- "There's no honor in being merciless."
- ―Miguel Diaz to John Kreese[src]
Miguel Diaz is one of the two main protagonists of the Netflix series, Cobra Kai. He is portrayed by Xolo Maridueña. Miguel is the neighbor of former karate champion Johnny Lawrence, who convinces Johnny to train him. Miguel helps him to reopen and establish a student base at Cobra Kai Dojo, though he quickly falls into the Cobra Kai mentality of "no mercy". As his attitude shifts, his relationship with Samantha LaRusso falls apart, leading to a dangerous rivalry of his own with Johnny's estranged son, Robby Keene.
Their rivalry reaches a boiling point, resulting in Miguel suffering a spinal injury, after getting sent over a balcony and hitting the stairs. When he does awaken from his coma, he is ready to rebuild his life in a healthier mindset. He recruits Johnny's help once again, this time, forming a new dojo away from the merciless teachings of John Kreese. Miguel is caught in the middle of his sensei’s long-standing rivalry with Daniel LaRusso. Despite learning of the rivalry, Miguel gains some respect for and accepts the teachings of Sensei Daniel, as well as repairing his relationship with Sam. He later befriends Robby and Tory (his ex-girlfriend) and helps them and Miyagi-Fangs in exposing Silver to his students.
Biography
Miguel was born in 2002 in Ecuador to Carmen Diaz and Hector Salazar. His father was a criminal with connections to a drug cartel. This dangerous lifestyle forced Carmen, who was pregnant with Miguel, to flee from Ecuador and take refuge in the United States.
Cobra Kai
Season 1
An asthmatic and naïve 15 year old teenager with no self-defense reflexes, Miguel is attacked by a group of rich bullies while shopping in a bodega. The group is led by fellow West Valley High School student Kyler. Miguel is shoved into a nearby car but the event is witnessed by the car's owner, who intervenes primarily for the safety of his car. The owner himself shows great skill in karate, which Miguel admires, though the fight results in the police being called and the arrest of the man. Miguel returns home where he sees the man entering a neighboring apartment, and confronts him about the fight. Miguel learns the man is Johnny Lawrence, former All Valley Karate Tournament champion, though he is now a man who is a heavy drinker, living in squalor, and struggling to find a career. Miguel tries to ask Johnny to train him in karate so he can defend himself against Kyler, though Johnny refuses as he has no interest in helping anyone. Miguel's determination in this effort collides with Johnny's decision to reopen the dojo that taught him, Cobra Kai. Miguel becomes Johnny's first student, as well as, the dojo's janitor and site administrator due to Johnny's complete lack of technological knowledge. The new friendship raises concerns from Miguel's mother, Carmen, as she doesn't want her son fighting or participating in violence.
Miguel remains steadfast in his desire to learn. He improves quickly under Johnny's tutelage and becomes more confident at school, even recruiting his best friends to join Cobra Kai. Though Eli Moskowitz finds his footing at the school, Demetri ultimately leaves as he doesn't believe in the violent teachings or societal expectations of the members. This creates friction in Miguel's friendship with Demetri, which is especially furthered when Demetri finds acceptance at the rival Miyagi-Do Karate dojo. In the meantime, Miguel witnesses a female student confronting Kyler about rumors he spread about her. As Kyler becomes aggressive, Miguel inserts himself and easily disarms Kyler and the others that attempt to aid the bully. The student, Samantha LaRusso, is grateful to Miguel despite not needing his help due to her karate background. Miguel gains popularity at school for the act and respect from Johnny, which also results in a multitude of students joining. He ultimately begins to date Sam, which displeases Johnny due to Sam being the daughter of his thirty-year rival Daniel LaRusso.
As time passes, Johnny's aggressive teachings and negative outlook on the world begins to affect Miguel, who also picks up the attitude displayed from his only father figure. He begins to act jealous and possessive with Sam, especially when she befriends Robby Keene, an outsider with a bad home situation. After a series of misunderstandings between Sam, Miguel, and Robby, the friction reaches its breaking point during a bonfire party. When Sam and Robby arrive together, a drunk Miguel misunderstands their arrival and starts a fight with Robby. Sam intervenes and accidentally intercepts a punch from Miguel, causing her to end things with him. The rivalry between Robby and Miguel also begins, as Miguel blames Robby for all the issues he's had that year with Sam, instead of taking accountability for his own choices and actions. He also learns that Robby is Johnny's estranged son. This revelation spawns more jealousy from Miguel, as he now believes Johnny's change of heart regarding the dojo's mantra "strike first. strike hard. no mercy." is due to Robby's arrival.
The trial and tribulations of the year collide at the All Valley Karate Tournament. Miguel fights under Cobra Kai's banner with Johnny in his corner, while Robby Keene fights without a school backing him at that time. Miguel reaches out to Sam to apologize for his actions the past few weeks, but Samantha reminds him that his actions don't match his words anymore. Miguel rebukes the idea that he's to blame for their breakup or anything that followed, and threatens to hurt Robby in the tournament. Miguel reaches the semifinals alongside Hawk, who is ultimately disqualified for using aggressive tactics. Miguel, however, defeats the defending champion Xander Stone, allowing Miguel to advance to the finals. The last fight of the night is between Robby and Miguel. Robby is now supported by Daniel LaRusso and fighting with an injured shoulder after a cheap shot made in a previous match.
The match is even until Robby gains the upper-hand, and when Robby tries to help Miguel up, Miguel instead yanks Robby's arm and further injures his shoulder. The referee warns Miguel that if he does it again he'll be disqualified for unsportsmanlike conduct. Johnny, however, reprimands Miguel for his underhanded tactics and tells him to avoid Robby's injured arm. Miguel coolly states there's nothing dirty about winning. Miguel continues to fight aggressively and targets Robby's injured arm in ways that are barely legal in the sport. He ultimately wins the competition, becoming the newest All Valley Karate Tournament champion. As he celebrates with his family, Demetri tells him that Samantha left the tournament and didn't see him win.
Season 2
Both Miguel and Hawk are scolded by Johnny for their cheating/cheap moves during the tournament, stripped of their black belts, relegated to white belts along with the rest of the class, and forced to do 50 push-ups under Johnny's order. When Miguel confronts Johnny about the punishment, Johnny explains to him that when he was younger, he did not show mercy or honor and eventually paid the price, and the reason he is being tough on Miguel is so that he can be a better man than Johnny ever was.
At first he wants to talk things over with Sam. He sends her some apology texts, but she doesn't respond. Sam later blocks him, making him further guilty and upset. However, he soon meets a new Cobra Kai student named Tory, and over time they become a couple. However, it's quite clear the girl he truly loves is still Samantha.
While dropping off some of his mom's food at Johnny's apartment, Miguel notices a picture of Robby on the fridge. He tells Hawk, and the two find out that Robby is Johnny's son. They assume that Johnny is only being hard on them because of his relationship to Robby. They confront Johnny, but the latter angrily tells them to mind their own business. However, Johnny later tells Miguel how he screwed up with Robby, and that he is proud to now be teaching Miguel, which makes their bond stronger and helps Miguel realize that Johnny isn't favoring Robby over him.
During a competition in the woods hosted by Johnny's sensei, John Kreese, Miguel finds out that Hawk was the one who instigated the vandalism of the Miyagi dojo and stole Mr. Miyagi's Medal of Honor, and Miguel uses the training exercise to defeat Hawk and takes the Medal. He goes to Sam's house to return it, but when Robby opens the door Miguel gives the Medal to him instead, trusting that he would give it to Sam.
As the relationships between Miguel and Tory and Sam and Robby progress, they cross paths at the roller-skating rink where Tory works. There, Miguel realizes that Sam and Robby are there as a couple. Tory sees this too, and she provokes Sam by kissing Miguel in front of her, making Sam jealous. Miguel and Sam then have an argument about why he is dating Tory, followed by Tory and Sam get into a physical altercation resulting in Tory falling. This leads Miguel to defend Tory against Sam, and Sam and Robby are kicked out of the rink.
During Moon's house party on the last day of summer vacation, the feud continues in a drinking contest between Tory and Sam, which results in a drunken Sam. During a quiet moment together, Sam realizes that Miguel was the one who gave back the Medal, and she thanks him. Then the two share a kiss, which they both immediately regret. However, they are unaware that Tory sees them.
When a school fight starts on the first day of school, Miguel sees Robby holding Tory against a locker. Unaware that Tory was attacking Sam before and Robby was trying to stop the fight, Miguel tackles Robby and the two fight. After gaining the upper-hand on Robby, Miguel notices Sam and Tory fighting. He runs to stop the fight, but is stopped by Robby who attacks him. With the assistance from two of his Cobra Kai friends, he manages to kick Robby into one of them who grabs hold of Robby. After being encouraged by his friend to go, Miguel runs to Tory and Sam, leaving Robby to deal with his two friends. After reaching Tory and Sam, he tries to stop Tory from attacking Sam, only for Tory to kick him in the stomach.
After Robby defeats Miguel's friends, he runs to help Sam, only for Miguel to stop him. They then continue their fight, which seems to be evenly matched. At times, Miguel has the upper-hand, and at times, Robby has the upper-hand. After gaining the upper-hand on Robby again, Miguel tells Robby that Sam loves him more than Robby, causing an infuriated Robby to aggressively attack Miguel and gain the upper-hand yet again. Miguel, however, manages to recover and get the better of Robby by flipping him over and trapping his arm in a lock. After seemingly winning the fight, he decides to show mercy due to Johnny's teachings. He lets go of Robby's arm and apologizes (possibly for kissing Sam). However, an infuriated Robby, who is likely still angry at Miguel for kissing Sam, gets up and kicks Miguel, who flips over the railing he was backed-up against. Miguel is admitted into the hospital in critical condition.
Miguel has a broken spine as a result of Robby accidentally kicking him over the railing, and he is paralyzed for a few weeks until Season 3, Episode 7, a few days before Robby gets out of the juvenile detention center.
Season 3
While in a coma, Miguel is dreaming about fighting and beating an unknown opponent in the All Valley tournament, but eventually he wakes up. His legs, however, aren't functioning. While he is supposed to have surgery, it is unknown whether this will help him to walk again. Initially, Miguel blames Johnny for being in this position, but after some time Johnny starts giving hope to Miguel.
After Miguel is released from the hospital, Johnny begins performing exercises with him in order to help get his legs functioning. Initially, the exercises aren't effective, frustrating Miguel. However, while at a concert, Johnny and Miguel witness Miguel being able to tap his foot, giving everyone some hope. Johnny continues to work with Miguel, sometimes with unorthodox methods, especially in comparison to the physical therapy Miguel also receives. At the same time, Miguel helps Johnny with a Facebook profile.
While at a restaurant helping Johnny with photos for his Facebook profile, Tory sees Miguel. He expresses that he's upset that Tory did not come to visit him while he was in the hospital. He also does not like when Tory says that Cobra Kai is trying to get back at Miyagi-Do for what happened to him, since he does not see it as Miyagi-Do's fault. At the same time, Tory voices her disappointment for his kiss with Sam. Miguel still does not see this as justifying the fight Tory caused and the brutality with which she fought Sam, and he tells her that she needs help, which angers Tory, as she feels he is calling her crazy. When Miguel ends their relationship, Tory leaves upset and in anger. Later that day while training with Johnny, Miguel lacks motivation, which annoys Johnny, who does not know that Miguel is struggling because he is upset about his breakup with Tory. The two get into an argument, with Miguel accusing Johnny for giving up on his students. After he finishes his ranting, Johnny points out to Miguel that he is standing without assistance, making them both happy and causing them to hug. From then on, Miguel continues to improve with Johnny's training. Miguel goes from a wheelchair to crutches and eventually walking on both feet without the need of any support.
Now that Miguel can walk again, he goes back to school, but not before telling Johnny he will help recruit students to Johnny's new dojo, which Johnny calls Eagle Fang Karate. At school he rekindles his friendship with Sam, and expresses disappointment in Hawk after learning from Demetri that Hawk broke Demetri's arm. Miguel's and Hawk's friendship ends as a result of Hawk's ruthless actions. Luckily for Miguel, some of his classmates join Johnny's dojo such as Mitch and Bert. They begin training together, but Miguel still struggles with his recovery. He hurts himself while attempting to kick in training, but Johnny tells him that it's alright and that no one expects him to be back to his normal self. After Mitch gets news that All Valley is cancelled, Johnny tells Miguel it's okay, since he would not have been able to compete anyway, which angers Miguel who protests and wants to defend his champion title. Johnny tries to make Miguel understand that he does not want to risk Miguel getting hurt again, but Miguel is adamant on competing and defending his title. The conversation ends with Miguel storming into his apartment and Carmen talking to Johnny about her believing in him saving the All Valley Tournament.
In the community hearing about the tournament, Councilperson Roberts is summarizing that the All Valley Tournament should be banned because of the school brawl and the City Council thinks that karate is the problem, but then Miguel shows up. Miguel points out to Roberts that he was involved in the school fight, and that he was the one who was kicked off the second floor balcony and was paralyzed as a result, and he tells the Council that it was Johnny who helped him walk again. He then explains to Roberts that he was bullied and how karate is a means of teaching kids to defend themselves, and that tournaments are safe places to practice these skills. He also credits Johnny for his success. He is joined by Sam who makes similar arguments. Miguel ends his case by saying that the All Valley should be allowed to be held to give the kids ways of defending themselves. Moved by their pleas, Councilperson Roberts allows the tournament to resume, making both Miguel and Sam happy and hug.
Back at Miyagi-Do dojo, Miguel and Sam are chatting and celebrating their accomplishment of saving the tournament, and Miguel jokingly gives Sam a hard time about Miyagi-Do. Miguel even teases her into taking him down a second time, reminding of their first date. The two briefly spar, but then stop and stare at each other (romantically). Unfortunately, in that moment Robby just so happens to walk in on them together, having come to see Sam after his release from juvenile detention center, and he accuses Sam of cheating on him with Miguel. Miguel tries to calm Robby down, tells him it isn't Sam's fault and points out how Robby wasn't there for Sam when she had panic attacks and PTSD from Tory's attack and the school fight, but Robby angrily tells Miguel to stay out of it. Miguel refuses to do this, and it becomes clear that the rivalry from season one continues. Robby then reignites their rivalry and attempts to punch Miguel, but Sam blocks his punch and pushes Robby away, while telling him to stop. Robby angrily states that they deserve each other and then breaks up with Sam. This leaves Sam devastated and Miguel shocked over nearly being attacked by the same person who put him in the hospital.
The following morning, Miguel and Sam are inside the Miyagi-Do dojo, where Miguel is looking at a picture of Mr. Miyagi and holding Daniel's Okinawan hand drum. Sam asks Miguel to put the drum in his pocket and attack her. Miguel does so, but is blocked by Sam the same way Daniel blocked Chozen's attacks in Karate Kid 2. Miguel then performs a take down, causing both to fall. On the ground, the two kiss, but they are walked-in on by Daniel LaRusso. Although initially tense, the relationship between Daniel and Miguel softens as the two bond over the car Daniel got from Mr. Miyagi. Daniel tells Miguel certain facts about Johnny and his rivalry with Johnny, which Johnny never told Miguel, helping Miguel realize both sides to the rivalry between the two senseis.
Later that night, Sam invites Miguel and the other Eagle Fang students to her house while Amanda and Daniel are out in the Country Club Dinner with Ali and Johnny. She wants all of them to work together, which no one can agree upon except Sam and Miguel. However, after some discussion they agree and unite. And thankfully, it was just in time, since Tory interrupts the "party" with a group of Cobra Kai students, including Kyler. Miguel is especially unhappy to see that Kyler has joined Cobra Kai due to his past bullying. The Cobra Kais then attack, resulting in a fight. Miguel first pins Mikey to the table, but then faces Kyler. Kyler has the upper-hand for most of the fight due to Miguel still recovering from his fall off the balcony in the high school brawl and only recently returning to training. However, while being repeatedly hit by Kyler, Miguel remembers the encouragement Johnny gave him while in the coma and his dream about competing in the tournament, as well as imagining Robby as his opponent. Now, regaining his confidence, Miguel defeats and knocks out Kyler, and thanks him for the motivation. After the fight ended, Miguel and Hawk alongside Demetri manages to stop Sam and Tory from fighting before Tory leaves she calls both Miguel and Hawk "traitors". Later on, Miguel returns home bloodied up recovering with ice pack, as Johnny is about to confess his love for Carmen and Johnny gets shocked at Miguel and tells him what happened, after learning the event Johnny fled to Cobra Kai dojo to confront Kreese.
Back at Cobra Kai, when Daniel is getting the better of Kreese, Miguel and Sam show up and stop the fight between them. Robby arrives and stands next to Kreese, siding against his old sensei and father in the same move, and shocking Daniel and Johnny. Robby angrily shouts at Miguel, Sam, Daniel and Johnny and tells the four to leave. The following morning, Miguel and the other Eagle Fangs show up at the Miyagi-Do dojo, where they begin training under Johnny's and Daniel's leaderships in preparation for the tournament against Kreese, Robby, Kyler, Tory. Mikey, Doug, Big Red and the rest of the Cobra Kais.
Season 4
As training begins under the new dual leadership of Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence, Miguel is caught in the middle of their feuding. He wants the opposing senseis to get along and tries to work with Samantha, who is back as his girlfriend, to achieve a sense of unity between the men. After an unsuccessful first day, Miguel and Johnny arrive to their apartments where Miguel talks about Rocky III. He tells Johnny that in the movie, Rocky and Apollo had a rough history but they had to work together in order to defeat Clubber Lang. Miguel compares the situation to the merge and how they need to put his and Daniel's differences aside in order to defeat Cobra Kai. The next day, Miguel and Sam are hanging out but notice Hawk with a sledgehammer. However, they are relieved to learn that he and the other students are building an Okinawan sparring deck, the same one from the painting inside the dojo. The two join him and shows Daniel and Johnny the first step to working together.
The Diaz's have dinner with the LaRussos but Miguel accidentally spills wine on Daniel. During one training session with Miyagi-Do, Eagle Fang is tasked with catching the koi fish in the dojo pond. Hawk offers to go practice at a Chinese restaurant, but Miguel tells him his mom has to pick him up. However, Carmen has car trouble and Daniel offers to help after telling Miguel about the tow company's prices. After their training session, Daniel brings Carmen's car to his repair shop. Back at Miyagi-Do, Miguel catches a koi and earns the Miyagi-Do headband. However, Johnny watched the exchange and becomes jealous over the two.
In another training session, Miguel and Daniel are doing kata much to Johnny's jealousy. Johnny offers to make Miguel dinner but he tells him that he was going with Daniel to work on his mom's car. While Daniel is repairing her car, the two bond with each other. Daniel explains how he blew his money on his trip to Okinawa and a bonsai tree store. He also talks about the true meaning of Miyagi-Do. After the car is fixed, Miguel and Daniel go on a test drive where they are listening to "Sailing" by Christopher Cross. Daniel explains that the 80s also had soft rock and not just hard rock. Distracted, Miguel ends up speeding through a yellow light and Daniel warns him on what to do if he were to take Sam out on drives. He talks about his dad and how he ended up in a bad lifestyle. He meets with Sam at a party place for Daniel's worker's child. They kiss in front of Tory, who also works at the party place, angering her. Miguel, Sam and the rest of the Eagle Fangs and Miyagi-Dos are then at a drive-in where they end up in a confrontation with Cobra Kai. He tells them to meet in the baseball diamond only for Miguel not to show up. In the end, Cobra Kai is drenched with the sprinklers. Hawk is impressed with his idea and they leave. He tells Johnny about the incident but he gets upset about what he did but Daniel praised it, telling him how restraint is important.
At school, Miguel and Sam tell Hawk and Demetri that Daniel and Johnny are going to have a rematch at Miyagi-Do. When he gets home, he notices Johnny train and tells him he doesn't care about their rivalry. During the fight, him and Sam are the referees for the match. The fight ends but Miguel leaves Miyagi-Do after realizing the merge failed.
Eagle Fang learns about the new updates for the upcoming All Valley Karate Tournament. Miguel tells him that they should give Sam a chance in their dojo, but Johnny rejects the idea. He then goes to the school field with Johnny to try to find a girl but to no avail. Miguel tells Moon that they need female students but she turns him down. At Moon's behest, the two then go to a gymnastics center to recruit Piper. Before she goes to her friends, she accepts their request, happy that they finally found their female student. Before class, Eagle Fang is waiting for her. However, they learn that Piper ended up joining Cobra Kai, upsetting them. Miguel explains that Cobra Kai ordered new gear and is the reason why they got new students. He then explains to Johnny that he made him a champion and needs to think outside the box. Remembering Bert's idea, they go to a debate trial and recruit a girl named Devon to join their dojo.
Johnny begins a dangerous training session and has Miguel become co-sensei. After the class, the rest of his classmates are upset that he got to be co-sensei. Later, Miguel cuts class to go to the dojo with Johnny. He then tells Miguel that he wants to become Miguel's father. After, Miguel and Sam want to learn the flying tornado kick and he approves. When he gets home, he tells Johnny and his mom that the reason why he came home late is because he was with Samantha. Johnny begins to act like a dad towards Miguel but he is upset with how Johnny and his mom's relationship is going.
Miguel and his family go to the LaRusso house to take pictures with the LaRussos before the prom. He tells Sam that they are happy to put karate aside in order to spend the night with each other. During prom, Miguel and Sam share a dance but get distracted with Robby and Tory dancing. At Stingray's afterparty, Sam and Miguel get in a fight with Robby and Tory. Unfortunately, they lose the fight after Robby throws Miguel, Tory and Sam in the pool. When he gets home, he helps a drunken Johnny to his bed and reveals that he loves him but he mentions Robby, saddening him.
During the All-Valley tournament, Johnny talks to Miguel saying he knew about his fight with Robby and Tory and understands his situation. He tells him to focus on the tournament. Later, Miguel participates in the skills competition where he shows off his offensive skills but Eagle Fang falls in sixth place. In the one-on-one matchups, he easily beats his opponent and advances. His opponent in the semifinals is his former Cobra Kai and Eagle Fang classmate and his friend, Eli Moskowitz. They are evenly matched until Miguel knocks Eli down, though no point is awarded due to a block. Miguel prepares to deliver a kick, but ends up pulling a muscle and collapsing. The injury he suffered was the same from the school brawl. As he writhes in pain, the medic tends to Miguel's injury.
Because of his injury, Miguel decides not to return and lets Eli advance to the finals, where he would win the boys division. Before the finals, Miguel and Sam reconcile and takes an Uber home. Upon arriving home, Miguel writes a letter to his mother and grandmother saying that he is going to Mexico City to find his biological father. Unbeknownst to him, Tory Nichols won the tournament by beating Samantha 3-2, giving Cobra Kai the grand championship, and also that Terry bribed the referee to ensure she would win, alongside the fact that his biological father does not know about his existence.
Season 5
After the 51st All-Valley, Miguel arrives in Mexico. He approaches local surfers for directions but the surfers take his backpack. After one of them gives him directions, Miguel buys his backpack and map. Later, he arrives at a bar but realizes that it was the wrong guy and leaves. After having a conversation with Sam, he sees a man and begins to follow him. He talks to a kid who runs away from him. After he tries to get his soccer ball, Miguel saves him. Hector thanks him and he invites him over for dinner.
The next day, Miguel helps Hector make breakfast. Hector is happy to learn that Miguel is an All-Valley champion. Later, he invites him to go to an MMA event. When Carmen calls him, he chastises her for lying to him about Hector. He tells her that Hector is a good man and that he missed out on everything because of her. At the MMA event, Hector gets mad at for Miguel for not telling him he's from America but apologizes to him after he comes clean. After, Miguel calls his mom and tearfully tells her about how he learned of Hector. Later, Johnny and Robby find him and Miguel and Johnny hug, though is upset when he sees Robby.
While Eli is getting a new tattoo, Miguel recaps his road trip back home with Johnny and Robby. When he tells him and Demetri about Sam's messages, the binary brothers are nervous for him. Demetri brings him to a jewelry store to buy something to make up with Sam. When he notices an octopus necklace, he is sad that he can't afford it. He meets with Johnny and Johnny says if he owns up to his mistakes, he can make things right. After Sam tells him he is breaking up with him, Miguel accepts it but when he leaves Miyagi-Do, he is heartbroken and drops the necklace.
Miguel and other the Eagle Fang and Miyagi-Do students are spending a day at the water park. When he arrives, he checks up on Sam and the two attempt to talk to each other. However, after getting into an altercation with Cobra Kai, all the students are kicked out.
One day, Johnny's attempts of having Miguel and Robby get along go bad. Inspired by Daniel, Johnny has the two fight each other to get the hatred out of them. The two end up on the second level of the apartment during their fight. After remembering the school fight, Miguel becomes enraged and attacks Robby the same way he attacked him during the brawl, which leads to him gaining the upper-hand. However, after remembering his fall, he stops fighting. Robby asks Miguel why he stopped, to which Miguel says he didn't learn karate to hurt people. In the end, Miguel and Robby finally make amends. The two hug Johnny when they learn he's going to have a baby with Carmen. After, the two have dinner at the Diaz apartment.
The Eagle Fangs and Miyagi-Do students learn a new lesson under Chozen Toguchi. Each of the students hide eggs but are picked off by Chozen. Anthony gets an idea to work together to hide all the eggs. The plan works and in the end, Chozen surrenders.
While having dinner at the LaRusso house, Johnny talks to Miguel, Robby and Eli about who will be the male representative against Cobra Kai. Despite Eli losing the boys portion, Sam wins the girls division and Miyagi Fang qualify for the Sekai Taikai tournament. While having a party, Miguel meets a girl and they make out, causing Sam to run out.
At Miyagi-Do, Miguel and Sam talk about Terry Silver bribing the referee in order to ensure Cobra Kai's victory. Later, Miguel and Sam go with Bert to confront Stingray about Kreese's assault. To explain the story, he demonstrates it with a game of Dungeons and Dragons.
To finally put things to an end, Miguel, Robby, Sam, Demetri and Eli all go to the flagship Cobra Kai dojo with Tory to find evidence on Terry Silver. While the binary brothers are finding evidence, the others see the Cobra Kai students attack Anthony. Miguel and his classmates are surprised when they learn that Mitch betrays the merged dojos and tipped off Cobra Kai. A fight then breaks out between Miyagi-Do and Cobra Kai. Miguel takes out several Cobra Kai's and saves Robby from Kenny and a few other Cobra Kais. After a long fight, Daniel finally defeats Terry. Miguel and Sam then repair their relationship.
Personality
Miguel initially appears as a naïve, good-natured, kind-hearted teenager. Initially, Miguel will only fight for those he cares about, but the longer he's exposed to Cobra Kai's mentality, he becomes an aggressive karate champion who makes his former tormentors afraid to be around him. More negative tendencies begin when he becomes paranoid in his relationship with Sam, letting his insecurities take hold. Miguel's transformation from a mild-mannered and pleasant person into a vicious and obsessively competitive individual represents the way that Cobra Kai's "strike first" and "no mercy" rule corrupts students.
- "We're not all assholes."
- ―Miguel Diaz to Robby Keene[src]
Despite becoming indoctrinated into Cobra Kai's "Strike First, Strike Hard, No Mercy" code, he remains loyal to his core friends and Johnny above all-else. He becomes conflicted when Johnny begins to teach mercy, and has difficulty adjusting. He rebuffs Kreese's teachings, realizing that's not what Johnny wants them to learn. After discovering that Hawk vandalized the Miyagi-Do dojo and stole Mr. Miyagi's Medal of Honor, Miguel returns it, showing his decency, honor and understanding the value of the Medal, despite his prior actions and Cobra Kai's ruthless mentality. He begins to accept the new form of teaching, allowing him to be merciful in the school fight. When this action results in his paralysis at the hands of Robby Keene, Miguel's personality shifts. He becomes bitter, blames Johnny for the circumstances, and vengeful towards those that put him in this situation. He also begins to pity himself and loses hope of regaining mobility. Johnny helps guide him into realizing the situation is temporary, and helps him regain both his mobility and confidence. The incident gives Miguel a better understanding of empathy and a clearer picture on the world he's immersed himself in. He rekindles his relationship with Sam and becomes more open-minded towards those he used to despise.
While training under Daniel, Miguel begins to develop an appreciation for Miyagi-Do and its methods of avoiding violence, as seen when he lures Cobra Kai into a trap by tricking them into meeting the Miyagi Do and Eagle Fang students at the baseball diamond. At the same time, he begins to drift apart from his loyalty to Johnny and Sam, due to the former's relationship with his mother and Sam's aggression towards Tory, but he manages to patch things up with Sam at the Tournament and also tells he will always root for her. Despite this, he begins to become increasingly distant from the people he cares about, and becomes despondent after mistakenly believing he is nothing more than a replacement for Robby, after Miguel tells Johnny he loves him. This leads him to lose his confidence and drive to win the tournament and leave the Valley.
When he arrives at Mexico City, he's pleasantly surprised to discover that his father appears to be a loved and honest employer, but when Hector's true colors come to surface, Miguel quickly realizes to have made a mistake and flees as fast as he can without revealing his true identity, as his honesty is still much stronger than his desire to stay with his father. After he and Sam broke up and he made amends with Robby, Miguel proves to be mature enough to not get jealous at seeing the other two talk to each other, knowing that they are just friends and that even if he and Sam were still together, he would have no right to tell her who she can talk to. Also, he's one of the students among Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang that more than anyone else is determined for the two dojo to work together by being willing to even put aside his feelings toward Sam for the group's sake. When it's time to decide who will represent Miyagi/Fang for the Sekai Taikai's admission match in the boy's division, he and Robby decide that the right thing to do is for Eli to do so, as the latter won the All Valley fairly. The way he hugs Robby when the two cheers for their dojo's ammission proves how he's willing to let go the past, just as when, after he and Robby stopped Sam from attacking Tory, he believes Robby when the latter denies any knowledge about the bribing at the All Valley. His further proof of how much he has grown up since the past seasons is when he encourages Sam to understand Tory's position and then, after the Cobra Kai is shut down for good, he has the courage to tell Sam that he loves her but is willing to respect her feelings and choices.
Fighting Style
Miguel fighting against Kyler
- "Yeah, it all happened so fast. Everything just came together. I was blocking. I anticipated. I slithered."
- ―Miguel to Johnny[src]
After he begins his karate training with Johnny, Miguel develops into a solid all-around fighter. Not as flashy as Eli Moskowitz, Miguel favors simple, effective techniques and combinations. His defensive skills, movement, and timing are excellent; he can wait out an aggressive opponent and pick the right moment for a counter, as seen in his match with Xander Stone. Like any true Cobra, however, he can turn on the offense when he needs to. During the tournament, Miguel used Miyagi-Do's well known technique: The Crane Kick perfectly by pure imitations. He is also skilled against multiple opponents, as displayed in his lunchroom fight with Kyler's gang.
When his anger gets the better of him, Miguel fights more aggressively and underhandedly, evidenced during his fights with Robby at the All Valley Tournament and school brawl, though he also knows when to fight a fair fight and show mercy. Miguel has fought underhandedly, evidenced at the All Valley Tournament, where he aggressively attacks Robby's injured shoulder, and even yanks it in the finals.
Miguel's biggest weakness is letting his guard down, which allows his opponents to attack him by surprise and beat him. After gaining the upper-hand on Tory in their sparing match, he ends up dropping his guard by offering Tory his hand, who uses this opportunity to flip him over and beat him. After seemingly beating Robby in the school brawl, he drops his guard by letting Robby go. However Robby then viciously attacks Miguel, who is unable to defend himself due to dropping his guard, resulting in Robby unintentionally rendering him unconscious and severely injuring his spine.
While Miguel defeated Robby in the All Valley tournament, their match was basically even, despite Robby's injured shoulder putting him at a disadvantage. During the school brawl, Miguel successfully pins Robby to the ground without fighting dirty, showing that Miguel's skills have grown. Miguel's physical strength has come a long way since he began his training. Near the end of the school brawl, he dented a metal railing when he attempted to kick Robby. After his back injury, Miguel suffers some physical ailments and limitations. When he starts walking and training again, his kicking is weak and he almost hurts himself. Since his legs are not back to full form, this puts him at a disadvantage in his fight with Kyler, until he regains his confidence.
During the brief alliance between Daniel and Johnny, Miguel trains under Daniel and learns some Miyagi-Do tactics such as circling his opponent, blocking his opponents, and avoiding fights when necessary. After the spilt between dojos Miguel primarily uses Eagle Fang/Cobra Kai Karate when he fights and gained an aptitude for aerial spin kicks. Despite being affected by his injury, Miguel is still able to hold his own against his rival Robby Keene during their prom battle and land hits on him before being thrown in the pool. In his semifinal match with Eli Moskowitz, he matched him blow for blow and knocked Eli down despite the latter newly learning and becoming competent in Miyagi-Do Karate. Miguel might have beaten his former classmate if he didn't pull a muscle and decided to withdraw from the match.
In the following weeks, Miguel continued to grow stronger and has not demonstrated any problem in regards to his back while fighting ever since the tournament. He applied an armlock in a Mexican thug, blocked his blows expertly and managed to throw him to the ground without much effort. He and Robby ultimately had another fight and during the fight, his remembrance of the school fight led to him becoming enraged and overpowering Robby. He could have kicked him off a balcony, similar to how Robby had done to him during the fight at West Valley High School, but restrained himself and ended the fight. During the final showdown in the Cobra Kai Encino Dojo, Miguel was capable of defeating several Cobra Kais, including Kenny, without much trouble. He demonstrated the ability in the use of improvised weapons, as shown when he used his flannel shirt against the Cobra Kais in said showdown. When the Miyagi-Fangs tried to protect Anthony by forming a circle around him, Miguel was one of the five remaining fighters standing in the circle as the rest were being pulled away from the group by the cobras.
Currently, both he, Hawk and Robby can be considered the best and strongest fighters among all the teenage fighters on the show.
Relationships
Carmen Diaz
Carmen is Miguel's mother, and they have an extremely close bond as she is the only parental figure he had as a child. Carmen is often overprotective of Miguel, especially after he decides to do karate. While she forbids him from doing karate after he is beaten up by Kyler and his gang, she is then persuaded by Johnny to let him do it. Following this, she doesn't seem to be as protective, though she seems ambivalent about the violence that continues to be involved. In the end of Season 1, she is seen cheering on Miguel from the beginning to the finals of the All Valley Tournament. However, after the school brawl, Miguel is admitted to the hospital due to the fight with Robby, and Carmen is shown to be distraught and extremely distrusting of Johnny. Carmen is with Miguel in the hospital before and after he wakes up from his coma. After waking up from his coma, she is there to make sure he is ok. When Miguel is released from the hospital, Carmen eventually expresses her appreciation to Johnny for helping Miguel recover and walk again, and Johnny and Carmen get back together.
Rosa Diaz
Rosa is Miguel's maternal grandmother. Rosa supports his decision to do karate. When the nurse tells Rosa and Carmen to remind a comatose Miguel that they are there and to talk about things he loves, Rosa talks to Miguel about his favorite sports teams. Rosa is the first person who asks Johnny to be there for Miguel, and reminds him that that Miguel needs him. She asks him to pray with her, which Johnny accepts.
Hector Salazar
Hector is Miguel's biological father who has been absent from his life. Carmen and Rosa have always told Miguel that his father is a "bad man", and he made no known attempts to get to know him. However, after a drunken Johnny calls him "Robby" in his sleep, a desire to learn more about Hector awakens in Miguel, and he withdraws from the All-Valley Karate Tournament to go to Mexico and find him. As they first encounter each other, Hector is seen to be a friendly, charming and kind gentleman who showers Miguel with praise after saving his girlfriend's child from being run over by a car. He offers the young man to stay with them and promises to show him around the town, creating an illusion in Miguel's mind that all the things his mother and grandmother said about his father were untrue. However, the façade is shattered quickly as Hector assumes he's being chased by the Federales and flees into a hideout with Miguel, where he reveals he's actually a criminal who is selfish, greedy and paranoid, confirming Carmen and Rosa's words. Heartbroken, Miguel leaves without ever telling him about their relation and returns home with Johnny and Robby.
Johnny Lawrence
Johnny is Miguel's karate sensei, a father figure, and neighbor. When they first meet in Season 1, Johnny is rude to Miguel. However, one night at Reseda Mini Mart, Johnny engages in a fight with Kyler and his gang for harassing Miguel after witnessing Miguel being pushed by Kyler to his car. Miguel attempts to explain to the police that come to arrest Johnny that it wasn't his fault, he did not just attack the teenagers, which reveals his growing attachment to Johnny. The following morning, Miguel asks Johnny to teach him karate, but Johnny refuses to teach him at first. Later, Johnny changes his mind when he reopens the Cobra Kai dojo.
In many ways, Johnny becomes a Mr. Miyagi to Miguel, who is more often reminiscent of Daniel than Johnny. Johnny passes on his Halloween skeleton costume idea to Miguel, though their situations are reversed from Johnny and Daniel in the original The Karate Kid. This time, Miguel is the one badly injured by Kyler and his gang, and Johnny is the one to find Miguel and bring him safely to his apartment. This results in Carmen wanting to forbid Miguel from continuing karate and coming near Johnny. After some time, Johnny realizes that he truly cares about Miguel, who is one of the only people who hasn't given up on him. So, he then persuades Carmen that she should let him back into his dojo and he promises not to fail him. Carmen agrees to let Miguel do karate again, but only if Johnny makes sure that next time Miguel will be able to defend himself.
With Johnny's training, Miguel becomes a skilled fighter, which allows him to defeat Kyler and his gang, resulting in several students joining Cobra Kai and Johnny even giving his old gi to Miguel as a reward. Miguel and Johnny bond over the course of season 1, with Johnny even giving Miguel advice on dating Daniel's daughter. In the season 1 finale, Johnny expresses discomfort when Miguel fights dirty against Robby in the All Valley Tournament. While he advises Miguel not to fight dirty, he continues to anyway, which allows Cobra Kai to win the tournament. Despite the victory, Johnny feels bad about what Miguel has become.
In season 2, Miguel and Hawk are rebuked and punished by Johnny for their dirty tactics in the tournament. When Miguel confronts him, Johnny says he paid the price for not knowing the difference between honor and mercy, and wants Miguel to avoid making the same mistake. Their bonding continues, with Johnny even telling Miguel that he is proud to be teaching him. In the finale, Miguel gets the better of Robby, but lets him go after remembering Johnny's advice. However, this backfires, as an enraged Robby attacks Miguel and Miguel flips over a railing, rendering him unconscious and severely injuring his spine. At the hospital, Johnny listens to a voicemail Miguel left earlier and peeks into Miguel's room and sees him lying unconscious, causing him to cry and feel guilty.
When Miguel wakes up from his coma in the beginning of season 3, he is cold to Johnny at first, as it was Johnny's teachings that he followed that led to him ending up in the hospital. However, after some time, Johnny begins giving a hopeless Miguel courage, and they become close again with Johnny helping Miguel return back to training and Miguel helping Johnny with his dating and social life via Facebook and accepting that Johnny was seeing his mother. When Miguel is released from the hospital, Johnny works with Miguel to help him walk again through training, and eventually Miguel begins to walk again. After being able to walk, he joins Johnny's Eagle Fang Karate dojo. By the end of the season, The Eagle Fang and Miyagi Do dojos have merged, and Miguel along with the rest are training at Miyagi-Do with Johnny and Daniel as the co-sensei's.
Samantha LaRusso
Samantha is Miguel's girlfriend for a few episodes in season 1 and once again from season 3, and she plays a similar role in the rivalry between Miguel and Robby that Ali played between Johnny and Daniel in The Karate Kid. On his first day of school, Sam catches Miguel's eye and he wants to approach her, but he is interrupted by Kyler. After defeating her ex-boyfriend Kyler and his gang during the lunch altercation, the two go on a date and become a couple. Their relationship mascot is an octopus from the prize Sam earned on their first date together. However, their relationship becomes strained when Sam does not want to bring him to her house to meet her family, due to Miguel being a member of Cobra Kai, which is the rival dojo to her father's Miyagi-Do. Things get more strained when Sam does not respond to his texts, though this was not Sam's fault. Unbeknownst to Miguel, Sam's mother took her phone away. Still, she eventually manages to get a hold of her phone and wants to meet Miguel at the party, which she arrives at with Robby. Seeing this, Miguel assumes they are together, confronts Sam and attacks Robby, but he accidentally hits Sam instead. After this, she asks Miguel to leave her alone and their relationship ends for the rest of season 1.
In season 2 , the two don't have much interaction. Initially, Miguel wants to make things right and rekindle their romance, but Sam wants nothing to do with him due to his actions. When spending more time with Tory, he falls for her and starts dating her instead. Sam, however, has bad blood with Tory and disapproves of Miguel dating her. She even confronts him about it, upsetting Miguel. On the night before the first day of school, a drunk Sam thanks Miguel for returning Mr. Miyagi's Medal of Honor, and the two share a kiss, but immediately regret it due to them already being in relationships. They are unaware of the fact that Tory saw them, which is what leads to Tory attacking Sam the next day in school, and to the fight between Miguel and Robby. After Robby flips Miguel over the railing, Sam is horrified both at what Robby did and Miguel's condition. At the hospital she tearfully says that she hopes Miguel is ok.
Shortly after waking up from his coma in season 3, Sam visits him and gives him a get-well card, and the two apologize to each other for the whole situation. Sam organizes fund raise for Miguel's surgery with the help of Miyagi-Do students. After Miguel is able to walk again, he returns to school and rekindles his friendship with Sam. Over time, they rekindle their former romantic feelings for each other and end up back together. Sam and Miguel work together to bring Eagle Fang and Miyagi-Do together, and by the end of season 3, Miguel is training with Sam and the other Eagle Fangs and Miyagi-Dos at the Miyagi-Do dojo.
In Season 4, Miguel and Sam are dating again. They work together to try to put Daniel and Johnny's rivalry aside. The two then referee their rematch but can't come to a decision on who's the winner. Realizing that the merge didn't work, Eagle Fang splits from Miyagi-Do. Miguel and Sam both go to prom together but they get distracted by Robby and Tory. The two cross paths with them at Stingray's house and end up fighting with each other. During the All-Valley, the two reconcile as Sam gets ready for the final round.
In season 5, Miguel wanted to make up to Sam for not being at the tournament to cheer for her and for arguing with her because of it. With Eli and Demetri's help, they found an octopus necklace, being able to afford it due to a discount. Before Miguel could give the necklace to Sam, Sam sadly decided to break up with him; Sam wanted to get out of karate so she can get back into a normal life. Miguel, heartbroken by her request, accepted it and dropped the necklace at the yard. Realizing that there will always be bullies and jerks no matter where Sam goes, she decided to get back into karate, training to put an end to Silver's reign. On the night celebrating Miyagi-Fang's qualification to the Sekai Taikai, Sam arrived with Miguel's necklace she found at Miyagi-Do, only to find him kissing another girl. The next morning after learning the truth from Tory, Miguel tried to reason with Sam about his actions, Sam pushed the event aside wanting to hear out Stingray's story first. After hearing Stingray's story of him being attacked by Silver, Sam resorted that it was Tory's fault not coming clean right from the very beginning. Miguel gave Sam the push to hear out Tory for not revealing everything since he was in Cobra Kai with her. After the final fight against Cobra Kai and Daniel defeating Silver, Miguel and Sam are having a moment where she asked about the necklace. Miguel said the necklace was meant for her, but didn't get to give it to Sam when she broke up with him. Miguel stated that the break up is not what he wanted, but accepted her decision. Sam is thankful for that. Miguel stated that it's "what you do when you love someone". Sam's surprised at first, but also said she love him too, rekindling their romantic relationship with a kiss.
Tory Nichols
Tory is Miguel's love interest in season 2 until mid season 3. With Miguel initially being upset over his breakup with Sam, Tory, who had joined Cobra Kai and taken interest in Miguel, helps him get over his breakup. The two quickly become a couple, and while Miguel does not know the full extent of Tory's family background, he knows she works hard, and he s willing to defend her behavior against the criticism of others. Tory also has an influence on Miguel about what can be considered fair or not fair in fighting and in life. However, Tory witnesses Miguel and Sam kissing the night before the first day of school. In the school brawl that she instigates, Tory, still angry over the kiss, kicks Miguel in the stomach when the latter tries to stop her from attacking Sam. She is horrified, however, when Miguel is kicked over the railing by Robby.
The next time they see each other is while Miguel is at lunch with Johnny, who is posing for pictures for his Facebook profile. Tory sees him when Johnny goes to the bathroom. Miguel shows that he's upset with Tory for not coming to visit him in the hospital. He is further upset when Tory says that Cobra Kai is trying to get back at Miyagi-Do for what happened to him, while Tory voices her disappointment for his kiss with Sam. Miguel tells her that she needs help, but this angers her, as she feels he is calling her crazy. Miguel then breaks up with Tory for her role in severely injuring Sam and starting the school brawl, and then she leaves in anger. The next time they see each other is when the Cobra Kai students enter Sam's house in order to attack the Miyagi Do and Eagle Fang students who had just formed a truce. Miguel tells Tory she doesn't have to do this, to which Tory says "it's too late". Then a fight breaks out, which Cobra Kai loses. Before Tory leaves, she calls both Miguel and Hawk traitors.
During the weeks where Cobra Kai was expanding throughout the Valley following their victory in the All Valley Tournament, Tory sees Silver's true colors and makes amends with Sam, Miguel, Robby and their friends so they could dismantle Cobra Kai and place Silver in jail. Even before Tory officially left Cobra Kai and helped Miyagi Do and Eagle Fang to shut it down for good, Miguel defended Tory: when she confesses the truth about All Valley, Miguel defends her secrecy when Samantha blames her for what happened after the tournament, knowing him how much Tory must have struggled on coming clean, given the toxicity of Cobra Kai. Thanks to his patient prodding, Samantha finds the strength to listen to Tory.
Eli Moskowitz "Hawk"
Hawk is one of Miguel's closest friends. They meet in the school's cafeteria, where Demetri introduces them, and immediately become friendly due to being somewhat outsiders and bullied by Kyler and his gang. Eli joins Cobra Kai after witnessing Miguel using his skills from Cobra Kai training to beat up Kyler and his gang. After becoming Hawk, he would go on to become one of the top students along with Miguel. Despite Hawk's abrasive personality and actions, as well as the two getting into a fight over Mr. Miyagi's Medal of Honor that Hawk stole, they remain close friends. At the end of the school fight, when Miguel has fallen from the second story balcony. Hawk immediately recognizes Robby as the one responsible for this. He is also one of the first at the scene on the stairs and tries to wake Miguel up, but a police officer tells him to back off. Hawk believes that their sensei, Johnny, is indirectly responsible for the situation Miguel is in.
In Season 3, Hawk is one of the people who regularly visits Miguel in the hospital. He interrupts Sam's visit to Miguel and keeps the rivalry between Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do alive, extending so far as to organizing the theft of the fundraising money for Miguel's surgery (though it is implied that the money does become contributed to the costs of the surgery in Cobra Kai's name). After Miguel is able to walk again, he returns to school, where he is welcomed back by Hawk. However, after learning from Demetri that Hawk broke Demetri's arm, Miguel confronts Hawk and shows disapproval about him letting Kreese get inside his head. Hawk's latest actions lead to their friendship ending. However, their friendship is likely rekindled when Hawk redeems himself by defecting from Cobra Kai and becoming part of Eagle Fang, joining forces with Miyagi-Do.
Miguel and Eli train together in Eagle Fang despite Eli trying to fit in. He and Hawk leave Miyagi-Do after realizing that the merge didn't work. Despite quitting karate, the two are still friends. During the tournament, the two face off against each other but after Miguel withdraws, Eli wins and advances to the finals.
After Miguel's return from Mexico, Eli, along with Demetri, tries to help Miguel with Sam, eventually suggesting him of buying her a jewel, which Miguel does even though Sam breaks up with him before he could show it to her. During the day at the water park, Eli goes to stay with Moon, but while there's Miguel with him, there's also Samantha with her, leading to an embarrassing situation. The two friends then try to stop Cobra Kai students from bullying Anthony LaRusso and the Eagle Fang students, but this eventually leads to them being kicked out from the park. Eli and Miguel, along with the others Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang begin to train with Chozen. During the training, Eli offers to kick Robby's butt for talking with Sam, but Miguel disagrees, knowing that the two are simply friends. When it's time to choose who will represent their dojos in the match against the Cobra Kai, Miguel, along with Robby, agrees that it's up to Hawk to fight, much to the latter's pleasant surprise for their trust in him.
Robby Keene
Robby and Miguel had tense relations from the start. One could say he was Miguel's main rival. While the two don't have much interaction, they never have a positive one. Both dislike each other since their separate and unaware moments of first seeing the other. Their rivalry is similar to Daniel and Johnny's original rivalry, but on more personal levels. Miguel hates Robby for stealing Sam away and Robby hates him for stealing his father, who is Miguel's sensei. In the penultimate episode of season 1, Miguel and Robby meet at a party, where Miguel has gotten drunk out of desperation over Sam not returning his texts or calls. When Miguel sees his girlfriend and Robby walking together to the party, he is immediately jealous. Getting the wrong idea, he attacks Robby, but accidently pushes Sam in the process, leading her to dumping him. In the season 1 finale, Miguel and Robby face off in the All Valley Tournament, where Miguel viciously attacks Robby's shoulder which was injured thanks to Hawk in the semifinals, allowing him to defeat Robby and win the tournament, though it was a close match.
In season 2, they don't have much interaction. When Miguel went to Daniel's house to return Mr. Miyagi's Medal of Honor that Hawk stole, he was shocked when Robby opened the door. He does not realize that Robby was not yet really together with Sam; he was there because the LaRusso's took him in after his mother abandons him for a short period. Still, Miguel gives him the medal, trusting that Robby will give it to Sam. Instead Robby, worried the admission would ruin his chances with Sam, pretends to find the medal in the Miyagi-Do dojo. Sam finds this out through Miguel at the party, but appreciates that Robby admitted it to her in the end before the school fight. When the school brawl starts, Miguel becomes involved when he notices Robby is holding Tory, Miguel's girlfriend, against a locker. Unaware that Robby was trying to stop the fight, as well as believing he was attacking her, Miguel attacks Robby, causing the two to fight. Their fight is long and intense, and it appears to be evenly matched. Eventually, Miguel flips Robby and put his arm in lock, but after remembering Johnny telling him to show mercy, he lets Robby go and apologizes. Unfortunately, an enraged Robby attacks him again and flips him over the railing, resulting in Miguel falling on the stairs below and suffering a broken back. Horrified at what he had done, Robby runs away.
Later in season 3, Robby, who was recently released from juvenile detention, sees Miguel, who is now walking again, with Sam. Getting the wrong idea, he tries to attack Miguel, only to be stopped by Sam. Robby then walks away and his relationship with Sam ends. Later, when Miguel and Sam show up at Cobra Kai to stop Daniel from further escalating his fight with Kreese, Robby comes out and tells all of them to leave.
In season 5, when Johnny is making every attempts to have Miguel and Robby bond with each other, all of the methods failed due to their history with each other. However, inspired by Daniel's chat, Johnny decided to let the boys fight it out with their fists. During the fight at the apartment complex, it moved to the second floor where Miguel was about to do to Robby what the latter did to the former. However, after few flashbacks of what happened to Miguel when he got kicked out of the second floor, he decided to back down. After the fight, Robby admitted that what he did to Miguel was the worst moment of his life and wished he could take it back. As the two have finally forgiven each other, they learned that each of their parent is having a baby together, which got them excited. Since then, Miguel and Robby acted like best friends; both are joking around with Johnny and agreed together that Hawk should represent for the Sekai Taikai qualification match against Kenny. During the final brawl against Cobra Kai students at their dojo while publishing Silver's bribing, Miguel kicked away Kenny before the latter could strike Robby, showing that Miguel is concerned and supportive for Robby. Finally, when the video of Silver’s confession is played on the televisions, he looked back to Robby to confirm that the boys and their fellow students from Eagle Fang and Miyagi-Do succeeded in their mission to expose Silver.
Daniel LaRusso
Daniel is Miguel's girlfriend's father and later his co-sensei. In Season 1, they see each other for the first time when Daniel goes to confront Johnny about Kyler being assaulted by Johnny. Johnny tells Daniel the truth about what happened, since it was really Kyler who had attacked Miguel. Daniel is shocked to know that Miguel is training under Johnny, and warns him not to be like him. Daniel tells his daughter to stay away from any Cobra Kai students, without knowing that Miguel and Sam are dating, which strains Sam's and Miguel's relationship. Miguel does not know about Daniel's advice about whom Sam should date, and he attempts to introduce himself to Daniel before thinking that Sam is actually interested in Robby, who happened to be eating dinner at the LaRusso house that evening.
On the other hand, Johnny was shocked to see Miguel is dating Daniel's daughter, and he decides to tell Miguel his side of the story about Daniel. This causes Miguel to dislike Daniel and not want to be associated with the LaRusso family.
Miguel and Daniel do not interact directly over the first two seasons, seeing as Miguel is Johnny's student, though they see each other at numerous occasions, including the All Valley Tournament. There, Daniel witnesses Miguel using his signature move, the Crane Kick, against the opponent in the preliminary round, much to his chagrin.
Upon meeting LaRusso for the first time after his recovery in season 3, Miguel starts to see that they have more in common than he previously believed, and he begins to respect LaRusso and his methods, as well as his perspective in the rivalry with Johnny. He also learns about Mr. Miyagi, and expresses some regret that he was born too late to have become a student of Miyagi's, feeling he could have learned much, which Daniel appreciates. Daniel also gives his congratulations to Miguel for winning the last tournament by remarking "from one All-Valley champion to another". By the end of the season, Miguel trains at Miyagi-Do with the Miyagi Do's and Eagle Fang students, with both Daniel and Johnny as his co-senseis.
Other Relationships
- Demetri Alexopoulos (Best Friend)
- Aisha Robinson (Close Friend/Former Co-student)
- Kyler and Brucks (Enemies)
- John Kreese (Former Sensei/Enemy)
- Bert (Friend)
- Mitch (Former Friend/Current Enemy)
- Moon (Friend)
- Yasmine (Friendly)
- Brucks (Former Bully)
- A.J. (Former Bully)
- Rory (Former Bully)
Appearances
Trivia
- Miguel can speak fluent Spanish and English.
- He has an asthmatic condition that requires the use of an inhaler in the first-half of Season 1, though it is implied that training strengthens his lungs and the condition loses severity for him.
- Miguel had braces for all of Season 1 but got them removed before Season 2.
- Robby and Miguel have fought each other twice, and both have won once through unethical tactics:
- Miguel won by attacking Robby's injured shoulder, which includes him yanking it when the latter attempts to help up him by offering his hand.
- Robby won by attacking Miguel and kicking him off the railing after the latter released Robby from a hold and apologized for their skirmish.
- Hawk has given Miguel two nicknames: El Serpiente ("the snake") for his first-place victory in the All-Valley tournament and El Diablo de la Lluvia ("The Rain Devil") for getting members of the Cobra Kai dojo wet.
- Miguel and Johnny have opened up dojos together twice.
- In the video game adaptation, he is voiced by Joe Zieja.
- In season 1, Miguel and Sam's relationship is similar to Romeo & Juliet.
- Though Sam blocked him on Instagram in season 2, by season 3 episode 4 her stories appeared at the top of his page on his phone again, indicating she'd unblocked him.
- Despite his injury, He technically earns 3rd place in the 51st All Valley Tournament.
- He has appeared in every episode of the series except First Learn Stand.
Gallery
