UPDATED with this new photo from Business Wire! Click the link to read their press release about the creation of the commercial. The original article follows.

Hi! John Bierly here. I’m sure you think I’m making up the headline above, or that it’s the result of some kind of burger-induced fever dream I had (again), but sometimes my favorite things just COLLIDE in ways I’ve never even dared to dream.

In this case, “Man of Steel” maestro Zack Snyder directs Henry Cavill as Superman in a commercial for a new Carl’s Jr./Hardee’s cheeseburger bursting with succulent toppings, dreamy cheese, and bacon.

Bacon.

BACON.

That’s how awesome a director Mr. Snyder is. He’s got me questioning who I’d rather be — Superman, or the guy chomping on the cheeseburger.

This story also allows me exclusively to unveil MMM’s new cheeseburgers tag. This may be the only article here that ever requires it, but I’m hoping it gets used again soon. (I’m going to do everything in my power to make that happen.)

Ball’s in your court, Marvel. Meanwhile, let’s all meet at Hardee’s. And you’re not invited, Bryan Singer.

(I like the part where it says, “Sometimes you need three times the bacon.” Because that’s true.)

The language used at the start of the Tweet is not subtle, and surely a shot taken at Marvel Studios and/or Whedon for trying to include mutants in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The truth of the matter, though, is that Marvel and 20th Century Fox both have the legal right to use Quicksilver. Fox owns the film rights to the X-Men franchise and is able to incorporate Quicksilver into its cinematic continuity by way of the character’s father, Magneto. Marvel Studios can also use the character since he is not explicitly off limits in the deal with Fox, so long as Marvel does not refer to Quicksilver as a mutant.

With each studio having its own legal rights to the character, Singer is essentially calling “dibs” since his film will be out almost a year before The Avengers 2 hits theaters on May 1, 2015. The timing of this news is questionable given the massive flood of mutant casting announcements that ran dry several weeks ago as the film got deeper into principal photography. Just enough time has passed since Whedon made his plans to use Quicksilver public, however, for Singer to make a few revisions and add the character to his own movie. Singer even simplifies the character as “just a REALLY fast kid,” in his Tweet, which does not exactly suggest the role will be significant in X-Men: Days of Future Past.

This is either a creative coincidence, the beginning of a shocking inter-studio crossover, a defiant dare, or an attempt to dissuade Marvel from keeping Quicksilver in future drafts of its Avengers sequel scripts. Regardless of the motivation, Marvel should not allow today’s news to dictate Quicksilver’s status in The Avengers 2. The story Joss Whedon wants to tell should be the only determining factor.

Normally the idea of two iterations of the same character appearing in two separate, concurrent franchises is more complicated than its worth, but this is a rare exception. Not a single X-Men film has made even one-third of the global box office receipts hauled in by The Avengers. The last X-Men film, First Class, made a little more than one-fifth of The Avengers‘ earnings.

The bottom line is most of the people who go see The Avengers 2 will not have seen X-Men: Days of Future Past, leaving them completely unaware of the presence of another cinematic Quicksilver. Depending on how prominent the role is in DOFP, many people who see that film may fail to recall him a year later. Most of the people who recognize the fact that there are two Quicksilvers will be comic fans who are used to separate continuities anyway.

If Joss Whedon wants Quicksilver in The Avengers 2, then let the character run in 2014, and again in 2015.

21st Century Fox has released a new trailer for The Wolverine, providing the best look yet at the Silver Samurai. Other than that, there is not much new ground covered in this footage, which continues to emphasize Logan dealing with the potential loss of his healing factor.

Marvel Entertainment has released a trailer for its new animated series Avengers Assemble. A special one-hour preview episode will premiere on Sunday, May 26, on Disney XD. This latest animated series replaces The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and is supposed to be better aligned with the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the currently running Ultimate Spider-Man, also on Disney XD. The tie-in to last year’s blockbuster, Marvel’s The Avengers, is immediately apparent given the very familiar roster rundown in the trailer below.

As tickets allegedly go on sale this morning, Warner Bros. has released three new character posters from Man of Steel, featuring Superman, Jor-El, and General Zod. Enjoy.

Star Trek Into Darkness has arrived and that means it’s time for the Gentlemen of the MMM Podcast to deliver their roundtable review. As we have come to expect from genre films in beloved franchises, fan reactions have been divided. The Gentlemen, though, appear to be in unison with their appreciation of the film despite some of its missteps. Shall we begin?

Download the show HERE.

Check out the first full trailer for Batman: Arkham Origins, which arrives October 25, 2013!

Review written by Justin Bolger

Editor’s Note: The following review contains SPOILERS, so if you have not yet seen the film, you may not want to read this article until after you have gone INTO DARKNESS.

The Abramsverse continues with Star Trek Into Darkness.  When a rogue Starfleet agent carries out a terrorist attack on Earth, Captain James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) is ordered to bring him to justice.  As the journey to apprehend this new threat continues, Captain Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise discover that things are not exactly what they appear to be, and the threat they face may be closer to home than originally anticipated.

By the end of 2009’s Star Trek, James T Kirk (Chris Pine) and Spock (Zach Quinto) had arrived at a place of mutual respect, but not yet formed the friendship that defined their earlier incarnations.  Star Trek Into Darkness examines how that legendary friendship is formed, as both characters evolve through both shared and complimentary experiences throughout the film.

For Kirk, that means learning one of Spock’s essential lessons, that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or in Kirk’s case, the one.  Captaincy of a starship is a service, not a trophy, and Kirk’s gradual realization of this truth is powerfully conveyed through Pine’s performance.  Kirk at the end of this film is not the same man that he was at its beginning, and that character growth is exceptional and well executed.

The same can be said of Quinto’s performance as Spock, as that character’s growth lies in his recognition and acceptance of the value of human emotions.  If the first film’s Spock was constantly at war with his emotions, this film’s Spock is learning how to explore those emotions and gain strength from them.

Of course, the catalyst that sets both men on this voyage of self discovery is the carnage caused by Khan Noonien Singh (Benedict Cumberbatch) in a performance that emanates cold confidence and deadly clarity of purpose while remaining dangerously charismatic.  This is best displayed during the scene in which he reveals his true identity in the Enterprise’s brig.  The baritone of his voice delivers each of his lines with such deliberation as to communicate that no matter the situation, this version of Khan is always in control.  That underlying trait is an effective delineation from Ricardo Montablan’s interpretation of the character as a bit of a hothead, whose tendency to let his emotions get the better of him led to his defeat.

Though the performances of the aforementioned actors anchor the film, there are no sub par performances to be found throughout it and every member of the main cast gets an opportunity to shine.  Particularly Scotty (Simon Pegg), who provides humorously critical support to the crew during a desperate hour, and McCoy (Karl Urban), who continues to pay tribute to the late DeForest Kelley with a respectful interpretation of the character.

The film does go a little too far with the fan service at times, specifically at two junctures in which the nods to what has come before are so distracting that they lessen the impact of what is on screen.  The first is when Spock takes a moment during the Enterprise’s confrontation with Khan to seek advice from Spock Prime (Leonard Nimoy in a surprise cameo) on how best to defeat him.  While it’s always great to see Nimoy, even in this film, it doesn’t quite ring true that Spock would take a moment to contact his alternate self for advice when there is a crisis underway.

The second is during the “death” of Jim Kirk.  It’s an obvious, almost over the top homage to the iconic death of Spock from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan that loses much of its emotional impact because of how similar it is to that earlier scene.  Kirk and Spock being separated by glass with their hands against it with many of the same lines being recited before Spock lets out a, “KHAAAAAAN!!!” borders on parody, and this section very much so seems forced into the rest of the film.

Despite these shortcomings, Star Trek Into Darkness is a great time of a film.  It immediately thrusts you into the center of the action (literally, if you see it in 3-D) and continues at a breakneck pace that doesn’t slow until the credits are rolling.  J.J. Abrams and his team at Bad Robot have delivered another engaging, fun, and heartfelt entry that continues to evolve the classic franchise while remaining completely worthy of the name Star Trek.

Justin Bolger is a regular panelist and “Gentleman” on the Modern Myth Media Podcast. You can also find more of his science fiction and fantasy musings on his site- Apex Fan.