For Father’s Day we asked some of our ITOL team to write about their favourite cinematic Dads. Here’s Tom Moore’s piece on a ‘Kick-Ass’ dad with Big Daddy in Matthew Vaughn’s 2010 adaptation of “Kick-Ass”.

When talking about one my favourite fathers that film has to offer, there’s no way you can ignore the superhero genre or one of its greatest patriarch characters in Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage) from Matthew Vaughn’s 2010 adaptation of “Kick-Ass”.

Once being a well-regarded police officer, Big Daddy, whose real name is Damon McCready, became a symbol for vigilante justice after a powerful mob boss frames him as a drug dealer. The main thing that makes Big Daddy such a strong father figure to both his daughter Mindy (Chloe Grace Moretz) and the entire “Kick-Ass” universe is his love for heroism and keeping the world a safe place.

“Cage nails every aspect of what makes Big Daddy such a strong character in the comic sphere and its easily one of his best performances.”

From him drawing comic books as sort of a instructional guide for his revenge motivations and for anyone looking to suit up against evil to the way he trains Mindy to become one of the greatest female heroes to ever grace the screen as Hit Girl, he has such a great grasp in what it means to fight for justice, no matter the cost, and it is a legitimately inspiring force in the universe.

Even as he’s burning to death in his final moments, he still coaches Hit Girl to take down the baddies and even has a great fight sequence earlier that shows everyone how its done. Nothing beats the emotional, bittersweet goodbye between him and Hit Girl that displays his genuine sense of humor and love for his daughter as he tells her how much he loves her and is proud of her.

“The main thing that makes Big Daddy such a strong father figure to both his daughter Mindy and the entire “Kick-Ass” universe is his love for heroism and keeping the world a safe place.”

Cage nails every aspect of what makes Big Daddy such a strong character in the comic sphere and its easily one of his best performances. Not to mention, it’s great to know that his legacy lives on through Hit Girl and even leaves his mark on Kick-Ass (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), himself, as he dons parts of his armor in the 2013 sequel for the final battle as a nod to the father-figure of his heroic uprising.

It really wouldn’t be a fitting Father’s Day without acknowledging one of the best father figures that comic book movies have offered thus far.