Ronin (Marvel Comics)

Ronin is an alias used by multiple characters in the Marvel Comics Universe. The Ronin identity was created by Brian Michael Bendis and Joe Quesada, though the characters who have adopted the identity were pre-existing characters created by other writers.

The name "Ronin" refers to the Japanese term for a masterless samurai, a lone warrior.

Publication history

Maya Lopez

Maya Lopez was the first person to don the Ronin identity. A deaf woman with photographic reflexes, Maya became Ronin to investigate the Silver Samurai in Japan.

Maya Lopez first appeared as Ronin in New Avengers #11 (November 2005), though the character appeared on the covers of several earlier issues.

New Avengers writer Brian Michael Bendis revealed in the introduction to the New Avengers Vol. 1 Hardcover collection that his original intention was to make Matt Murdock the true identity of Ronin, but could not do so due to a conflict with the plans for the character in the Daredevil comic book title.

Clint Barton

Marvel (comics)

Marvel, in comics, may refer to:

Marvel Comics

Marvel Worldwide Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American publisher of comic books and related media. In 2009, The Walt Disney Company acquired Marvel Entertainment, Marvel Worldwide's parent company.

Marvel started in 1939 as Timely Publications, and by the early 1950s had generally become known as Atlas Comics. Marvel's modern incarnation dates from 1961, the year that the company launched The Fantastic Four and other superhero titles created by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and many others.

Marvel counts among its characters such well-known properties as Spider-Man, Iron Man, Captain America, Wolverine, Thor, Hulk and Ant-Man, such teams as the Avengers, the Guardians of the Galaxy, the Fantastic Four, the Inhumans and the X-Men, and antagonists such as Doctor Doom, The Enchantress, Green Goblin, Ultron, Doctor Octopus, Thanos, Magneto and Loki. Most of Marvel's fictional characters operate in a single reality known as the Marvel Universe, with locations that mirror real-life cities. Characters such as Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, Daredevil and Dr. Strange are based in New York City, whereas the X-Men have historically been based in Salem Center, New York and Hulk's stories often have been set in the American Southwest.

Rōnin

A rōnin (浪人) was a samurai with no lord or master during the feudal period (1185–1868) 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.

In modern Japanese usage, the term also describes a salaryman who is "between employers" or a secondary school graduate who has not yet been admitted to university.

Etymology

The word rōnin literally means "wave man". It is an idiomatic expression for "vagrant" or "wandering man", someone who is without a home. The term originated in the Nara and Heian periods, when it referred to a serf who had fled or deserted his master's land. It then came to be used for a samurai who had no master. (Hence, the term "wave man" illustrating one who is socially adrift.)

The word "浪人" means a "drifter" or a "wanderer", i.e. "he who drifts/wanders".

Status

According to the Bushido Shoshinshu (the Code of the Samurai), a samurai was supposed to commit seppuku (also "hara kiri" — ritual suicide) upon the loss of his master. One who chose not to honor the code was "on his own" and was meant to suffer great shame. The undesirability of rōnin status was mainly a discrimination imposed by other samurai and by daimyo, the feudal lords.

Ronin (disambiguation)

A rōnin is a samurai without a master.

Ronin may also refer to:

In entertainment

Companies

Ronin (band)

Ronin is a rock band based in Singapore. They are infamous for their live performances and being one of the few high profile rock bands around. Before their entry to the mainstream market, the band launched a self-released EP which included 5 songs, and later released an LP which was hugely successful. Their debut album Do or Die has received rave reviews by local press, and is one of the top selling English-language albums in Singapore of all time. In 2006, the band collaborated with local Mediacorp artiste Fiona Xie in a love song duet, entitled "Love Will Shine on Through". The song was recorded to raise funds for a cancer project, with a book and a CD recorded together. One of their songs, "One More Moment", was covered by Singaporean artiste Ho Yeow Sun.

The band enjoyed a number one hit called Black Maria in the Singapore charts, the song Crazy Son reached third. Ronin has also written the theme song and title soundtrack 'Memories' for the film Singapore Dreaming.

On 24 June 2007, lead singer Levan Wee performed with the band for the last time, due to a combination of personal issues, as well as differences in musical direction. He is now the lead singer of ASTRONINJA. The band has since returned to the studios to continue work on their 2nd LP.

List of The Hunger Games characters

The following is a list of characters in The Hunger Games trilogy, a series of young adult science fiction novels by Suzanne Collins that were later adapted into a series of four feature films.

Main characters