While the Armored Thanos Series is technically the first Avengers Endgame Marvel Legends wave of Hasbro action figures, there’s not a whole lot going on so far as characters actually from the movie go. In fact, there’s just two single-packed figures from Endgame in the wave: Captain America and the subject of today’s review. Hawkeye’s absence was keenly felt in Infinity War, but now he’s back with an all-new persona: should you add the Marvel Legends Ronin figure to your collection? Here’s my review…

The Right:

Word had leaked out even before Avengers Infinity War hit theaters that Clint Barton would be transforming into Ronin, so when Hawkeye didn’t appear in any form in Infinity War, the writing was on the wall that we’d be seeing him as Ronin in Avengers 4.

And so, when the first Avengers Endgame trailer hit, there weren’t too many surprised hardcore fans when Black Widow spies the ninja-like Ronin pulling off his mask to reveal Clint Barton. Not only was Ronin confirmed—but he was also confirmed early, meaning we were likely to see merch for the character early on. And lo and behold—Hasbro had him in stores for launch day! Here’s how he turned out…

As is the case with virtually every new character Hasbro produces from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, authentically recreating Ronin in 6” form required a ton of new tooling—and as usual, Hasbro shelled out for that tooling. If they had really wanted to, they probably could have found a way to cheese Ronin out of an old mold somehow—but they did not. Thumbs up.

It can be tough to make out all the sculpting detail on this ML Ronin action figure from a distance, but he’s covered in textures and little details up-close. From the criss-crossing pattern on his knee armor to the woven-like pattern on his shoulders and back, I’m really pleased with the level sculpting detail that went into this movie figure.

The paint deco on this Ronin figure is also nicely applied, and the gold paint apps definitely pop as a contrast to the predominant black on the rest of the costume. The tunic is missing gold lining at the bottom unfortunately, but for the most part the paint is otherwise excellent.

Along with the left arm of the Armored Thanos Build-A-Figure (complete with Infinity Gauntlet), we get three accessories for the Marvel Legends Endgame Ronin figure: two swords (of different lengths!) and an alternate left hand with throwing stars effect attached.

Few things make me smile as much as well-executed effects pieces, so I had a big dopey grin on my face when I attached the shuriken-throwing hand to Ronin. It’s not really practical for most poses or display setups, but I love it it quite a bit nonetheless. In fact, it’s probably my favorite thing about the whole figure.

Ronin’s left hand was a little stiff, so I had to heat it up with some hot water to get either sword into his grip, but once there the swords fit nice and tight. I dig that Hasbro gave us a longsword and a shortsword, and I appreciate that the hilts themselves are painted (even if there’s no paint deco on the blades themselves).

I had intended to complain about Ronin’s tunic being too bulky of an add-on piece, but looking at the Hot Toys and Iron Studios designs for Ronin, the tunic actually looks like it’s been sized rather perfectly.

The tunic unfortunately blocks any kind of ab crunch articulation (a big loss on a ninja), but it’s a good-looking costume piece nonetheless.

There’s also a sheath that goes around and latches onto Ronin’s back, and which fits the swords snugly. I appreciate the paint detail on the sheath strap a lot.

Articulation-wise, Hawkeye/Ronin has a bit less flexibility than I’d like, but he’s still got a decent amount of super-articulation, including: ball-hinge head and shoulders; swivel biceps/thighs/waist; double-hinge knees and elbows; hinged ankles with rockers; and swivel-hinge wrists. Butterfly shoulders, swivel calves/boots and some sort of ab crunch are all notable omissions. He poses well, but not necessarily in every way you’d envision.

The Wrong:

There’s two central things about this figure that bug me, and both those things are related to the head. First of all, and most obvious—there’s no Jeremy Renner portrait included with this figure. Considering the first time we ever see Ronin in a trailer he’s in the process of pulling off his mask, not including an unmasked head is a real head-scratcher.

If Hasbro didn’t have a Clint Barton head approved or ready to go it would be one thing, but it’s actually already on store shelves in the Target Exclusive two-pack, so it really seems like Hasbro just didn’t want to include the unmasked head here. Weak.

In addition, as you may have noticed, Ronin’s hood is removed for the majority of my photos. The hood on this figure really irritates me. It’s a separate piece from everything else that can’t “snap” into place in any way, so it really only sits well when Ronin is looking straight forward. Otherwise it falls off or gets pushed out of place easily, and in many poses it just doesn’t look right. A permanently hooded head would have made more sense and worked much better here.

Overall: Hasbro has done an overall solid job with this Ronin Marvel Legends figure, although there’s a few things that hold it back from being truly outstanding. The lack of an unmasked head as a pack-in is pretty baffling, and I don’t like the awkwardness of the removable hood and the missing gold paint at the bottom of the tunic.

All that said, Hasbro has given us a movie figure that’s loaded with new tooling and includes an ultra-cool shuriken-throwing effects hand, which scores major points in my book. I don’t think the Endgame Legends Ronin figure is quite perfect, but I do think it’s a nice figure that’s easily the best of the three movie figures in Endgame Marvel Legends Wave 1.

GRADE: B+

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