- "Demetri: And I told MIT thanks, but no thanks. At the end of the day, Caltech's robotics program is a notch above. Plus, my best friend is going there.
Eli: Binary Brothers for life!" - ―Eli and Demetri, establishing their eternal friendship[src]
Eli "Hawk" Moskowitz is one of the three deuteragonists (alongside Samantha LaRusso and Tory Nichols) of the Netflix series Cobra Kai. He is portrayed by Jacob Bertrand.
Initially a quiet and bullied student mocked for his cleft lip scar, Eli joins Cobra Kai Dojo after being inspired by his new friend Miguel Diaz defeating their bullies and gains newfound confidence after learning to "flip the script" from Sensei Johnny Lawrence. He becomes corrupted by Cobra Kai's ruthless mentality after the dojo is reclaimed by John Kreese, until his conscience begins to re-emerge, as he questions the choices he's made since joining Cobra Kai. He leaves the dojo to join the now combined Miyagi-Do Karate and Eagle Fang Karate dojos. He tries to make amends for his past transgressions, but faces retribution from his former comrades when they cut off his mohawk and loses his confidence. He temporarily quits karate but eventually joins Miyagi-Do thanks to the encouragement of his best friend Demetri Alexopoulos. He also rekindles his relationship with his girlfriend Moon, regains his confidence and he defeats Robby Keene after a lengthy fight and becomes the 2019 boys division champion in the 51st Annual Karate Championships.
During the summer, he starts to regrow back his mohawk and after finding out that Terry Silver bribed the match between Sam LaRusso and Tory Nichols, he along with Miguel, Sam, Robby, and Demetri help expose Terry Silver and stop him once and for all.
Unfortunately, his friendship with Demetri becomes strained when he does not apply to MIT alongside him and grows annoyed with him constantly talking about MIT. Their friendship becomes even more strained when Demetri cheap shots him to earn a spot in the Sekai Taikai; however, Eli ends up getting a spot at the last minute after Tory leaves Miyagi-Do.
In Barcelona, Eli and Demetri continue to argue and to make matters worse, he causes Demetri and Yasmine to break up after he inadvertently shows Demetri dancing with another girl. Later, the two reconcile and team up with Kenny to defeat Yoon during the elimination match against Cobra Kai. In the all-dojo brawl, the two help each other fight alongside the Furia de Pantera students where they defeat the Tiger Strike students. However, the fight is halted when Kwon dies after he accidentally stabbed himself with Kreese's eunjangdo.
A month after the tragic brawl, the Sekai Taikai is reinstated and will continue in the Valley. Following the reinstatement of the tournament, Eli, Demetri, and Miguel aid Robby with his training for his upcoming fight with Axel. Initially, the training goes wrong, however, it gets back on track after Robby gets a pep talk from Miguel. Miyagi-Do forfeits the tournament when Robby's leg gets broken by Axel. However, Johnny reclaims Cobra Kai from Kreese with Miguel joining Tory and serving as Kwon's replacement as captain. He and Moon talk to Demetri prior to the finals and the latter tells them that he got into Caltech and will be attending the university with Eli and the binary brothers hug. Eli and Miyagi-Do help Miguel and Tory train in the old Cobra Kai dojo for their final matches against Axel and Zara respectively and he celebrates when the two win their fights. Later, he and the rest of his friends support Johnny during his fight against Sensei Wolf by donning the black Cobra Kai gi and cheering him on. After the tournament and graduating from high school, Hawk and Demetri go to CalTech together while Demetri makes up with Yasmine.
Roles
He is a supporting character-turned final secondary antagonist in Season 1, the secondary antagonist in Season 2, the tertiary antagonist in Season 3 before being redeemed in the finale, one of the three deuteragonists (alongside Miguel Diaz and Samantha LaRusso) in Season 4, a major character in Season 5, and one of the two tritagonists (alongside Demetri Alexopoulos) of Season 6.
Biography
Eli was born at some point in 2002 with a cleft lip, that when surgically repaired, resulted in a scar running from his lip to nose. He was bullied due to his scar, but found an equal in fellow outcast Demetri, whom he has met since kindergarten. The pair donned themselves "binary brothers" and excelled in academia together, winning a coding competition at a computer camp. They endured the bullying and torment at the hands of older students and tried to stick to themselves.
Cobra Kai
Season 1
- "Just give it a chance. You saw the fight. Miguel kicked ass."
- ―Eli encouraging Demetri to join Cobra Kai
At first Eli is quiet, shy, and often made fun of for his scar that is the result of a cleft lip surgery. They are at lunch when the new-kid Miguel arrives, looking for a place to sit. He sits next to Demetri and Eli despite their unpopular status. The trio are soon picked on by Kyler Park and his friends. However, Miguel defends himself using the martial arts he's learned from Johnny Lawrence. This inspires Eli to join Cobra Kai Dojo, with Demetri joining to be with Eli. Johnny mocks Eli's scar, despite protests from both Eli and Demetri. Johnny uses a takedown on Demetri, flipping him, before telling Eli that he has to do the same. Flip the script on those who want to attack him. If he's tired of people mocking the scar he has to give them something else to look at or react too. Demetri storms out of the dojo, though Eli stays, inspired by Johnny's teachings. He takes the message to heart and returns to class the next day donning a large mohawk and a tattoo on his back. This changes his nickname from "Lip" to "Hawk".
Hawk vs Robby
With his new name comes a new attitude and fresh set of friends in his fellow Cobra Kai's. He begins to bully those who used to be his friends, including Demetri. Eli's flashier personality attracts attention from Moon, a student at West Valley High School. They begin dating and become an exclusive couple while at her lake party. When it comes time for the All Valley Karate Tournament, Hawk competes as a member of Cobra Kai. He reaches the semi-finals where he faces-off against Johnny's son Robby Keene. The pair are evenly matched, but when Robby scores a point on, the dynamic shifts. Eli taunts Robby and in response, Robby mocks Eli's mohawk. This infuriates Eli and causes him to kick Robby from behind in the shoulder, thus dislocating it and causing a disqualification from the tournament. Following his disqualification, an upset Johnny questions Eli's actions, though he defensively repeats the "strike first, no mercy" motto of Cobra Kai. After Miguel wins the tournament for Cobra Kai, Eli and the others cheer for their fellow teammate, though Johnny isn't pleased with the events.
Season 2
Miguel and Hawk at the Cobra kai dojo
Following Miguel's victory in the All Valley tournament, Eli, along with Miguel, Aisha, Moon and Demetri celebrate. However, the following morning, Eli and Miguel are forced by Johnny to do 50 knuckle push-ups because of their unsportsmanlike behavior against Robby in the tournament.
After some time, Miguel finds out that Robby is Johnny's son and he tells Eli, causing them both to believe the only reason Johnny is being hard on them because they attacked his son. When they confront Johnny, an angry Johnny tells them that despite Robby being his son, his anger was not about that, he doesn't tolerate unethical behavior. He also tells them to mind their own business and punishes the two by having them clean mats.
Over the course of the season, Eli becomes more recognizably a bully, intimidating and insulting new students of the dojo and bullying Demetri after the latter writes a bad review about Cobra Kai. When Demetri is at the comic store in the mall, Eli and some of his fellow Cobra Kai classmates corner him, and threatens Demetri, trying to force him to take down his Yelp review about Cobra Kai. When Demetri refuses, Eli then attacks him luckily the comic book owner asked what’s going there, giving Demetri a chance run away, but Eli and his gang corner him in food court. Eli is about to attack him again, but Robby and Samantha arrive. Eli and his gang fight them, but is beaten by Robby, and the rest of the gang is bested as well. Later, Eli's behavior has even more repercussions as Moon, his girlfriend, points out to him that she likes his new attitude and style, but not his bullying, and so she dumps him. Furious over the breakup, Eli takes his anger out on a punching bag. Johnny's sensei, Kreese, then uses Eli's anger against him by manipulating him into behaving more aggressively.
Encouraged by Kreese and without Johnny's knowledge, Eli leads a small group of Cobra Kai students (without Miguel) to vandalize and destroy Daniel LaRusso's dojo, and steals the Medal of Honor which belonged to Daniel's sensei Mr. Miyagi. When Johnny finds out about this, he doesn't know who was responsible, and so he collectively punishes the dojo with endless exercises. Eli is ready to come clean, but Kreese secretly tells him not to. Later during one of their training exercises, Miguel notices Eli with the Medal of Honor and realizes he is the one who destroyed Daniel's dojo. Miguel confronts Eli, who then challenges Miguel to fight him for it. Despite putting up a good fight, Eli is defeated by Miguel. Miguel then takes the Medal of Honor and later brings it to the LaRusso house. Although he wanted to give it to Sam, Robby is there, so he gives it to Robby and explains that he had no part in the destruction of Miyagi-Do. Surprisingly, Robby is not angry at Miguel after this fight and the loss, sensing that the fight was fair.
On the last day of summer, Eli is at the party at Moon's house, where he tries to win her back by flirting with another girl. Moon interrupts their flirting and kisses the girl, revealing that they are dating. This upsets Eli, of which Demetri gets the effects. Demetri comes and they manage to briefly bond over Doctor Who, but after Demetri suggests he have inner peace, responds by pouring beer on Demetri's head. Later at the party, Demetri gets revenge by telling a large group of the party-goers embarrassing stories about Eli. An enraged Eli tries to attack him alongside the rest of Cobra Kai, but they're stopped by the rest of the Miyagi-Dos. Just as a fight is about to break out, the cops arrive. Before leaving the scene, Eli runs into Demetri and threateningly reminds him they'll see each other the next day at school.
During the fight that breaks out as a result of Tory attacking Sam, Eli gladly participates in the school brawl. He fights and beats several Miyagi-Do students before chasing Demetri. Eventually, he catches Demetri and starts attacking him, but Demetri defends himself with Daniel's Miyagi-Do Karate teachings and manages to defeat Hawk by kicking him in the trophy shelf, knocking him unconscious but apologizes to him in the end. In the aftermath Eli regains consciousness when Miguel is lying unconscious on the steps as he and Sam checked to see if he’s ok before getting pushed away by the grown ups.
In one of the last scenes back at the Cobra Kai dojo, Eli, along with Tory, Raymond, Mitch, and some other students, are training with Kreese. When Johnny comes to the dojo, Kreese reveals that he now owns it. Johnny accuses the students of abandoning him, only for Eli to blame him for Miguel's fate.
Season 3
After the school brawl, Eli returns and asks a student if he could be her bodyguard. However, he is rejected when she brings up his sleep enuresis and his loss to Demetri in the school brawl. In one of the first training exercises with the new dojo master, Kreese, the students are supposed to say whether they are uncomfortable feeding a mouse to a snake. Eli is among the handful that don't raise their hands, but he is surprised and uncomfortable when Kreese dismisses the students who objected, kicking them out of Cobra Kai, including Bert. Eli asks Kreese if this is the right time to make cuts, since they already lost a few students as a result of the school fight, but Kreese sees this display of possible compassion as a weakness, which Eli is quick to deny. Kreese then says that Cobra Kai needs a new champion due to Miguel's injury. This causes Eli to smile, realizing that Kreese is talking about him.
After finding out that the Miyagi-Do students are hosting a fundraiser for Miguel's surgery, Eli sees this as an affront against Cobra Kai and vows they won't get away with this. At the end of the day and Miyagi-Do's successful fundraiser, Eli, Mitch, and two other Cobra Kai students corner Nathaniel, who was responsible for the transporting the donations for Miguel's surgery, beat him up and take the money. Mitch does say they plan on giving it to Miguel's family themselves.
The rivalry between Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do, largely sustained by Eli, continues at school. Hawk destroys Demetri's science project, but Demetri cannot retaliate due to the new anti-fighting policies at the school. Eli gets his friends out of trouble by acting as Eli. Recognizing this, the two dojos find other ways of acting out their rivalry. During a gym class soccer game, the Miyagi-Dos and Cobra Kais get physical, with Demetri pushing and leg sweeping Eli as revenge, and Eli getting back by headbutting Demetri. Eli also kicks the soccer ball at a Miyagi-Do student's face. When the game is interrupted and both sides are sent to the counselor's office for disciplining, Eli, (who was allowed to tell their side first) gets himself and his friends off without punishment by turning into Eli with a (fake) docile and apologetic demeanor, while Sam, Demetri, and the other Miyagi-Dos involved get detention.
This isn't the end, as shortly thereafter, he, Mitch and some other Cobra Kais cause havoc in the arcade and harass Chris at work. He texts Sam, who then recruits some of the Miyagi-Do students to stop them, resulting in a fight. Initially, Eli is losing to Sam, and the Miyagi-Do students have the edge. However, when Tory arrives with Big Red and Edwin, Cobra Kai gains the edge. After pinning Demetri to the ground, the other Cobra Kais pressure Eli to break his arm, while Demetri pleads with him not to. After momentarily hesitating, Eli breaks Demetri's arm, but shows some discomfort as Demetri screams in pain, showing remorse for taking this out of hand with his former best friend.
The following morning before class at the Cobra Kai dojo, Eli shows some uneasiness when Mitch brags about him breaking Demetri's arm, but to not show this, he claims that Miyagi-Do got what they deserved. He is unhappy and nervous after noticing his former bullies Kyler and Brucks joining Cobra Kai. He tries to convince Kreese that they aren't Cobra Kai material. Kreese deflects this by pointing out how they are natural athletes. When Kyler and Brucks encounter Eli, they make fun of him, much like old times, which visibly causes Eli to shrink into himself a bit and his two selves, former Eli and present, are conflicted. When Mitch loses to Kyler in the sparing match that Kreese has arranged to determine who belongs in Cobra Kai, Kreese kicks him out of the dojo. Eli objects, pointing out how loyal Mitch has been, but Kreese says that Mitch isn't Cobra Kai material despite his loyalty. This visibly saddens Eli. When it is Brucks' turn to fight, Eli says he will fight him, and Kreese, seeing Eli’s taste for revenge, indicates the match won't run by the normal, fair rules of competition. Brucks mockingly says he will fix Eli's lip, but Eli lets him see his hawk tattoo and shows he is unbothered, as Brucks and Kyler become uneasy. Eli then aggressively, easily beats Brucks in competition and doesn't stop even when Brucks is already on the ground and begs him to. It seems that Eli uses the opportunity to let out the pent-up emotions of his past bullying. In the end of the fight, Brucks is groaning in pain, while Eli gets up with a satisfied look, and blood on his hands. Eli glares at Kyler after beating Brucks, with the latter looking away, proving that Kyler is scared of him from this moment. This also indicates that this is what could also happen to Kyler if he messes with.
After Miguel returns to school, Eli greets him and things seem to continue like before. However, their friend group dynamics are changed as Eli is quick to mock Mitch when they meet in the cafeteria, and tells him to sit at the loser's table. Then, Eli is confronted by Miguel for breaking Demetri's arm and going against their sensei. Eli argues that Johnny is the one who betrayed them, and that he is no longer their sensei. This upsets Miguel, who tells he is letting Kreese take over his mind. Eli is then shocked to learn from Miguel that Johnny has started a new dojo, which Miguel tries to persuade Eli to join. When Johnny shows up at school later that day, he approaches Eli and some of the Cobra Kais, and he acknowledges his mistakes. However, Eli criticizes Johnny for quitting and going soft on them, which causes an angry Johnny to remind that he, not Kreese, is the reason that Eli went from being a weakling to a tough guy. He then tells them that Kreese doesn't care about them, and that they should come to his dojo tomorrow.
The following morning, when Johnny's students are training, Eli shows up with the other Cobra Kais. After initially thinking they are going to join Johnny's new dojo, Kreese also appears and reminds Johnny that he is Cobra Kai for life. Things are tense for a moment until the Cobra Kais leave, but this is where it becomes clear that Eli's and Miguel's friendship is over for the time being. However, Eli still seems to care about Miguel, since he is upset to find out that Robby has joined Cobra Kai, which is problematic because of what he did to Miguel. He then tells Kreese to not allow Robby a place in Cobra Kai after the incident with Miguel at the high school and that Robby is “the enemy”. Rather than kick Robby out of Cobra Kai, Kreese responds by telling him that during his time in the military, “it was hard to tell who was the enemy” but that he figured out that, “The enemy of your enemy is your friend”. By this statement, Kreese means to say that Eli can be Robby's friend since both are enemies of Miguel. However, since does not really feel that Miguel is his enemy, it actually means that they are still friends in both being Robby's enemy.
Despite their disagreements, wants to please Kreese as the new sensei, and so he, along with some of the Cobra Kais, sets up a plan to sneak into the zoo and steal a snake for Kreese. When Robby arrives, he is angry that he was invited by Tory, but Tory challenges having a problem with Robby being on the mission. When aborts the mission because Kyler forgot the snake pole, Robby ends up getting the snake with his bare hands. Despite the mission being successful, is still not pleased about Robby being on their team. That night after bringing the snake, Kreese reveals to them all that Miguel and Sam are now working together. He then orders the members to go and attack the Eagle Fangs/Miyagi-Dos, causing to be reluctant about joining the mission with Kyler.
Then, on that same night, when the Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang students had just agreed to work together at Sam's house, and seven other Cobra Kais show up and attack them. Spends a lot of time fighting Miyagi-Do student Stiven. While Stiven puts up a fight and gets some hits, Eli has the upper-hand overall and beats him. Cobra Kai is winning the fight, but after noticing Miguel, Mitch and the other Miyagi Do students being beaten up by the other Cobra Kai students, he is visibly conflicted, remembering what Johnny and Miguel said at school, and also remembering what Kreese said about enemies. After this, he sees Doug holding Demetri's arm in a familiar moment. Doug encourages him to break his arm a second time. Eli flips Doug, thus switching sides during the fight and saves Demetri.
After saving him, Demetri is reluctant to trust Eli, but Eli apologizes to him for everything, resulting in their friendship being rekindled. The two then work together to defeat several Cobra Kais. Eli's defection proves to be the turning point in the fight, as the Miyagi-Do's and Eagle Fang's gain momentum and the edge, and ultimately defeat the Cobra Kais.
After defeating the Cobra Kais in Sam's house, Eli heads to Daniel's home dojo by the pool along with Miguel and Demetri, where they see Tory, who was just disarmed by Sam. Eli tells Tory the fight is over, but she refuses to believe it's over. She leaves, but not before warningly telling Eli to watch his back. Demetri promises that Eli's friends will watch it for him. The following morning, the last scene of this season shows Eli going with some of the other former Cobra Kai's to Miyagi-Do, where he high-fives Demetri, and trains with the Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang students under Johnny and Daniel's leadership.
Season 4
Eli has rekindled his friendship with Demetri and hopes to atone for the mistakes he's made while at Cobra Kai. However, he struggles to find his place in the combined dojos. The Eagle Fang's see him as a traitor while the Miyagi-Do's seek to punish him for the torment he put them through. He confides in Daniel about his problems, unaware that Daniel is already angered from an argument with Johnny. Daniel snaps that Eli burned bridges with everyone there, causing the latter to walk away. He returns to the dojo with a sledgehammer and an idea to build an Okinawan sparring deck. His idea allows the dojos to train together outside and work together. Eli knows that talk is cheap so he's taking action for once. Demetri supports the choice as the physics of the deck are correct. The dojos put aside their differences to build the deck.
While at school, Eli stops Kenny from attacking Bert and Nathaniel after they insult him for his affiliation with Cobra Kai. Not knowing that Kenny was the victim, Eli gives him advice that he should leave Cobra Kai and that they're going to lose the tournament. He again encounters the former at a drive-in where he continues to bully Kenny as he causes him to accidentally bump into Eli as Kenny drops all of the food for the customers. This causes a confrontation between Cobra Kai, Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang. Miguel tells them to meet at the baseball diamond but they don't show up. After drenching Cobra Kai with sprinklers, Eli is happy that they fought them without throwing a punch and he drives away with Sam, Miguel and Demetri.
Before a class session, Eli and his classmates watch Daniel and Terry Silver's conversation. Later on, Eli and Demetri learn about the co-Cobra Kai sensei Terry Silver where they encounter Moon and Yasmine. Yasmine and Demetri share a kiss while Moon compliments Eli's new hair color. He learns that Moon and Piper broke up when Miguel and Sam tell him and Demetri about Daniel and Johnny's rematch. While waiting for Rico, Eli attempts to ask Moon to prom. However, he ends up being ambushed by Cobra Kai in revenge for betraying them, drenching them in the baseball diamond and bullying their classmate Kenny Payne. Eli returns to Miyagi-Do where he reveals that his mohawk was nearly shaved off right in front of Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang students. He leaves with Johnny after Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang split up.
Demetri goes to Eli's house where he reveals the new updates for the upcoming tournament. He tells him that he's not sure if he can defeat his former classmate Robby Keene. He reveals he removed the remains of his mohawk, reverting back to Eli, and reveals everyone knew about the incident and tells him that his time as Hawk made him ruthless to Demetri, Moon and Miguel. He then tells Demetri that he quit karate but Demetri tells him that he helped him get into karate. Demetri explains that his time in Miyagi-Do helped him gain confidence, strength and win the heart of Yasmine. He also shows his excitement for the tournament but it won't be exciting if Eli doesn't participate. He shows him their old binary brother video and tells him that regardless of his name and mohawk, they are still binary brothers, while also saying that his mohawk never defined who he was. Inspired, Eli goes back into karate and joins Miyagi-Do.
Eli and Demetri both go to prom where he tells him that going to prom without a date is embarrassing. Demetri tries to boost his confidence by telling him about their classmate's afterparty getting canceled due to the WVMS fight. He watches Demetri and Yasmine dance with Moon, but he doesn’t approach her due to his lack of confidence. The two go to Stingray's house for his afterparty where he watches Demetri and Yasmine make out.
During the All-Valley Tournament, Eli participates in the skills competition. He demonstrates his board breaking skills but doesn't break the last board. The one-on-one matches begin and Eli initially struggles against his first opponent, but recovers and beats him. His opponent in the quarterfinals is Kyler, his former bully. Kyler mocks him but Moon tells him to ignore him. She tells him that he's not defined by his mohawk even though she admired it. Moon tells Eli that she liked him more for his energy and confidence and the two kiss, rekindling their relationship. Inspired, he then easily defeats Kyler and advances. In the semifinals, Eli is matched up with his former Cobra Kai and Eagle Fang classmate and friend Miguel Diaz. The fight is even, until Eli is knocked down by Miguel, though no point is awarded due to this being considered a block. Miguel attempts to deliver a flying kick, but ends up injuring himself, putting their fight to a pause.
Eli then advances to the final by default after Miguel chooses not to continue. His opponent is none other than Robby Keene. In the first round, Robby wins the first point by utilizing Miyagi-Do, which prompts Eli to call a timeout. He goes to Daniel and tells him that Robby has way more experience in Miyagi-Do, but Daniel tells him that he has more experience in Cobra Kai. Eli follows his advice and wins the second round. After a long and even fight in the third round, Eli gains the upper hand by pinning Robby down, but the time runs out, leading to sudden death, the first since the 1985 All-Valley Tournament. Their fight becomes very intense when Robby and Eli both take off their gi; Robby because of his gi falling off, and Eli matches him and shows off his back tattoo. During the fight, Robby gains the upper hand and is about to win, but stops after being distracted by Kenny; Eli takes advantage of this and kicks him off. They resume their fight, which ends with Eli defeating Robby to win the tournament for the boys division. In the end, Eli and Miyagi-Do celebrate. Despite his win, Cobra Kai would still be the grand champion when Tory beats Sam 3-2 in the girls' finals, but unbeknownst to Eli and the others, Terry Silver had bribed the referee to ensure that Cobra Kai would win the tournament.
Season 5
Eli and Miyagi-Do meet up where Daniel explains that he is adhering to his bet with Cobra Kai and is shutting the dojo down. Daniel says that Miyagi-Do will still remain inside of them regardless of what happens.
At a tattoo shop, he goes with Demetri and Miguel to get a new tattoo. The binary brothers get nervous for Miguel after he reveals Sam's messages to him. After her last reply, the two tell Miguel that he is screwed. Demetri and Eli take Miguel to a jewelry store, where he buys an octopus necklace for Sam.
The next day, Eli and Miguel go to a water park where he kisses Moon. When he sees Kenny bullying Anthony, he confronts the group but Tory breaks it up. Later, the two race but Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang get mad when Eli reveals that there was a hole in his floatie. Kenny asks him what he would do about it, to which Eli smirks and says he wouldn't strike first. Kenny seems to back off but then attacks, who dodges and mocks him. Kenny attacks him again, with the former countering his strikes, before being punched. Kenny then tries to kick him but Eli grabs his leg and hits it, but is then pushed in the pool by Robby. Afterwards, all of the students are then kicked out after Robby and Miguel almost get into an altercation.
Back at Miyagi-Do, Eli and the other students are training with Chozen Toguchi. The students are hiding eggs but are picked off one by one. Robby tries to talk to Eli, to which he instantly tells the former to not talk to him after he cut off his mohawk. Robby becomes defensive and tells Eli about the horrible actions he's made in the past; Demetri interrupts the two and tells them they are 'ex-assholes' and that they need to get over their rivalry and focus on the lesson. Inspired by Anthony's Dungeon Lord analogy, they hide the eggs and protect it as a group. After Chozen runs out of options, he surrenders.
While having dinner at the LaRusso house, Johnny, Robby and Miguel decide that Eli should represent the dojo in the boys' round of the Sekai Taikai qualifiers against Cobra Kai. Robby asks Eli to go easy on Kenny. In the first round, Eli loses to him. In the second round, Eli kicks Kenny out of bounds, but the referee says no point because he was out of bounds, much to his and Miyagi-Fang's annoyance because he made contact with Kenny in bounds. In the third round, Kenny punches Eli's leg and despite that being an illegal strike, he only gets a warning. After the round, Eli decides to bring out the Hawk. In the fourth round, Kenny uses the "Silver Bullet" method he learned from Silver, to take the breath out of Eli. Eli falls to the ground and struggles to breathe, much to the concern of Miyagi-Fang. Eli is unable to compete anymore, which makes Kenny the automatic winner. Despite his loss to Kenny, Sam wins her match against Devon Lee and Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang nonetheless qualify for the tournament. Later on, both dojos celebrate at Miguel's apartment, where Eli tries to match Miguel with a new girl, while simultaneously dismissing Mitch's attempt to flirt with her as well.
After finding out about Terry Silver bribing the referee after the 51st All-Valley, Eli goes with Sam, Demetri, Bert and Miguel to confront Stingray, where he demonstrates the crime through Dungeons and Dragons and how Terry beat him up and framed Kreese.
Now ready to finish Cobra Kai, Eli and the rest of the Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang students head to the dojo with the help of Tory Nichols. While Demetri is finding evidence, Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang are confronted by Cobra Kai. Everyone gets surprised where they learned that Mitch betrays the merged dojos and tipped off the Cobra Kai students. When Miguel stops Kenny, a huge fight occurs.
Kyler checks out the office and insults the binary brothers, especially mocking Eli for his defeat against Kenny; Eli replies that winning and losing are a part of life, and so he accepted it and moved on, like every mature person should, while Kyler never did so and instead keeps playing his bully act despite having been beaten by all the people he bullied. While Demetri states he has not yet beaten Kyler, Eli quickly reassures him he will beat Kyler as well, and then states Kyler is too stupid to learn his lesson; an angry Kyler attacks Eli, who at first gains the upper hand on him and his friends, but eventually, since it's a 3-against-1, Kyler and the other two manage to briefly turns the tables until Demetri intervenes, and the binary brothers defeat their opponents once again.
While Anthony checks the upload progress, the Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang students protect him until the video is loaded and played on the dojo's TV. This stops the brawl, and then, after a lengthy fight, Daniel defeats Terry Silver, who is then abandoned by his students.
Season 6
Part 1
Eli and Demetri arrive to WVHS on their first day of school where they are welcomed by their classmates. During training, he and Demetri reveal the dojo name to their classmates where they will be named Miyagi-Fang. While training, he welcomes Kenny after he decides to join Miyagi-Fang.
During a college tour, the binary brothers and Miguel are surprised that Kyler goes to College of the Valley. He also apologizes to Brucks for brutally beating him but Brucks admits that their fight changed him. Later, he, Miguel and Demetri go to a fraternity party where Eli chugs beer and puts the empty cups on his head, causing the other college students to call him “Spikes”. After, they beat up the fraternity students after Kyler gets into a fight with one of the students and flee the house.
During a training session, Eli tells his excitement about where the Sekai Taikai is going to be held. Later, he then shows a video of Gunther revealing that the location of the tournament is in Barcelona, Spain, and he announces that only six students will be allowed to compete in the tournament. Eli and the other students get disappointed about the selection process.
Before the tournament, Mike Barnes has the students undergo rigorous training processes. After the first session, Eli is one of the twelve students who moves on to the next round. However, he has to participate in a tiebreaker with Demetri, Devon and Kenny for the final two spots. Just before the tiebreaker, Demetri learns that Eli has yet to even apply to MIT. This creates a rift between the two. Eli calls Demetri's "obsession" with MIT annoying, while Demetri states that Hawk is "turning into a moron." The two end up in a one-on-one fight for the other flag in the forest. Eli supposedly defeats Demetri, knocking him to the ground, but when Hawk helps him up, Demetri cheap shots him by kicking him. Demetri takes the flag and heads back, while Hawk is saddened by the actions of someone he thought was his friend and not being able to attend the tournament.
However, after Tory ditches the team following her mother's death, Eli is named her replacement, and goes with Demetri, Miguel, Robby, Devon and Sam to Barcelona, Spain. When they arrive, Eli and Miyagi-Do are shocked to see that Tory rejoined Cobra Kai.
Part 2
Eli and Demetri are still at odds with each other when they arrive in Barcelona. During one of the early events, he loses to Cobra Kai student, Yoon during the Captain's War match. At a bar, Moon FaceTime's him but inadvertently shows Yasmine that Demetri was dancing with another girl, causing her to dump Demetri, much to the anger at Demetri who blames Hawk.
After Kenny joins the tournament, both Hawk and Demetri distrust him at first, especially after Hawk catches him talking to Silver (who avoided prison and had bought a dojo that has been dominating the tournament), but Kenny proves them wrong by helping Miyagi-Do advance. After Kenny's victory, Hawk and Demetri have a heart to heart, with Hawk apologizing to Demetri for hurting him and Demetri saying he didn't want to lose his best friend, leading to them reconciling their friendship, with Miguel joining in as well.
Afterward, the reformed binary brothers along with Kenny perform a strategy to overwhelm Yoon during Miyagi-Do and Cobra Kai's tag team elimination match, with Hawk ultimately finishing him off to win the point for Miyagi-Do. Later on, both Hawk and Demetri fight the Tiger Strike students in the all-dojo brawl alongside some of the students and the captains (Diego and Maria) from Furia de Pantera. The fight is then halted with Kwon's accidental death shocking everyone.
Part 3
Sometime after arriving back in the Valley, it is revealed that the Sekai Taikai will resume but in the Valley. Eli and Demetri then work to prepare Robby for his upcoming fight with Axel. Eli reveals to Demetri that he has been accepted into CalTech.
When Johnny retakes Cobra Kai, Eli and Miyagi-Do help train Miguel and Tory at the old dojo for their final matches against Axel and Zara respectively. On the day of the finals of the Sekai Taikai, Eli and Moon meet up with Demetri who reveals that he got accepted into CalTech and will be going there instead of MIT, much to the happiness of Eli. Following being victorious in the Sekai Taikai and after graduating high school, Eli and Demetri leave for CalTech while Demetri rekindled with Yasmine.
Personality
Eli is initially portrayed as a very quiet and introverted individual due to the intense bullying he's endured his entire life for a medical condition that he can't control. He was made to feel less than others and, as such, had a low self-worth. He was first seen with only one friend, Demetri, and later Miguel. Despite mocking the popular kids at school, Eli desired to be one of them. He wanted to be respected by his peers, but coupled respect with having to exude fear and intimidation. Searching for a way to protect himself against the intense bullying, and also searching for a sense of camaraderie with Miguel, Eli joins Cobra Kai Dojo. His first lesson from Johnny is to minimize the significance of the facial difference by "flipping the script" so people have notice something else first. Knowing this will allow him to control the narrative for once, Eli adopts a new hairstyle in the form of a mohawk. He takes it to the next level by getting a giant hawk tattoo on his back. This, coupled with his new attitude of cockiness, gives him the nickname of "Hawk".
Now in control of his life and getting the spotlight for the first time, Eli develops an inflated ego. He becomes more self-assured, and willing to take risks. With this comes an overconfidence, aggressive, and hot headed nature. His sense of right and wrong is blurred as he devotes blind loyalty to Johnny, and later Kreese, following their rules and creed to the letter. He fails to adapt when Johnny tries to teach his students morals, as Hawk now views any diversion from the initial Cobra Kai mantra as weakness.
He begins to bully Demetri to maintain the identity he found in Cobra Kai. He becomes thuggish, cruel, and vengeful in his approach toward life. He goes from being the abused to the abuser, turns his pain into anger at every turn, and develops a sexist attitude towards women and a cockiness in his relationship, which results in Moon breaking up with him. Eli's loyalties shift from Johnny to Kreese when the latter takes over the dojo. He blames Johnny for Miguel's accident, but also views Cobra Kai as his identity and sense of self. He is desperate to maintain that at any cost.
As time passes, Eli begins to reconnect with his conscience as he realizes that Kreese's cruel methods are unhealthy. However, his weakened sense of self and inability to stand up to Cobra Kai results in the dojo peer-pressuring into breaking Demetri's arm during a fight. Eventually, Eli's conscience peaks and he realizes the error of his ways during the heated LaRusso house brawl, as well as the ramifications of his actions and the merciless mindset of the kids around him. He, for the first time in over a year, does the right thing by freeing Demetri from an arm lock and helping him, which allows him to break away from Cobra Kai and enter a healthier mindset; he does his best to make things right with those he hurt, and is a main factor in "building bridges" between Eagle Fang and Miyagi-Do.
When Robby Keene and the Cobra Kai's shave his mohawk, Eli loses his sense of self and pride and is embarrassed over the event and reverts to "Lip", the rattled teenager with weakened confidence, because he believes his sense of self is connected to his looks. With Demetri's encouragement, Eli returns to Miyagi-Do karate where he also embraces his true name - "Eli". Though reconnected with his old friends, Eli struggles to gain his confidence and inner-strength back. Ultimately, a pep talk from Moon and his victory at the All Valley Karate Tournament re-energizes him.
Fighting Style
- "Prepare to face the fury of the Hawk."
- ―Hawk to Robby Keene[src]
Once he entered training, Eli developed into an aggressive fighter with a penchant for high-risk techniques. Light and wiry, he discovered he was something of a natural athlete. He did demonstrate a solid defense when pressed, weathering an intense combination from Robby only to counter with a well-timed takedown. However, when Robby started focusing, he countered Eli's attacks and knocked him down with perfect timing. After the tournament, Eli's style became even flashier and more reckless, incorporating aerial kicks and other high-risk moves. He began to show a tendency to underestimate his opponents, except for Miguel. His overconfidence and over-reliance on aggression allowed Robby, Miguel, and Demetri to defeat him with superior timing and defense. Despite losing multiple fights, he was still able to defeat many people, such as most of his Cobra Kai peers at Coyote Creek, as well as several Miyagi-Do students during the school brawl.
Under Kreese's tutelage, Eli's fighting style improved. Kreese encouraged him to fight smarter, to temper his aggression, and be less impulsive. While he still used high-risk techniques, he relied less on them and implemented them more intelligently. He also stopped underestimating his opponents. After teaming up with Demetri during the fight at the LaRusso house, the two managed to combine their skills to defeat several Cobra Kais.
After Eagle Fang and Miyagi-Do merge, Eli's defensive game improves greatly. This gives him even more depth and flexibility as a fighter, as he now uses a powerful and balanced combination of offense and defense. However, after his Mohawk is cut off, a despondent Eli becomes weaker. This is shown as he is not able to break his last board and struggles to beat his first opponent in the All-Valley. However, after his talk with Moon, he finally regains his confidence and proceeds to easily beat Kyler. He puts up a good fight against Miguel using Miyagi-Do in the tournament before the latter is injured and unable to fight. In his final fight against Robby Keene, both fighters utilized Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do. Eli had the upper hand against Robby before the timer rang. In sudden death, Robby initially has the upper hand, but Eli kicks him off after the latter is distracted by Kenny. After a long and even fight, Eli was finally able to defeat Robby — an opponent who beat him soundly in the mall brawl (even he had assistance for Sam) — cementing his place in the top tier of the younger generation of fighters.
At the fight in the waterpark, he initially fights defensively against Kenny. However, after Kenny punches him and then tries to kick him, Eli grabs his foot and elbows it but is unable to win the fight, due to Robby intervening by pushing him in the pool. In his fight with Kenny for the Sekai Taikai, he loses due to Silver bribing the referee and Kenny using the "Silver Bullet" method on him. It is also implied that he lost due to agreeing with Robby on going easy on him. During the Cobra Kai dojo fight, Eli initially gains the upper-hand on Kyler and while he got a hit on him during the fight, Eli receives assistance from Demetri, which allows them to effortlessly defeat Kyler and his friends. When the Miyagi-Fangs used the 'protect the egg' lesson they did with Chozen on Anthony, Eli was one of the five remaining fighters standing in the circle as the rest were being pulled away from the group by the Cobras.
In Season 6: Part 1, he continues fighting and getting stronger. During a large brawl at Theta Omega, a fraternity house, he, Miguel and Demetri team up with their former bullies, Kyler and Brucks, and they effortlessly defeat the fraternity members. In the flag fight during the battle royale, he was able to engage Robby while simultaneously getting the better of Miguel and only losing when Miguel & Robby combined their efforts and took his flags. In his flag fight against Demetri at the forest, Eli is put in an arm lock by Demetri, but he escapes it by performing an aerial and then kicking him to the ground, supposedly defeating him. However, when Eli helps Demetri up, he loses the flag when Demetri takes advantage of Eli being off guard by kicking him.
In Part 2, he along with many others except Miguel were completely off-balanced during most of the Sekai Taikai as when he lost Yoon Do Jin. But despite this, he was able to defeat a few members of Dublin Thunder in the 2v2 platform round, he defeated the female captain, Cara who previously defeated Sam and he was about to eliminate the last member until Demetri accidentally knocked him off and his opponent and eliminated him. During his second fight against Yoon, he is now focused and balanced due to him reconciling with Demetri, and he is able to devise a plan with Demetri and Kenny to exhaust out Yoon and make sure he doesn't tag anyone in, leading to him defeating Yoon to earn a point. Later, during the all-dojo brawl, he was able to defeat several members of Tiger Strike alongside Demetri and the Furia De Pantera students, all at once who were on all on steroids, and even knocked out a few of them and no one was able to land a hit on him during the brawl. He also knocked out Vlad with a headbutt.
Despite not fighting in the Sekai Taikai during part 3, he did get stronger, as he went toe to toe with Robby evenly in sparring, and later after Robby's leg was broken by Axel, he was able to fight evenly against Miguel until the latter landed a hit on the former when he and the rest of their friends were helping him and Tory train for their respective final fights against Axel and Zara in the old Cobra Kai dojo.
Due to his transformation from a bullied outcast into an aggressive, dominant martial artist showcases his resilience, adaptability, and relentless determination, he has solidified himself as one of the most aggressive and versatile fighters in the series. His fighting style is a fusion of a prominent speed, important agility, raw power, very good precision, and is also a perfect blend of Cobra Kai’s ruthless offense, Miyagi-Do’s precision defense and counterattacks, and Eagle Fang’s unpredictability, making him a dangerous and well-rounded martial artist.
During his time in Cobra Kai, Hawk was consistently ranked among the top two or three fighters, second only to Miguel. Additionally, he is one of the few characters to have trained under multiple senseis, including Johnny Lawrence, Daniel LaRusso, John Kreese, Mike Barnes, and Chozen.
Overall, Hawk is the one of the best teenage fighters in the show and he is above most teenage fighters in the series such as Demetri Alexopoulos, Kenny Payne, Kyler Park, Shawn Payne, Diego Aguilar, Maria Alvarez, Cara McAllistar, Vlad, Devon Lee, Anthony LaRusso, Chris, Mitch, Nathaniel, Bert, Aisha Robinson, Yoon Do-Jin, Tory Nichols, Zara Malik, Samantha LaRusso, and Xander Stone. He was the only male fighter, with only Miguel and Robby being the only ones in the dojo that are on his level. The only one's who are stronger than him are Miguel Diaz, Robby Keene, Kwon Jae-Sung, and Axel Kovacevic.
Relationships
Demetri Alexopoulos
Demetri is Eli's brother figure and childhood best friend, sharing nearly everything. They become friends with Miguel and join Cobra Kai together, though Demetri quits after being embarrassed by Johnny. Demetri vocalizes his disapproval for some of Hawk's new behaviors, such as his cruel mannerisms and brute attitude. He also refuses to call Eli "Hawk", making him the only person that Eli doesn't abuse for the misstep. At the All Valley Tournament, Demetri cheers for Eli, but also sees firsthand how far he is willing to go to win. Their friendship becomes strained when John Kreese begins teaching Eli. He begins to insult Demetri and verbally abuse him, seeing Demetri as the culmination of everything he's being trained to hate — a weaker nerd. When Demetri joins Miyagi-Do, their friendship officially ends. He writes a bad review about Cobra Kai and refuses to take it down. As a result, attacks him in the mall along with some of his Cobra Kai friends. Their anger comes to a head during school brawl.
Things worsen, with each taking cheap shots at one another in the name of revenge. During an arcade fight, Eli succumbs to peer pressure and breaks Demetri's arm, causing him immeasurable pain. Afterward, Eli begins to question his actions and tactics. During the LaRusso house fight, two Cobra Kai's have Demetri in an arm lock, offering a free shot to Eli, who shocks everyone by saving Demetri. He apologizes to Demetri for the past and offers to help him win the fight. Tory threatens that Hawk should watch his back, but Demetri stands up for him, saying he has friends watching his back for him. Demetri helped Eli earn the trust of the two dojos again by looking over the design he created for an Okinawan sparring deck. When Eli's confidence is depleted after the loss of his mohawk at the hands of Cobra Kai, Demetri is there to not only comfort , but help him regain some of his confidence. He states that his mo didn't define who he was. He assures that they are still "binary brothers" and always will be regardless of whether he calls himself "Hawk", "Eli", or something else entirely. Whether he's a zero or a one, they're binary brothers. Eli takes this to heart and joins Miyagi-Do as a result. During the All-Valley Tournament, they both cheered for each other and Eli tried to help Demetri in his fight against Robby. The two celebrate after Eli wins the boys division.
The binary brothers get nervous for Miguel after he vents about Sam. Later, the two bring Miguel to a jewelry store to buy a necklace. They also go to Stingray's apartment in order to learn about his assault. Stingray demonstrates the crime with Dungeons and Dragons. Later that day, the binary brothers go with Miguel and Robby and the rest of the Miyagi-Fang's and Tory to the Cobra Kai dojo where they defend Anthony from the Cobra Kai's attacking them while latter uses Demetri's tablet to upload the footage of Silver confessing Tory about the ref.
Eli's decision to not submit an early application to MIT creates a rift between the two. Demetri, who applied and was accepted, is stunned that Eli seems ready to split up the binary brothers, while Eli himself feels that he should be able to keep his options open. The rift between the two widens when Demetri takes a cheap shot at Eli, securing himself a spot in the Sekai Taikai over him. Though Eli ultimately ends up coming to Barcelona as well due to Tory bailing out at the last minute, there is no resolution between the two. The two continue to bicker throughout the tournament. On a night out, he inadvertently causes Demetri and Yasmine to break up after he shows the former dancing with another girl while he's on a FaceTime call with Moon. Later, Eli apologizes, telling Demetri that he didn't mean to hurt him. In return, Demetri admits he's scared of losing his best friend, telling him that he will really miss him. Eli tells him that he will always be his brother, and the two of them reconcile. During the all-dojo brawl, the binary brothers fight the Tiger Strike students alongside the Furia de Pantera students. The brawl is halted when Kwon accidentally kills himself with Kreese's eunjangdo.
A month later, the Sekai Taikai is reinstated and will continue in the Valley. On the day of the finals, Demetri meets with Eli and Moon and tells them that he got into Caltech which is the college Eli applied to and got accepted in; this news excites him and the binary brothers hug. When Johnny goes up against Wolf, the two and the rest of the friends support him by donning the black Cobra Kai gi. After he wins, the two and Miguel lift him up, celebrating his victory. After the tournament, Eli and Demetri head off to Caltech.
Miguel Diaz
- "El Serpiente!"
- ―Eli
Miguel is another best friend of Eli and is his right-hand man. They immediately connect over being bullied by Kyler and his gang. Eli joins Cobra Kai after witnessing Miguel using his skills to defend himself from Kyler and his gang. Despite Eli'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. When Miguel is injured in the school brawl, Eli is one of the first to try and awaken Miguel, but a cop tells him to back away. He is also one of Miguel's regular visitors in the hospital. He becomes intent on getting revenge for what he feels Miyagi-Do did to Miguel, and steals the fundraiser money for Miguel's surgery to make it look as thought it came from Cobra Kai's efforts.
When Miguel returns to school, things sour when he learns that Demetri's arm was broken by Eli. Miguel immediately confronts Eli about this, but he tells him that he should be thankful to Cobra Kai for avenging what Miyagi-Do did to him. He can't understand Eli's motivations and corrects him that it isn't Johnny's fault. Miguel warns Eli about Kreese's manipulations and tries to recruit his friend to join Eagle Fang, which ends their friendship. During the LaRusso house fight, Eli witnesses Miguel being attacked by the Cobra Kais. He recalls Miguel's warnings about Kreese, and defects from Cobra Kai. Because of Eli's betrayal and their reconciliation, Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang win the fight. The pair went on to rebuild their friendship, grow closer throughout their joint training, and continued to support one another's endeavors. Miguel and Eli train together in Eagle Fang despite Eli trying to fit in. He and Miguel 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.
When Miguel comes back from Mexico, Eli, along with Demetri advises their friend over his issues with Sam, suggesting him to buy her jewelry. Despite their advise, Sam breaks up with Miguel before he can give her the present. To cheer him up, he brings Miguel to a water park where he will be there with Moon, not thinking that this mean Sam will be there as well. When Miguel and Robby make amends, at first Eli is still angry with the latter, not having forgotten about the haircut, but thanks to Miguel and Demetri they make peace as well. At the Sekai Taikai the two friends, along with Robby, display their knowledge of both Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang to the commission, amazing them. Eli is then chosen by Miguel and Robby to fight against Kenny, much to Eli's flattery over his friends' trust. The two aid Sam and Bert to talk to Stingray. At his apartment, he demonstrates the crime through Dungeons and Dragons. During the fight at the Cobra Kai dojo, the two protect Anthony while he holds Demetri's tablet.
While on a tour at the College of the Valley, Miguel, Eli, and Demetri run into Kyler and Brucks. They all go to a fraternity party in Theta Omega's house. When Kyler picks a fight with the frat members after learning that he's never getting in, Miguel, Eli, Demetri, and Brucks assists him fighting them off. While getting ready for the next round of Mike Barnes's challenges, Eli reveals to Miguel that he never applied to MIT because since the frat party, he hasn't been thinking about other schools to apply. Miguel encourages him to tell Demetri when there's a chance. After Demetri and Devon earn the final two spots, Miguel comforts Eli about his loss of earning a spot. However, he ends up getting a spot after Tory left. Now, the two All Valley champions are able to go to Barcelona with their selected teammates.
At Barcelona, Eli decides to share a room with Miguel when Demetri wants to bunk with Robby. Although, all 4 of them ends up getting a hotel room together after Robby loses his and Demetri's room to Kwon through a kicking contest. Eli and Miguel share a bed while the same goes for Demetri and Robby. When Robby struggles in his role as the team's captain due to him being conflicted about Tory being in Cobra Kai again, Eli and Demetri tells Miguel that he should've been the captain. When Kenny joins the team later in the tournament and the binary brothers suspected him of being a mole for Terry Silver that lead to Miyagi-Do losing their tag team match against Furia De Pantera, Miguel scolds Eli for not tagging him when he had the chance. Miguel and Robby then proves the binary brothers wrong when Kenny helps Miyagi-Do win against Redentores. In the locker room before their match against Cobra Kai, when Eli and Demetri make up, Miguel hugs the two while assuring them that they'll always be his best friends.
The Sekai Taikai later resumes in the Valley. Eli, Miguel, and Demetri help Robby with his training for his continued semifinal match against Axel. After Johnny retakes Cobra Kai, Eli, along with Miyagi-Do, trains Miguel and Tory for their final matches. When Miguel defeats Axel in the final match, Eli and the team celebrates his victory. After Johnny wins his tiebreaker match against Wolf, Eli, Miguel, and Demetri lifts him up to celebrate his victory.
Moon Taylor
Moon is Eli's former bully and current girlfriend. Moon and Yasmine, along with Kyler and Brucks, made fun of Eli's lip for years. When Eli turned into "Hawk", their relationship changed to become romantic. However, Moon dumps him for beating up Demetri, as she, too, has changed and rejects bullying of all forms. At Moon's party later that year, Eli attempts to flirt with a new girl to make his ex jealous. To his surprise, Moon then kisses the new girl, Piper, revealing that they are together. Eli tells her that this is "awesome", covering his jealousy. During the soccer game, Eli attempts to wink at Moon but she rolls her eyes at him. He covers the tattoo of her name and shape of the moon that he got for her with a grim reaper tattoo. When he returns to his old personality, his confidence wanes during the All Valley before his fight with Kyler. Moon gives him an uplifting talk and then kisses him. Inspired, he easily defeats Kyler. After defeating Robby Keene, Eli becomes the boys champion. She's ecstatic to see him win the tournament, and the two continue dating after it.
Johnny Lawrence
- "When you came into my dojo you were softer than a baby's ass. I made you what you are, not Kreese!"
- ―Johnny Lawrence to Eli[src]
Johnny was Eli's former sensei at the Cobra Kai Dojo. When Eli first joins Cobra Kai halfway into Season 1, Johnny mocks his lip scar and tells him to push back against how others will see him if he "flips the script". Eli takes his message to heart and shows up the next day with a mo, impressing Johnny. From then on, Eli is. However, when is disqualified in the semifinals at the All Valley tournament for kicking Robby when his back was turned, an angry Johnny confronts him, but shows no remorse. Eli seemingly starts losing faith in Johnny, and is being more obedient to Johnny's sensei Kreese. When Johnny confronts Eli and the students, he angrily blames Johnny for all of Miguel's injuries. When he tries to apologize to them, Eli tells Johnny that they, the students, paid the price for Johnny going soft on them. However, Johnny rebuttals and tells him that Kreese doesn't actually care about Eli and that he helped him flipped the script, not Kreese. During the fight at Sam's house, Eli realizes that his former sensei is right and defects to help defeat Cobra Kai, later joining Johnny's new Eagle Fang Karate and training with them and Miyagi-Do against Cobra Kai. He ultimately transfers, respectfully this time, to Miyagi-Do. When Eli is chosen to represent Miyagi-Fang in the Sekai Taikai tryouts, Eli and Johnny has their own training session on the night before. After Eli is beaten by Kenny due to the bribed referee causing him to briefly lose his breath, Johnny sits with Eli while he has recovered. After Tory left Miyagi-Do following her mother's death, Johnny and Daniel immediately chooses Eli to replace her as Miyagi-Do's top six fighters for the Sekai Taikai. Once Johnny defeats Sensei Wolf at the tiebreaker match, Eli, along with Miguel, lifts their sensei up to celebrate his victory.
Robby Keene
- "If Cobra Kai can turn anyone into an asshole it's you."
- ―Robby Keene to Eli[src]
Robby vs Eli
Robby is Eli's (former) enemy. They first meet in the semifinals of the All Valley Tournament, when Eli attempts to intimidate him before the fight starts. After Robby mocks his mohawk, an enraged Eli kicks him when his back is turned, resulting in Robby's shoulder being injured and Eli being disqualified. When Eli and his Cobra Kai friends corner Demetri in the mall, Robby and Sam jump in and tell them to leave. Then a fight breaks out between both groups, with Eli being bested by Robby. When seeing Robby joining Cobra Kai, Eli shows his disgust and claims that Robby isn't Cobra Kai material. His hatred for Robby stems from his loyalty to Miguel, who Robby had severely hurt during a school fight. Eli was once envious of Robby's skills and the way he made fast friends with the Cobra Kais, especially when Kreese says Robby is exactly what Cobra Kai is looking for.
When Eagle Fang pranks Cobra Kai with sprinklers in a baseball diamond, as opposed to fighting them as previously stated, Robby and the Cobra Kai's sought revenge. They deliberately planned an attack against Eli, by unexpectedly arriving at his tattoo appointment. While Kyler and the others restrained Eli, Robby used a barber knife to cut off Eli's mohawk. The act was incredibly damaging to Eli's identity, though it ultimately helped him find his way back to himself again. The two faced off against one another at the 51st Annual Karate Championships. The fight ended in sudden death when Eli beat Robby and won the boys division trophy for Miyagi-Do. To the surprise and anger of Terry Silver, Robby bowed to Eli in respect during their fight.
Even after Robby left Cobra Kai, Eli still harbored a dislike towards him. During the "egg" training, both Eli and Robby were bested by Chozen and forced to sit out with the other disqualified members of the group. He refused to talk to Robby, and in retaliation Robby listed the ways in which Eli had acted back when he was in Cobra Kai. They would have nearly fought, had it not been for the interruption of their mutual friend Demetri, who told them off by implying they both had done wrong things. After the success of the lesson, Robby and Eli seemed to work together as equal partners. Robby and Miguel both agreed that Eli should represent them in the Sekai Taikai tryouts, and he offered to "shut Kenny up" after the young Cobra Kai student was rude to Robby. While celebrating the team's qualification at Miguel's apartment, Robby is surprised that Eli changed his green hair from back to brown which the latter replies that he's working on another color.
At the Barcelona Aquarium, Eli assures Robby that he can win the kicking contest, however, he loses to Kwon. When Kenny joins Miyagi-Do later in the tournament, Eli, having been warned by Demetri, suspects that Kenny is a mole for Silver. This leads him to swap with Robby instead of Kenny in Miyagi-Do's match against Furia de Pantera much to the team's disappointment except Demetri and this caused them to lose their match to the Spanish dojo. When Miyagi-Do fights the Redentores, Eli, who saw Kenny and Silver talking, wants Robby to tag him instead of Kenny, but Robby proves him and Demetri wrong when he swaps in Kenny who easily helps Miyagi-Do wins the match.
Following the reveal of the Sekai Taikai's continuation, Eli and Demetri help train Robby for his match against Axel by giving an AI program headset to envision Miguel as Axel. Robby struggles when the technology isn't working out, but after a talk from Miguel, he regains focus and improves himself.
John Kreese
Eli was once deeply corrupted by Kreese's teachings, to the point of becoming a sadistic person. After Kreese begins co-teaching, he fuels Eli's negative and violent tendencies. Encouraged by Kreese and without Johnny's knowledge, Eli leads a small group of students to vandalize and destroy Daniel LaRusso's dojo. He steals the Medal of Honor which belonged to Daniel's sensei Mr. Miyagi. The influence of Kreese and Cobra Kai's initial teachings are so great on Hawk that even after Johnny believes he has gotten rid of Kreese, and tries to instill humility and mercy in his students, he reflects the concept. For Eli, the confidence and power the initial teachings gave him are hard to reconcile with the concept of showing mercy to a world that hadn't shown him any since the day he was born. When Kreese takes back Cobra Kai from Johnny, Eli is one of his loyal students. He experiences increasing twinges of his conscience at certain decisions Kreese makes, including kicking several students out of Cobra Kai for not wanting to feed a living mouse to a snake and also kicking out Mitch for not being Cobra Kai material. Eli also does not like to see Kreese recruiting his former bully Kyler, or "enemy" Robby. He ultimately turns away from Cobra Kai to join Eagle Fang, and later, Miyagi-Do.
Kenny Payne
- "Get out of Cobra Kai while you can."
- ―Eli[src]
The two first interacted in the bathroom where Eli stops Kenny from punching Bert and Nate (not knowing that Bert and Nate were the ones picking on him). Eli then gives him a word of advice to leave Cobra Kai since he knows that it will brainwash Kenny into a bully. Eli encounters Kenny again at a movie drive in as he continues to bully him because he’s in Cobra Kai as he causes Kenny to accidentally bump into him, dropping all of his classmates' food as Robby intervenes. This led Cobra Kai to ambush Eli at a tattoo shop as Robby cuts off his mohawk for all the things he did.
Later, the two had more interaction with each other as they argued about the events in the tournament as Tory stops them. Eli then confronts him about Kenny cutting a hole on Eli’s tube which causes them to fight but Eli easily beats him when he injuries Kenny’s leg. At the Sekai Taikai tryouts, the two had a match together with Kenny defeating him with the Silver Bullet which causes him to be called “Fauxhawk.”
After summer, their feud was over when Kenny left Cobra Kai and joined Miyagi-Do. The two, along with Demetri and Devon, participates in a tiebreaker race to sure the last spots for the Sekai Taikai. Both of them lost the race due to Demetri and Devon's cheap moves. Although, Eli ended up getting a spot after Tory's defection and Kenny ended up getting a spot after Devon makes amends with him for the laxative incident. When Hawk sees Kenny joining the team, the former is being suspicious towards Kenny, thinking he's at the tournament, hired by Silver, to sabotage the team, only to prove Eli wrong when Robby tagged in Kenny to fight his opponent and score two points in a row to let Miyagi-Do advance to fight in a match against Cobra Kai. Afterward, Eli's doubts on Kenny have ceased. During Miyagi-Do and Cobra Kai's match, Eli, Demetri, and Kenny work together to fight Yoon Do-Jin with each of the three tagging each other to overwhelm the latter and score a point.
Other Relationships
- Mrs. Moskowitz (Mother-Son)
- Aisha Robinson (Ally/Former Co-student)
- Samantha LaRusso (Friend/Former Enemy)
- Tory Nichols (Friend/Former Enemy)
- Kyler Park (Former Enemy/Current Ally)
- Mitch (Close Friend/Former Enemy)
- Bert (Friend/Former Enemy)
- Brucks (Former Bully/Current Ally)
- Rory (Former Bully)
- A.J. (Former Bully)
Quotes
- "Prepare to face the fury of the Hawk"
- ―Mercy
- "Look man I'm sorry. For all of it. Do you want to help me win this thing?"
- ―December 19
Trivia
- Eli suffered from Kyler's bullying, as it in turn, made him into a bully.
- He was arguably the most focused Cobra Kai student.
- He is a fan of the British singer Yungblud, as well as, the massive franchises Harry Potter and Doctor Who.
- Eli's audio-cue in the television series is a eagle screech.
- Notably, his lip scar becomes less red and visible over the course of the series, indicating a continuity error in makeup.
- He was the most loyal Cobra Kai member until his defection.
- He is the only character to officially been a member of all three dojos in the series: Cobra Kai, Eagle Fang, and Miyagi-Do.
- Eli (Besides Raymond) is the only character to have a massive glow up.
- The last name "Moskowitz" indicates possible Eastern Ashkenazic Jewish descent. The name "Eli" can also be a masculine given name of Hebrew origin, from the Biblical עֵלִי "ascent", a possible clue to his alter-ego as a high-flying creature, the hawk.
- Eli claims that his doctor said that he "could be on the spectrum", after asked by Johnny if he is a special needs kid. This implies that Eli likely has some degree of autism.
- Eli, Miguel and Demetri have all been bullied by Kyler and have defeated him in revenge.
- He shares similarities to Dutch from the Karate Kid.
- In "Molting", Johnny tells Miguel the story of how he met Ali. Dutch was throwing Milk-Duds at the group of girls. This is followed up one when at the movie theatre later in the episode, Hawk is throwing Milk-Duds at another group of girls, only stopping when he accidentally hits a man.
- He was the most aggressive (arguably) of Johnny's and Kreese's Cobra Kai, much like how Dutch was the most aggressive of Kreese's Cobra Kai.
- Eli’s catchphrase “Finally a worthy opponent” could be a reference to Tai Lung from Kung Fu Panda saying “Finally, a worthy opponent.”
- His mohawk color sequence before the Cobra Kai's shaved it off went in this order: blue, red, and purple.
- When his hair started growing again and got the mohawk somewhat back, he chose green for a color, but then got rid of it and went back to the color he first started with: blue and then in Season 6 it have the pattern of the US flag.
- He shares some similarity to Marvel's Thor in that they both lose their hair (Eli: Mohawk, and Thor: long hair), which eventually grow back.
- Eli taking off his gi to fight Robby in the tournament is similar to Kazuma Kiryu in the video game series Yakuza.
- He was called "Lip" by Kyler and then "Faux-Hawk" by Kyler again, even though Kenny came up with the latter.
- He and Devon are the two students that betrayed Cobra Kai; both times they defected was in the season finale. He defects in Season 3 while Devon defects in Season 5.
- His character is heavily implied to be based on Wu Ping from the 2010 Karate Kid remake.
- Hawk's car color design is a nod to the late Paul Walker's Nissan Skyline R34 in 2 Fast 2 Furious.
Gallery
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