"[1] Ronin was in part inspired by Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima's manga series Kozure Ōkami.

[3] Though Kozure Ōkami would receive an English localization several years later as Lone Wolf and Cub, at the time Miller could not read the text and had to rely on the artwork for his understanding of the story.

In part to make room for this additional scene, Miller eliminated an extended sequence involving the Ronin and the woman and child he rescues.

Mr Miller employs cross-hatching to achieve a gritty and detailed look that complements the futuristic cyberpunk setting.

In feudal Japan, a young, nameless samurai has sworn to protect his master, Lord Ozaki, from assassins.

At night, the demon Agat disguises himself as a geisha and assassinates Ozaki as revenge for him stealing his sword and hiding it away so he cannot find it.

As the samurai prepares to commit seppuku at his master's grave, Ozaki's spirit appears before him and demands that he find the sword and keep it from Agat until he is strong enough to destroy him.

The Corporation develops and markets biocircuitry, a new model of plastics-based electronics capable of self-organization and self-repair under the direction of Virgo, the artificial intelligence at the heart of the Complex.

Head, a hippie who realizes that the ronin is his ticket to security, promises to take care of him, which he reluctantly agrees to.

Casey McKenna is authorized to retrieve the ronin after learning from Virgo that the lack of effective law enforcement means that Aquarius is responsible for capturing him.

The ronin kills the faction leaders and leaves Head behind before going to rescue Casey from the pit, which leads into sewers inhabited by cannibals who kidnap them.

Virgo, controlling the robots, mentally attacks the ronin, triggering Billy's repressed memory of murdering a bully.

Virgo forces Agat to restrain himself and address the workers about the blackout before mentally confronting Billy, calming him down and convincing him to stop helping Casey.

Learnid notes that regulations give him the authority to evacuate non-essential personnel in such situations and forces Virgo to carry out the order.

She then gives him a sword to commit seppuku and Billy begins to lose control of his powers, blaming Virgo for making him feel worthless.

[11] Ronin was also one of the inspirations behind the creation of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles[12] and Wes Craig's art for Deadly Class from Image Comics.