Why Hawk Has a Scar on His Face in Cobra Kai

In the acclaimed series Cobra Kai, Eli “Hawk” Moskowitz, played by Jacob Bertrand, has a noticeable scar on his upper lip. During the show’s first season, the West Valley High School student is constantly ridiculed for the slight disfigurement. 

For instance, in Season 1, Episode 4, Kyler (Joe Seo) grabs Eli’s face while he is studying in the library with Miguel Diaz (Xolo Maridueña) and Demetri (Gianni DeCenzo). 

“Look at this freak. Oh s*** what kind of girl would kiss this s***,” says the bully, while studying his upper lip. 

As this was a constant source of bullying for the teenager, some fans may be curious as to why he has the scar. 

---

Eli Reveals Why He Has Scarring on His Lip in Season 1

Eli reveals the reason in Season 1, Episode 6, titled “Quiver.” In the Cobra Kai dojo, Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka), who has a tendency to give his students cruel nicknames, refers to the teenager as “Lip.” 

Eli timidly requests his teacher to not “call [him] that.” Johnny responds by saying, “speak up Lip or is your tongue messed up too?” 

The sensei then asks the teenager if he can “get surgery” to fix his scarring. 

“I was born with a cleft lip. It’s the scar from the surgery,” replies Eli. 

Johnny responds to this information by stating, “You mean it was worse before that? Or did the doctor just screw up. Because if this is the after photo then that sucks man. You should sue.” 

Taken aback by his cruel words, Eli quietly requests the karate instructor to “change the topic.” 

“You don’t think I want to? It’s tough when it’s right in front of me. If you want to be something other than a nerd with a scar on his lip then you got to flip the script, okay? Like get a face tattoo or gouge your eye out,” says the sensei. 

Eli storms out of the dojo but ends up taking Johnny’s advice to heart. 

Later in the episode, he comes back to Cobra Kai sporting a blue mohawk. Johnny approves of his new appearance and changes his nickname from “Lip” to “Hawk.” 

As fans of Cobra Kai are aware, Hawk’s becomes more combative and is influenced by the ruthless sensei John Kreese (Martin Kove) as the show progresses. He ends up severely injuring Demetri in Season 3, Episode 5. However, the friends make amends during the Season 3 finale. 

---

Bertrand Recently Spoke About Hawk’s Character Development 

During a January interview with TVLine, Bertrand discussed Hawk’s character development in Cobra Kai. He told the publication: 

Cobra Kai represented strength and being bada** and everything he never was. When he starts learning karate and starts gaining the confidence to get the mohawk and flip the script, a lot of it goes to his head. He gets a lot of power all at once, and he doesn’t really know what to do with it. It’s almost inevitable that he becomes a bully and everything he hated. Under [Kreese’s] manipulation, it’s a lot easier for him to start doing a lot of bad s***.

To see more of Bertrand, be sure to watch Cobra Kai, available on Netflix. 

READ NEXT: Karate Kid Star Says Elisabeth Shue Actually Hit Him During a Scene

0 Comments