George Turner

George Turner
Biographical Information
Name	George Turner
Died	1969
Status	Deceased
Occupation	Captain in U.S. Army (until death)
Personal Information
Friends	Kim Sun-Yung (sensei)
Enemies	Vietcong John Kreese (killer) Terry Silver
Affiliation	U.S. Army (held rank of Captain until death)
Series Information
First Appearance	King Cobra
Last Appearance	Ouroboros (illusion)
Portrayed By	Terry Serpico

"Your enemy wants you dead, so you have two choices. Kill or be killed. No hesitation, no second thoughts, and no mercy!"

―George Turner

Captain George Turner is the posthumous overarching antagonist of The Karate Kid franchise.

Turner is a former officer and captain of the United States Army, and was the commanding officer of John Kreese, Terry Silver, and several other men during the Vietnam War. In 1969, Turner and his team are given a covert operation to sneak into and destroy a Viet Cong compound, but they are captured after Ponytail fails to leave the target area and Kreese hesitates to detonate the bomb placed by him.

Just before engaging in a deathmatch above a snake pit, Turner reveals Betsy's death. The two exchange in a fight to the death, with Turner utilizing his experience to out-class Kreese, before being stabbed in the leg by the latter. During their fight, U.S. Air Force planes bomb the compound, causing the Viet Cong to flee the area as Turner hangs on the bridge for his life. He asks Kreese to help him up, but Kreese forces him to fall to his death.

Biography

Early Life

George Turner was born in 1912 and fought in World War II and the Korean War. During the Korean War, he was trained by master Kim Sun-Yung of[1] South Korea, whom taught him the art of Tang So Doo. Turner was against the Hippie movement of the 1960s.

Training Kreese

Captain Turner meeting Kreese.

In 1968, Turner was praising John Kreese for his actions and ability to make a difference, and asks him to join his team for a mission to Vietnam, which Kreese accepts. He is next shown training with Kreese. After Kreese hits him and knocks him down, he drops his guard and proceeds to help him up, only for Turner to attack him and take him down. Turner then told Kreese and his group, which includes Terry Silver and Ponytail, to be merciless to their opponent, and that they have their mission tomorrow. He then receives word from the sergeant that Kreese's girlfriend Betsy has passed away, but tells the sergeant not to tell Kreese because he doesn't want him to lose focus.

The Mission

While on the mission in Vietnam, he is communicating with John Kreese and Terry Silver through a walkie talkie. When Silver's radio erupts, Turner tells Kreese to blow up the air support where Ponytail currently is placing explosives, but Kreese's hesitation leads to everyone being captured by the Viet Cong. Ponytail is then shot dead in the woods, causing an angry Turner to blame Kreese for this.

Capture

Turner and his unit are then imprisoned in a cell and forced to fight one on one to the death. During a fight between two people in Turner's group, John Kreese asks Turner for guidance, but Turner says it's every man for himself. After the first fight, a Vietnamese soldier selects Turner to fight Terry Silver, which scares Silver, but Kreese volunteers to take his place.

Final Fate

Turner about to fight Kreese.

While proceeding towards the fighting bridge, Turner tells John Kreese he has something to live for. When Kreese says he does as well, Turner notifies him that Betsy died in a car crash and starts laughing (most likely to gain a psychological advantage when they fight), deeply upsetting and angering Kreese. During their fight, Turner has the upper hand and has Kreese at his mercy. While having him at his mercy, he berates Kreese for being unable to shed his humanity. However, Kreese then stabs him with a broken piece of bamboo and then proceeds to get the upper hand, before succeeding in kicking him off the platform, with Turner barely hanging on just as American soldiers and US Air Force jets arrived at the camp to save the unit. Turner tells Kreese to pull him up, but Kreese coldly says that it is true that he had never truly taken his lessons to heart, but that he would never make that mistake again. He then shows commanding officer "no mercy" by stomping on his left hand which sends Turner falling to his death, but not before Turner shouting "Kreese!". Turner dies after falling down into the pit of venomous cobras and snakes.

Legacy

John Kreese's experiences with Turner would lead to him becoming the ruthless and merciless man that he is in the present day. Despite his ill treatment toward him, Kreese would go on to take his commanding officer's lessons to heart and continued using his style of self-defense, which would eventually be the foundation of Cobra Kai.

Season 5

When an older Kreese is talking to Dr. Emily Folsom in prison, he briefly visions his deceased army captain berating him.

Personality

George Turner was a ruthless and cruel captain who taught his soldiers to be merciless to their enemies. He was known for breaking the rules of conduct as he told his soldiers to show no mercy to their enemies, even if they surrender. While in Vietnam, he showed his ruthlessness by demanding Kreese to detonate the explosives and escape, even though it would have killed Ponytail. When John Kreese fails to do so, resulting in all of them being captured and Ponytail being shot dead, Turner angrily blames Kreese. During his one on one fight with Kreese, despite being forced to fight Kreese, Turner is more than pleased to do it, as he brutally beats him up and berates him for failing to shed his humanity. However, Kreese regains footing and overpowers Turner. When the American soldiers and U.S. Air Force jets arrived, Turner orders Kreese to help him up, but this is when Turner's lessons come back to bite him, as Kreese finally accepts the no mercy mentality, and forces Turner to fall to his death.