Kick-Ass (film): Difference between revisions

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A 2010 action-comedy co-distributed by [[Lionsgate]] (in North America) and [[Universal|Universal Pictures]] (internationally), based on the comics by [[Mark Millar]] and John Romita Jr. Our page on the comic is [[Kick-Ass (comics)|here.]]

 

Along the way, it manages to brutally [[Deconstruction|deconstruct]] pretty much every superhero trope out there in an attempt to (somewhat) realistically answer the question, "What would happen if someone with no special powers tried to be a superhero?" [[Decon Recon Switch|And promptly brutally reconstructs it with a vengeance halfway through.]]

 

* [[Action Girl]]: Hit-Girl.

* [[Adorkable]]: Dave is the picture of the well-meaning and kind-hearted dork next door. Even when beaten up. Red Mist also applies, even when surrounded by mafia thugs.

** In addition, Dave's "fighting style" is meant to be hilariously awkward and dorky, as opposed to the way Big Daddy and Hit-Girl fight.

* [[Anti-Villain]]: Barely, but {{spoiler|Red Mist tries to root out Kick-Ass to see if he's screwing with his father's business, but otherwise, just wants to have friends with the same interests and is a nice guy, besides the whole "I wanna be a Mafia don" thing. He's obviously torn up when the Mafia's going to execute him, anyway.}}

* [[Apathetic Citizens]]: The reason Dave becomes a superhero is because he greatly dislikes this trope. Dave goes out of his way to point out that standing by and doing nothing while evil is going on is a ''bad thing.''

* [[Armor Is Useless]]:

** [[Defied Trope|Defied]] with Mindy/Hit-Girl {{spoiler|and her [[Bulletproof Vest]]}}.

** Big Daddy as well. When he's raiding the mob warehouse, his armor deflects '''everything.'''

* [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking]]:

* [[Ascended Fanboy]]: Kick-Ass and Red Mist. {{spoiler|Red Mist even more so at the end.}}

* [[Authority Equals Asskicking]]: Pretty much - [[The Mafia|mob boss]] Frank D'Amico can hold his ground in a fight and {{spoiler|even has Hit-Girl at his mercy before she is saved by a bazooka-wielding Kick-Ass}}.

* [[Badass Adorable]]: Hit-Girl.

* [[Badass Boast]]: Kick-Ass tries this when confronting Rasul. It doesn't work.

* [[Badass Family]]:

** Hit-Girl and Big Daddy.

** Inverted with Kick-Ass and his dad, who notes that they're both pretty pathetic, if well-meaning.

** Red Mist and Frank... kind of. Red Mist [[I Just Want to Be Badass|just wants to be badass]] and Frank just wants Big Daddy out of his hair. To Frank's credit, he knows karate, and {{spoiler|Red Mist turns into a supervillain at the end.}}

* [[Bald of Evil]]: Frank D'Amico.

* [[Based on a Great Big Lie]]: {{spoiler|Averted with Big Daddy, unlike the comic.}}

* [[Big Damn Heroes]]:

** The first time Kick-Ass tries it, he's nearly killed. The second time, he barely manages to hold off the thugs. The final BDH moment is played perfectly straight ''and'' is a [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]].

** Also played straight by Hit-Girl. Twice. Once when {{spoiler|Kick-Ass is about to be sliced open by Razul}}, and again when {{spoiler|he and Big Daddy are just about to be set ablaze by Frank D'Amico's men.}}

* [[Big No]]: {{spoiler|Big Daddy}} lets out two of them when {{spoiler|Hit-Girl is shot by Red Mist}}. Later, {{spoiler|Hit-Girl}} yells one when {{spoiler|Big Daddy is burning to death}}.

* [[Blatant Lies]]: Frank's bodyguard insists to his boss that everything is under control... while retrieving {{spoiler|a bazooka to kill Hit Girl}}. Red Mist immediately calls him out on it.

** Later, Frank D'Amico is {{spoiler|blown out the window of his office by Kick-Ass wielding a bazooka.}}

** At some theaters the ticket stubs for the film read, "KICK-A** ". This has caused some to dub the movie, [[Incredibly Lame Pun|"Kick-Ass-Terisks."]]

* [[Brought to You by The Letter "S"]]: Hit-Girl and Big Daddy have their HG and BD on their belt buckles and Red Mist has a red "M" on his chest.

* [[Bulletproof Vest]]: Used by Mindy/Hit-Girl and Big Daddy.

* [[The Cameo]]: [[Stan Lee]] is watching the news in a montage. It's extremely easy to miss.

* [[Captain Ersatz]]: Big Daddy is essentially [[Batman]] With Guns. Nicholas Cage channels [[Adam West]] and [[William Shatner]]. And [[Elvis Presley]]. His costume resembles the [[Watchmen (film)|film version of Nite Owl II]].

* [[Cat Up a Tree]]: Well, more like a billboard, but still. [[Epic Fail|It wasn't even stuck. And Dave fails at getting it.]]

* [[Catholic School Girls Rule]]: One of Hit-Girl's costumes, which she uses to sneak into the D'Amico's headquarters.

* [[Charles Atlas Superpower]]: Big Daddy and Hit-Girl (in particular) are capable of crazy stunts and incredible exploits by virtue of good ol' training and perseverance. Hit Girl is one of the few believable versions of this trope. She weighs like 50 pounds; it is within reason that she can do a wall-run. Of course, then there's the part where she slices a man's leg off with a single swipe, but we'll give that to [[Rule of Cool]].

* [[Cool Car]]: The Mist-mobile. It even had a [[Vanity License Plate|personalized license plate]]!

* [[Corruption of a Minor]]: Big Daddy's methods of raising Hit Girl certainly qualify as this.

* [[Cowboy Cop]]: {{spoiler|Big Daddy is a maverick ex-cop who doesn't play by the rules. When he ''was'' a cop however, he was apparently by-the-books.}}

* [[Create Your Own Villain]]: {{spoiler|Kick-Ass [[You Killed My Father|kills Chris D'Amico's father]], turning a revenge-bent teenager into the world's first costumed supervillain.}}

* [[Dangerously Genre Savvy]]: {{spoiler|Chris D'Amico uses his knowledge of superhero tropes to come up with plans that are far more effective against the main characters than anything Frank can think up.}}

* [[Darkened Building Shootout]]: With Hit-Girl using [[Night Vision Goggles]].

* [[Dead Baby Comedy]]/[[Black Comedy]]: How else are you going to make a 9-year old girl brutally murdering a roomful of people watchable? See also [[Soundtrack Dissonance]]. This, unsurprisingly, didn't fly well with some film critics.

** Examples of this trope appear all over this page, but in addition, there's at least one that doesn't fit well into any more specific trope:

'''Big Daddy:''' That's because I used low velocity rounds, child... }}

* [[Death by Origin Story]]: Subverted, parodied and lampshaded with {{spoiler|Dave's mother (she dies from an aneurysm during breakfast)}}, played straight with {{spoiler|Hit-Girl's mother and Big Daddy's wife (she kills herself with a drug overdose while her husband is in jail and she is pregnant with Hit-Girl)}}. Also, it could be argued that {{spoiler|Frank D'Amico is this to Red Mist the supervillain}}.

* [[Decon Recon Switch]]: The first half of the movie is a deconstruction (superheroes don't exist in [[Real Life]] because if anyone tried it, they'd be killed on day one) and the second half is a reconstruction (... but if they somehow survived, they would indeed be completely awesome!) of the superhero genre.

* [[Deconstruction]]: What ''[[Zombieland]]'' is to zombie movies, this is to superhero movies, so shut up, [[Title Drop|kick ass]].

* [[Destination Defenestration]]: {{spoiler|In the end, Frank D'Amico is blown through a penthouse window by a bazooka-toting Kick-Ass.}}

* [[Disability Superpower|Disability]]/[[Coconut Superpowers]]: Kick-Ass' high pain threshold because of nerve damage. Apart from being a nice [[Hand Wave]] explanation for the amount of beating he can take, it's highly budget-saving.

* [[Dissonant Serenity]]: Some of Hit-Girl's fighting scenes are set to rather pleasant music. The effect is quite jarring.

* [[Dogged Nice Guy]]: Dave is this trope personified.

* [[The Don]]: Frank D'Amico is a near-classic [[The Mafia|mafioso]] crime lord.

* [[Enfant Terrible]]: Although not evil, Hit-Girl is still sadistic enough to fall under this category.

* [[Enter Stage Window]] - Dave, before confessing to Katie he's Kick-Ass. This gets him his ass kicked by a surprised Katie.

* [[Epic Fail]]: Dave's first outing as a superhero. He gets knifed by hoodlums, then run over by a car, and then [[Mistaken for Gay|mistaken for a boywhore]]. Also, his attempt to [[Cat Up a Tree|save Mr. Bitey]].

* [[Even Evil Has Standards]]: Subverted. Turns out Joe only has standards on ''who'' is screwed over.

'''Frank D'Amico:''' Tony. }}

* [[Even Evil Has Loved Ones]]: Frank D'Amico obviously loves his son Chris and he appears seriously worried when he thinks he died in the warehouse's fire.

* [[Evil Costume Switch]]: {{spoiler|After Chris D'Amico decides to become a supervillain, he changes the color scheme of his costume to eerily patterned orange and dons a scary mask.}}

* [[Evil Counterpart]]: Several:

** Red Mist also serves as a counterpart to Hit-Girl, in that both of them have parents that are involved in very dangerous work. But while Hit-Girl actually has her father's [[Daddy's Girl|love and approval]], Red Mist is a [["Well Done, Son" Guy]] who spends the whole movie trying to impress his father, who ironically enough already tries to spend time with him doing normal things.

** Their parents are twisted mirrors of each other as well. Frank D'Amico is successful and acts relatively sane, but he also [[Cold-Blooded Torture|orders executions]] and even gets his own hands dirty when his men fail to get the job done. Big Daddy has been driven underground and is kind of creepy, but also comes across as far less of a bastard than the man he fights.

* [[Exaggerated Trope]]: As well as deconstructing superhero tropes, the movie plays many of them straight, but overblown to the point of absurdity.

* [[Executive Suite Fight]]: The climax of the film.

* [[Fan Service]]: Katie, [[Hand or Object Underwear|semi-topless]], having Dave help her apply the self-tanner. Place your own "tanning cream" joke here.

** Sounds pretty depraved, but Hit - Girl is known to have some fans older than her...

* [[Fingore]]: Frank D'Amico's goons cut off a drug dealer's finger as a punishment for stealing cash and drugs from Frank, not believing him when he says that his coke was stolen by Big Daddy (or rather, a guy in a mask and cape but not Batman).

* [[Fourth Wall Psych]]: When D'Amico tells his chauffeur to get him and his son some snacks for their movie night, the shot is framed to make it look like he's speaking to the audience. Cut to the theater marquee, advertising "[[The Spirit]] 3". [[Painting the Fourth Wall]]? (With a [[Shout-Out]]-cum-[[Take That]] to [[Frank Miller]]?)

* [[Gatling Good]]: What the hell could gatling guns be an ''accessory'' to? {{spoiler|A MOTHER FUCKING JETPACK!}}

* [[Genre Savvy]]: Dave Lizewski is intimately familiar with superhero tropes and loves to [[Lampshade Hanging|comment on them]]. This doesn't keep him from believing, at first, that [[Wrong Genre Savvy|he is the superhero the world revolves around]]. Chris D'Amico, also a huge comic book junkie, uses his knowledge of the laws of genre {{spoiler|[[Dangerously Genre Savvy|to lure Dave into a trap by posing as a masked vigilante]] }}.

* [[Honor Before Reason]]: Dave/Kick Ass is this trope embodied [[You Need to Get Laid|until he got a girlfriend]].

* [[Hot for Teacher]]: At first, Dave [[A Date with Rosie Palms|daydreams]] about boning his English teacher, who is somewhat [[MILF]]-ish. She seems to be at least somewhat aware of him staring at her boobs, but doesn't do anything about it.

* [[I Always Wanted to Say That]]: During the final fight, D'Amico's bodyguard finally gets a chance to quip, [[Scarface|"Say hello to my little friend!"]]

* [[Idiot Hero]]: At first, Dave is quite naive, not particularly bright... [[Lampshade Hanging|and aware of it]]. [[Character Development|He gets better]].

** The comic contains the line "What works on the page doesn't always work on the screen."

* {{spoiler|[[It's All My Fault]]}}: {{spoiler|Kick-Ass comes to this realization when he and Hit-Girl are heading to D'Amico's headquarters after Big Daddy's death; if he hadn't trusted Red Mist, Big Daddy wouldn't have gotten killed. Hit-Girl agrees with him.}}

{{spoiler|'''Hit-Girl:''' And if it wasn't for you, my dad wouldn't be.}} }}

'''Todd:''' I don't care! I can ''wait''! I solemnly vow to save myself for her! }}

* [[Jet Pack]]: {{spoiler|Kick-Ass uses a freakin' jetpack [[Gatling Good|with dual mounted Gatling guns]] to defeat the mob.}}

** Which becomes oddly eerie given that "Kryptonite" is used as a codeword by {{spoiler|Big Daddy in his final scene.}}

* [[Karma Houdini]]: The two street thugs who steal Dave's money and books in the beginning and who stab him when he first tries out the Kick-Ass identity disappear after that scene and never get their due.

* [[Katanas Are Just Better]]: {{spoiler|Red Mist grabs a katana in the final showdown, going to slice Kick-Ass into bits. There were several other melee weapons around, and they were more accessible too. He took that katana out of some closet or locker and the way he seemed to revere it a bit as he took it suggests it was the best sword they had.}} {{spoiler|As a comic book geek himself, it would make some sense that he would ''think'' this.}}

* [[Kick the Dog]]: Big Daddy and Hit Girl get one of D'Amico's goons to spill the goods on him by cuffing him to a car inside a compactor. Once he's [[You Have Outlived Your Usefulness|done talking]], Hit Girl [[You Have Outlived Your Usefulness|turns the compactor on]], squishing the mook into a bloody heap of scrap as he pleads for his life.

* [[Kid Hero]]: Hit-Girl. And, technically, Kick-Ass.

* [[Kids Are Cruel]]: Hit-Girl slaughters crooks and mobsters with huge gusto and a certain sadistic glee. However, she does not harm innocents, and loses her meanness while out of costume - just not her foul mouth.

* [[Killed Off for Real]]: {{spoiler|Big Daddy and Frank D'Amico.}}

* [[Killer Rabbit]]: In the movie's third act, D'Amico's goons learn that a cute schoolgirl with [[Girlish Pigtails]] can be a [[Little Miss Badass|gun-toting killing machine]].

* [[Kingpin in His Gym]]: Frank D'Amico is seen practicing kung fu [[Chekhov's Skill|(and being good at it)]] early in the movie.

* [[Knife Nut]]: Hit-Girl adores butterfly knives and swords, although she is a pretty good shot as well.

* [[Laser Guided Tykebomb]]: Hit-Girl was raised with two purposes in life: A) kill criminals in general; B) kill the crime lord who wronged her father.

* [[Late to the Party]]: Not sure how useful that [[Katanas Are Just Better|katana]] was going to be if it had been used 3 minutes earlier, but still...

* [[Leno Device]]: Craig Ferguson of [[The Late Late Show]] appears as himself talking about Kick-Ass's antics in his monologue.

* [[Lighter and Softer]]: Everybody isn't as much of an asshole compared to the comics, but the violence itself remains. The movie is also more idealistic and has a more upbeat ending than the comic as well. This is [[Lampshaded]] by a statement made by Dave early on that ends with "a combination of [[Wide-Eyed Idealist|optimism and naivete]]". A contrast to the comics line which ends with "[[Wangst|loneliness and despair]]".

* [[Little Miss Badass]]: Hit-Girl, obviously. She's so badass, she makes the [[Scary Black Man]] {{spoiler|go for his Bazooka}}

* [[Lonely Rich Kid]]: The [[Scary Black Man|bodyguards]] that Frank D'Amico has for his son Chris never let any potential friends approach him. Also, Frank shuns Chris for being a comic book nerd and won't even let him partake in [[The Mafia|"the family business",]] leading to him trying to combine two in one - taking on the role as Red Mist.

* [[This Loser Is You]]: The teenage characters are literally mouthbreathers. This is scaled ''back'' slightly from the comics. {{spoiler|Then this trope is told to fuck off once the final battle commences.}}

* [[Meaningful Name]]: D'Amico means "of a friend". Mob boss Frank D'Amico is anything but friendly, and his son Chris a.k.a. Red Mist becomes pals with Kick-Ass {{spoiler|to lure him into a trap}}.

* [[Memetic Badass]]:

** [[Little Miss Badass|Hit-Girl]] has achieved some level of this in [[Real Life]]. For values of 'real life' that include Internet forums.

* [[Memetic Outfit]]: Invoked: Despite their obvious cheesiness, Kick-Ass' and Red Mist's costumes mimic old, cheesy superhero outfits.

* [[Mugging the Monster]]: {{spoiler|At the end of the film Hit Girl is attending regular school for the first time as a civilian. Dave remarks that she doesn't need him looking out for her as we see Hit Girl beating up bullies attempting to rob her lunch money.}}

* [[Murder.Com]]: Frank D'Amico plans to stream the execution of {{spoiler|Kick-Ass and Big Daddy}} live on the internet in place of {{spoiler|Kick-Ass's unmasking.}} {{spoiler|Too bad it gets reversed.}} Furthermore, his son had set up a [[Magical Security Cam|nanny-cam disguised as a teddy bear]] to record Kick-Ass's unmasking at the lumber yard. Too bad for the goons that Big Daddy showed up first.

* [[Nerd Glasses]]: Dave Lizewski and his chubby friend wear them. [[The Glasses Gotta Go|For obvious reasons, Dave ditches them as he grows more and more badass.]]

* [[Never Bring a Knife to A Fist Fight]]: Even Hit-Girl can't manage more than [[Only a Flesh Wound|flesh wounds]] against {{spoiler|Frank D'Amico}}

* [[Pint-Sized Powerhouse]]: Hit-Girl, who severs limbs with ease. {{spoiler|Subverted in the final confrontation: Frank one-hits her into near unconsciousness.}}

* [[The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything]]: Aside from a few isolated incidents and the final battle, Kick-Ass doesn't actually do a lot of heroic deeds. Noted by Big Daddy and Hit-Girl.

* [[Plucky Girl]]: Hit-Girl.

* [[Pop Goes the Human]]: The [[Mook]] who gets shoved into an industrial microwave, who is the same mook that claimed that Fingore Mook was selling him D'Amico's coke. Even after Fingore Mook was killed.

* [[Porn Stash]]: When Red Mist sets the security camera disguised as a teddybear to play back the camera footage of Big Daddy, all the other video clips have thumbnails of a partially-dressed woman.

* [[Pragmatic Adaptation]]: The film version hews close to the book, but is its own beast. For the most part, things are changed to be more idealistic or happier endings. If they'd kept it any closer to the original, it'd lean into a Watchmen-style "so-the-same-it's-almost-pointless-to-have-two-versions" adaptation. Some notable changes included:

** The paramedics taking off the wetsuit instead of Dave doing it himself. Explained away by him asking one of the paramedics to promise not to tell.

** {{spoiler|The movie actually has Dave hook up with Katie Deauxma, whereas in the comic he didn't. This is largely due to the difference in the approach he takes. In the comic, he confessed his love for her ''in public'', completely embarrassing her and getting her angry enough to call over her boyfriend to kick his ass. Here he ''gets down on his knees'' in private and tells her that she deserves better. He says that he hates himself for lying to her and honestly doesn't expect her to care. When she does invite him to stay, it's actually heartwarming. Though he still decided sneak into her room in true stalker fashion. And got hairspray to the eyes and a thorough walloping with a tennis racket for it. Also note that in this version, Katie isn't the absolute ''bitchwhore'' she is in the comic.}}

** {{spoiler|Big Daddy's backstory actually ''has'' him as a hero cop instead of his gigantic lie in the comics. At least he dies knowing Hit Girl was alive. The movie portrays him more sympathetically, but still makes it clear he's being a douche for ruining his daughter's childhood. At least he was doing it ''for'' something, as opposed to the comic version, whose reason for screwing his daughter up can be summed up as "Man, wouldn't this be ''awesome''?" The movie even appears it's going to play Big Daddy's background straight at first until Big Daddy's former cop partner confirms it on screen.}}

** {{spoiler|Red Mist is portrayed with a lot more sympathy, simply wanting to help his father and maybe hang out with Kick-Ass. He actually regrets what happens to Kick-Ass instead of getting totally excited about it like his comic counterpart. This helps him avoid becoming a Complete Monster, as he did in the comics. At the end, he takes over his father's business and becomes the first costumed supervillain. In the comics, he becomes an [[Internet Tough Guy]]. Both ''do'' share the same obscene name after this happens, however.}}

* [[Prisons Are Gymnasiums]]: {{spoiler|In Big Daddy's autobiographical comic book, he is shown working out like crazy when doing his time in jail.}}

* [[Punch Clock Villain]]: Chris D'Amico and Dave are both comic book nerds, they get along pretty well when Dave thinks Red Mist is a good guy, and Chris begs his father not to hurt Kick-Ass as he's convinced he's just a nobody.

* [[Reality Ensues]] / [[Rule of Cool]]: The first act of the movie shows what's it like to be a vigilante in the real world, especially if you are a teenage nerd with no fighting skills wearing a silly costume. However, the second act introduces incredibly powerful, highly badass superheroes who can do crazy shit by virtue of [[Charles Atlas Superpower]], and the third act is an unashamed love letter to awesome, reality-defying superheroics.

* [[Reality Is Unrealistic]]: On the commentary track, director Matthew Vaughn talks about how amazed he was during a test at what he could see through SAS night specs. They ended up putting a green tinge on the night vision scenes to let the audience know what was going on.

** He also talks about the flames during {{spoiler|Big Daddy's death}} and how he wasn't happy with the CGI fire because it "always looks fake". So they shot real flames at 1,000 frames per second and put them over the scene, just to find out that it looked exactly the same.

* [[Recycled Soundtrack]]: The main theme is from ''[[Sunshine (film)|Sunshine]]'', Big Daddy's theme from ''[[28 Days Later]]''.

* [[Red Right Hand]]: Frank D'Amico's scar.

* [[Refuge in Audacity]]: The movie is very violent. Any other superhero movie with so many people killed would be a very dark, grim affair, a psychological deconstruction of the heroes. This one, however, maintains lots of comical and awesome moments, mostly because a little kid probably has a body count higher than all other characters in this movie put together. The actress who plays Hit-Girl, Chloë Moretz, was 11 at the time of filming, and the character is even younger than that by all estimates. She fights hand-to-hand with a full-grown man and {{spoiler|almost wins}}, she's a [[Knife Nut]], she has a viewpoint scene that's a complete [[First-Person Shooter]] sequence, and her only cute or girly scenes come when she's ''shot'', or just punking her father.

* [[The Reveal]]: {{spoiler|For half the movie, we know that Big Daddy and Hit-Girl got something important and expensive delivered, and it has gatlings attached to it. We finally get to the big battle scene, and Hit-Girl is cornered behind a desk, and it's the perfect time for a [[Big Damn Heroes]] moment, and then Kick-Ass enters... ''rising into'' the scene from the ''bottom'' of the window, and this scene is taking place in a skyscraper, and he's riding a ''jetpack'', and he blows away a room full of [[Mook|Mooks]] with ''miniguns'' on the ''shoulders'' to the tune of ''Battle Hymn of the Republic'' as sung by Elvis Presley!}}

* [[Roaring Rampage of Rescue]]: Hit-Girl. Turns into a [[Roaring Rampage of Revenge]] once {{spoiler|Big Daddy gets killed}}.

* [[Roof Hopping]]: Dave decides against doing this, because the roofs are too far apart. Hit-Girl and Big Daddy, on the other hand, [[Charles Atlas Superpower|do it with ease]]; when Kick-Ass sees them doing it, he understands he's hopelessly [[Overshadowed by Awesome]].

* [[Sacrificial Lion]]: {{spoiler|Big-Daddy}}.

* [[Scary Black Man]]: Rasul's and Frank's bodyguards are huge black guys with an unfriendly attitude {{spoiler|and a bazooka in the latter case}}.

* [[Self-Defenseless]]: Kick-Ass' taser against Razoul's forehead.

* [[Sequel Hook]]

* [[Shallow Love Interest]]: Katie. She does allow for plot development (without her, Kick-Ass wouldn't have met Hit-Girl and Big Daddy), and character development as well.

* [[Skirt Over Slacks]]: Hit-Girl's hero costume.

* [[Small Girl, Big Gun]]: Averted by Hit-Girl. Although she has her father's extensive arsenal at her disposal, her weapons of choice are pistols like the Glock 23 and HK USP Compact that fit her small hands. Realistically, any larger firearm would be very difficult for someone of her size to operate well.

** Hit-Girl's introduction. Nothing says "a little girl slaughtering an apartment" like the theme song of a [[The Banana Splits|children's television show.]]

** Torture scenes being accompanied by "[[The Marriage of Figaro]]".

* [[Superheroes Wear Capes]]: Played straight with Big Daddy, Hit-Girl and Red Mist. Kick-Ass tries wearing a cape, but quickly tears it off, understanding that it would make his already moronic costume even sillier.

* [[Superhero Packing Heat]]: Hit-Girl and Big Daddy. And Kick-Ass in the final showdown.

* [[Ten-Minute Retirement]]: {{spoiler|Dave briefly retires from being Kick-Ass after he realizes he's in over his head. He's convinced to pick up the mask again to help Red Mist and later Hit-Girl. It seems like he and Hit-Girl are going to retire from superheroism for good in the ending, if not for the blatant [[Sequel Hook]]}}.

* [[Theme Naming]]: According the end credits, Frank D'amico's main [[Mook|Mooks]] are called [[Spice Girls|Sporty, Scary, Posh, Ginger, and Baby]].

* [[This Is Sparta]]: "I'll tell you who owes her a childhood! '''FRANK! D'AMICO!!'''"

* [[Those Two Guys]]: Marty and Todd

* [[Troubling Unchildlike Behaviour]]:

** Even funnier when Big Daddy himself considers Hit-Girl ''acting like a normal girl'' troubling.

* [[Unorthodox Reload]]: Hit-Girl reloads her pistols ''by catching the mid-air magazines.''

* [[Wall of Weapons]]: A room of Hit Girl and Big Daddy's house is decorated like this.

** And again at one of their safehouses (though we can probably assume ''all'' their safehouses are like this).

* [[What Happened to the Mouse?]]: Angie D'Amico vanishes without trace halfway through the movie, but her role is extremely small and often goes unnoticed.

** As well as Gigante, the corrupt NYPD cop, who's also got a tiny role.

* [[What the Hell, Hero?]]: Several, but most notably when Big Daddy gets called out on raising his daughter to be a vigilante, depriving her of her childhood.

* [[Who Are You?]]: Used a couple times; most notably when Kick-Ass saves the guy outside the store, and the guy with the camera phone says it:

'''Dave:''' I'm ''[[What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?|Kick-Ass]]''. }}

* [[Wide-Eyed Idealist]]: Dave Lizewski, to the point of being an [[Idiot Hero]].

** {{spoiler|Red Mist vs Kick-Ass.}}

** Kick-Ass' second fight, the one that makes him [[Memetic Mutation|an internet sensation in-universe]], goes like this at first.

* [[You Bastard]]: Possible in-universe example when Hit-Girl cuts off the stream with "Show's over, motherfuckers."

* [[You Gotta Have Blue Hair]]: Mindy Macready wears a noxiously patterned purple wig as a part of her Hit-Girl costume.

* [[You Killed My Father]]: {{spoiler|Frank D'Amico drove Hit-Girl's mother to suicide and later orchestrated her father's murder. Hit-Girl attempts to kill Frank in retribution, but it is Kick-Ass who deal the final blow... turning Frank's son Chris "Red Mist" D'Amico into [[Create Your Own Villain|a vengeful costumed supervillain]].}}

* [[You Leave Him Alone]]: What Dave shouts to give himself the courage to defend a mugging victim from being murdered by 3 thugs.

* [[You Wanna Get Sued?]]: Big Daddy in the movie. Subverted promptly:

''"Oh, so he's [[Superman]]?"'' }}

* [[Zig-Zagging Trope]]: In this movie, superhero tropes bounce in all directions, from deadly straight usage to [[Double Subversion|double-subverted]] with a whiff of [[Deconstruction]] and parody, all [[Lampshade Hanging|wrapped in a huge lampshade]].

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Film]]