Cobra Kai: Is Mike Barnes Miguel’s Dad?

Cobra Kai has featured many cameos or recurring characters from the The Karate Kid films — especially the antagonists throughout the original trilogy. Both Daniel’s high school bully, Johnny Lawrence, and Chozen have appeared in Cobra Kai. While the series reintroduced Terry Silver as another villain in the mix for Season 4, Daniel’s nemesis from The Karate Kid Part III has been noticeably absent so far.

Mike Barnes took abuse to a whole different level compared to Johnny and Chozen’s cruel antics when he tried to throw Daniel and Jessica off a cliff. While Mike appeared in flashbacks in Season 3, Amanda asked Daniel if there was another Cobra Kai villain who could reappear and ruin their lives, hinting at Mike’s reemergence. Could Mike’s way to re-enter the franchise be a reveal that he’s Miguel’s absent biological father?

Fans finally learned more about Miguel’s father when he told Daniel that he knew his father was living in Mexico and became involved in some unspecified criminal activity. Due to his father’s absence, Johnny stepped up as a stand-in father for Miguel despite his strained relationship with his own biological son, Robby — who later found a positive role model in Daniel. Clearly, absent or abusive parents have been a constant theme throughout The Karate Kid franchise.

Fans are still clueless about the identity of Johnny’s biological father, and his troubled relationship with his stepfather Sid Weinberg continued throughout Cobra Kai. While Johnny found a terrible role model in Kreese, Daniel found Mr. Miyagi after Daniel’s father died around 10 years before the events of the first film. Daniel, however, had nothing but positive memories of his father. To continue the mystery of parental identities, a Reddit theory raised the possibility that Mike could be Miguel’s biological father after Season 4’s shocking cliffhanger.

In Season 4, Kreese was arrested after Silver framed him for attacking Stingray. Silver recalled how he could dig up an old friend or two to help the Cobra Kai dojo since Kreese was being sent to jail. This could mean Mike’s grand entrance will finally happen in the upcoming fifth season. In addition to acting as Silver’s partner-in-crime, Mike could also be included in the plot as Miguel’s biological father. Miguel was last seen leaving for Mexico City to search for his father, but Miguel’s mother revealed that he was unaware of Miguel’s existence.

In the Reddit discussion’s comments, u/KennethEd raised the possibility of Mike’s potential involvement as an enforcer in a drug cartel for Miguel’s father. Or he could be a DEA agent searching for Miguel’s father. Mike’s possible connection with a drug cartel would continue his track record as a “hired goon” since Silver hired him to take down Daniel in The Karate Kid Part III. Although, maybe he turned his life around?

While Chozen formed an alliance with Daniel, fans can expect Mike to do the opposite and join the dark side with Silver. It would be a huge jaw-dropping reveal if he turned out to be Miguel’s biological father in addition to ruining Daniel’s life again.