With the third and final "Kick-Ass" series set to explode in comic shops just as the second film's trailers have been raising buzz about the franchise to a fever pitch, more than a few fans have been wondering what the latest batch of superstar artist variants will bring. Today, CBR has the exclusive first look at Adam Hughes' take on Mark Millar and John Romita Jr.'s pint-sized lethal vigilante Hit-Girl, as the co-star of the series poses for a bloody alternative cover for May 15's "Kick-Ass 3" #1.

"This is where the entire Kick-Ass saga wraps up," Millar told CBR when "Kick-Ass 3" was announced. "'Kick-Ass 3' is the last of the books and brings the story to a close. Johnny and I had been talking about doing a Hit-Girl origin book, set back when she and Big Daddy were in their early days, but to be honest I found I could cover what I wanted to cover in flashbbacks here and just do what we did in the earlier volumes with fast-paced cuts to their training and so on. So the five volumes in total we'd been considering is now definitely four and I'm on issue five already. I wasn't sure how I felt going into the last volume because, like 'Ultimates 2,' it's essentially saying goodbye to old friends forever. But I really feel super-charged. I can't watch to switch on the computer in the morning. I've just filled this with everything I wanted to say about real-world superheroes and concluding Dave's story just feels very exciting. The beautiful thing about creator-owned is that you can do anything you want. We're never going to see these characters again (in book form), so I've got a license to go as mental as I like."

Check out Hughes' rendition of everyone's favorite teenage terror below, and check back with CBR for more on "Kick-Ass 3" and the rest of Millarworld's latest developments!