Kick-Ass's Hit Girl, and 9 Other Controversial Cinematic Children Up to No Good

One of the most bracing elements of the upcoming comic book adaptation Kick-Ass is Hit Girl (Chloe Moretz), a 12-year-old superheroine who indulges in some decidedly R-rated mischief like graphic villain-garroting and "c***"-laced bon mots. A recent clip of Hit Girl in action has begun to spark controversy, but at least Lionsgate can point to a long history of cinematic children engaging in inappropriate (and often sociopathic) behavior. Here are nine other kids who blazed a bloody trail for her:

Rhoda Penmark, The Bad Seed

Played By: Patty McCormack

Age: 8

Sociopathic Tendencies: Thanks to serial killer genes inherited from her maternal grandmother, Rhoda blithely murders a classmate, a neighbor, and a janitor.

Success Level: 5. The pigtailed Rhoda got away with a lot more in the play -- in the movie, she's killed by a freak lightning strike and then McCormack herself is spanked over the end credits.

Henry Evans, The Good Son

Played By: Macaulay Culkin

Age: 12

Sociopathic Tendencies: Kills a dog and a cat, singlehandedly causes a ten-car pileup, and attempts to murder his mother and sister like he did his younger brother.

Success Level: 3. Master criminals really shouldn't be taken down by the likes of Elijah Wood.

Mathilda Lando, The Professional

Played By: Natalie Portman

Age: 12

Sociopathic Tendencies: After her entire family is murdered, Mathilda begs hitman Léon (Jean Reno) to teach her the tricks of his trade so she can take out the villainous Stansfield (Gary Oldman).

Success Level: 2. Mathilda's training was controversial at the time -- even more so for the sexual subtext that clouded her relationship with Léon -- but onscreen ultraviolence has come a long way since. In a firefight, Hit Girl would wipe the floor with her.

Joshua Cairn, Joshua

Played By: Jacob Kogan

Age: 9

Sociopathic Tendencies: Basically just wants to drive everyone crazy so he can live with (and play piano alongside) his gay uncle. If a lot of alllllmost-murders are a part of that, then so be it!

Success Level: 6. Actually does murder his grandmother, and does quite the psychological number on his parents (Sam Rockwell and Vera Farmiga). It's a small body count, but getting away with it has to count for something.

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