I Want This Cobra Kai Character to Get a Spinoff

Warning: Spoilers for Cobra Kai season 6 below.

Cobra Kai might have finally ended its epic six-season run, but The Karate Kid franchise is still ongoing, and there’s one Cobra Kai character in particular primed for a spinoff. Cobra Kai Season 6 marks the epic dojo showdown in which martial arts schools from around the world compete in the mega tournament known as the Sekai Taikai. One such school is the Iron Dragons, and its female captain Zara Malik (Rayna Vallandingham) really makes an impression with the level of determination she brings to the tournament.

In the end, Zara ultimately loses to Tory Nichols (Peyton List), but with Karate Kid: Legends headed for the big screen and talk of numerous Cobra Kai spinoffs heavy, Zara’s story might not be over. Indeed, of all the new characters introduced in Cobra Kai Season 6, Zara Malik is the one whose story shouldn’t be over. Here’s why Zara Malik is perfect to return in a Cobra Kai spin-off series or movie.

Zara Malik Is One of Cobra Kai’s Breakout Supporting Characters

Strolling onto the mat of the Sekai Taikai, Zara Malik is an immediate show-stealer on Cobra Kai and one who does so in the show’s final season, no less. Despite being one of the antagonists of Cobra Kai, Zara is the kind of character that viewers can’t help but love with her determination to win, her genuinely formidable martial arts skills, her social media savviness, and her cocky personality. It’s clear from her first fight with Tory Nichols that Zara is far from the prima donna glued to her cell phone that she initially seems to be, but a genuine warrior who has truly earned her spot in the Sekai Taikai.

Additionally, compared to the aggression and underhanded philosophies espoused by John Kreese and Terry Silver, Zara exemplifies the folly of arrogance in martial arts. As a social media influencer and highly decorated karate champion, Zara has obviously let success go to her head, as seen in her haughty attitude towards the other female competitors. The Queen of Karate has an especially antagonistic relationship with Tory, signifying her first win in the tournament over Tory with a cold. “Welcome to Barcelona, b-tch,” and crushing Tory’s spirit after her one-night stand with Robby. Zara’s generally snooty attitude towards her fellow competitors might seem to rule her out as a protagonist of any sort, especially after Tory’s victory over her in the final Sekai Taikai match. However, if the arcs of Johnny Lawrence, Tory Nichols, Robby Keene, Chozen Toguchi, and many other characters on Cobra Kai are proof of anything, it is of The Karate Kid franchise’s predilection for turning villains into heroes.

Zara Malik could be the perfect Cobra Kai character to undergo the next such Karate Kid redemption story. That’s especially the case with the understanding that, like Tory, she was also under a negative influence in Sensei Wolf (Lewis Tan), and therefore was arguably set up to become as full of herself as she seems to be rather than that necessarily being an innate characteristic within Zara.

[RELATED: Ralph Macchio Celebrates The Karate Kid’s 40th Anniversary, Shares Cobra Kai Update]

Rayna Vallandingham Is a Martial Arts Star in the Making

What also makes Zara such an engaging character on Cobra Kai is the fantastic casting of real-life martial arts champion and social media influencer Rayna Vallindangham. A fourth-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do, Vallindangham became a world champion at just eight years old and holds 13 competitive world titles to her name. Vallindangham’s skills as a martial artist are quite evident in her phenomenal fight scenes on Cobra Kai. Already one of the standouts of the show as a villainess, Vallandingham returning as a reformed Zara in a heroic role would surely bring the same kind of action-packed thunder to a Zara-focused spin-off.

Vallandingham’s real-life background isn’t that far off from Zara’s, with Vallandingham being a major social media influencer in the martial arts world with millions of followers long before her Cobra Kai debut. Zara’s endearing Queen of Karate posts on Cobra Kai show just how at home Vallandingham was in stepping into her character’s shoes. Bringing a equal amount of charm, cockiness, and fighting skill to Cobra Kai, Vallandingham not only makes Zara one of Cobra Kai‘s most unforgettable characters but signals herself as a rising martial arts star right from the jump, further making the case for a Zara spinoff.

How a Zara Malik Spinoff Could Continue Her Story

Obviously, Zara isn’t likely to have taken her loss to Tory well, and certainly not on such a major world stage as the Sekai Taikai, but the loss could be an important way to humble her. Zara’s spinoff could begin from a starting point of the Queen of Karate losing much of her social media clout and influence and retreating from the spotlight out of the humiliation of her loss. Zara, however, has too much belief in herself to be defeated in an absolute sense, and her spin-off story could focus on her attempting to rebuild her social media career with a karate comeback, with Zara realizing along the way that fame isn’t everything and that a more mature victory can show her true strength as a martial artist.

As unthinkable as it might seem, Zara’s spinoff could also really do well to bring her back into contact with Tory. Zara would surely be eager for a rematch with Tory, but meeting her again could also help Zara to see how much she was pushing Tory’s buttons in the Sekai Taikai (and particularly angering her with dalliance with Robby) with Zara seeking to make amends. Tory herself has her own history of anger issues and going overboard in conflicts with others, and she eventually managed to mend fences with Sam LaRusso over similar romantic issues with Robby. It’s not impossible she could do the same with Zara, and more importantly, with Tory achieving the same level of martial arts celebrity status as Zara after the Sekai Taikai, Zara’s fall could be a parallel to Tory’s own past struggles. In focusing on Zara reconciling with Tory, Zara’s spinoff could see her undergo a similar redemption story that Tory herself did on Cobra Kai. With Tory having learned from her once vicious ways and escaped the influence of a ruthless martial arts teacher, it’s both perfectly plausible and entirely fair to afford Zara the same opportunity.

The Karate Kid and Cobra Kai have both built themselves on several key pillars, one of the biggest being the conflicts between their heroes and villains, which have almost never been black and white. Even with her late intro to Cobra Kai, Zara Malik could be one of the best candidates to show that dichotomy in her own spin-off series, showcasing Zara learning to temper her arrogance and make amends with Tory while climbing back to the top of the martial arts world for a much more pure victory. With Rayna Vallandingham’s endearing performance and outstanding martial arts skills, one of the best prospective Cobra Kai spinoffs could well be the story of Zara Malik’s comeback to earn the title of Queen of Karate once more.

Cobra Kai is now streaming on Netflix.

Do you think Zara should get her own spinoff? Let us know in the comments below!