Kick-Ass (film)

Kick-Ass
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Matthew Vaughn
Produced by	Matthew Vaughn Brad Pitt Kris Thykier Adam Bohling Tarquin Pack David Reid
Screenplay by	Matthew Vaughn Jane Goldman
Based on	Kick-Ass by Mark Millar John Romita, Jr.
Narrated by	Aaron Johnson
Starring	Aaron Johnson Christopher Mintz-Plasse Mark Strong Chloë Moretz Nicolas Cage
Music by	John Murphy Henry Pryce Jackman Marius de Vries Ilan Eshkeri Danny Elfman
Cinematography	Ben Davis
Editing by	Pietro Scalia Jon Harris Eddie Hamilton
Studio	Marv Films Plan B Entertainment
Distributed by	Universal Studios (United Kingdom) Lionsgate (United States)
Release date(s)	26 March 2010 (2010-03-26) (United Kingdom) 16 April 2010 (2010-04-16) (United States)
Running time	117 minutes[1]
Country	United Kingdom United States
Language	English
Budget	$28 million[2][3][4]
Box office	$96,188,903[5]

Kick-Ass is a 2010 superhero comedy film based on the comic book of the same name by Mark Millar and John Romita, Jr. The film was directed by Matthew Vaughn, who co-produced the film with actor Brad Pitt, and co-wrote the screenplay with Jane Goldman. The film's general release was on 25 March 2010 in the UK and on 16 April 2010 in the US.

The film tells the story of an ordinary teenager, Dave Lizewski, who sets out to become a real-life superhero, calling himself "Kick-Ass". Dave gets caught up in a bigger fight when he meets Big Daddy, a former cop who, in his quest to bring down the drug lord Frank D'Amico, has trained his eleven-year-old daughter to be the ruthless vigilante Hit-Girl.

Despite having generated some controversy for its profanity and violence performed by a child, Kick-Ass was well received by both critics and audiences.

Plot

Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) is an ordinary teenager who lives in New York. Dave, an avid comic book fan, wonders why nobody has attempted to become a real-life superhero, and is bitter that people do not intervene when a crime is being committed. He purchases a bodysuit and, after making modifications, embarks on a campaign to become a real-life superhero, despite having no superpowers or skills. After his first crime-fighting encounter leads to his getting stabbed and getting run over in a hit and run, leaving him with permanent nerve damage, he gains an enhanced capacity to endure pain, and surgical implants required to repair multiple skeletal fractures give him resistance to further bone-crushing injuries. His effort to conceal the truth, claiming he had had his clothes thrown off after being mugged, leads to rumors that he is gay. His longtime crush, Katie Deauxma (Lyndsy Fonseca) immediately attempts to become his friend, having always wanted a "gay BFF"; Dave hesitantly goes along with it. After intervening in a gang attack, Dave's actions are recorded by a bystander and put on the internet, turning him into a celebrity. Calling himself "Kick-Ass", he sets up a MySpace account so he can be contacted for help. After responding to a request from Katie, he goes to deal with a drug dealer, Rasul, who has been harassing her. Rasul and his thugs quickly overpower him, but he is rescued by eleven-year-old vigilante Hit-Girl (Chloë Moretz), who kills his attackers and then leaves with her father, Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage). They believe he has potential, but warn him to be more careful, and give him a way to contact them if needed.

Big Daddy is Damon Macready, a former cop who has a long-standing grudge against crime boss Frank D'Amico (Mark Strong) for framing him as a drug dealer, leading to the suicide of his wife. His former partner at the New York Police Department, Marcus Williams (Omari Hardwick), became guardian to his daughter, Mindy. Big Daddy, however, has reclaimed Mindy and is training her to be a skilled crime-fighter, against Marcus' wishes, hoping to take down D'Amico, starting by sabotaging his organization. D'Amico, however, wrongly believes that Kick-Ass has killed his men, when it has actually been Big Daddy, and embarks on a campaign to eliminate him. His son, Chris (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), suggests a different approach. He assumes the role of the vigilante "Red Mist" in order to befriend Kick-Ass and lure him into a trap. But the trap is undone by Big Daddy, who independently kills D'Amico's men and sets the building on fire. Following his escape from the warehouse fire, Dave determines to quit being Kick-Ass. He confesses the truth to Katie, and she forgives him and becomes his girlfriend. A week later, after finding a number of messages from Red Mist urgently requesting they meet, he tells Katie that he must do one last thing as Kick-Ass. At the meeting Red Mist purports to just barely having escaped an assassination attempt by associates of the men who were killed at the warehouse, and to a price having been put on both of their heads. He adjures him to call Big Daddy and Hit-Girl to the rescue. This is actually a ruse in order to lead D'Amico's thugs to the superheroes and then kill them. Upon arriving at one of Big Daddy's safe houses, Red Mist shoots Hit-Girl out of a window and D'Amico's men storm the place. They capture Big Daddy, taking Kick-Ass with them. D'Amico intends to have his thugs torture and execute his captives in a live Internet broadcast viewed by millions, including Katie and Marcus, who can only watch helplessly. Hit-Girl, who survived the shooting, arrives and kills all the gangsters; during the struggle, one thug sets Big Daddy on fire. He and Hit-Girl say a tearful farewell before he dies. Kick-Ass tries to convince Hit-Girl to quit her dangerous lifestyle, but she plans to finish what her father started, and Kick-Ass agrees to help.

In the assault on D'Amico's headquarters, Hit-Girl kills most of the henchmen, but runs out of bullets and is pinned in the kitchen under fire. Kick-Ass arrives in time on a jet pack fitted with gatling guns, and kills the remaining thugs. Kick-Ass and Hit-Girl then take on D'Amico and his son. Kick-Ass fights Red Mist but they manage to knock each other unconcious. Hit-Girl fights D'Amico, but she is eventually overpowered. As D'Amico is about to finish off Hit-Girl, Kick-Ass comes to the rescue, armed with a rocket launcher, blasting D'Amico out of the window where he explodes in mid-air. Red Mist revives in time to see Kick-Ass and Hit-Girl leaving on the jet pack, and is powerless to stop them. Mindy and Dave retire from crime fighting to live a more normal life. Mindy returns to live with Marcus, and enrolls at Dave's school. Dave explains that although he is done with crime fighting, a new "generation" of superheroes have been inspired by his endeavor, and the city is safer as a result. Red Mist is shown donning a new mask as he quotes Jack Nicholson as the Joker, "As a great man once said, 'Wait till they get a load of me'."^[6]

Cast

• Aaron Johnson as David "Dave" Lizewski / Kick-Ass: Johnson said that Kick-Ass is a "sensitive guy" who lost his mother and is a "nobody" at school, so he creates his superhero identity "as this whole different persona." Johnson said that Dave is "a kid who’s got the guts to go out there and do something different."^[7] Christopher Mintz-Plasse originally auditioned for the role of Kick-Ass, but during the audition the producers believed that his acting was too loud and obnoxious for the lead, so they immediately gave Mintz-Plasse the role of Red Mist instead. ^[8]
• Nicolas Cage as Damon Macready / Big Daddy: Vaughn described Cage's performance as a little bit Elvis and a little bit Adam West. A character in the film even says his costume looks like that of Batman.^[2] Cage was inspired by his costume to try delivering his lines in the same style Adam West used for Batman. The police officer father of an ex-girlfriend also influenced his performance; the habit of Big Daddy referring to Hit-Girl as "child" stems from the police officer.^[6]
• Chloë Grace Moretz as Mindy Macready / Hit-Girl: Vaughn commented on the maturity of Moretz, who said that because she has four older brothers, she was no stranger to much of the language in the script.^[2][9] Her mother read the script and permitted her to use the profanity in the movie.^[10] Jane Goldman, one of the two co-writers of the script, said, "We just really wanted Hit-Girl to be a character who, in a sense, simply happens to be an eleven-year-old girl, in the same way that Ripley in Alien could have been a guy but the part happened to be played by Sigourney Weaver." Goldman said that Mindy "is genuinely dangerous, she's genuinely mad. It's not her fault: she's been raised in this environment where she doesn't know anything different. She's unwittingly part of a folie a deux."^[11] When asked if Hit-Girl could be considered a feminist heroine, Goldman said "Yeah... she's a feminist hero by token of the fact that she pays no attention to gender stereotypes. I think she also doesn't want special treatment because she's a girl."^[11] Moretz said that it was entertaining to illustrate the differences between Mindy and her superheroine identity "for me, ’cause it’s almost like an alternate personality." Lewis Wallace of Wired said that Mindy "gets all the good lines, capping every Tarantino-scale bloodletting with a foul-mouthed joke." Christopher Mintz-Plasse, the actor who portrays Red Mist, said that "[Kick-Ass and Red Mist] don’t have any of the action in the movie. It’s all Hit Girl."^[7] Vaughn said that Hit-Girl is a part of "the ultimate father-daughter relationship, where Barbie dolls are replaced with knives, and unicorns become hand grenades."^[12] To prepare for her role, Moretz took months of training in learning how to handle guns and to use butterfly knives and swords. Moretz stated that the shooting of the action scenes was arduous.^[7] Romita compared how Big Daddy raised Hit Girl to show parents of juvenile professional athletes raise their children. Romita added "They become unconscious athletes, almost to a fault. They become hardened. It kind of works the same way. If you treat someone so intensely, ... why couldn't they? I don't believe the 'unbelievable' part." Goldman said that the aspect of the film adaptation that excited her the most was adapting Hit Girl's storyline to the film.^[13] In the summer of 2008, Moretz saw posters of Angelina Jolie, the star of the film Wanted, in Los Angeles, prompting her to ask for a role that she described as "an Angelina Jolie-type character" and "like an action hero, woman empowerment, awesome, take-charge leading role." One month later, she was offered the role of Hit Girl.^[12] Millar said he expected the character to receive mostly negative reception, "But the movie was so well made, I think, that people were quietly charmed by her for the most part. The only really negative thing we saw came from Roger Ebert and others from his generation who were upset, but there were those especially here in the [United Kingdom] [who] went crazy for her." Millar added he and Vaughn "were quite surprised about that. We were expecting the worst, that people were going to say she was amoral and we [in turn] were going to get killed for her. But it was much more of a case where people were positive about Hit-Girl even saying she was empowering female character."^[14]
• Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Chris D'Amico / Red Mist: Frank D'Amico's son. Millar said "the idea was that he was going to be a more minor character in the first film. Then we saw what Christopher Mintz-Plasse was capable of! [...] So the idea of McLovin' and the fun Red Mist doing something horrible is genuinely quite disturbing when you see it happen. We couldn't have got away with that with another actor. The minute we saw his performance, we were looking at each other and realised how good he was and what we could do with him in the future...."^[15][16] Mintz-Plasse said that when he first wore the Red Mist costume, he felt that it was entertaining and that he "looked so bad-ass." The actor sent photographs of himself in costume to his friends. Three weeks into the filming, Mintz-Plasse decided that the costume was not very comfortable and "a big pain in the ass." Mintz-Plasse wore the costume for 12 hours per filming day. Mintz-Plasse had to learn how to use a stick-shift in order to drive the Ford Mustang that is used in the film. Vaughn told Mintz-Plasse that the actor would have to pay for the car if he crashed it.^[17]
• Mark Strong as Frank D'Amico: The head of a criminal organization. Strong says he is drawn to playing the antagonist. He tries to "understand the purpose of the character", and then work on building a believable individual.^[18]
• Lyndsy Fonseca as Katie Deauxma: Dave's longtime crush and eventual girlfriend
• Michael Rispoli as Big Joe
• Kofi Natei as Rasul: A gang leader whom Dave (as Kick-Ass) fights until Hit-Girl arrives to kill the gang members.
• Yancy Butler as Angie D'Amico: Frank's wife and Chris' mother.
• Jason Flemyng as Lobby Goon: The building doorman.
• Elizabeth McGovern as Alice Lizewski
• Garret M. Brown as Mr. Lizewski
• Sophie Wu as Erika Cho: Katie's best friend.
• Dexter Fletcher as Cody
• Clark Duke and Evan Peters as Marty and Todd: Dave's two best friends.
• Xander Berkeley as Detective Victor "Vic" Gigante: A police officer working for D'Amico.
• Omari Hardwick as Sergeant Marcus Williams: Former partner of Damon Macready.
• Deborah Twiss as Mrs. Zane: Dave's English teacher.
• Stu "Large" Riley as Huge Goon: A bodyguard to the D'Amico family.
• Craig Ferguson as Himself
• John Romita, Jr. as Atomic Comics barista^[6]
• Hubert Boorder as Oscar Juarez
• Christopher McGuire as Diner Fight Guy #1
• Max White as Diner Fight Guy #2
• Dean Copkov as Diner Fight Guy #3
• Jacob Cartwright as Running Teenager
• Walle Jobara as Nervous Goon
• Kenneth Simmons as Scary Goon

Series-creator Millar, a native of Scotland, asked Scottish television children's-show host Glen Michael to make a cameo appearance^[19] although his role was cut from the film.^[20] Millar was also set to make a cameo as a Scottish alcoholic but the scene was cut from the film.^[6] WCBS-TV news reporters Maurice DuBois, Dana Tyler, and Lou Young make cameo appearances.

An image of Matthew Vaughn's wife, model Claudia Schiffer, appears prominently on a billboard poster.^[21][22]

Development

The rights to a film version of the comic book were sold before the first issue was published.^[23] Developed in parallel the film writers took a different story direction, to reach many of the same conclusions. Mark Millar acknowledges the differences, explaining that a comic usually has eight acts, while a film usually has a three act structure.^[14]

Vaughn notes that, "We wrote the script and the comic at the same time so it was a very sort of collaborative, organic process. I met [Millar] at the premiere of Stardust. We got on really well. I knew who he was and what he had done but I didn't know him. He pitched me the idea. I said, 'That's great!' He then wrote a synopsis. I went, 'That's great, let's go do it now! You write the comic, I'll write the script.'"^[24] Jane Goldman one of the screenwriters, said that when she works with Vaughn she does the "construction work" and the "interior designing" while Vaughn acts as the "architect."^[25]

“	With Kick-Ass, the book's just out and now the movie's out six weeks later. And I think that's the way things are going to go now, because to go to Marvel's B and C-list characters and try to get movies out [of] them; what's the point of that?	”
—Mark Millar[26]

Millar commented that screenwriters Goldman and Vaughn had made a "chick flick", having placed more emphasis on the character emotions, and particularly in having softened the character of Katie Deauxma.^[2] Millar stated that a film audience would have difficulty accepting Dave and Katie not being together, while a comic audience would more easily accept that idea.^[14] Frank Lovece of Film Journal International says that Katie is "much less Mean Girls" in the film than in the comic, and that the romance between Dave and Katie "proves a needed counterbalance to the otherwise pervasive sense of optimism being stripped away layer by layer, down below angry cynicism and headed straight down the hole to nihilism."^[27] Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times said "the romance provides an appealing backdrop that the more unnerving aspects of the film play out against."^[28] Other changes included having Red Mist be known to be a secret antagonist from the start, as well as making him less outright villainous, and D'Amico's mob initially thinking Kick-Ass is the one slaughtering their men.

In the original comic-book, Big Daddy was revealed to be not an ex-cop, but a former accountant who had been motivated to fight crime by a desire to escape from his life and by his love of comic books. In the film, his purported origin and motivations are genuine: writer Mark Millar considers that the revelation about Big Daddy's background would not have worked in the film adaptation, and would have "messed up the structure of the movie"^[29]

The comic's artist John Romita, Jr. stated that Big Daddy's story in the film "works better stopping short (...) You love him better in the film".^[30]

The climax to the film differs significantly from the comics, with the use of the jetpack and rocket launcher: Millar called this "necessary" as "we're building up so much stuff that we needed some Luke Skywalker blowing up the Death Star moment".^[29] Comic writer Stephen Grant argued that the film "cheated" on its premise of a 'real life' superhero by having these increasingly fantastic events and that this was "why it works. That's where much of the humor comes from... when the film finally makes the notion [the fantasy] explicit we're already so deep into the magician's act that our instinct is to play along".^[31]

Vaughn initially went to Sony, which distributed Layer Cake, but he rejected calls to tone down the violence. Other studios expressed interest but wanted to make the characters older.^[4] In particular studios wanted to change Hit-Girl's character into an adult.^[17] Goldman said that while studio executives said that it would be less offensive to portray Hit-Girl as a teenager, Goldman argued that it would have been more offensive since, as a teenager, Hit-Girl would have been sexualized. Goldman said that Hit-Girl was not supposed to be sexualized.^[13]

Vaughn had a little trouble adapting to film: the film had no studio. The big studios doubted the success of adaptation as a violent superhero, which made the film be independently financed, but this gave him the freedom to make the film the way he imagined, without having to worry about high-censorship. Vaughn believed enough in the project to raise the money himself.^[4] Christopher Mintz-Plasse, (Red Mist), said that the creators of the film were wondering whether a distributor would pick up the movie. On the set Vaughn jokingly referred to Kick-Ass as something that was going to be "the most expensive home movie I ever made."^[17]

The 2D/3D animated comic book sequence in the film took almost two years to finish. Romita created the pencils, Tom Palmer did the inks, and Dean White did the colours. Vaughn gave Romita a carte blanche on the art direction of the sequence.^[32]

Ratings

In an interview with Total Film, Aaron Johnson confirmed that the film stays true to the adult nature of the comic series by featuring a large amount of profanity and graphic violence. The film received an R rating by the MPAA for strong brutal violence throughout, pervasive language, sexual content, nudity and some drug use—some involving children, and it received a 15 rating from the BBFC.^[1][33] Director Matthew Vaughn felt the 15 certificate was about right and expressed some surprise at the film having received a "PG rating"[sic] in France.^[2]

Filming

Filming locations include Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; Dip 'N' Sip Donuts on Kingston Road,^[34] Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School,^{[citation needed]} and "many Toronto landmarks that play cameos";^[34] and various locations in the UK, including Elstree Studios.^[35] The opening sequence with Nicolas Cage was filmed in a sewage plant in East London.^[29]

The Atomic Comics store in the film is based on the real-life chain whose owner, Millar said, is a friend of artist John Romita Jr.'s.^[29] Miller asked Mike Malve for permission to use Atomic Comics in the film, and a model version of Atomic Comics was created at the London pilot studio for use in the filming.^[36]

Soundtrack

Main article: Kick-Ass: Music from the Motion Picture

Controversy

In January 2010, an uncensored preview clip of the film was attacked by family advocacy groups for its display of violence and use of the line "Okay you cunts, let's see what you can do now," delivered by Chloë Moretz, who was eleven years old at the time of filming. Australian Family Association spokesman John Morrissey claimed that "the language [was] offensive and the values inappropriate; without the saving grace of the bloodless victory of traditional superheroes".^[37] Several critics like Roger Ebert and the Daily Mail's Christopher Tookey accused the film of glorifying violence, particularly violence by young children,^[38] while Tookey also claimed Hit Girl was "made to look as seductive as possible".^[39] Tookey's view on Hit Girl was strongly criticised, with many commentators—including Andrew Collins, the film editor of Radio Times—wondering why he had found the character sexualised, causing him to claim he was a victim of cyber-bullying.^[40]

In response to the controversy, Moretz stated in an interview, "If I ever uttered one word that I said in Kick-Ass, I would be grounded for years! I'd be stuck in my room until I was 20! I would never in a million years say that. I'm an average, everyday girl."^[9] Moretz has said that while filming, she could not bring herself to say the film's title out loud in interviews, instead calling it "the film" in public and "Kick-Butt" at home.^[41] Christopher Mintz-Plasse expressed surprise that people were angry about the language, but did not seem to be offended that Hit-Girl kills many people.^[42]

Release

Box office performance

Film	Release date	Box office revenue			Box office ranking		Budget	Reference
	United States	United States	International	Worldwide	All time United States	All time worldwide
Kick-Ass	April 2010	$48,071,303	$48,117,600	$96,188,903	#1,272	Unknown	$30,000,000	[43]

The film earned over $12 million internationally in advance of opening in the United States.^[3][5] On its debut weekend in the United States, it took in $19.8 million in 3,065 theaters, averaging $6,469 per theater.^[5] Kick-Ass was reported #1, ahead of How to Train Your Dragon by $200,000, which was in its third week of release. On Saturday, April 17th, 2010, it fell down to #3 behind How To Train Your Dragon and Date Night. On Sunday, May 2nd, 2010, it fell down behind A Nighmare On Elm Street, How To Train Your Dragon, Furry Vengeance, The Back-Up Plan, Date Night, Clash Of The Titans and The Losers. These numbers for Kick-Ass's debut weekend gross included non-weekend earnings, as the film was previewed during the Thursday night prior to its release. This has led to the speculation that How to Train Your Dragon would have been No.1 for the weekend of 16 April had these earnings not been counted.^[44] The opening week numbers were considered by some analysts and the media to be a disappointment,^[45][46] though by others to be "fairly solid."^[47]

The film's final gross in the U.S. was $48,071,303 and $47,960,570 outside of the U.S.^[5]

Critical reception

Film	Rotten Tomatoes			Metacritic	Entertainment Weekly
	All Critics	Top Critics	Audience
Kick-Ass	76% (235 reviews)[48]	67% (39 reviews)[49]	83% (211,361 reviews)[50]	66/100 (38 reviews)[51]	B+[52]

The film proved popular with audiences and was met with generally positive reviews from critics. Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a rating of 76% based on 229 reviews, with an average score of 7.0/10.^[53] Rotten Tomatoes' selected top critics gave the film a rating of 85% based on 13 reviews.^[54] Metacritic assigned the film a score of 66%, based on a weighted average of 38 reviews from mainstream critics.^[55]

In the United Kingdom The Guardian gave the film extensive coverage by several of its critics and journalists.^[56] Peter Bradshaw gives the film 5/5 calling it an "explosion in a bad taste factory" and a "thoroughly outrageous, jaw-droppingly violent and very funny riff on the quasi-porn world of comic books; except that there is absolutely no 'quasi' about it."^[57] Philip French, writing for The Guardian's Sunday associate paper The Observer, called the film "relentlessly violent" with "the foulest mouthed child ever to appear on screen, [who makes] Louis Malle's Zazie sound like Cosette" and one "extremely knowing in its appeal to connoisseurs of comic strips and video games."^[22] David Cox, also from The Guardian, noted that the film "kicks the c-word into the mainstream...inadvertently dispatch[ing] our last big expletive."^[58]
Tim Robey of The Daily Telegraph did not like the film giving it just 1/5 and stated, "Matthew Vaughn's Kick Ass is hollow, glazed, and not quite there".^[59] Christopher Tookey of the Daily Mail warned, "Don't be fooled by the hype: This crime against cinema is twisted, cynical, and revels in the abuse of childhood".^[60] Chris Hewitt of Empire magazine gave the film 5/5 and declared it, "A ridiculously entertaining, perfectly paced, ultra-violent cinematic rush that kicks the places other movies struggle to reach. ... [T]he film's violence is clearly fantastical and cartoonish and not to be taken seriously."^[61]

International critics who enjoyed the film generally singled out its audacity, humour, and performance from Chloë Moretz. Peter Howell of the Toronto Star gave Kick-Ass a top rating, noting that the production "succeeds as a violent fantasy about our perilous and fretful times, where regular citizens feel compelled to take action against a social order rotting from within."^[62] USA Today critic Claudia Puig praised Moretz as "terrific...Even as she wields outlandish weaponry, she comes off as adorable."^[63] Manohla Dargis from The New York Times wrote, "Fast, periodically spit-funny and often grotesquely violent, the film at once embraces and satirizes contemporary action-film clichés with Tarantino-esque self-regard."^[64] Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a B+, but noted that "personally, I just wish that the film had ended up a bit less of an over-the-top action ride."^[65] In Film Journal International, former Marvel Comics writer Frank Lovece said the "delightfully dynamic" movie "actually improves on the comic by not metaphorically kicking in our hero's teeth ... and making him a sad-sack schmuck who was wrong about nearly everything." He found that, "Comedy-of-manners dry humor ... plays seamlessly amid scenes of stylized, off-camera mayhem."^[27]

Roger Ebert gave the film one out of four stars. He called the film "morally reprehensible", appalled by the violent scenes in which an eleven-year-old murders dozens of gang members and is then almost beaten to death by an adult man. "When kids in the age range of this movie's home video audience are shooting one another every day in America, that kind of stops being funny." The movie made that week's "Your Movie Sucks" list of one-star movies.^[38] Cinema Blend accused the film of simply rehashing ideas from older superhero films, saying, "It's a subject which has already been covered endlessly by other movies, but Matthew Vaughn's film seems completely unaware of this fact, and bulls its way onward as if it's discovered something new."^[66] Karina Longworth was also not impressed with the film's intended satire and themes: "Never as shocking as it thinks it is, as funny as it should be, or as engaged in cultural critique as it could be, Kick-Ass is half-assed."^[67]

Awards and nominations

Award	Category	Winner/Nominee	Result
Teen Choice Awards[68]	Choice Movie Actor: Action Adventure	Nicolas Cage	Nominated
	Choice Movie Villain	Christopher Mintz-Plasse	Nominated
	Choice Movie: Action Adventure	Kick-Ass	Nominated
	Choice Movie: Breakout Female	Chloe Moretz	Nominated
	Choice Movie: Breakout Male	Aaron Johnson	Nominated
People's Choice Award[69]	Favorite Action Movie	Kick-Ass	Nominated
The Comedy Awards	Comedy Film[70]	Kick-Ass	Nominated
	Comedy Actress – Film[71]	Chloe Moretz	Nominated
	Comedy Screenplay[72]	Kick-Ass	Nominated
	Comedy Director – Film[73]	Matthew Vaughn	Nominated
Empire Awards	Best Film	Kick-Ass	Nominated
	Best Actor	Aaron Johnson	Nominated
	Best Director	Matthew Vaughn	Nominated
	Best British Film	Kick-Ass	Won
	Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy	Kick-Ass	Nominated
	Best Newcomer (also for Let Me In)	Chloe Moretz	Won
IGN Awards [74]	Best Actress	Chloe Moretz	Won
	Best Comic-Book Adaptation	Kick-Ass	Won
	Best Blu-ray[75]	Kick-Ass	Won
MTV Movie Awards	Best Breakout Star[76]	Chloe Moretz	Won
	Biggest Badass Star[77]	Chloe Moretz	Won
	Best Fight[78]	Chloe Moretz vs. Mark Strong	Nominated
Young Artist Awards[79]	Best Performance in a Feature Film – Leading Young Actress	Chloe Moretz	Nominated
Critics' Choice Award[80]	Best Action Movie	Kick-Ass	Nominated
	Best Young Actor/Actress	Chloe Moretz	Nominated
Teen Choice Award[81]	Best Action/Adventure Film	Kick-Ass	Nominated
	Best Breakout Female	Chloe Moretz	Nominated
	Best Breakout Male	Aaron Johnson	Nominated
	Best Action/Adventure Actor	Nicolas Cage	Nominated
	Best Villain	Christopher Mintz-Plasse	Nominated

Home media

In an interview, Matthew Vaughn said, "There is about 18 minutes of [deleted] footage, which is really good stuff. If the film is a hit, I'll do an extended cut."^[82] The film was released on DVD and Blu-Ray on 3 August 2010 in North America.^[83] This version does not contain the aforementioned deleted content.^[84] Selling 1.4 million units within its first week, one-third of these in Blu-Ray format, Kick-Ass debuted at number one on the DVD sales chart.^[85][86] The discs were released in the United Kingdom on 6 September 2010.^[87]

Video games

Main article: Kick-Ass: The Game

The video game based on the movie was produced by WHA Entertainment and Frozen Codebase. It was released through the App Store on 15 April 2010 for iPhone and iPod Touch.^[88] The initial Apple platform releases were reportedly unfinished beta versions and were withdrawn from circulation pending a relaunch of a finished version.^[89] The game was released on PlayStation Network on 29 April 2010.^[88] Kick-Ass, Hit-Girl and Big Daddy are playable characters. The game features Facebook missions and integration.^[90] Both versions of the game received poor reviews.^[91]

Sequel

Director Matthew Vaughn has expressed interest in a sequel.^[2] Vaughn also said, "No, we're not [planning a sequel]. If it continues doing well, then we might but I just don't like counting my chickens before the eggs hatched."^[92] Moretz is enthusiastic about the idea of a sequel and said she would love to reprise the role of Hit-Girl.^[9] On 16 March 2010, Mark Millar said he would begin writing a sequel comic book in April.^[93]

On 9 April 2010, Millar revealed details for the second series, which he said would involve criminals taking on supervillain personae to counter the superheroes, and Hit-Girl trying to lead a normal life.^[94]

In a 31 August 2010 interview with Richard Bacon on BBC Radio 5 Live, Millar suggested that a sequel might have been given a go-ahead, speculating, "The estimate is [Kick-Ass] will do 100 to 150 million on DVD based on the American sales, you know, so it'll end up making a quarter of a billion on a 28 million investment. So it should be okay. So the sequel's green-lit, we can go ahead and do the follow up now, you know. The first made so much compared to what it cost it would be crazy not to."^[95]

In August 2010, Millar told MTV a sequel would be made and it would be called Kick-Ass: Balls 2 The Wall, though he admitted the earliest production could begin would be mid-2011.^[96]

On 5 April 2011, Jane Goldman said, "I don't think it's going to happen. At the moment, it's not in the works. We're all doing different things at the moment. We would love to do it again, but we've all been pulled in different directions." ^[97] On 24 May 2011, Vaughn said that he felt doing a sequel would be "crass".^[98] On 22 September 2011, Millar remarked that a sequel would be difficult to make. However, he also commented that "I obviously know more than I can say, but I think people will be pretty happy with the conversations we’ve been having". ^[99] On 16 October 2011, when asked about the sequel, Moretz replied "Maybe, I can't say anything, but a little bit of news is coming. Just something, something we got up our sleeves." ^[100] On 28 October, it was stated that the sequel will be announced soon. ^[101]

Differences between comic and film

While being based on the comic book, Kick-Ass had several notable differences than its comic inspiration.

• Kick-Ass has been shown to be the only character in the film with a similar costume to his comic book counterpart. All of the other main characters have different costumes in the film.^{[102][103][104]}

• Frank D'Amico is called John Genovese in the comic book.^[105] The name is taken from the Genovese crime family.

• In the film, when Big Daddy quizzes Hit-Girl, they are in the armory while Mindy plays with her new knife. In the book, he quizzes her on a communication device whilst she is killing gangsters in a bar, with him providing over-watch with a sniper rifle.^[106]

• In the film, Hit-Girl and Big Daddy track Kick-Ass home by re-routing his IP address. In the comic, they simply follow him home.^[106]

• Big Daddy is not actually an ex-cop in the comics, as he admits to Genovese and Dave shortly before his death. He was in fact an accountant who, much like Dave, fantasized about being a superhero. He made up a fake history of himself and lied that he was an ex-cop with a personal vendetta against John Genovese (Frank D'Amico). He also gets money for himself and Mindy by selling his rare comic books.^[107] His comic backstory is touched in the film by his use of comic terminology in the attempted execution scene.

• In the film, Big Daddy is killed by being burned and succumbing to his injuries. In the comic, he is shot in the nape (in a graphic depiction as the bullet exits through his left eye socket), shortly after he reveals that he was never a cop.

• When Kick-Ass is being tortured, he is not just beaten up like in the film, he has a car battery hooked up to his testes and is shocked extensively. The mobsters do not broadcast this torture session on the internet, as they do in the film.^[107]

• In the comic, Dave never becomes Katie's boyfriend; after he reveals that he was not gay, she calls him a pervert for pretending to be gay and orders her boyfriend to beat Dave. Afterwards, they send him a picture of Katie performing fellatio on her boyfriend. In the film, Katie forgives Dave for pretending that he was gay, realizing that Dave loves her, and she becomes his girlfriend.^[108]

• At the end of the comic when Red Mist is vowing his revenge against Kick-Ass, he is in fact writing an e-mail which he sends to him, as opposed to the film when he is just talking to himself.^[108]

• In the comic, Kick-Ass does not use a jetpack outfitted with machine guns during the climactic battle. In fact, he does not kill anyone at all (although he does seriously wound Red Mist's father by shooting him with a gun). Instead, he finds and pummels Red Mist with two large pieces of wood, while Hit-Girl kills everyone else.^[108]

See also

	Superhero fiction portal
	Comics portal
	Comedy portal
	Films portal

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Kick-Ass". British Board of Film Classification. 26 February 2010. http://www.bbfc.co.uk/website/Classified.nsf/0/468BAA2E2C8F4588802576D600411EEB?OpenDocument. Retrieved 10 April 2010. "Contains strong language, once very strong, & strong bloody comic violence" 
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Jonathan Ross, Matthew Vaughn. Jonathan Ross interviews Matthew Vaughn. http://timesonline.typepad.com/blockbuster_buzz/2010/03/kick-ass-video-chat-embed.html.  (Video)^{[dead link]}
3. ^ ^{a b} "Movie Kick-Ass". The Numbers. Nash Information Services. http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/2010/KCKAS.php. Retrieved 12 April 2010. 
4. ^ ^{a b c} Kit, Borys (15 August 2010). "Matthew Vaughn ready to 'Kick-Ass'". The Hollywood Reporter. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/matthew-vaughn-ready-kick-ass-117557. "Vaughn, however, is such a believer in the project that he raised the money for the $30 million indie project himself." 
5. ^ ^{a b c d} "Kick Ass (2010)". Box Office Mojo. Amazon.com. http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=kickass.htm. Retrieved 12 April 2010. 
6. ^ ^{a b c d} Ditzian, Eric (16 April 2010). "'Kick-Ass': Five Things You Need To Know". Viacom. Archived from the original on 23 January 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/5vxjtqyXg. 
7. ^ ^{a b c} Wallace, Lewis. "Hit Girl’s Revenge: The Kick-Ass Kids Are All Right." Wired. 16 April 2010. 1. Retrieved on 25 January 2011.
8. ^ KICK-ASS interview with Aaron Johnson & Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Red Mist) Balls To The Wall on YouTube (0:50 to 1:00) Movies Ireland. Retrieved on 23 January 2011.
9. ^ ^{a b c} Carroll, Larry (20 January 2010). "'Kick-Ass' Star Chloe Moretz Is One Of 10 To Watch In 2010". Archived from the original on 23 January 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/5vxkK8gTg. "Moretz: I would love to. I can't say anything about [the ending], but I would love to be Hit-Girl twice, three times, four times in my life." 
10. ^ "My Mother Allowed Me to Use the C-Word in Kick-Ass, Says thirteen-year-old Star Chloe Moretz". Daily Mail (UK). 31 March 2010. Archived from the original on 23 January 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/5vxkWOmOX. Retrieved 14 November 2010. 
11. ^ ^{a b} Day, Elizabeth (21 March 2010). WebCitation "Jane Goldman: Meet the screenwriter of the controversial new film Kick-Ass". The Guardian (UK). Archived from the original on 23 January 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/5vxl7FUhR WebCitation. Retrieved 23 January 2011. 
12. ^ ^{a b} Itzkoff, Dave (8 April 2010). "Just a Sweet Young Actress? $&@%# Right!". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/11/movies/11chloe.html. Retrieved 3 February 2011. 
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14. ^ ^{a b c} Sara Michelle Fetters (2 August 2009). "Mark Millar Kicks Ass and Writes Comics". Moviefreak.com.. http://www.moviefreak.com/artman/publish/interviews_markmillar.shtml. Retrieved 21 January 2011. 
15. ^ Millar, Mark. Kick-Ass: Creating the Comic, Making the Movie(Titan Books, 2010), ISBN 978-1-8485-6409-1
16. ^ Fischer, Russ (13 April 2010). "Millar talks Kick-Ass". Slash Film. http://www.slashfilm.com/mark-millar-talks-kick-ass-2/. Retrieved 28 January 2011. 
17. ^ ^{a b c} Hartlaub, Peter (13 April 2010). "From McLovin to a masked man in Kick-Ass". Houston Chronicle. http://blogs.chron.com/peep/2010/04/from_mclovin_to_a_masked_man_i_1.html. Retrieved 28 January 2011. "They wanted to change the Hit Girl character to be, like, 25 years old." 
18. ^ Truitt, Brian (23 April 2010). "Mark Strong can do a 'Kick-Ass' bad guy". USA TODAY (Gannett Co. Inc.). http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2010-04-22-markstrong22_ST_N.htm. 
19. ^ Lawrence, Edwin (10 October 2008). "From Ayrshire to Hollywood for Cavalcade legend". Ayrshire Post. http://www.ayrshirepost.net/ayrshire-news/local-news-ayrshire/ayr-news/2008/10/10/from-ayrshire-to-hollywood-for-cavalcade-legend-102545-21986750/. Retrieved 16 October 2008. 
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21. ^ http://io9.com/5519261/important-easter-eggs-to-look-for-while-watching-kick+ass Gawker Media
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23. ^ See notes by Millar in the comic. Issues 3. Quote: "As you read these words in early June, an official announcement should have been made on the movie, too, with the director name and a 2009 release date inked into the cinema schedule."
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33. ^ "Exclusive: Lauro Londe Talks Kick-Ass". http://www.totalfilm.com/features/exclusive-lauro-londe-talks-kick-ass. 
34. ^ ^{a b} t.o.night ("Toronto's Free Evening Newspaper"), Toronto, 22–24 July 2011, p. 9.
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38. ^ ^{a b} Ebert, Roger (14 April 2010). "Kick-Ass". Chicago Sun-Times. http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100414/REVIEWS/100419986/1023. Retrieved 17 April 2010.  "the Your Movie Sucks™ files". Roger Ebert's Journal. http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/your-movie-sucks.html. 
39. ^ Christopher Tookey (2 April 2010). "Don't be fooled by the hype: This crime against cinema is twisted, cynical, and revels in the abuse of childhood". Daily Mail (London). http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/reviews/article-1262948/Kick-Ass-Dont-fooled-hype--This-crime-cinema-twisted-cynical-revels-abuse-childhood.html. 
40. ^ Chris Tookey. "How I Fell Foul Of The Internet Lynch Mob". http://www.movie-film-review.com/devFilm.asp?ID=15578. 
41. ^ Synnot, Siobhan (24 March 2010). "What are little girls made of? Sugar and spice, punches and the odd four-letter word, when they're the surprise star of Kick-Ass.". The Scotsman (Edinburgh). http://news.scotsman.com/entertainment/-What-are-little-girls.6171794.jp. 
42. ^ White, Lucy. "Christopher Mintz-Passe: 60 Second interview", MetroHerald, 14 April 2010, p. 17 (Requires registration to view): "People are so angry at Chloe [Grace Moretz] for saying bad language but she murders a ton of people and no one seems to be offended by that."
43. ^ "Kick-Ass (2010)". Box Office Mojo. http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=kickass.htm. Retrieved 2011-08-18. 
44. ^ "Weekend Box Office Results for April 16–18, 2010". Box Office Mojo. Amazon.com. http://boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=2724&p=.htm. Retrieved 2 August 2010. "Kick-Ass distributor Lionsgate included the movie's 10 pm Thursday previews in the weekend gross, when, objectively, the weekend is Friday-Sunday." 
45. ^ Hoffman, Jordan (19 April 2010). "Why Did Kick-Ass Fail to Kick As Much Ass As Expected?". UGO Networks. http://www.ugo.com/movies/kick-ass-box-office. Retrieved 29 August 2010. 
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48. ^ "Kick-Ass". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1217700-kick_ass/. Retrieved 2011-08-18. 
49. ^ "Kick-Ass". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1217700-kick_ass/. Retrieved 2011-08-18. 
50. ^ "Kick-Ass". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1217700-kick_ass/. Retrieved 2011-08-18. 
51. ^ "Kick-Ass". Metacritic. CBS. http://www.metacritic.com/movie/kick-ass. Retrieved 2011-08-18. 
52. ^ "Kick-Ass Critics Reviews". Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20360874,00.html. Retrieved 2011-08-18. 
53. ^ "Kick-Ass Reviews". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1217700-kick_ass/. Retrieved 24 June 2010. "Consensus: Not for the faint of heart, Kick-Ass takes the comic adaptation genre to new levels of visual style, bloody violence, and gleeful profanity." 
54. ^ "Kick-Ass Reviews (Cream of the Crop)". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1217700-kick_ass/?critic=creamcrop. Retrieved 16 April 2010. 
55. ^ "Kick-Ass reviews at Metacritic.com:". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/kickass. Retrieved 18 April 2010. 
56. ^ "Kick-Ass: Britain's debt to American action films is underlined by this violent comedy about a superhero with no superpowers". The Guardian (UK). 12 March 2010. http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/movie/135252/kick-ass. Retrieved 10 April 2010. 
57. ^ Bradshaw, Peter (31 March 2010). "Kick-Ass: A hilarious, very violent black comedy puts a new twist on superheroics". The Guardian (UK). http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/mar/31/kick-ass-review-film. Retrieved 10 April 2010. 
58. ^ Cox, David (2 April 2010). "Kick-Ass kicks the c-word into the mainstream". The Guardian (UK). http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/filmblog/2010/apr/02/kick-ass-bad-language. Retrieved 10 April 2010. 
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60. ^ Tookey, Christopher (2 April 2010). "Don't Be Fooled by the Hype: This Crime Against Cinema is Twisted, Cynical, and Revels in the Abuse of Childhood". Daily Mail (UK). Archived from the original on 23 January 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/5vxkkZz0u. Retrieved 10 April 2010. 
61. ^ Hewitt, Chris. "Kick-Ass (review),". Empire. http://www.empireonline.com/reviews/reviewcomplete.asp?FID=135694. 
62. ^ Howell, Peter (15 April 2010). "Kick-Ass: A violent, five-alarm, four-star fantasy". The Star (Toronto). http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/movies/article/795714--kick-ass-a-violent-five-alarm-four-star-fantasy. Retrieved 19 April 2010. 
63. ^ Puig, Claudia (16 April 2010). "The real hero of 'Kick-Ass' is a little girl: Chloe Moretz". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/reviews/2010-04-16-kickass16_ST_N.htm. Retrieved 16 April 2010. 
64. ^ Dargis, Manohla (16 April 2010). "Movie Review: Kick-Ass (2010)". The New York Times. http://movies.nytimes.com/2010/04/16/movies/16kick.html. Retrieved 21 January 2011. 
65. ^ Gleiberman, Owen (15 April 2010). "Movie Review: Kick-Ass (2010)". Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20360874,00.html. Retrieved 21 January 2011. 
66. ^ Tyler, Josh. "Kick-Ass – Review". Cinema Blend. http://www.cinemablend.com/dvds/Kick-Ass-4546.html. Retrieved 12 April 2010. 
67. ^ Longworth, Karina (13 April 2010). "Kick-Ass, Faster Than a Speeding Internet". Village Voice. http://www.villagevoice.com/2010-04-13/film/kick-ass-faster-than-a-speeding-internet/. Retrieved 21 January 2011. 
68. ^ "Winners of "Teen Choice 2010" announced" (PDF). TeenChoiceAwards. 15 August 2010. http://www.teenchoiceawards.com/pdf/TC10-Winners.pdf. Retrieved 8 January 2010. 
69. ^ "People's Choice Award 2011". http://www.peopleschoice.com/pca/awards/nominees/index.jsp?year=2011. 
70. ^ The Comedy Awards – Best Film
71. ^ The Comedy Awards – Film Actress
72. ^ The Comedy Awards – Screenplay
73. ^ The Comedy Awards – Film Director
74. ^ "2010 IGN Award for Best Comic Book Adaptation". IGN. http://uk.bestof.ign.com/2010/movies/best-comic-book-adaptation.html. Retrieved November 13, 2011. 
75. ^ "2010 IGN Award for Best Blu-ray". IGN. http://uk.movies.ign.com/summer-awards/2010/best-blu-ray.html. Retrieved November 13, 2011. 
76. ^ MTV Movie Awards – Best Breakout Star
77. ^ MTV Movie Awards – Biggest Badass Star
78. ^ MTV Movie Awards – Best Fight
79. ^ 32nd Annual Yount Artist Awards – Nominations
80. ^ 16th Annual BFCA Critics' Choice Movie Awards
81. ^ 2010 Teen Choice Awards
82. ^ Wigler, Josh (15 April 2010). "'Kick-Ass' Deleted Scenes... Revealed!". MTV (Viacom). http://splashpage.mtv.com/2010/04/15/kick-ass-deleted-scenes/. 
83. ^ McAnulty, Nick (3 August 2010). "Sometimes being a hero takes more than leaping off of tall buildings". MTV Canada. CTVglobemedia. http://www.mtv.ca/moviehead/article.jhtml?id=27628. Retrieved 29 August 2010. 
84. ^ Marshall, Rick (7 June 2010). "EXCLUSIVE: 'Kick-Ass' DVD & Blu-Ray Specs Revealed, Plus A Special Feature Sneak Peek!". MTV. Viacom. http://splashpage.mtv.com/2010/06/07/kick-ass-dvd-blu-ray-specs-plus-a-special-feature-sneak-peek/. 
85. ^ Boorstin, Julia (23 August 2010). "Lionsgate's Blockbuster defense vs. Icahn". CNBC. http://www.cnbc.com/id/38821668. Retrieved 29 August 2010. 
86. ^ ""Kick-Ass" debuts at number one on the DVD sales chart". HollywoodNews.com. 12 August 2010. http://www.hollywoodnews.com/2010/08/12/kick-ass-debuts-at-number-one-on-the-dvd-sales-chart/. Retrieved 29 August 2010. 
87. ^ "Exclusive – Kick-Ass Concept Art". Syfy. http://www.syfy.co.uk/blog/exclusive-kick-ass-concept-art. Retrieved 29 August 2010. 
88. ^ ^{a b} "WHA Entertainment Launches Kick-Ass for Apple iPhone, iTouch, and iPad". IGN. 16 April 2010. http://wireless.ign.com/articles/108/1084199p1.html. Retrieved 19 April 2010. 
89. ^ Hearn, Rob (18 April 2010). "Kick-Ass iPhone game suffers early criticism, gets pulled from the App Store". Pocket Gamer. http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/iPhone/Kick-Ass/news.asp?c=20018. Retrieved 19 April 2010. 
90. ^ "PlayStation Network, iPhone Getting A Kick-Ass Game". http://kotaku.com/5477740/playstation-network-iphone-getting-a-kick+ass-game.  Kick-Ass movie game – iPhone / PlayStation 3 ( PS3 PSN ) – Hit-Girl gameplay official debut trailer on YouTube
91. ^ "Kick-Ass PlayStation 3". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/ps3/kickass. Retrieved 15 August 2010. 
92. ^ "Kick-Ass Sequel Delayed". Sky movies. 6 April 2010. http://movies.sky.com/kick-ass-sequel-delayed. Retrieved 6 April 2010. 
93. ^ "Millar talks up Kick-Ass 2". Total Film. http://www.totalfilm.com/news/millar-talks-up-kick-ass-2. 
94. ^ "Kick-Ass 2 Movie Interview". IGN. 9 April 2010. http://movies.ign.com/dor/objects/32667/kick-ass-2/videos/MarkMillar_KickAss2.html.  (Video)
95. ^ Connelly, Brendon (31 August 2010). "Millar Says Kick-Ass 2 Has Been Greenlit, Tony Scott Is 'Going After' Johnny Depp and Brad Pitt". BleedingCool.com. http://www.bleedingcool.com/2010/08/31/millar-says-kick-ass-2-has-been-greenlit-tony-scott-is-going-after-johnny-depp-and-brad-pitt/.  includes transcription of portion of radio interview.
96. ^ "EXCLUSIVE: 'Kick-Ass 2' Preview, Mark Millar Says Production On Movie Sequel Is 'Nine Months Away'". MTV. http://splashpage.mtv.com/2010/08/31/kick-ass-2-comic-preview-mark-millar. 
97. ^ http://www.reelzchannel.com/movie-news/9823/kick-ass-screenwriter-says-sequel-may-not-happen/
98. ^ "Why The Kick-Ass 2 Movie Probably Won’t Ever Happen". Bleeding Cool. http://www.bleedingcool.com/2011/05/24/why-the-kick-ass-2-movie-probably-wont-ever-happen/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+BleedingCool+%28Bleeding+Cool+Comic+News+%26+Rumors%29. 
99. ^ "Mark Millar Offers Kick-Ass 2 Update". Superhero Hype. http://www.superherohype.com/news/articles/168458-mark-millar-offers-kick-ass-2-update-. 
100. ^ "Chloe Moretz Says Expect Kick-Ass 2 News Soon". ComicBookMovie.com. http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/JakeLester/news/?a=48324&t=Chloe_Moretz_Says_Expect_iKick-Ass_2i_News_Soon. 
101. ^ "Kick Ass Sequel “About To Be Announced”". Bleeding Cool. http://www.bleedingcool.com/2011/10/28/kick-ass-sequel-about-to-be-announced-and-more-from-millarworld/. 
102. ^ Mark Millar (w), John Romita, Jr. (p), Tom Palmer (i). Kick-Ass 1 (July 2008), Icon Comics
103. ^ Mark Millar (w), John Romita, Jr. (p), Tom Palmer (i). Kick-Ass 4 (October 2008), Icon Comics
104. ^ Mark Millar (w), John Romita, Jr. (p), Tom Palmer (i). Kick-Ass 5 (February 2009), Icon Comics
105. ^ Mark Millar (w), John Romita, Jr. (p), Tom Palmer (i). Kick-Ass 3 (September 2008), Icon Comics
106. ^ ^{a b} Mark Millar (w), John Romita, Jr. (p), Tom Palmer (i). Kick-Ass 6 (February 2009), Icon Comics
107. ^ ^{a b} Mark Millar (w), John Romita, Jr. (p), Tom Palmer (i). Kick-Ass 7 (October 2009), Icon Comics
108. ^ ^{a b c} Mark Millar (w), John Romita, Jr. (p), Tom Palmer (i). Kick-Ass 8 (1 March 2010), Icon Comics

External links

• Official website
• Kick-Ass's channel on YouTube
• Kick-Ass at the Internet Movie Database
• Kick-Ass at AllRovi
• Kick-Ass at Box Office Mojo
• Kick-Ass at Rotten Tomatoes
• Kick-Ass at Metacritic