I saw Kick-Ass for a second time yesterday. The movie was every bit as strong the second time around. I’d even say it was a bit funnier, knowing from experience what all the punchlines were ahead of time. I was also glad to see that I’d missed out on a few background details (when Red Mist makes his first appearance, keep an eye on the background in the comics shop). But a thought also occurred to me that I’d like to address: This movie is surprisingly low on saving the innocent.

The Spider-Man movies, the Batman movies, the X-Men movies and the Superman movies all had climaxes that had at least one innocent life hanging in the balance. Even Batman and Robin ended with a fight to stop the mass freezing of Gotham City. Kick-Ass, on the other hand, ended with a fight in which nothing was at stake except vengeance and the lives of our heroes. I’ll grant that’s enough to make the audience care, given the strength of these characters. Also, there’s no denying that D’Amico’s an asshole and New York is better off without him. Still, the movie didn’t do a lot to address how much better off New York’s citizens would be without Frank D’Amico.

Now, the climax we got was all well and good for the first movie. This first movie, after all, was about establishing our heroes and their world, and a supervillainous mass death scenario is a little much for the movie’s degree of heightened reality. But since the movie ends with the introduction of the world’s first supervillain, maybe we’ll get one for the sequel. I really hope so. I want to see how Kick-Ass and his colleagues will rise to the occasion when multiple innocent lives are threatened. It’s really the last step left for Kick-Ass to be a true superhero worthy of those who inspired him.

But more than anything else, I want more people to see this so we can get a goddamn sequel!