Jump to content

5 Ronin

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Condemned2EthanThomas (talk | contribs) at 02:58, 14 November 2016 (→‎Premise). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

5 Ronin
Wolverine on the cover of 5 Ronin #1 (March 2011).
Art by David Aja.
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
ScheduleWeekly
FormatLimited series
Genre
Publication dateMarch – April 2011
No. of issues5
Main character(s)Wolverine
Psylocke
The Punisher
Hulk
Deadpool
Creative team
Written byPeter Milligan
Artist(s)Tomm Coker
Dalibor Talajic
Laurence Campbell
Goran Parlov
Leandro Fernandez
Editor(s)Sebastian Girner

5 Ronin is a five issue comic book limited series published by Marvel Comics starring superheroes Wolverine, Hulk, the Punisher, Psylocke, and Deadpool reimagined as rōnin, masterless samurai set in 17th century Japan. The series is written by Peter Milligan and features a rotating cast of artists. The first issue was released on March 2, 2011.[1]

Publication history

Marvel Comics first announced 5 Ronin, by writer Peter Milligan and featuring artists Tomm Coker, Dalibor Talajic, Laurence Campbell, Goran Parlov, and Leandro Fernandez, in December 2010.[1] Milligan stated that the idea of the series came from editor Sebastian Girner, expressing, "The egg of this idea was born in Sebastian's great interest and passion in all things Japanese... Sebastian and I made an omelet out of that egg."[2] Milligan remarked that he is big fan of Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai and what drew him to the project was "that this era of Japan was in such a state of flux. One era was ending and a new one beginning. These times are difficult to live through; people are unsure where they stand, and this is a great arena for looking at character and seeing how characters act when taken to uncomfortable places."[3]

Writer Peter Milligan on the series' setting:

In 1600, there was a famously bloody and pivotal battle at Sekigahara, where the Western and Eastern clans fought. This battle ended what became known as the era of the warring states. In other words, the world of Japan that we find is going through a some kind of cataclysmic, epochal change. It's a violent age, an age of deep anxiety. Though it's a very alien time and place, I feel that this era speaks to us about our own troubled times. We have our own cataclysmic changes going on, our own sense of anxiety and "uprooted-ness".[3]

Milligan also explained that each of the five issues focuses on one character, but the stories are all inter-linked: "All these characters have to rediscover as the story continues that there's a reason they're all connected and drawn together. They each have problems that stem from the same source."[2] As to why he chose the characters, Milligan remarked that they each represent an aspect of Japanese society. Wolverine made the most sense, and Psylocke is the character that fit in most beautifully.[2] "Deadpool is perfect; he could have been originally designed for this story... Punisher also perfectly fits with what we wanted. Both of these characters manage to be archetypes and that's why they so neatly and usefully worked with this story. Hulk is a little different. Part of the fun there was writing against type or character expectation. Though, again, an integral part of Banner/Hulk's character perfectly matches what we wanted in this book."[3]

Premise

Bound together by the same fate, yet alone in their existence, Wolverine, Psylocke, the Punisher, Hulk, and Deadpool are forced to walk the lonely path of the masterless samurai in the violent and tumultuous world of feudal Japan.[1]

Story

Issue #1: Wolverine

An unknown Ronin, known as The Wolverine travels back home to his clan, and suddenly was killed by one of his own fellow Ronin. Another same Wolverine Ronin appears, and was confronted by the Fool (Deadpool, who claims that he have burried him. Confused with the Fools riddle, Wolverine goes forward to his temple, and was attacked by the unknown Ronin.

As the two fight, Wolverine knocked off the mask, and was shocked to discover of his own brother, who went derranged after being betrayed by the Damiyo soldier. After decapitating the Ronin, Wolverine decided to set-off to find Damiyo and avenge his own brother.[4]

Issue #2: Hulk

A spiritual monk, known as the Hulk meditate in the mountain Hie, meditading to unleash his ability of a so-called Hulk. His meditation are oftenly interrupted by the fool, and a villagers, who is seeking his help. One of the villagers ask his help to stop an army of bandits, who attempt to destroy the village.

The Monk agrees to help the village, as he later faced-off the bandits who attempt to destroy the village. Just a large army of bandits approach, the monk turned into a Hulk, which he slaughter the entire bandits by himself. Despite the monk have save the village, he decided to go to the temple of Edo. The Monk leaves, as he look back to the village and moves forward to continue his journey.[5]

Issue #3: Punisher

A Ronin Warrior goes by the name Akagi, returns to from Korea after a long war, only to find his house is nowhere to be found. After learning from the villagers that his family was slaughtered by the Damiyo, Akagi seeks revenge by attempt to kill Damiyo by any means neccesary.

After discovering from his housemaid, Namiko that his wife commited Seppuku due to her son's death, Akagi sets-out to find Sato, one of Damiyo soldiers, and kill them by any means neccesary. He found Sato in his house, and kill him. His wife later commited a Seppuku, and died. After killing one of Sato soldier, he leaves the house, but not before giving a quarter to the Fool.[6]

Issue #4: Psylocke

O-Chiyo Braddock, a British-Japanesse Oiran, working on a brothel on a daily basis. She earns the nickname Butterfly, due to her ability to read minds.

One day at the brothel, a strange Ronin (Wolverine) selected her for her services. The Ronin reveals that he plans to kill the Daimyo for murdering his master and all of the other Ronin. O-Chiyo and the Ronin fight until he pins her to the wall with a Sai, as O-Chiyo wants to be the one who kills the Daimyo. The Ronin challenges her anger, saying that she should be angry at her father for killing himself and abandoning her, not Daimyo. Defeated, O-Chiyo eventually realizes that he is right.[7]

Issue #5: Deadpool

Damiyo brother in arms, Watari fought alongside him in the battle of Korea. After a large army gathers to eliminated the Damiyo, Watari was presume killed, but his faced was hideously scarred, and he later becames the Fool.

When Damiyo was visited by O-Chiyo in his house, Damiyo later learns that O-Chiyo and the Fool riddle, and found out that his entire men was killed. After Watari reveals himself to Damiyo, a shocking Damiyo was horrified with this, resulting the two to fight. Watari eventually kill Damiyo, but forgot why he killed him.

He later meets Wolverine outside of Damiyo temple, and tell him that he have killed Damiyo himself. Wolverine was upset, stating that his preparation into fighting Damiyo was for nothing. The Ronin leaves in dissapointment, along with Akagi & The Monk, who learns that someone has ended their journey.

The Ronin leaves, as they sets out to find another journey they seek.[8]

Reception

The first issue of 5 Ronin was received with mixed reviews. Dan Iverson of IGN gave it a 6.5 (out of 10), praising the art by Tomm Corker and colorist Daniel Freedman, but calling the story "a bit too ambiguous and typical for the genre."[9] David Pepose of Newsarama stated, "5 Ronin is a confusing, unexciting read that doesn't really do much to justify its 'Marvel superheroes as samurai' premise."[10] Kelly Thompson of Comic Book Resources gave it 2.5 (out of 5) stars, declaring, "While there are definitely things to appreciate in this first issue of 5 Ronin, from evocative art to Milligan’s sometimes beautiful writing, in the end it feels a bit soulless. An emotional connection of some kind could have made something as blasé as revenge a bit more engaging."[11] However, Matthew Meylikhov of Multiversity Comics gave the first and fifth issues 9.2 (out of 10), saying (about the series) that, "Milligan crafted a fairly well organized tale of revenge featuring some of Marvel's biggest characters, and the various artists that have worked on each issue have made this title a must read for fans of both the characters and samurai in general."[12]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Marvel's Deadliest Heroes: The 5 Ronin". Marvel.com. December 8, 2010. Retrieved 2011-02-27.
  2. ^ a b c Mahadeo, Kevin (January 13, 2011). "Marvel's Next Big Thing: '5 Ronin'". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2011-02-27.
  3. ^ a b c Richards, Dave (January 25, 2011). "Milligan Sharpens the Swords of the '5 Ronin'". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2011-02-27.
  4. ^ 5 Ronin #1
  5. ^ 5 Ronin #2
  6. ^ 5 Ronin #3
  7. ^ 5 Ronin #4
  8. ^ 5 Ronin #5
  9. ^ Iverson, Dan (March 2, 2011). "5 Ronin #1 Review". IGN. Retrieved 2011-03-03.
  10. ^ Pepose, David (March 3, 2011). "Best Shots Rapid Reviews: Annihilators, First Wave, More". Newsarama. Retrieved 2011-03-04.
  11. ^ Thompson, Kelly (March 6, 2011). "5 Ronin #1". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2011-03-07.
  12. ^ Meylikhov, Matthew (March 31, 2011). "Review: 5 Ronin #5". Multiversity Comics. Retrieved 2011-04-07.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=5_Ronin&oldid=749395646"