Marvel's Uncanny X-Men - long one of comics' most tight-knit teams - is being torn apart by a schism between Cyclops and Wolverine to such a degree that something's got to give.

The 20th Century Fox prequel chronicling the formative years of the comic-book mutants found smaller audiences than the franchise's first four big-screen adventures, which featured older versions of the X-Men.

Reynolds was tucked in a coffin on set for two and a half weeks on the one-man show "Buried," a thriller opening Friday in which he plays a contract driver in Iraq who has been buried alive by terrorists.

The Walt Disney Co. is buying Marvel Entertainment Inc. for $4 billion in cash and stock, bringing such characters as Iron Man and Spider-Man into the family of Mickey Mouse and WALL-E.

The battles set a predictable tone for "Wolverine" from which director Gavin Hood rarely deviates. The prequel telling the back story of one of the "X-Men" trilogy's favorite heroes is all about tough guys fighting, with every trick and weapon imaginable.

Starting May 1, barely a weekend will pass without another brawny special-effects extravaganza landing in theaters.

As this summer's slate of sequels marches on, Hollywood is planning even more installments of their biggest franchises. With an indefinite number of future "Spider-Man" movies on tap and an 11th "Star Trek" coming next year, how many sequels are enough?

In the drizzling rain at Arlington National Cemetery, thousands of grieving patriots solemnly watch as the pall bearers - Iron Man, the Black Panther, Ben Grimm and Ms. Marvel - carry a casket draped with an American flag.