KICK-ASS Comic vs Movie Character Comparison

I like Mark Millar, however I don't think I like Millar as much as he likes himself. This guy has a huge personality. It is this personality which leads to the unabashed changes that some movie exec probably forced on this story. I am sure that Millar was more than willing to bastardize any part of his work to ensure that it made it to the silver screen. Just look at Wanted if you need further proof. At any rate and hopefully without any spoilers I wanted to take a moment to compare the comic characters with the movie versions of said characters.

I want to make the point that I am not in love with the comic or the movie versions. Both had strengths and weaknesses separate from each other, so I don't intend for this to sound like I prefer one medium over the other.

DAVE LIZEWSKI

The Comic version of Kick Ass is a younger much nerdier version of his Movie counterpart. Comic Dave gets points for not cutting out a mouth hole in his costume. What costume designer though this was a good idea? I can imagine the brainstorming session behind this one. "Well what if Kick ass needs to eat a snickers for in movie advertising?" More likely that Kick Ass would need to give a blow job to a homeless person, but whatever. The Movie version of Dave also departed from his 'comic book roots'. Movie Dave spent more money on posters of girls and coffee than comic books. Frankly if both versions of Dave existed, the Movie version would be too cool to hang with the Comic version. In addition, I didn't get the vibe that Movie Dave was all that interested in comics in the first place. It doesn't take an extreme nerd to know who Steve Ditko is, just an asshole with an internet connection. Movie Dave isn't all bad though. He does fair better socially than Comic Dave and isn't nearly as hopeless. However, in the frame of the story, Dave is supposed to be utterly pathetic.

Verdict: COMIC

BIG DADDY

This is one instance where my preconceived opinion weighs heavily. Nic Cage sucks. He sucks bad. Really bad. Unfortunately for us, Mr. Cage just got off the the set of Mrs. Swanson's second grade production of Rapunzel, where he used up all his acting ability. Well anyway that's the type of productions he should be allowed into. Not only is this character completely destroyed due to the film changes, but Cage takes any semblance of acting and shits all over it. If you think back to the best movies you have seen Nic Cage in, you will realize that an extremely strong actor is always blocking his terrible performance. Unfortunately for us, Chloe Moretz isn't strong enough to save this one. Big Daddy in the comic was not only better in design and personality; his back story was much more entertaining. Fuck you Nic Cage.

Verdict: COMIC

HIT GIRL

This is one character who was awesome in both iterations. Sure I think the Movie version was a little too old and I liked John Romita Jr.'s costume better, but overall she got a great treatment. The movie version was well performed by Chloe Moretz. I prefer some of the dialogue from the comic, but the changes to this character were slim and at least she was around 90% of the time Nic Cage was on-screen to reduce that pain. I loved that her dialogue was so vulgar and that she didn't shy away from saying cock and cunt. If only she said her memorable line after the final fight "I need a hug, my...".

Verdict: DRAW

RED MIST

The Red Mist received a ton of back story that the Comic version failed to have. It will be interesting to see how this pans out considering the story is supposed to be part of a trilogy. I mean, will Millar whore out and adapt the Movie back story or keep the open Comic version and take a different route? He already allowed the character to get changed to a whiny snot nosed kid, so my hopes aren't high. The mystery behind the Red Mist was completely spoiled in the Movie adaptation and when the Comic character finally develops, it is a much more rewarding experience. Extra points are lost here for the costume choice. I mean John Romita Jr. gave the costume designer gold and they turned it into crap. I particularly liked the cavalier manner Red Mist exhibited in the Comic; which translated less than successfully to the silver screen. The anime inspired Red Mist is a weak reflection of the Comic version's potential.

Verdict: COMIC

KATIE DEAUXMA

Not much needs to be said about Katie Deauxma. She was just the hot girl in the Comic and she was little more in the Movie. It is funny that she managed to 'settle' on the nerdy guy and then welcome him with open arms at the moment of confession. I loved how in the Comic, Katie takes pity on the 'gay prostitute' and forms a friendship. The rumors in the Movie weren't as strong and didn't ring true for the character's motivation. I particularly like how Katie is the kind of girl who would be happy to text a picture of herself giving a blow job to her boyfriend in the Comic, but donates time at a methadone clinic in the Movie.

Verdict: DRAW

JOHN GENOVESE (COMIC) / FRANK D'AMICO (MOVIE)

John Genovese aka Frank D'Amico is the main villain in our tale and as such is portrayed by Mark Strong. I loved Mark Strong's performance in Revolver as the cool assassin and his performance in this film was excellent as well. I particularly love the scene where Frank confronts Kick-Ass in the alleyway. Pure genius. The Comic version of Frank was great too, but Mark Strong added a lot to this character and I think his performance speaks for itself. Maybe if Strong would have had a full head of hair he could have more closely matched the Comic version, but in this case I think the casting director nailed it.

Verdict: MOVIE

So there you have it MOVIE: 3 - COMIC: 5 Not too bad all things considered.


I give the Kick-Ass Movie 125 out of 144 pages.