The question in my headline above is mostly facetious. There’s a lot of humor in “Cobra Kai” the Netflix series (which debuted on Youtube) and a lot of it – really, most of it – comes from William Zabka’s character of Johnny Lawrence, memorable as the psycho but ultimate sympathetic antagonist of “The Karate Kid,” “Rocky” director John G. Avildsen’s 1984 hit. In the movie, Zabka was pitted against Ralph Macchio as Daniel LaRusso, a newcomer to the San Fernando Valley. LaRusso is the sympathetic protagonist, of course, and turns for help and mentoring to Noriyuki “Pat” Morita, who becomes his sensei in karate and life.

The premise of the antagonism between Johnny and Daniel is how the “Cobra Kai” series begins, with Johnny down on his luck and Daniel riding high as a SoCal car dealer. The first season is told, to a great extent, from Johnny’s point of view as he reopens the Cobra Kai karate dojo and tries to get his life together, particularly when it comes to his relationship with his teenage son, Robby (Tanner Buchanan).

Daniel himself has a challenge, running the car dealership with his wife, Amanda (Courtney Henggeler) and being a good father to their children, Samantha (Mary Mouser) and Anthony (Griffin Santopietro). Johnny, unable to connect with Robby, rescues neighbor Miguel Diaz (Xolo Mariduena) from bullies who were much like Johnny was, Miguel turns to Johnny for not only a father figure but a karate mentor.

The first season plays out much like you would expect, with stuck-in-the-80s Johnny building his dojo and Daniel struggling to deal with his hatred of Johnny. From Johnny’s point of view, Daniel was the bad guy of the original movies, having humiliated him in front of his sensei, John Kreese (Martin Kove).

But after the first season, “Cobra Kai” morphs into something else entirely, which is what prompted me to question internet references to the series as a comedy.

At the very end of the first (of five so far) season, Kreese reappears at Cobra Kai and “Cobra Kai” turns into an over-the-top and addictive melodrama.

Over the course of those five seasons (hopefully a sixth is in the works), “Cobra Kai” becomes a mix of soap opera, karate-fu (as Joe Bob Briggs might say) action (almost non-stop fighting scenes) and character betrayals and reversals. With the threat of Kreese overshadowing the all-important question of who will be the preeminent dojo in the Valley, the engaging young karate enthusiasts who join the opposing dojos fight, switch allegiances and eventually support each other in an even larger battle against villainous Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith from “The Karate Kid Part III.”)

Silver’s return pushes the stakes sky-high and the action even higher. Silver is like something out of a James Bond movie and makes Kreese look reasonable by comparison.

The resurrection of that character is the best example of what “Cobra Kai” does so well: continue storylines from the original movies and bring back actors who were memorable from those movies. Daniel’s trip to Japan with Miyagi in the second movie is recalled here with supporting characters joining the “Cobra Kai” cast, most notably Yuji Okumoto as Chozen Toguchi, who battled Daniel to near-death in the second film but returns here as a wise elder who helps Daniel and Johnny lead their forces against Silver.

The entire series is dotted with scenes flashing back to the first three movies (not yet including the fourth movie, with Hillary Swank, but fingers crossed for next season) that left me gasping that they had not missed an opportunity to revive a character or plot point.

To be clear, “Cobra Kai” is ridiculous. Karate fights break out in school hallways and crowded public places. There are some real-world consequences, including injuries and lasting trauma (notably for Samantha LaRusso, who suffers at the hands of rival Tory Nichols (Peyton List) and struggles to make her way back to beatin’ the hell out of people.

This is a crazy show and hugely entertaining. It makes Marvel storylines look restrained and reality-based.

But oh my goodness “Cobra Kai” is fun.