In February of 2008, the first issue of Kick-Ass was released. Once again, Mark Millar crafts a brutally, bloody origin story for an awesome new superhero – however, Dave Lizewski is unlike any other hero seen in comics before. Why’s that? For starters, he isn’t exactly “super.” Whereas Wanted lampooned the vastly populated universes of superpowered characters that readers have grown accustomed to in comics, Kick-Ass is firmly grounded in reality. Superpowers solely exist within comics and movies. In this comic, there are no caped men jumping off rooftops; and if they do, they promptly plummet to their death. Dave Lizewski isn’t bit by a radioactive spider or exposed to gamma radiation – he just kinda, goes for it…
Like most other 15 year-old comic book geeks, Lizewski is bored by his high school experience, wishing his life was more like the just, morally righteous world that exists in superhero comics. At last, he poses the question: “Why do people want to be Paris Hilton and nobody wants to be Spider-Man?” So he dons a scuba suit as a makeshift costume, taking the streets as… Kick-Ass. Get it? And it’s not long before he receives a harsh reality check. In the last pages of issue 1, Kick-Ass engages a couple of criminals for the first time, only to be beaten, stabbed, and inadvertently plowed by a moving vehicle.Â
The unabashedly perverse, violent action you’ve come to associate with Mr. Millar is on full display from the very first issue. With compelling characters, John Romita Jr.’s terrifically vibrant visuals, and an irreverently sardonic take on the superhero genre, Mark Millar always had sights on the big screen. In fact, Kick-Ass the film was developed concurrently with the writing of the comic book, as Matthew Vaughn‘s directorial effort was released in April 2010, just two months after the final issue of its comic book counterpart.
Though the film is as faithful an adaptation as comic fans could hope for, there are a few understandable alterations. Like Wanted – some of the more uncanny, nihilistic elements from the comic are omitted from the film. Millar even subtly addresses his own feelings on comic book adaptations in the very first pages of Kick-Ass. Dave and his friends argue over some of the decisions made in comic book movies that only fanboys obsess over – particularly singling out Galactus’ depiction as a massive dust cloud (rightfully so) and the viability of Peter Parker’s web-shooters. Though Dave is an admitted comic book fan, he himself says, “What works on the page doesn’t always work on the screen.” After learning this lesson firsthand with the development of Wanted, it’s clear that, beginning with Kick-Ass, Millar started to consider more than ever before how his comics would be adapted for the screen.
The film served as the introduction for many to Aaron Taylor-Johnson; his whiny, nasally take on an American teenager not only masks the actor’s British accent completely, but it also helped to evoke a sense of relentless neuroticism that wasn’t there in the comics. Perhaps overshadowing the film’s star,  Chloë Grace Moretz‘s portrayal of Hit-Girl was one of the most satisfying elements of the film. The film even caused some controversy upon it’s release because of the four-letter “c-word” said by the (at the time) 11 year-old Moretz. Last but not least, Nicolas Cage turned in one of his best performances in years with the role of Big Daddy, reminding movie-goers that he is indeed a real actor capable of real entertainment.
The sequel, however, didn’t exactly recapture the magic of the original. After Matthew Vaughn decided to adapt a different Mark Millar comic as his next film, Jeff Wadlow wrote and directed Kick-Ass 2 in his stead. While the first film served as a breath of fresh air that perfectly strayed the line between parody and homage to the superhero genre, the sequel tries to up the ante in both regards, yet fails in the process. The loss of Nicolas Cage, believe it or not, is felt throughout. Big Daddy’s relationship to Hit-Girl – the heart of the first film – doesn’t have a proper successor here; instead the Kick-Ass/Hit-Girl relationship unfortunately takes a romantic turn that never really makes any sense. And the addition of Jim Carrey to the cast was probably intended to fill the loss felt by Cage, but he isn’t given much to do as Colonel Stars and Stripes, notwithstanding the comments Carrey made before the film’s release, in which he stated “in all good conscience I cannot support that level of violence.”
In short, Kick-Ass 2 does not live up to the original, nor is it a more entertaining film than the first Millar adaptation, Wanted. Though his work has become identified with bloody, bone-breaking carnage, Mark Millar’s writing also has a ton of heart. In his comics, Mark’s use of violence helps to subverts readers’ expectations; whether it’s the relationships between the characters, or his propensity for honoring past superhero canon, Millar’s comics are not mindless or nihilistic.
Writer/Director Jeff Wadlow apparently tried too hard to replicate the trademark sardonic voice that Millar is known for. The first Kick-Ass received a 76% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, whereas the sequel received a measly 30%. Kick-Ass 2 is peppered with potentially-offensive jokes involving racism, sexism, homophobia, rape, incest, and even features an action scene at a funeral. Though Millar is never one to shy away from offensive material (the funeral scene is in the comic, as well as an even more horrific scenes of violence that was toned down for the film), the film seems to push the boundaries simply with the intention of offending its viewers, rather than subverting the very reasons why someone might actually be offended. Kick-Ass 2 in some ways is a prime example of why comics and films are two distinctly different media that should be treated as such. Luckily, the next Millar adaptation would be much more successful with fans both new and old.
