With Kick-Ass 2 now in theaters (read our review), fans have had a chance to reconnect with Kick-Ass and Hit-Girl in their battle against the maniacal Chris D'Amico, a.k.a., The Motherf*cker. If you haven't seen the film, please be warned:

[MAJOR KICK-ASS 2 SPOILERS FOLLOW!]

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Kick-Ass 2 - Kick-Ass vs. The Motherfucker

The mid-credits scene of Kick-Ass 2 reveals that The Motherf*ckr - thought to have been consumed by a shark during his climatic battle with Kick-Ass - is still alive and kicking. Well, maybe not kicking, as Chris D'Amico (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) is left severely mutilated with no arms or legs. However, in interviews with Kick-Ass 2 writer/director Jeff Wadlow and Christopher Mintz-Plasse, we learned that the fate of The Motherf*cker originally took a very different turn - not just in the film, but in the comic book as well.

In the Kick-Ass 2 comic, The Motherf*cker's reign of terror in Times Square ends with him mortally wounded, but alive - much like in the movie. However, Wadlow revealed that series creator Mark Millar originally had the villain die at the end of the second volume of the comics - a decision Wadlow objected to, due to the popularity of Mintz-Plasse's portrayal of the character in the film universe. With a Kick-Ass 3 comic series on the way, and a feature-film conceivably in the cards to follow, Wadlow is keeping his eye on the sanctity of the franchise:

Jeff Wadlow: ...Mark was finishing the comic book as I was writing the script, I read all his scripts but they were still drawing it and he was still planning the Hit-Girl spinoff. Initially - I don’t think I’ve ever told anyone this before - I saw an early outline and Chris completely died at the end of 'Kick-Ass 2.' I emailed Mark and asked, ‘what are you doing?! You can’t kill Chris. Aren’t you thinking of a third one? Weren’t we talking about a third movie we can't do it without Chris - he’s a corner of the triangle.’ Mark was like, ‘no he’s such a bad guy, he’s gotta die.’ And I said, ‘no, no, no, no figure it out. You can punish him for being bad, maybe he loses his legs or something like that - but he’s gotta be alive in the end.'

Kick-Ass 2 Comic Book Ending

The saga of Kick-Ass has always been a curious one; ever since the first volume was adapted into a cult-hit film, there has been a clear synergistic link between the development of the books and the films - much in the same way that the success of the 300 movie adaptation "inspired" creator Frank Miller to write a second volume of the comic, which in turn serves as the source material behind the upcoming sequel film, 300: Rise of an Empire.

Ever since comic book movies became 'the new blockbusters,' comic books have undergone a curious transformation. Once a haven of creative freedom and innovation, the demands of supporting tentpole film franchises has given most of the major properties a slick corporate-minded makeover (see: DC's "New 52" or Marvel's "Marvel NOW!" reboots). Kick-Ass is clearly no different - but the question is: Are you okay with the Hollywood influencing the direction of comics, or should the two be completely separate sandboxes?

Christopher Mintz-Plasse in Kick-Ass

Well, there is one group that will undoubtedly be happy with the new multi-platform mentality of comic book creators: working actors. Take, for instance, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, who was very vocal in his support of the 'Save The Motherf*cker' campaign Wadlow started:

Christopher Mintz-Plasse: Thank you Jeff, thank you. If there is a third one, thank you.

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Kick-Ass 2 is now in theaters. Be sure to check out more of our coverage of the film.