Ronin (comic book series)
Encyclopedia
Ronin is a comic book
limited series
published between 1983
and 1984
, by DC Comics
. The series was written and drawn by Frank Miller
with artwork painted by Lynn Varley
. It takes place in a dystopic
near-future New York
in which a ronin
is reincarnated. The six-issue work shows some of the strongest influences of manga
and bande dessinée on Miller's style, both in the artwork and narrative style.
and Goseki Kojima
's manga
series Lone Wolf and Cub
. According to former Marvel Comics
editor-in-chief Jim Shooter
, Ronin was originally slated to be released as part of Marvel's Marvel Graphic Novel
series. Ultimately, however, Miller was wooed by DC by publisher Jenette Kahn
, and the first issue of Ronin was published by that company in 1983.
Like an earlier DC maxi-series Camelot 3000
, Ronin was printed on a higher quality paper stock. Each issue contained 48 pages of story and no advertisements.
has sworn to protect his master, Lord Ozaki, from assassins. But despite his dedication, Ozaki is assassinated at night by a demon
called Agat in the guise of a geisha
, in an act of revenge for Ozaki stealing his sword. The sword is powered by blood
- if it can be fueled by the blood of an innocent
, the sword will become powerful enough to destroy Agat himself. Agat wants it back. Ozaki has hidden the sword, so Agat cannot find it. After Ozaki's murder, the young samurai prepares to perform seppuku at his master's graveside, to honorably follow his lord into the afterlife. Instead, the spirit of Ozaki appears before the young samurai and demands that he find the sword and keep it from Agat until his skills are great enough to destroy the demon lord. The young samurai becomes a ronin, a samurai without a master, wandering the countryside for many years. At last, he comes to Agat's castle, and fights his way inside. But when he confronts Agat, he has a dilemma: since the sword has never killed an innocent, it is not powerful enough to destroy the demon. The ronin has a grim but effective solution to this problem: when Agat approaches him from behind, the ronin thrusts the sword through his own abdomen, impaling Agat. Powered by the ronin's own innocent blood, the sword mortally wounds Agat and the ronin at the same time, and the ronin achieves revenge and the honorable death by seppuku that he desires at the same moment. But just before Agat dies, he curses the ronin, and both their souls are trapped inside the sword until someone releases them.
Here the story abruptly cuts eight centuries forward: to New York City in the very near future. Some unspecific but catastrophic social and economic collapse has left New York a lawless wasteland, populated by squatters, factions, and mutants. In the heart of the city is the Aquarius Complex, the giant, sprawling headquarters of the Aquarius Corporation. The Aquarius Corporation is an idealistic company founded by three people: Peter McKenna, inventor of biocircuitry, his wife, Casey McKenna, who becomes Aquarius' head of security, and Mr. Taggart, who funded and controls Aquarius.
The development of biocircuitry is Aquarius's chief accomplishment, and the company is successful developing and marketing the technology as a means of saving a world on the brink of war from itself. Biocircuitry is a new model of plastics-based electronics, capable of self-organization and self-repair under the direction of Virgo, the artificial intelligence at the heart of the Aquarius Complex.
Aquarius has an unusual ward: Billy Challas, born without any limbs due to a genetic defect. Billy seems to have telekinetic powers. Virgo works with him to develop his psionic abilities and Billy tests cutting-edge prosthetic limbs for Aquarius. It seems that Billy has been having vivid dreams of the story of Ozaki, the ronin, and Agat.
Billy and Virgo are confused by the detail and historical accuracy of the dream since his education had never covered feudal Japan, and their confusion only grows when Virgo checks the media for references to a sword and finds a news video of a bloodsword, sold at auction, rumored to have mystic properties. The news reports that when the sword was tested by striking it with a laser, there was an explosion that destroyed the test site and everyone in it.
We can assume that this test and explosion freed Agat and the ronin from the sword into this dystopic New York world, because as Billy and Virgo probe further, a security alarm goes off - Agat is breaking into the Aquarius Complex, apparently impervious to all of the fantastic technology therein. As Agat makes his way toward the core, Billy begins to transform: he absorbs, and is absorbed by, the persona of the ronin; using his telekinetic powers, Billy/ronin builds himself arms and legs from the raw biocircuitry around him. In a last-ditch defense attempt, Virgo ejects Billy into the sewers and triggers an explosion in her inner core that blasts Agat out of the complex and into the city.
The ronin wakes up in the sewers and makes his way into the city. Looking for a sword, he wanders into a club where a gang attacks him. A junk collector named Packrat takes the unconscious ronin home to cut off his arms, which look technologically advanced, and add them to his 'spaceship'. After Packrat cuts one off with a laser, the dismembered arm chokes Packrat to death through Billy's telekinetic powers, then reattaches itself to his body. The ronin frees himself, and finds a sword among Packrat's possessions. He then returns to the club and kills every one of his attackers.
Back at Aquarius, Virgo explains what has occurred to Casey McKenna, the security chief, who reasonably assumes Virgo's logic units have been affected, and that the AI is getting daffy. But Casey begins an investigation anyway.
Meanwhile, Agat, also having survived the blast, infiltrates the complex, where he murders Taggart and assumes his form. In this guise, Agat begins negotiating a weapons deal with the Japan-based Sawa Corporation. Peter McKenna is outraged; he had created the technology under the agreement that it would be for non-violent purposes only. He immediately confronts Taggart and realizes that he is an impostor. He informs Virgo, who is not only unshaken by this revelation, but immediately informs Taggart, forming a pact with him, stating strangely, "I'm here to help you, Mr. Taggart. And, in a way you'll never understand, you're here to help me." Peter infiltrates Virgo's memory bank and forces her to show him what happened to Taggart. Even with the video replay, Peter refuses to believe the story and accuses Virgo of killing Taggart. He is then kidnapped and held prisoner by Agat (still in the form of Taggart).
By this point, the ronin has formed a tentative alliance with Head, an aging hippie who realizes that the ronin is his ticket to security. He tells the ronin that he'll 'manage' him and take care of him; the ronin passively acquiesces. Head plans to sell the ronin as "The Elvis Of Violence", and makes deals with the heads of both the Nazi and Black factions to kill the other faction's leader in exchange for rice, beer, sterno, and a place to sleep.
Meanwhile, Casey McKenna gets authorization to pursue and retrieve the ronin, understanding from Virgo that Billy Challas has somehow been transformed into a killer, and that the absence of effective law enforcement in the city means that capturing him is Aquarius' responsibility. The three man team who find the ronin, however, is killed without hesitation.
Having been convinced of Virgo's story, Casey seeks permission to kill the ronin. Taggart allows this but then rescinds when Virgo informs him that the ronin is, in fact, Billy, complete with telekinetic power and, as such, might be useful in cybernetics. Casey finds the ronin dealing with the Nazi and Black factions and, despite her orders, attempts to kill him. Casey is knocked unconscious by the two factions before she can accomplish this and is thrown into a pit to, "make our friends downstairs real happy. …" The ronin kills both faction leaders, discards Head and goes to rescue Casey.
Both Casey and the ronin slowly come to the realization that the pit leads into sewers infested with cannibals, who subsequently swarm and kidnap both of them. The ronin breaks free and slaughters the cannibals and Casey is surprised to find herself falling in love with the ronin. Her surprise mounts when it snows shortly thereafter, for the first time in five years, and the ronin speaks English out of the blue. Casey and the ronin sleep together in the snow, just as it slowly stops falling.
Meanwhile, Peter, bound and gagged, is met by therapist Sandy. Peter convinces Sandy to free him and together they try to make sense of all that has occurred. Through deductive reasoning, Peter concludes that, with the exception of Virgo, Billy's powers are stronger than anyone's. Virgo kept this a secret in order to exploit his talents for unknown reasons while Billy shut down part of his power when he repressed a traumatic memory from his past. Peter then realizes that the ronin is a fantasy of Billy's, brought to life. People hadn't realized how powerful Billy was. Because he had lived unhappily without legs or arms, he had created an entity based around the television programs (revealed to be a Japanese serial) he loved so much as a kid. With his powers, he had arms and legs built for himself by Virgo, and acquired a sword, which allowed him to cut off the things he had never had. It was a "sick joke," as Peter refers to as the plan. Billy had also been controlling people, especially Casey—whom he had given extraordinary handle with the sword, and had manipulated into sleeping with him. This was done without Casey noticing. Sandy, hearing this, thinks Peter is insane, and leaves him alone in the room. With Virgo.
The ronin and Casey seem to have been sent back to ancient Japan, where they encounter slaves of Agat. In the ensuing battle, the ronin's mechanical arms and legs are removed and ancient Japan is exposed as an illusion, the slaves of Agat actually robots sent by Taggart to retrieve the ronin and demonstrate for Sawa the effectiveness of the weapons. Virgo, controlling the robots, starts a mental attack on the defenseless ronin, bringing forward Billy's repressed memory, one where he murdered a local bully earning him his mother's revulsion. Billy, enraged, regains his limbs and destroys his enemies, restoring the illusion of ancient Japan, until a horde of flying demons/robots subdue him and blast the subway tunnel where Casey had been trying to make her escape.
Trapped, the ronin mentally reaches out to Casey, who regains consciousness within the rubble and kills a marauding demon. The demon, really a Virgo Robot disguised by Billy's illusion, tries to convince Casey that Virgo is not the real enemy because, "If I were -- and please keep in mind that I'm not saying I am -- but if I were your enemy... Well, darling, you wouldn't stand a chance against me."
Undeterred, Casey breaks into Aquarius, which, by this point, has engulfed the entire city. Meanwhile, Learnid, a weak-willed underling of Taggart, is slowly wondering what to do about the prospect that Aquarius might bring about the Apocalypse.
The ronin, continuing to help Casey, causes a black out that allows her to escape the guards and find Peter. Agat, enraged at the ronin spitting at him, is amazed when Virgo forces him to restrain himself, and address the workers about the blackout. Virgo, distraught by ronin's helping Casey, confronts Billy mentally. At this point, Billy mistakes Virgo for his mother. When he corrects himself, Virgo states, "You can call me Momma if you want." Taking on the comforting but stern attitude of a mother, Virgo soothes Billy and convinces him to stop helping Casey so long as Virgo doesn't hurt her.
Meanwhile, Casey, with the help of Learnid and Sandy, whom Learnid convinces of Peter's sanity, finds Peter. A physical wreck, Peter informs Casey that Billy is being manipulated by Virgo into turning fantasy into reality. He also notes that the only way to save Billy is by, "Breaking down Fantasy... Making Fantasy fail..." Before he can say much more, a Virgo robot attacks and kills Peter. Reinvigorated by Casey's sadness, Billy begins questioning Virgo, who stresses that Casey's been naughty and that she isn't hurting her. When Casey is attacked by another robot, Billy is enraged and lashes out, destroying it. Virgo then verbally castigates Billy, accusing him of liking violence and threatening to send him away (as his mother did after she saw him murder the bully) if he doesn't stop. Billy backs down.
Meanwhile, Taggart, trying to calm the workers in the blackout, is confronted by Learnid who accuses him of having been corrupted. Before Taggart can attack, Virgo orders him away, stating a life-threatening hazard has occurred. Learnid notes that regulations give him authority in such situations to evacuate non-essential personnel and forces Virgo to carry out the order.
Casey runs into Peter, now a deformed half-man/half-machine, who attacks her. Peter then explains that Virgo's biocircuitry is alive in a way, but not enough. Billy's powers gave her a consciousness and Virgo wanted more. So in order to increase his power, while keeping him under control, she manipulated him into creating the ronin, thereby releasing his power, but trapping him in fantasy. "She wants to make biocircuitry the new dominant life form on Earth," notes Peter, "It only sounds ludicrous." Casey kills Peter and tells Virgo to take her to the ronin. Once near him, she is immediately transported back into fantasy where, as with the truth, she keeps playing along. Kissing the ronin, they are confronted by Agat. Casey turns to confront him but rather than taking out her sword, she shoots him in the head. Agat's wiring explodes, revealing him to be a robot.
It is at this moment that Casey realizes what she must do. Sensing danger, Virgo tries in vain to talk Casey out of acting, noting that, "You know whose cells Peter used to build my personality. Why, we're practically sisters. It's safe to say that if you were in my shoes, you'd do just what I'm doing." Virgo's pleas, however, were to no avail. Casey frees the ronin, then humiliates him, as a woman had avenged his master where he had failed. Casey then gives him a sword to commit seppuku while acting as his second. As the ronin guts himself, Billy cries in agony. Virgo tries to scold him to take control but Billy can't control himself, blaming Virgo for making him feel worthless. Finally, with one unimaginable burst, the ronin shoves the sword into his heart, Casey decapitates him, and Billy unleashes a telekinetic blast so strong it destroys Aquarius, and by extension, New York. The only ones left standing are Casey... and the ronin.
:
inked a deal with New Line Cinema
for a film adaptation of the graphic novel.
In 2007 Gianni Nunnari, producer of 300
, announced he would be producing and Sylvain White
, director of Stomp The Yard
, directing the Ronin film adaptation.
has noted that Ronin was one of the major influences on his animated TV series Samurai Jack
.
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
limited series
Limited series
A limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
published between 1983
1983 in comics
-Events and publications:* Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird found Northampton, Massachusetts-based Mirage Studios.* Chicago-based First Comics makes a strong entree into the publishing field, putting out four ongoing titles, American Flagg!, E-Man, Jon Sable Freelance, and Warp!; featuring the talents...
and 1984
1984 in comics
-Year overall:* The independent publishing boom continues, as Antarctic Press, Continuity Comics, Deluxe Comics, Matrix Graphic Series, and Renegade Press all enter the arena...
, by DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
. The series was written and drawn by Frank Miller
Frank Miller (comics)
Frank Miller is an American comic book artist, writer and film director best known for his dark, film noir-style comic book stories and graphic novels Ronin, Daredevil: Born Again, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Sin City and 300...
with artwork painted by Lynn Varley
Lynn Varley
Lynn Varley is an award-winning colorist, notable for her collaborations with her former husband, comic book writer/artist Frank Miller, whom she divorced in 2005.-Biography:...
. It takes place in a dystopic
Dystopia
A dystopia is the idea of a society in a repressive and controlled state, often under the guise of being utopian, as characterized in books like Brave New World and Nineteen Eighty-Four...
near-future New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in which a ronin
Ronin
A or rounin was a Bushi with no lord or master during the feudal period of Japan. A samurai became masterless from the death or fall of his master, or after the loss of his master's favor or privilege....
is reincarnated. The six-issue work shows some of the strongest influences of manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
and bande dessinée on Miller's style, both in the artwork and narrative style.
Publication history
Miller was in part inspired to do Ronin by Kazuo KoikeKazuo Koike
is a prolific Japanese manga writer, novelist and entrepreneur.-Biography:Early in Koike's career, he studied under Golgo 13 creator Takao Saito and served as a writer on the series....
and Goseki Kojima
Goseki Kojima
was a Japanese manga artist.-Biography:Kojima was born on the same day as Osamu Tezuka. After getting out of junior high school, Kojima painted advertising posters for movie theaters as his source of income....
's manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
series Lone Wolf and Cub
Lone Wolf and Cub
is a manga created by writer Kazuo Koike and artist Goseki Kojima. First published in 1970, the story was adapted into six films starring Tomisaburo Wakayama, four plays, a television series starring Yorozuya Kinnosuke, and is widely recognized as an important and influential work.Lone Wolf and Cub...
. According to former Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
editor-in-chief Jim Shooter
Jim Shooter
James Shooter is an American writer, occasional fill-in artist, editor, and publisher for various comic books. Although he started professionally in the medium at the extraordinarily young age of 14, he is most notable for his successful and controversial run as Marvel Comics' ninth...
, Ronin was originally slated to be released as part of Marvel's Marvel Graphic Novel
Marvel Graphic Novel
Marvel Graphic Novel was a series of graphic novel trade paperbacks published from 1982 to 1993 by Marvel Comics. The books were published in oversized format, 8.5" x 11", similar to French albums...
series. Ultimately, however, Miller was wooed by DC by publisher Jenette Kahn
Jenette Kahn
Jenette Kahn is an American comic book editor and executive. She joined DC Comics in 1976 as publisher, and five years later was promoted to President. In 1989, she stepped down as publisher and assumed the title of Editor-in-Chief while retaining the office of president...
, and the first issue of Ronin was published by that company in 1983.
Like an earlier DC maxi-series Camelot 3000
Camelot 3000
Camelot 3000 is an American twelve-issue comic book limited series written by Mike W. Barr and penciled by Brian Bolland. It was published by DC Comics from 1982 to 1985 as one of its first direct market projects, and as its first maxi-series.-Plot:...
, Ronin was printed on a higher quality paper stock. Each issue contained 48 pages of story and no advertisements.
Plot
In feudal Japan, a young, nameless samuraiSamurai
is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
has sworn to protect his master, Lord Ozaki, from assassins. But despite his dedication, Ozaki is assassinated at night by a demon
Demon
call - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...
called Agat in the guise of a geisha
Geisha
, Geiko or Geigi are traditional, female Japanese entertainers whose skills include performing various Japanese arts such as classical music and dance.-Terms:...
, in an act of revenge for Ozaki stealing his sword. The sword is powered by blood
Blood
Blood is a specialized bodily fluid in animals that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells....
- if it can be fueled by the blood of an innocent
Innocence
Innocence is a term used to indicate a lack of guilt, with respect to any kind of crime, sin, or wrongdoing. In a legal context, innocence refers to the lack of legal guilt of an individual, with respect to a crime.-Symbolism:...
, the sword will become powerful enough to destroy Agat himself. Agat wants it back. Ozaki has hidden the sword, so Agat cannot find it. After Ozaki's murder, the young samurai prepares to perform seppuku at his master's graveside, to honorably follow his lord into the afterlife. Instead, the spirit of Ozaki appears before the young samurai and demands that he find the sword and keep it from Agat until his skills are great enough to destroy the demon lord. The young samurai becomes a ronin, a samurai without a master, wandering the countryside for many years. At last, he comes to Agat's castle, and fights his way inside. But when he confronts Agat, he has a dilemma: since the sword has never killed an innocent, it is not powerful enough to destroy the demon. The ronin has a grim but effective solution to this problem: when Agat approaches him from behind, the ronin thrusts the sword through his own abdomen, impaling Agat. Powered by the ronin's own innocent blood, the sword mortally wounds Agat and the ronin at the same time, and the ronin achieves revenge and the honorable death by seppuku that he desires at the same moment. But just before Agat dies, he curses the ronin, and both their souls are trapped inside the sword until someone releases them.
Here the story abruptly cuts eight centuries forward: to New York City in the very near future. Some unspecific but catastrophic social and economic collapse has left New York a lawless wasteland, populated by squatters, factions, and mutants. In the heart of the city is the Aquarius Complex, the giant, sprawling headquarters of the Aquarius Corporation. The Aquarius Corporation is an idealistic company founded by three people: Peter McKenna, inventor of biocircuitry, his wife, Casey McKenna, who becomes Aquarius' head of security, and Mr. Taggart, who funded and controls Aquarius.
The development of biocircuitry is Aquarius's chief accomplishment, and the company is successful developing and marketing the technology as a means of saving a world on the brink of war from itself. Biocircuitry is a new model of plastics-based electronics, capable of self-organization and self-repair under the direction of Virgo, the artificial intelligence at the heart of the Aquarius Complex.
Aquarius has an unusual ward: Billy Challas, born without any limbs due to a genetic defect. Billy seems to have telekinetic powers. Virgo works with him to develop his psionic abilities and Billy tests cutting-edge prosthetic limbs for Aquarius. It seems that Billy has been having vivid dreams of the story of Ozaki, the ronin, and Agat.
Billy and Virgo are confused by the detail and historical accuracy of the dream since his education had never covered feudal Japan, and their confusion only grows when Virgo checks the media for references to a sword and finds a news video of a bloodsword, sold at auction, rumored to have mystic properties. The news reports that when the sword was tested by striking it with a laser, there was an explosion that destroyed the test site and everyone in it.
We can assume that this test and explosion freed Agat and the ronin from the sword into this dystopic New York world, because as Billy and Virgo probe further, a security alarm goes off - Agat is breaking into the Aquarius Complex, apparently impervious to all of the fantastic technology therein. As Agat makes his way toward the core, Billy begins to transform: he absorbs, and is absorbed by, the persona of the ronin; using his telekinetic powers, Billy/ronin builds himself arms and legs from the raw biocircuitry around him. In a last-ditch defense attempt, Virgo ejects Billy into the sewers and triggers an explosion in her inner core that blasts Agat out of the complex and into the city.
The ronin wakes up in the sewers and makes his way into the city. Looking for a sword, he wanders into a club where a gang attacks him. A junk collector named Packrat takes the unconscious ronin home to cut off his arms, which look technologically advanced, and add them to his 'spaceship'. After Packrat cuts one off with a laser, the dismembered arm chokes Packrat to death through Billy's telekinetic powers, then reattaches itself to his body. The ronin frees himself, and finds a sword among Packrat's possessions. He then returns to the club and kills every one of his attackers.
Back at Aquarius, Virgo explains what has occurred to Casey McKenna, the security chief, who reasonably assumes Virgo's logic units have been affected, and that the AI is getting daffy. But Casey begins an investigation anyway.
Meanwhile, Agat, also having survived the blast, infiltrates the complex, where he murders Taggart and assumes his form. In this guise, Agat begins negotiating a weapons deal with the Japan-based Sawa Corporation. Peter McKenna is outraged; he had created the technology under the agreement that it would be for non-violent purposes only. He immediately confronts Taggart and realizes that he is an impostor. He informs Virgo, who is not only unshaken by this revelation, but immediately informs Taggart, forming a pact with him, stating strangely, "I'm here to help you, Mr. Taggart. And, in a way you'll never understand, you're here to help me." Peter infiltrates Virgo's memory bank and forces her to show him what happened to Taggart. Even with the video replay, Peter refuses to believe the story and accuses Virgo of killing Taggart. He is then kidnapped and held prisoner by Agat (still in the form of Taggart).
By this point, the ronin has formed a tentative alliance with Head, an aging hippie who realizes that the ronin is his ticket to security. He tells the ronin that he'll 'manage' him and take care of him; the ronin passively acquiesces. Head plans to sell the ronin as "The Elvis Of Violence", and makes deals with the heads of both the Nazi and Black factions to kill the other faction's leader in exchange for rice, beer, sterno, and a place to sleep.
Meanwhile, Casey McKenna gets authorization to pursue and retrieve the ronin, understanding from Virgo that Billy Challas has somehow been transformed into a killer, and that the absence of effective law enforcement in the city means that capturing him is Aquarius' responsibility. The three man team who find the ronin, however, is killed without hesitation.
Having been convinced of Virgo's story, Casey seeks permission to kill the ronin. Taggart allows this but then rescinds when Virgo informs him that the ronin is, in fact, Billy, complete with telekinetic power and, as such, might be useful in cybernetics. Casey finds the ronin dealing with the Nazi and Black factions and, despite her orders, attempts to kill him. Casey is knocked unconscious by the two factions before she can accomplish this and is thrown into a pit to, "make our friends downstairs real happy. …" The ronin kills both faction leaders, discards Head and goes to rescue Casey.
Both Casey and the ronin slowly come to the realization that the pit leads into sewers infested with cannibals, who subsequently swarm and kidnap both of them. The ronin breaks free and slaughters the cannibals and Casey is surprised to find herself falling in love with the ronin. Her surprise mounts when it snows shortly thereafter, for the first time in five years, and the ronin speaks English out of the blue. Casey and the ronin sleep together in the snow, just as it slowly stops falling.
Meanwhile, Peter, bound and gagged, is met by therapist Sandy. Peter convinces Sandy to free him and together they try to make sense of all that has occurred. Through deductive reasoning, Peter concludes that, with the exception of Virgo, Billy's powers are stronger than anyone's. Virgo kept this a secret in order to exploit his talents for unknown reasons while Billy shut down part of his power when he repressed a traumatic memory from his past. Peter then realizes that the ronin is a fantasy of Billy's, brought to life. People hadn't realized how powerful Billy was. Because he had lived unhappily without legs or arms, he had created an entity based around the television programs (revealed to be a Japanese serial) he loved so much as a kid. With his powers, he had arms and legs built for himself by Virgo, and acquired a sword, which allowed him to cut off the things he had never had. It was a "sick joke," as Peter refers to as the plan. Billy had also been controlling people, especially Casey—whom he had given extraordinary handle with the sword, and had manipulated into sleeping with him. This was done without Casey noticing. Sandy, hearing this, thinks Peter is insane, and leaves him alone in the room. With Virgo.
The ronin and Casey seem to have been sent back to ancient Japan, where they encounter slaves of Agat. In the ensuing battle, the ronin's mechanical arms and legs are removed and ancient Japan is exposed as an illusion, the slaves of Agat actually robots sent by Taggart to retrieve the ronin and demonstrate for Sawa the effectiveness of the weapons. Virgo, controlling the robots, starts a mental attack on the defenseless ronin, bringing forward Billy's repressed memory, one where he murdered a local bully earning him his mother's revulsion. Billy, enraged, regains his limbs and destroys his enemies, restoring the illusion of ancient Japan, until a horde of flying demons/robots subdue him and blast the subway tunnel where Casey had been trying to make her escape.
Trapped, the ronin mentally reaches out to Casey, who regains consciousness within the rubble and kills a marauding demon. The demon, really a Virgo Robot disguised by Billy's illusion, tries to convince Casey that Virgo is not the real enemy because, "If I were -- and please keep in mind that I'm not saying I am -- but if I were your enemy... Well, darling, you wouldn't stand a chance against me."
Undeterred, Casey breaks into Aquarius, which, by this point, has engulfed the entire city. Meanwhile, Learnid, a weak-willed underling of Taggart, is slowly wondering what to do about the prospect that Aquarius might bring about the Apocalypse.
The ronin, continuing to help Casey, causes a black out that allows her to escape the guards and find Peter. Agat, enraged at the ronin spitting at him, is amazed when Virgo forces him to restrain himself, and address the workers about the blackout. Virgo, distraught by ronin's helping Casey, confronts Billy mentally. At this point, Billy mistakes Virgo for his mother. When he corrects himself, Virgo states, "You can call me Momma if you want." Taking on the comforting but stern attitude of a mother, Virgo soothes Billy and convinces him to stop helping Casey so long as Virgo doesn't hurt her.
Meanwhile, Casey, with the help of Learnid and Sandy, whom Learnid convinces of Peter's sanity, finds Peter. A physical wreck, Peter informs Casey that Billy is being manipulated by Virgo into turning fantasy into reality. He also notes that the only way to save Billy is by, "Breaking down Fantasy... Making Fantasy fail..." Before he can say much more, a Virgo robot attacks and kills Peter. Reinvigorated by Casey's sadness, Billy begins questioning Virgo, who stresses that Casey's been naughty and that she isn't hurting her. When Casey is attacked by another robot, Billy is enraged and lashes out, destroying it. Virgo then verbally castigates Billy, accusing him of liking violence and threatening to send him away (as his mother did after she saw him murder the bully) if he doesn't stop. Billy backs down.
Meanwhile, Taggart, trying to calm the workers in the blackout, is confronted by Learnid who accuses him of having been corrupted. Before Taggart can attack, Virgo orders him away, stating a life-threatening hazard has occurred. Learnid notes that regulations give him authority in such situations to evacuate non-essential personnel and forces Virgo to carry out the order.
Casey runs into Peter, now a deformed half-man/half-machine, who attacks her. Peter then explains that Virgo's biocircuitry is alive in a way, but not enough. Billy's powers gave her a consciousness and Virgo wanted more. So in order to increase his power, while keeping him under control, she manipulated him into creating the ronin, thereby releasing his power, but trapping him in fantasy. "She wants to make biocircuitry the new dominant life form on Earth," notes Peter, "It only sounds ludicrous." Casey kills Peter and tells Virgo to take her to the ronin. Once near him, she is immediately transported back into fantasy where, as with the truth, she keeps playing along. Kissing the ronin, they are confronted by Agat. Casey turns to confront him but rather than taking out her sword, she shoots him in the head. Agat's wiring explodes, revealing him to be a robot.
It is at this moment that Casey realizes what she must do. Sensing danger, Virgo tries in vain to talk Casey out of acting, noting that, "You know whose cells Peter used to build my personality. Why, we're practically sisters. It's safe to say that if you were in my shoes, you'd do just what I'm doing." Virgo's pleas, however, were to no avail. Casey frees the ronin, then humiliates him, as a woman had avenged his master where he had failed. Casey then gives him a sword to commit seppuku while acting as his second. As the ronin guts himself, Billy cries in agony. Virgo tries to scold him to take control but Billy can't control himself, blaming Virgo for making him feel worthless. Finally, with one unimaginable burst, the ronin shoves the sword into his heart, Casey decapitates him, and Billy unleashes a telekinetic blast so strong it destroys Aquarius, and by extension, New York. The only ones left standing are Casey... and the ronin.
Collected editions
The series has been collected into a single volumeTrade paperback (comics)
In comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or more titles...
:
- Ronin (302 pages, DC Comics, September 1987, ISBN 044638674X, March 1995,ISBN 0930289218)
- Absolute Ronin (328 pages, DC Comics, October 2008, ISBN 1-4012-1908-X, Titan BooksTitan BooksTitan Publishing Group is an independently owned publishing company, established in 1981. It is based at offices in London, England's Bankside area. The Books Division has two main areas of publishing: film & TV tie-ins/cinema reference books; and graphic novels and comics reference/art titles. The...
, November 2008, ISBN 1845769597)
Film adaptation
In 1998 Darren AronofskyDarren Aronofsky
Darren Aronofsky is an American film director, screenwriter and film producer. He attended Harvard University to study film theory and the American Film Institute to study both live-action and animation filmmaking...
inked a deal with New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema, often simply referred to as New Line, is an American film studio. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye and Michael Lynne as a film distributor, later becoming an independent film studio. It became a subsidiary of Time Warner in 1996 and was merged with larger sister studio Warner...
for a film adaptation of the graphic novel.
In 2007 Gianni Nunnari, producer of 300
300 (film)
300 is a 2007 American fantasy action film based on the 1998 comic series of the same name by Frank Miller. It is a fictionalized retelling of the Battle of Thermopylae. The film was directed by Zack Snyder, while Miller served as executive producer and consultant...
, announced he would be producing and Sylvain White
Sylvain White
Sylvain White is a film director.Son of an American professional basketball player and a French flight attendant, Sylvain White was born in France and grew up mostly in Paris. After attending La Sorbonne University for law, he earned a scholarship to Pomona College in California, where he...
, director of Stomp The Yard
Stomp the Yard
Stomp the Yard is a 2007 drama and dance film produced by Rainforest Films and released through Sony Pictures' Screen Gems division on January 12, 2007. Directed by Sylvain White, Stomp the Yard centers around DJ Williams, a college student at a fictional historically Black university who pledges...
, directing the Ronin film adaptation.
Influence
Animation director Genndy TartakovskyGenndy Tartakovsky
Genndy Borisovich Tartakovsky is a Russian-American television animator, director and producer. His best-known creations are Dexter's Laboratory, Samurai Jack, Star Wars: Clone Wars, and Sym-Bionic Titan...
has noted that Ronin was one of the major influences on his animated TV series Samurai Jack
Samurai Jack
Samurai Jack is an American animated television series created by animator Genndy Tartakovsky that aired on both Cartoon Network and Toonami from 2001 to 2004. It is noted for its highly detailed, outline-free, masking-based animation, as well as for its cinematic style and pacing...
.