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This Article Contains Spoilers -
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| “ | Now the real pain begins, Danny boy. | „ |
| ~ Terry Silver to Daniel LaRusso; his most famous quote. |
| “ | Don't look at this as an act of mercy. On the contrary. I want you alive and well for what's about to happen. Well, alive at least. Because the real pain is about to begin. | „ |
| ~ Silver after defeating Daniel. |
| “ | You think I'm the only one willing to go with these lengths? Their senseis... broke into my home tonight. My home! Attacked me, unprovoked! But here I am, the only one left standing. They think they're entitled to victory because their way is "right" and our way is "wrong." But that's not how it works. There are no morals to the story, no happy endings! Life isn't a fairytale, it's a competitive sport! Right and wrong, there's no such thing! There are only winners and losers. Cobra Kai builds winners, because we're willing to do whatever it takes to come out on top. | „ |
| ~ Terry Silver's villainous breakdown in Season 5. |
Terrance "Terry" Silver is the secondary antagonist of The Karate Kid franchise. He is John Kreese's (former) closest friend, the CEO of DynaTox Industries, the sponsor of the All Valley Karate Tournament, and the arch-nemesis of Daniel LaRusso.
Like Kreese, he is a traumatized Vietnam Veteran, who was responsible for funding the Cobra Kai Dojo, and became a cocaine addict during the 1980's. Originally, after founding out Kreese was forced to shut down the dojo after Daniel won the All-Valley, Silver trained Mike Barnes in an effort to defeat Daniel after him, during which he also attempted to break Daniel mentally. Despite this, Mike Barnes was beaten by Daniel, leading to Cobra Kai being banned from the All-Valley, and Silver going into therapy.
Decades later, Silver is called by Kreese to help him in his war against LaRusso and his former student Johnny Lawrence. However, after coming to the conclusion that Kreese is just using him as a pawn. Silver betrays his now former best friend by going on to frame Kreese for assault (which he actually committed) and take over the dojo by himself.
He is portrayed by Thomas Ian Griffith, who also played Valek in John Carpenter's Vampires. His younger self was portrayed by Nick Marini.
Personality[]
| “ | Terry Silver just popped up out of the blue, right? He did the same thing to me. He'll seem decent enough, show you a few moves, and then he'll worm his way in. Chip away at you. And push you past your limits. You'll become stronger than you thought possible, but Silver won't stop there. This man is sick and twisted, and when he's done with you, you won't be you anymore. One day you'll find yourself with some poor kid's blood all over your shirt and you'll just hope it's not too late to change course. | „ |
| ~ Daniel LaRusso warning a Cobra Kai-aligned Robby Keene of how dangerous Terry Silver is. |
The flashbacks to Vietnam shown in Season 3 of Cobra Kai, show that early in his life, Silver, initially nicknamed Twig, was highly scared and cowardly, in stark contrast to the man he would become. His sole friend was shown to be Kreese, whom he highly respected for saving his life in Vietnam.
In The Karate Kid Part III, Silver was shown to be highly maniacal and theatrical. Later revealed to because of a cocaine addiction, Silver was very erratic. In contrast to the rather blunt Kreese, Silver instead relies on manipulation to achieve his end goals, such as faking sincerity, pretending to be a mentor to Daniel, and physically torturing him into becoming more brutal. With lots of wealth at his disposal, Silver is willing to go to extreme lengths to achieve his goals, such as hiring Mike Barnes. Though much more subtle, he is shown to be just as cruel as Kreese, openly taunting and mocking Daniel. Despite this cruelty, he is shown to be deeply caring for Kreese, spending much of his time planning revenge on Daniel to help Kreese out.
However, by the time of Season 4 of Cobra Kai, Silver has gone to therapy and found clarity, realizing the absurdity of his former actions, and finding peace in his new life, having found a girlfriend. When Kreese goes to his mansion asking for his help, Silver initially rejects. However, when he is reminded of his debt to Kreese, and finds himself needing to scratch that itch of karate, he returns to the dojo. After returning, he tries to learn from his previous mistakes. He is shown to be more honorable than Kreese, wanting to win the tournament in a more legal way. This brings him into conflict with Kreese, who uses the debt from Vietnam to cement himself as better than Silver. This leaves Silver desperate to prove himself to Kreese, to the point of tricking Johnny into coming the dojo to beat him up. When Kreese refuses to let Johnny be beaten, Silver, now realizing that Kreese is doing this for Johnny and is just using him, devolves into a mental spiral, culminating with him brutalizing Stingray, betraying Kreese and forcing him out of the dojo.
In Season 5, he is shown to have higher goals than he did back in the 1980's, intending to take Cobra Kai worldwide. He is also shown to be adamant about leaving a legacy before he dies. Despite this, he shows higher levels of manipulation and is shown to have fully devolved into the lunatic he was back in the 1980's, willing to brutalize Daniel to make him suffer.
Biography[]
Military Service[]
| “ | I owe you man, you saved my ass. Anything you need, I'm there for you, your whole life. You hear me Johnny? Your whole life. I owe you! | „ |
| ~ Terry's promise to Kreese |
Terrence Silver is the son of a businessman who enlisted in the Vietnam War as a Army Special Forces veteran, where he met John Kreese when they served together under Captain Turner. Silver was given the nickname "Twig" by Ponytail, owing to his skinny arms. While in captivity, the Vietnamese chose Silver to participate in a forced hand-to-hand fight to the death with Captain Turner, only for Kreese to volunteer himself instead. After being saved by an airstrike by the U.S. Air Force, Silver offers his undying loyalty to Kreese as his personal thanks. Silver also grows out a ponytail in honor of Ponytail.
Indebted to Kreese for saving his life, Silver helped Kreese to establish the Cobra Kai dojo, unable to run it himself owing to his father's orders to help him run the family business. Over the years, Silver would go on to become a Karate expert, equal to Kreese himself. However, he would eventually resort to corruption to keep his business, Dynatox, afloat, while also becoming addicted to cocaine to deal with his PTSD.
The Karate Kid Part III[]
| “ | Back in the '80s, I was so hopped up on cocaine and revenge, I spent months terrorizing a teenager over a high-school karate tournament. It sounds insane just talking about it. | „ |
| ~ Terry reflects back on his past. |
One day, while training at karate in his mansion, Silver was encountered by a weary Kreese. Kreese attempts to give back the keys to the dojo, promising to pay back the rent, to Silver's confusion. When he discovers that Kreese has lost all of his students, Silver makes it a personal mission to help Kreese recover. He buys him twenty new dojos all over the Valley and re-enters the Cobra Kai back in the All Valley Tournament, and sends him to Tahiti to recover from the severe hand wounds, which were self-inflicted from Kreese attempting to hit Mr. Miyagi. He also vows to reclaim the glory of the Cobra Kai name by winning the next All Valley Karate Championship; to this end, he recruits "Bad Boy" Mike Barnes to compete against Daniel.
Silver disguises himself as a "humble" man, wearing different clothing and driving a convertible blue Ford pickup truck, and appears before Daniel and Miyagi. He tells them Kreese had died from a heart attack after losing all of this students. He sneaks into Mr. Miyagi's house and overhears that Daniel is not competing in the next tournament. Silver hires Mike Barnes and his friends to blackmail Daniel into signing up, and is eventually successful through using Miyagi's bonsai trees. One day, as Barnes is tormenting Daniel, Silver stages an intervention (with Barnes), and offers to train Daniel for the tournament, since Miyagi cannot. He effectively gains Daniel's interest in the Cobra Kai training method, using tactics he calls the "Quicksilver method." However, Daniel's weak body and spirit prove a poor fit for the "Quicksilver" method, and his deficient technique causes Daniel to injure himself, fulfilling Kreese's wish to make Daniel suffer, and amusing Silver, who laughs at Daniel injuring himself.
Learning the "Quicksilver" method makes Daniel more aggressive than usual. One night, when Daniel is out with his friend Jessica at a nightclub, Silver bribes a kid into picking a fight with Daniel. Responding to this, Daniel punches and breaks the boy's nose. This causes Jessica to walk out in disgust and alarm, while Daniel is horrified by what he has done. Later that night, Daniel returns to the Cobra Kai Dojo and tells Silver he will not compete in the tournament. Silver then unmasks his true motives, and reveals Barnes and then Kreese. He orders Barnes to attack, who easily overpowers a weakened Daniel. Mr. Miyagi appears to help Daniel, and after taking down Barnes, Silver and Kreese challenge him. Despite their best efforts, Miyagi defeats them both. After being slammed into a mirror and having paint fall on his head, Silver proudly announces that he is opening multiple Cobra Kai Dojo's across the city.
At the climactic All Valley Tournament, Silver, dressed in a stylish suit and a red ascot tie, gives an inspirational and hypocritical speech to the crowd in which he highlights the importance of giving back to the community through the self-confidence and inner peace instilled by karate, and the virtues of honesty, compassion and fair play. Silver also appeals to parents who are concerned for their children's future by saying karate instilled in him the values that enabled him to eventually lead DynaTox, which was a likely impetus to get families to pressure their kids into enrolling into the forthcoming chain of Cobra Kai dojos.
At the tournament, Silver orders Barnes to make Daniel suffer and lose points deliberately, and then win the match in sudden death. Barnes overpowers Daniel throughout the entire match, but after Daniel regains his confidence via Mr. Miyagi, he uses the kata he was taught to defeat Mike in the sudden death match, causing Silver to leave the scene in disgust and humiliation. Cobra Kai seemingly was shut down for good when the audience threw back their free t-shirts.
As later revealed in the Cobra Kai TV series, Silver, now done with the Cobra Kai, went back to running his company. He would quit his cocaine addiction, reform his company, and attempt to better himself, and get a girlfriend.
Cobra Kai[]
Season 1[]
While Silver does not appear, he is mentioned by name several times when it is revealed that the Cobra Kai was banned from the All-Valley tournament due to his, Kreese's and Mike Barnes' actions in 1985.
Season 2[]
In this season, Kreese reveals that, after Cobra Kai went under, an "old war buddy" (presumably Silver) offered him a job but Kreese refused it, seeing it as a "handout".
He is shown in a flashback when Daniel is telling his students about the time Silver tricked him to join Cobra Kai.
Season 3[]
Terry appeared in the flashback in 1968 how he and Kreese become friends. It is revealed that Kreese and Silver were part of a unit that had been captured by the Vietnam Soldiers who were forced to fight each other to the death over a pit of snakes. When Silver was summoned to fight the commander of the unit, Kreese fought in his place. This is when Silver vowed to always help Kreese for the rest of his life. At the end of the season, he is called up by Kreese, who asks for his help with Cobra Kai.
Season 4[]
Upon Kreese getting in touch with him, Silver hung up, continuing to play his piano. Kreese then visited Silver's house to find him a changed man, throwing parties and much more reserved and calm. Kreese attempted to convince Silver to come back to Cobra Kai, which he refused owing to the insanity of his plans back in 1985. Later that night, Silver roundhouse kicked a bottle of his wine, becoming his original self for a second. He would later continue to have flashbacks of his time in the war, and eventually confronted Kreese claiming he should've let "sleeping dogs lie". He ultimately chose to join Kreese and assist him in his plans to win the tournament. He even reunited with Daniel, apologizing for his actions, to Daniel's anger and hatred.
However, during the training of their students, Kreese and Silver became conflicted with their now-opposing views, with Silver not wanting to repeat the same mistakes they made last time. Kreese also emotionally blackmails him by reminding him of how he was crippled by fear before during the forced death matches and that only because of Kreese, he survived, causing Silver to gradually grow angry towards Kreese and regress more into his original self. In an effort to prove himself to Kreese, Silver attacks Johnny without Kreese's knowledge, and offers him a chance to finish him off. Kreese, finally realizing the errors of his ways, instead tells Silver that he's gone too far and talks him into leaving Johnny alone. The next morning, Silver begins drinking heavily, confused and angered at Kreese's hypocrisy, coming to the conclusion that Kreese has been using him the entire time. Stingray then enters, hoping to convince Silver to let him rejoin the dojo, causing a now-insane Silver to beat him brutally. Silver then tells Stingray that he will allow him to join Cobra Kai, if he blames his injuries on Kreese.
During the tournament, Silver and Kreese continue to have conflicts over how to work on the tournament. During the final fight, Silver attempts to convince Tory to cheat to beat Sam, to which Kreese encourages her to win however she wants. Unbeknownst to anyone, however, Silver bribes the referee to rule in Tory and Cobra Kai's favor. After this, Silver betrays and turns on Kreese, as Kreese refusing to allow him to finish Johnny off made him believe that Kreese deceived him into believing that they were teaming up for the glory days. As the police approach to arrest Kreese, Silver reveals that he framed him for aggravated assault and attempted murder. Kreese then swears that it's not over yet as the police arrest and take him away. As Kreese is taken away, Silver reveals that he will get an old friend to help him in managing Cobra Kai.
Season 5[]
| “ | The Valley? It never ceases to amaze me how small your mind is. I don't give a shit about your Valley. I've got much bigger plans. | „ |
| ~ Silver revealing his plans to Daniel. |
Having won the All Valley Tournament, Terry Silver makes good on his intentions to expand Cobra Kai throughout the valley. Displeased with the local senseis, he calls Kim Da-Eun, the granddaughter of his former Karate teacher to travel to the United States to aid him in his plans, with Kim bringing alongside her the best senseis from Korea. Silver then starts taking over other dojos, such as Topanga Karate.
Determined to have Cobra Kai's teachings spread worldwide, he decides to register for the Sekai Taikai tournament, the greatest karate tournament in the world, to achieve this goal. Although he impresses the staff with all the fancy equipment and once again resorts to bribery in the test sparring matches, Miyagi-Fang, gets qualified as well. In perhaps his most inhuman act, he, Da-eun, and the others senseis force Tory to smash a plate of solid stone with her bare hand for abandoning her match for the tournament against Samantha, leaving her hand severely injured.
Having had enough of witnessing Silver walking away unpunished from his numerous crimes, Johnny, Chozen Toguchi and Mike Barnes invade his home to get revenge. Barnes is knocked unconscious during the scuffle, leaving Johnny to handle the other senseis while Chozen pursues Silver. Their hand-to-hand fight turns to weapons, with Silver pulling out a katana and Chozen pulling out his sais. Even though Chozen regains the upperhand at the last second, he briefly turns away when he listens to Johnny's screams, allowing Silver to slash Toguchi in the back, presumably killing him. Silver orders his fellow senseis to finish Johnny while he heads to the dojo, which has turnt into a war between Miyagi-Fang and Cobra Kai.
Unfortunately, he is unable to prevent Daniel's son Anthony LaRusso from uploading a video of him confessing to Tory that he bribed the referee at the All-Valley. His students disappointed and shocked. The maniacal Silver attempts to explain his twisted worldview: that there is only weak and strong. He then mocks Daniel for failing to defeat him and gives him two options: accept that or try again. By incorporating Cobra Kai, Miyagi-Do, Eagle Fang and the Quick-Silver method, Daniel defeats Silver, using the crane kick to finish him off.
Realizing their sensei was nothing but an unscrupulous fraud, Silver's students throw Cobra Kai clothing at a barely conscious Terry. The authorities eventually arrive and Silver is arrested for a litany of charges, especially after Stingray confesses his beating was from Silver's hands.
Quotes[]
| “ | Over the years, I've developed a system of intensive short-term training, for situations just like this, It comes in two part and has three rules. I call it "Quick Silver". | „ |
| ~ Silver tells Daniel about "Quick Silver" |
| “ | Man can't stand, he can't fight. Man can't breathe, he can't fight. Man can't see, he can't fight. | „ |
| ~ The Silver method of Karate. |
| “ | Johnny, every business has a slump at one time or another. Look at this, ten years ago, nuclear was the preferred waste. You could dump it anywhere. Now, everybody's a detective. I'm lucky if I make one deal a year without being indicted. | „ |
| ~ Silver to Kreese revealing his immoral business practices. |
| “ | Cobra Kai, it was never about revenge. It was about building strength by taking your fears and turning them into a weapon. That's what we should be focused on. If we're just gonna rehash the past, history will just repeat itself all over again. | „ |
| ~ Silver explaining his intentions to Kreese. |
| “ | You were right about me, John. I was living a lie. I lost who I was along the way. But now? Now there's nothing I want more than a second chance at finishing what we started. I just wanna make sure this time we win. And the only way to do that is to forget about the past. Focus on our students. We do that, everything else will fall into place. LaRusso will have to shut down Miyagi-Do. And Johnny Lawrence will rue the day he ever left Cobra Kai. So, what do you say? | „ |
| ~ Silver talking to Kreese at the restaurant. |
| “ | Please. You were a hothead. All I had to do was wind you up and get out of the way. And...if you're being honest with yourself, you know you liked it. You were powerful, free. You just don't wanna admit there's always been a little Cobra Kai in you. | „ |
| ~ Silver telling Daniel that he inherently liked being Cobra Kai. |
| “ | I actually like this attitude on you. It's a shame I won't get to see it again, because if you continue down this path, nothing in your life will ever be the same again. You're playing with fire, Danny Boy. | „ |
| ~ Silver threatening Daniel LaRusso. |
| “ | You and I are gonna be seeing a lot more of each other. First, I'm gonna deal with my old friend. And then I'll deal with you. I told you not to play with fire. | „ |
| ~ Terry Silver confronting Daniel about the voice message in the sauna. |
| “ | Silver: I spent a lot of my life listening to others: my father, my captain, my best friend. Kenny: Sensei Kreese... Silver: Yes. But it was only after I listened to my own instincts that I reached my potential. I've seen the best fighters in the Valley: Keene, Moskowitz, Diaz. I believe you have more potential than any of them, if you're ready to be a leader. |
„ |
| ~ Terry Silver's words of encouragement to Kenny. |
| “ | LaRusso, Lawerence, Diaz, Keene, they've all had their time in the sun. Now it's your turn. | „ |
| ~ Silver helping Kenny Payne. |
| “ | Now, now, I'm not here to fight. I understand how important the next generation is. Everything I do is for the future: theirs and mine. So savor every moment before it's gone. | „ |
| ~ Silver meeting Johnny and Carmen at the hospital. |
| “ | Mike Barnes. Hahahahaha, oh my, been a long time. Oh, I'd say you're keeping well, but... All evidence to the contrary. | „ |
| ~ Terry Silver reuniting with Mike Barnes. |
| “ | Silver: What was it you said would happen if I crossed your line, before I crossed it again and again? Chozen: You will beg for mercy. Silver: Right. Well, it's time to find out. |
„ |
| ~ Silver before his duel with Chozen. |
| “ | Not bad, Toguchi. But now, time to find out what you're really made of. | „ |
| ~ Terry Silver about to fight Chozen with a katana. |
| “ | I was meant to die on the battlefield. Do it. | „ |
| ~ Terry Silver urging Chozen to kill him. |
| “ | You got your ass kicked, Danny boy. Now, you can either accept that, or I can kick it again right now. | „ |
| ~ Terry challenging Daniel to a final fight. |
| “ | First I took care of Chozen, now you. This is where Miyagi-Do ends. | „ |
| ~ Terry's final words before being defeated by Daniel |
Relationships[]
Friends/Allies[]
- Kim Sung-Yung † - Mentor
- Kim Da-Eun
- Cobra Kai Dojo senseis
- US Military - Former Allies
- Ponytail † - Best Friend
- Snake - Former Employee
- Dennis - Former Employee
- Milos Dadok - Former Butler
- Margaret Spencer - Former Secretary
- Cheyenne Hamidi (former girlfriend; status unclear)
- Carla
- Rene
- Eva Garcia
- Emile
- Two unnamed Referees - Bribed
Enemies[]
- John Kreese - Former Best Friend, Former Partner, Former Captain
- George Turner - Former Mentor and Superior, Former Ally
- Daniel LaRusso - Archenemy, Brief and Former Student
- Mr. Miyagi †
- Jessica Andrews
- Johnny Lawrence
- Chozen Toguchi - Attempted Victim and Attempted Killer
- Mike Barnes - Former Student, Former Employee, Former Ally
- Amanda LaRusso
- Carmen Diaz
- Stingray - Former Student, Former Employee, Attempted Victim
- Tory Nichols - Former Student
- Nestor
- Shannon Keene
- Los Angeles Police Department
- Miyagi-Do students
- Robby Keene - Former Student and Former Ally
- Samantha LaRusso
- Eli "Hawk" Moskowitz
- Demetri Alexopoulsos
- Anthony LaRusso
- Chris
- Nathaniel
- Eagle Fang students
- Miguel Diaz
- Devon Lee - Brief and Former Student
- Bert
- Cobra Kai Dojo students - Former Allies
- Kenny Payne - Former Student and Former Ally
- Kyler Park - Former Student
- Mitch - Brief and Former Student
Trivia[]
- Terry Silver was Thomas Ian Griffith's film debut.
- Regarding martial arts, Thomas Ian Griffith has a background in American Kenpo and Taekwondo. Although the Cobra Kai style is based on Tang Soo Do, Taekwondo is a successor style to it.
- In real life, Thomas Ian Griffith was only thirteen years old when the Vietnam War ended. At the time The Karate Kid Part III was made, Griffith was four months younger than Ralph Macchio, who plays Daniel.
- The character of Terry Silver was only created for The Karate Kid Part III because Martin Kove's schedule didn't allow him to film more scenes as John Kreese, who was initially planned to have a bigger role.
- The house where Silver lives is actually the Ennis House, a home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1924.
- Terry Silver usually calls Daniel "Danny Boy", which is coincidentally the name of a popular Irish song. Griffith played another character named Terry and sang "Danny Boy" in Excessive Force.
- It was initially unlikely that Silver would appear in Cobra Kai since actor Thomas Ian Griffith, quit acting in 2007. Nevertheless, fans hoped for Griffith to reprise the role if convinced by the producers or have Silver appear through flashbacks, as Season 3 explored John Kreese's experiences during the Vietnam War. The end of the season also implied Thomas Ian Griffith would return as Silver in Season 4, which he did.
- Terry Silver's appearance was an inspiration behind Duke of Super Double Dragon.
- There were rumors that Terry Silver knew Chozen’s uncle Sato, but it was never confirmed.
- Terry Silver is considered to be the darkest villain in The Karate Kid franchise, as he tried to make Daniel suffer at the hands of Mike Barnes, tried to recruit students into Cobra Kai and lead them into the dark path, hiring new sensei's like Kim-Da-Eun to abuse them, attempted to ruin Daniel's life, bribing the referees to give out false calls to ensure Cobra Kai's survival, attempted to kill Johnny, Chozen, and Barnes, as well as trying to punish students if they were to leave the dojo or if they didn't follow their rules.
- A popular theory at the moment is Silver is dying from an unknown disease.
- He is seen with medication during Season 4.
- He later meets Carmen and Johnny at the hospital, which is implied to be a coincidence, begging the question what was he initially there for.
- Twice during his fight with Chozen, he implies he is ready to die.
