The Revelation (Sprouse Bros. 47 R.O.N.I.N.) EPISODE 1

When twin fifteen-year-olds Tom and Mitch are attacked by a thug in ninja gear, they soon discover that their father and live-in butler are members of a rogue crime-fighting organization called R.O.N.I.N., and they have been recruited to join.

Grade 5–8—Tom and Mitch, 15-year-old twins, live in New York City. Tom is a jock and Mitch a tech-head, but neither one is prepared when a mysterious fighter dressed as a ninja attacks them in a subway station and another masked fighter defends them. The brothers escape, but their troubles are only beginning. Their father, an international businessman, has disappeared, leaving them in the care of Mr. Chance, their Japanese live-in butler/cook. When the ninja fighter attacks again at home, Mr. Chance chases him off and reveals to the brothers that both he and their father are members of R.O.N.I.N., or Rogue Operative Network Inter-National, a worldwide organization with 47 clans that battles evil in every nation. The characters are based on Dylan and Cole Sprouse, the twin teen actors of Disney Channel fame. The brothers Tom and Mitch appear, in the comics-style illustrations, as duplicates of the blond, mop-headed Sprouses. While the story moves quickly, the plot and characters are shallow and formulaic; a car explodes, crossbows are fired, and shuriken are thrown without much effect. At least three more volumes in this slight series will appear before the end of 2007.—Walter Minkel, New York Public Library
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