Ronin

Ronin is a selfish, yet skilled and intelligent thief. Based in Stiix with his airship R.E.X., he left a bad impression on the Ninja during their first encounter.

History
Ronin at one point became indebted to Soul Archer, and owed him greatly.

Ghost Story
Ronin later stole Sensei Yang's Airjitzu scrolls from the ancient library of Domu and returned to Stiix.

Stiix and Stones
As Ronin was setting a pot out that hid the scroll at his shop in Stiix, the Ninja arrived seeking it. The thief attempted to sell them weapons such as Aeroblades or Jadeblades, but they were relentless in asking for the scroll and he offered the price of 200, but raised it to 400 when he learned of its value. Kai attempted to barter with him, but due to his poor negotiating skills, they settled on the price of 450. After the Ninja left the shop in search of money, Ronin pulled the scroll out and inspected it.

That night, he was confronted by Soul Archer and Morro who also sought the scrolls. Ronin tried to stall by trying to purchase the Allied Armor of Azure, but they were interrupted when the Ninja arrived. After Morro escaped with the scroll, he rescued Kai and told him there was another way to learn Airjitzu: in exchange for this information, however, he had the red ninja give him all the ninja's shares of the tea farm as compensation for his shop being destroyed.

The Temple on Haunted Hill
Ronin comes to the tea shop and tells Misako, Nya, and Wu about the deal he and Kai made. When a customer is leaving, Ronin takes the treat Misako gave the man and points out its a business not a charity. Nya pays him to take her to her Samurai X Cave, on their way, Nya gets Ronin to reveal that he made a bet with the Soul archer, and if he did not pay him back, then his soul would go to the cursed realm. when they arrive they find out that Morro have already arrived in the cave, he uses an Aeroblade to take out one of the Soul Archer's arrows. After Nya's mech got possessed, Ronin saves Nya and takes her outside where the ghosts try to take Ronin's R.E.X but fail when Nya makes it rain. Ronin then told Nya that she was a Water Ninja.

Kingdom Come
Ghoul Tar was brought aboard the Bounty and Ronin questioned the ghost along with Wu and Nya. However, when the ghost refused to answer, Wu decided that the time would be better spent training Nya and the two left, leaving Ronin in charge of the prisoner.

Appearance
Ronin’s distinctive armor was, like most of his possessions, gained through dishonest means. It was forged by Eboshi, one of Ninjago’s greatest and most noble armorers, who Ronin tricked into helping him by implanting false memories with the Obsidian Glaive. After Eboshi created the armour for Ronin, he once more used the Obsidian Glaive, this time to wipe all of Eboshi’s memories so that he could never reveal Ronin’s identity.

Ronin's costume uses a half-mask similar to the Ninja's Techno Robes and Tournament outfits, as well as a straw hat similar to Sensei Wu's.

He only wears a cape in the Shadow of Ronin advertisement art.

Personality
In the series, Ronin has a more sympathetic backstory, as his motivation for in the game was actually to save his cursed soul. Eventually, his more sincere personality comes through in Curse World: Part 1, when he arrives in his airship R.E.X. and promptly dumps every amount of money he ever made on the building Morro had lifted with his elemental wind power, giving Lloyd the chance to defeat Morro. From that point on he is the Ninjas' friend and ally.

Abilities and Weapons
Ronin wields two katanas and the Obsidian Glaive, which allows him to steal and alter memories. He also uses different weapons and gadgets: like a grapling hook, various explosives like explosive shurikens, a giant mech suit and R.E.X.. For a short time, Ronin possessed the Elemental Forges, which allowed him to use the elements of Fire, Ice, Earth and Lightning. This also allowed him to change into a giant elemental form of each element, during his final battle with the Ninja. Ronin also had his own personal army, of samurai armour wearing individuals.

Ninjago.com Description
Ronin is a thief who is interested in one thing and one thing only: money. He once made a bad bet with Soul Archer, so now he has to come up with something valuable to pay the ghost off. When he crosses paths with the Ninja, Ronin gets a chance to be a hero. But will he take the risk, when there's nothing for him to gain?

Trivia

 * Ronin is arguably the only villain in the Ninjago series, who is not motivated by conquest or destruction, but is instead motivated by greed.
 * He is also revealed to have an Aeroblade, although it is unknown which element (if any) it is or how he obtained it and the other Aeroblades.
 * Just like many characters in the series, Ronin resembles a Star Wars character, in this case Han Solo. Both are older men, without special powers, relying on weapons to defend themselves. Both also have debts to pay, and they do dirty work as long as they get paid. They are neither good or bad, just people who do jobs for either side, but ultimately they choose to fight beside the heroes. They also have a fast ship that they fly around with.
 * He is the only boss in LEGO Ninjago: Tournament app that is unplayable.
 * His past with the Soul Archer is similar to Jack Sparrow and the debt he made with Davy Jones, the difference is that Ronin must pay in money, where as Jack had to pay in souls, either his or other people's.
 * Ronin is treated differently in the Ninjago series than he was treated in the game.
 * In the show, Nya, Wu, and Misako did not know who he was or recognize him (even though in the game, they had all met him).
 * The series treats Ronin more as a thief than the mercenary he was in the game, and even tries to give him a sympathetic backstory, by stating that he made a bet with the Soul Archer and had to pay him back or else he would be taken to the Cursed Realm, explaining his crocked motivations in the game.
 * Also, in the game, he had an army of Dark Samurai, but in the series, he says he's always been on his own. There is the possibility that ronin had hired them for that special occasion.
 * Ronin is the second person to kiss or almost kiss Nya (seen in the reflection of the Sword of Sanctuary in "The Crooked Path"), the first being Bizarro Jay.
 * Ronin used to call Zane "Mr. Tin Man" making him a pun of the character of the children novel "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz".
 * His name refers to a Samurai that no serves master.
 * His helmetless and unmasked variant in the game bears resemblance to Snake Plissken from Escape from New York, but with a cybernetic eye on the left rather than an eye-patch.

Appearances

 * 70735 Ronin R.E.X.
 * LEGO Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu
 * "Ghost Story"
 * "Stiix and Stones"
 * "The Temple on Haunted Hill"
 * "Peak-a-Boo"
 * "Kingdom Come"
 * "The Crooked Path"
 * "Curse World - Part I"
 * "Curse World - Part II"

Gallery
Ronin