is on track to become a villain similar to one of cinema’s and Star War’s greatest villains, Darth Vader. Let’s discuss these two men and why Robby Keene’s current arc is eerily familiar.
1. Cobra Kai’s Robby Keene and Anakin Skywalker grew up without proper mentors.
For starters, it’s undeniable that growing up without a proper mentor had implications for both Anakin and Robby.
Upon meeting Anakin and learning that he’s force-sensitive, Qui-Gon Jinn asks Anakin’s mother, Shmi, who his father is.
Interestingly, she responds that Anakin has no father; she became pregnant one day without any explanation. Intrigued, Qui-Gon requests her permission to take him in front of the Jedi Council at Coruscant with the intention of training him to be a Jedi. She agrees, and Anakin says goodbye but not before promising his mother that he’ll one day return for her (unfortunately, Shmi later got killed by Tusken Raiders and died in Anakin’s arms).
While this sounds like the beginning of the Hero’s Journey with Anakin on track to become a great Jedi Knight under the tutelage of the great Qui-Gon Jinn, that’s not how things panned out.
By the end of Star Wars: Episode 1- The Phantom Menace, Qui-Gon gets killed by Darth Maul, one of Darth Sidious’s puppets, and just like that, Anakin loses the only father-figure he’s ever known and must be taken instead under the wing of Obi-Wan Kenobi. While Obi-Wan Kenobi is an acceptable predecessor, he himself is young and inexperienced.
As a result, he’s more susceptible to make mistakes, one of which is being unable to recognize the influence that Palpatine begins gaining over Anakin.
On the other hand, we have Robby from Cobra Kai. Despite having both of his parents in his life, Robby isn’t any better off. While he does have a father, Johnny Lawrence, Johnny was in and out of his life for most of his childhood, never feeling that he could give Robby what he needed.
That left him with his mother, Shannon, who eventually became an alcoholic and frequently left Robby to fend for himself, which he did by turning to a life of crime.