Ronin (Clint Barton) was released in April 2019 in the first Avengers wave of the year. He and Captain America in his Quantum Suit were the two Endgame MCU figures of the wave, with the other MCU figure being Ebony Maw from Infinity War. The wave was rounded up by comic book figures of Hercules, The Living Laser, Citizen V and Nighthawk. Each figure in the wave (except Cap) had a build-a-figure piece that combined to make an Infinity War armoured Thanos figure.
Packaging 4/5
The Avengers wave for 2019 carried a pale blue theme with a darker blue Avengers logo. Interestingly there is no mention of Endgame on the box - perhaps it wasn't released in time for the packing to go to production, or Marvel held it back to avoid spoilers.
Like the late 2018 figures, the back of the box no longer carries a promotional figure image but an image based on the movie. The character name is listed solely as Ronin and it is only on the rear promotional text that Clint Barton is mentioned. The blurb is a little tame considering the real reason Clint donned the Ronin guise and what he did while wearing it.
"Clint Barton is a master sharpshooter and skilled martial artist who fights alongside the Avengers"
Paint & Sculpt 4/5
The figure comes with a single masked head, and this in itself is a bit of a disappointment especially as we know a brand new Jeremy Renner Hawkeye head has been sculpted and produced for the Quantum suit 2-pack. Putting this aside it is good to see that there is an element of face printing used on the exposed part of the face with some shading to the skin and realistic eyes.
The costume is fairly accurate and is cast in black. The scabbard is a removable piece if you want to take this off for your display. The hood too is removable and for me gives a better look to Ronin. The jacket appears to be removable, but even once unclipped and with the head popped off I found it impossible to get off without damage. Underneath we do have a sculpted torso that resembles the gear Hawkeye wore later in the movie - that means you can use this and the Renner head to kitbash a final battle Hawkeye (I would suspect Hasbro will give us one at some point).
On top of the black cast pieces is some neatly applied gold patterns and a touch of silver around the tip of the jacket.
Accessories 3/5
Ronin does not come with a bow, and instead has two swords. Each is cast in grey/silver with the hilt painted black. The longer sword fits best in the scabbard, and can also fit in either hand. The shorter of the two also fits in either hand, but looks a little lost when sheathed. Both swords suffer from paint rub on the black and this is worsened when the swords are slotted into the figures hands with paint flaking off. The answer was surely to cast these in black and then paint the blades?
The other accessory is a bit of an odd one and is a spare left hand in a open throwing position with some throwing stars coming off mid-throw. Like a lot of FX pieces, these are not everyone's cup of tea. The stars themselves are translucent some of the way and that does help to sell the effect, particularly in a darker display cabinet.
Articulation 2/5
Hawkeye is designed to have 19 points of articulation as below.
Head : ball joint with pivot
Body : T-joint torso, waist swivel
Arms : ball joint shoulders, bicep swivel, double jointed elbows, wrist pivot
Legs : ball joint hips, thigh swivel, double jointed knees, ankle pivot
The upper part of the body works well with the arms being very mobile and they can just about meet for a two handed sword pose at a push. It is interesting to see a ratchet t-joint torso joint under the coat. The coat makes this difficult to use, but indicates Hasbro potentially have more planned for the torso piece in the future.
The issue is with the lower legs, particularly the knees which do not want to bend at all on the right let. This seems to be a design flaw on all the Ronin figures with an oversized knee joint that will rip if the leg is bent. So while the left leg can move, there are no significant posing options when the right leg is locked.
Summary
Ronin is an interesting choice for a launch wave for Endgame, but as a huge Hawkeye fan I am glad he made it to figure status after being overlooked in previous movies. The issues are clear that a unmasked Renner head would have really made this figure and those knee joints are obviously an error.
That aside I am impressed by the sculpt and the decor with the neatly painted gold on black. I can also see how the figure could lead to another (and probably better) Endgame Hawkeye figure in the long run, so the design from Hasbro is clever.
I score the Marvel Legends Avengers Endgame Ronin a 3 out of 5.
