Maybe Kick-Ass 2 should run with a warning that says: Don’t try this at home. The movie doesn’t open until Friday, but the timing of a recent attempt at vigilante heroism in a small Pennsylvania town suggests it may have inspired one overzealous admirer to act out. WJACTV reports that Johnstown native Todd Kapcsos was charged with two misdemeanors including loitering and prowling, but he says he was just trying to be a ninja hero. "I dressed up in all black, snuck around, went through bushes," he told reporters following a hearing where his charges were waived to trial. "I was practicing some ninja moves -- ball, looking like a rock, just hiding in the shadows."
To his credit, Kapcsos was responding to a notable rise in crime in his Moxham neighborhood, which recently included a brutal stabbing death. "There's not enough police officers,” Kapcsos lamented, “I mean there's not enough [and] the community should do something rather than sit back.” Unfortunately for this aspiring ninja, he looked to his neighbors like he was up to no good. When Chris Trevino saw him “creeping,” “ninja running” and ducking into bushes, she figured Kapcsos was a would-be thief and called the cops, who soon apprehended him. “It looked like he was trying to break into homes, not like he was trying to save the world," Trevino explained.
To see the full interview, click the screengrab below that shows the ninja outfit this would-be vigilante crime fighter was sporting when he was arrested.
You might look this over and rightly think, ‘Wait a second, this story makes no mention of Kick-Ass.’ True. But there are some striking similarities. For one, Kapcsos attempt at combatting crime occurred on July 15th, shortly after Kick-Ass 2 released their “recruitment video.” His preference for martial arts could be thought to mirror any of the first film’s heroes. Then there’s the fact that he was carrying a baseball bat, the weapon of choice of Jim Carrey’s Colonel Stars and Stripes in the soon-to-open sequel. And, like this new addition to the Kick-Ass crew says in the movie’s trailers, Kapcsos admits he was in it to help people…and to have fun. Hm. Maybe some people are as easily influenced as Jim Carrey fears.
Full disclosure: I grew up in Johnstown, which may well explain my soft spot for Kapcsos' intentions here. However, it sounds like an astoundingly bad idea to attempt to fight crime on your own. Sure, he seems to have meant well and Johnstown’s Ninja Man (as I’m dubbing him right this moment) was carrying a baseball bat for his own protection, but that latter fact hardly makes me feel better about this situation. What’s ironic is that the first Kick-Ass movie’s main focus was about how truly dangerous and life-threatening attempting to be a superpowerless superhero would be. Kick-Ass nearly gets beat to death in his first attempt. Hit-Girl gets shot in the chest—though she survives. And her father Big Daddy is burned alive! What part of that would make someone want to give costumed heroism a shot? Maybe if Kapcsos does it again, he should at least channel Batman. That seems to go over better.
