| Kick-Ass 2 | |
|---|---|
Cover of Issue One |
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Clint |
| Format | Ongoing series |
| Genre | Superhero |
| Publication date | 2010-Present |
| Number of issues | 7 (latest issue #6) |
| Main character(s) | Dave Lizewski |
| Creative team | |
| Writer(s) | Mark Millar |
| Penciller(s) | John Romita, Jr. |
| Creator(s) | Mark Millar John Romita, Jr. |
Kick-Ass 2 is the sequel to Mark Millar and John Romita Jr.'s original series Kick-Ass. The story follows the titular character Kick-Ass who is trying to form a team of real life superheroes, as well as preparing for the arrival of The Red Mist, who has been gathering a team of "Supervillains" to take both Kick-Ass and Hit-Girl down. A Hit-Girl spin-off was announced at Kapow comicon. The series will focus on Hit-Girl's story between Kick-Ass and Kick-Ass 2.
Contents |
The story begins a few months after the events of Kick-Ass. Mindy is living a double life, trying to train Dave to make him a more efficient hero while being pressured to give up vigilantism by Marcus, her godfather, who wishes her to lead a normal life with him and her mother. She eventually relents after he finds a hidden cache of heavy weaponry in her playroom.
Meanwhile, Dave/Kick-Ass has taken to patrolling with various other heroes. Ever since the attack on John Genovese, heroes have taken to the streets and are generally accepted by the public as part of everyday life. Whilst patrolling with a hero named Doctor Gravity, a pair of men approach the two, claiming to need help. They attack suddenly but Kick-Ass easily subdues them, thanks to his training. Unfortunately, a group of gang members see the attack and chase Kick-Ass and Doctor Gravity into retreat.
The next day, Kick-Ass goes to meet with a group he has found on the internet who are associated with Doctor Gravity. He texts Mindy asking if she wants to join, but she turns him down, claiming that she needs to stop putting on her mask. Kick-Ass is suddenly lowered down through a secret entrance revealed by Doctor Gravity. In the meeting place, he comes face to face with a table of various masked men and women. The apparent leader welcomes him to the group, which is known as Justice Forever.[1]
The group is led by Colonel Stars and Lieutenant Stripes, a pair of ex-mafia members who, apparently, found God and became masked vigilantes in order to repent for their crimes. They invite Kick-Ass to join Justice Forever, which he accepts. He discovers that one hero on the team, Battle Guy, is actually his friend Marty Eisenberg, which delights both of them. They relish the feeling of power they have from wearing their costumes under their clothes to school. Marty eventually tells Dave that Red Mist has been recruiting people for an army of supervillains on Twitter, one of which is currently at their school. They wave off the notion that the group could be an actual threat and carry on with their day.
That night, Justice Forever group together and attack six gangsters playing a card game, as Colonel Stars is aware of them organizing underage prostitution. The group easily subdue the gangsters, a fight which ends with one of the gangsters getting bitten by Colonel Stars' attack dog.[2]
Colonel Stars explains that he knows of criminal activity on the premises involving the gangsters bringing young girls into America from South Korea and forcing them into prostitution. Kick-Ass, Battle Guy and Night-Bitch go upstairs and release the captive girls, giving them money that the gangsters had collected. Colonel Stars tells the head gangster that if anything untoward happens again, they will be back to burn his establishment to the ground. Kick-Ass is concerned that Lieutenant Stripes pulled a gun on the gangsters, but the two leaders reveal that the guns are for show and remain empty.
Justice Forever proceeds to grow in number, helping out in more ways than merely fighting crime, such as feeding people in a homeless shelter and helping a search for a missing person. Dave and Marty decide to invite Todd to become a hero alongside them. Dave also tries to convince Mindy to join them, as she is more powerful than most of the members. She declines, saying she is giving up vigilantism for her mother's well-being. As she leaves school, Marcus and Dave share a look of distrust.
Dave makes his way home, only to be confronted by his father, who has found his Kick-Ass costume. After a heated argument, Dave grabs the suit and runs from the apartment. At the Justice Forever hideout, Colonel Stars is attacked by a group of masked people. His dog, Sofia, is killed and he is mortally wounded. Red Mist enters the room, recognizing the man as a mobster who worked for his father. As Red Mist's gang, The Toxic Mega-cunts, destroy the hideout, Red Mist insults and mocks Colonel Stars for dressing up and fighting crime. When Red Mist's bodyguard, Mother Russia, asks if she should kill Stars, Red Mist declares he wants to do "something funny".
The police find Colonel Stars, decapitated, with Sofia's head on his neck. Written on the wall is a statement, "Red Mist is dead, long live the Motherfucker". As the news reports that the amateur superhero has been butchered, Mindy watches in anger.[3]
After the destruction of the Justice Forever hideout, the team is forced to relocate to the back of a diner, where they sign a sympathy card for Lieutenant Stripes, and plan to let the police handle Red Mist.
Meanwhile, Red Mist and his gang approach the home of Dave's crush, Katie Deauxma, where they massacre a group of children playing outside along with any bystanders. They then break into the house, kill Katie's father, and rape Katie. Outside, Mother Russia kills all police called to the scene. In total, twenty-seven are found dead, and over eighty are found injured.
After the massacre, the police choose to arrest all superheroes and supervillains on the streets. Rather than see his son arrested, Dave's father confesses to being Kick-Ass and is arrested instead.[4]
Though celebrating his victory, Red Mist soon is contacted by a corrupt cop that has been giving him inside information for his crimes. Disgusted at Red Mist's actions, he severs all ties with the young villain. In retaliation, Red Mist plans to destroy the city of New York and arranges for the murder of Kick-Ass's dad in prison, by way of lynching him.
At the funeral, Red Mist's foot soldiers set off explosives in the casket and several explosives placed in the ground. They kidnap and beat Dave, informing him that he will be made to watch Red Mist's impending assault on the city when Hit-Girl attacks the van, in order to rescue her friend.[5]
Hit-Girl takes control of the van. She threatens it driver with his life if he doesn't provide the information on the Toxic's lair. Executing him as soon as he gave her the location, Hit-Girl tells Dave to suit up. They arrive at Red Mist's lair in the Minions van and slaughter a group of Red Mist's men and extorting the single survivor, one of the goons who took part in raping Katie, for information.
Using the information from the henchman, Hit-Girl warns her stepfather, a police officer, about Red Mist's impending assault on Times Square and he has an army of police in the area to stop them. Red Mist and his army blow up a series of buildings to draw the police away from the area (including every comic book shop and Dave's apartment), then proceeds to tell his followers they have ten minutes to trash the city and maim pedestrians.
Kick-Ass and Hit-Girl arrive intent on stopping the madness. Red Mist taunts them by stating they are outnumbered by two to almost one hundred villains. Just as an army of superhero allies reveal themselves behind Hit-Girl and Kick-Ass. Kick-Ass taunts Red Mist, "What's the matter Chris? Sh*tting yourself? You should be."[6]
The sequel to the original mini-series was planned very early on according to Millar. Millar has stated that he has envisioned Kick-Ass to be a trilogy of volumes.
Millar also remarked that having supervillains was a natural consequence of creating a world of superheroes.
Kick-Ass 2 premiered in CLiNT magazine.[7][8] It was reprinted by Marvel under their Icon comics imprint.[9]
The comic debuted on October 20, 2010. By October 27, 2010, Kick-Ass 2 #1 sold out. The issue was scheduled to be reissued with two variant covers.[10]
The second issue was released on March 30, 2011, three months late from the book's original release date.[11]
The third issue was released on August 24, 2011. Marvel announced the series would no longer have any delays and they would focus on getting each issue out on time.
The fourth issue was released on September 28, 2011.
The fifth issue was released on November 23, 2011.
The sixth issue was released on December 28, 2011.[12]
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