Kick-Ass (comics) - Characters

Characters

Dave Lizewski / Kick-Ass: A sixteen-year old comic book lover who, despite his lack of super-powers, minimal fighting ability and very limited training, is inspired by his boredom and feelings of emptiness to become a real life superhero. He buys a wetsuit on eBay and patrols the street in search of crime. After an unsuccessful attempt at stopping a group of graffiti artists gets him beat up, stabbed and run over, he spends a long period of time at the hospital where he has many operations including having metal plates placed inside his head. Despite this unfortunate start to being a real life superhero, he finds it too exciting to give up and upon his recovery he starts up again. When he eventually manages to successfully defend a guy being attacked by a group of thugs, his actions are filmed and posted on YouTube. Kick-Ass becomes an overnight celebrity, eventually inspiring more people to become superheroes. Although Dave is portrayed as naive and not particularly strong or athletic, he displays a great deal of courage and determination despite going through a huge amount of physical pain throughout the story. His only unusual ability is a relatively high tolerance to physical blows, due to both damaged nerve endings and the metal plates in his chest. He is portrayed by Aaron Johnson in the film adaptation.

Millar said that Kick-Ass "is probably as related to me as George Costanza was to Larry David, which is that all the worst aspects I remember from my memory I have taken and shoved into the story and then exaggerated them." Millar explained "the core is definitely there. Our backgrounds are really similar. The family setup is similar. All that is exactly the same. The only thing I didn't do was make the costume. I planned to. I went to karate and bodybuilding. My friend and I were absolutely going to do it. The one big difference between us is that Dave had the balls to put on the suit, and I didn't."

McCready / Big Daddy (given name unrevealed in the comic): Appears in Kick-Ass issue #4. A professional crimefighter, he has been training his daughter Hit-Girl to become a lethal vigilante. He himself is quite adept at firearms though most of the missions shown to the reader are mainly accomplished by Hit-Girl, with Big Daddy providing armed support as a sniper. In issue # 6, it is revealed that he and his daughter have been living on the run for years under many false identities, and that Big Daddy claims to be an ex-cop eager to avenge his wife's murder by the mob, a "secret origin" that Kick-Ass compares to Frank Castle's. In issue # 7, it is revealed that Big Daddy, actually a comic geek just like Dave (who funded his operations by selling mint issues of comics on eBay), has lied about his origin, was never a cop, and has trained his daughter to fight crime so she would be "different" and "special".

In the film adaptation, Big Daddy is played by Nicolas Cage. His full name is given as Damon MacCready, and Cage's portrayal of the character is much more eccentric and funny than the comic. His costume also differs from the comic, described in the dialogue as resembling Batman's, and his purported origin as an ex-cop (and consequentially his motives for fighting crime) are genuine, but the comic Big Daddy's love of comics is still referenced in his drawing abilities and the use of comic references for tactical maneuvers. He is shown to be as effective as Hit-Girl, brutally accomplishing at least one mission by himself and possibly several more. Writer Mark Millar considers that the plot twist regarding Big Daddy's background would not have worked in the film adaptation, and would have "messed up the structure of the movie".

Mindy McCready / Hit-Girl: Debuts in Kick-Ass #3. Big Daddy's daughter, said in issue # 6 to be "age 10 and 1/4". A lethal martial artist and weapons expert, she has been trained to fight crime practically since her childhood. As she and her father are constantly on the run, Hit-Girl's upbringing and social life have been limited to her training and crime fighting. Unlike Kick-Ass, Hit-Girl is depicted as a very effective superhero, but saw that Dave had potential, while Dave describes her as resembling a mix between John Rambo and Polly Pocket. Hit-Girl has been convinced by Big Daddy that she is out to avenge her mother. She longs for her father and her to have a normal life as a "regular family" once her mother has been avenged. Artist John Romita, Jr. commented about the character: "I think what's so badass is, how can a little girl become such a force? And I likened it to parents that turn their kids into super athletes. Even against their own will. They become unconscious athletes, almost to a fault. They become hardened. It kind of works the same way." In the film adaptation, Mindy is played by Chloë Grace Moretz, and as Hit-Girl, she wears a purple wig.

Chris Genovese / Red Mist: Appears in his real identity (unnamed) in issue #4, as Red Mist in issue #5. They are revealed to be the same person in issue # 7. Red Mist is initially presented as a superhero inspired by Kick-Ass. While Kick-Ass is initially jealous of the media attention that Red Mist receives, he quickly befriends him after they meet. While wealthy enough to afford a car known as the "Mistmobile", Red Mist shows no evidence of battle prowess, his crime fighting techniques being limited to calling the cops and directing them to crime operations. Red Mist is later revealed as a traitor. Chris Genovese is actually the son of mafia boss John Genovese: eager to win his father's esteem, he has been setting up a trap to capture Big Daddy and Hit-Girl. He also shows a deep loathing of Kick-Ass and revels in seeing him tortured. A comic-book fan himself, Chris genuinely enjoys the experience of masquerading as Red Mist, and finally he identifies himself as a supervillain, wearing another costume. In the film adaptation, Chris is played by Christopher Mintz-Plasse, unlike in the comics, the fact that Red Mist is the Mafia boss' son and not a genuine heroic character is revealed to the audience from the beginning; his costume has some shades of black, instead to be totally red, and wears a wig like Hit-Girl. Chris is also portrayed as a much more sympathetic and less mysterious character in the film, who actually likes Kick-Ass and is upset when his father decides to torture and kill him, rather than take pleasure in it.

John Genovese (also known as Johnny G): An Italian-American New York crime boss. Appears in Kick-Ass #3. Although he finds it difficult to take them seriously, Genovese is bewildered and incensed that his operations are being disturbed by people costumed as superheroes. In the film adaptation, the character is renamed Frank D'Amico, and played by Mark Strong. While in the comic-book, Genovese finds Kick-Ass merely ridiculous and correctly identifies Big Daddy and Hit-Girl as the source of his problems, D'Amico in the film develops an obsessive hatred for Kick-Ass. The film depicts D'Amico as being quite athletic and adept at martial arts, a trait not featured in the comic.

Katie Deauxma: A 16-year-old old high-school classmate of Dave's and his longtime crush. She initially does not like him and believes he is a stalker. After Dave is beaten up and found naked she believes rumors that he is gay and wants to take care of him and make him her "gay best friend". When Dave admits he is not gay, she has her boyfriend beat up Dave and later sends a picture to Dave's phone of her performing oral sex on her boyfriend. In the film adaptation, Katie (played by Lyndsy Fonseca) forgives Dave for pretending he was gay and starts a relationship with him.

James Lizewski: Dave's father. He becomes worried about the behavior of his son.