'The Avengers' Hits Select Cities Early - Facebook Decides Which Ones

Getting all pee-pants excited for Marvel's long-awaited superhero team-up "The Avengers" but not sure you can wait until May 4? Before piracy becomes an option you consider, know that there's a legitimate avenue to seeing the crossover blockbuster-to-be early.

Marvel Studios announced today that the cities where the most Marvel faithful have turned up en masse on the film's official Facebook page will see the big team-up of Captain America, Iron Man, the Hulk, Thor, Hawkeye, Nick Fury and Black Widow before it opens May 4, the Associated Press reports.

Not that this cake needs icing, but the select cities' April 14 early debuts will be free admission on a first-come, first-serve basis.

All's not lost for those who live outside winning cities New York, Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago and Miami. Fans can still hit the Facebook page and make the case with a "Like" that their respective hometowns should be among the next five cities the studio picks for the gratis advance screenings.

This summer might boast the stiffest comic book film competition since studios started adapting the intellectual properties to the big screen. "The Avengers" arrives this May, but Sony will debut its Marvel reboot "The Amazing Spider-Man" July 3 and Warner Bros.' Batman finale "The Dark Knight Rises" arrives July 20. While "The Avengers" arrives early enough that it won't be in that direct of competion with the other two, there will no doubt be comparisons of the finished products' respective successes and failures once all three have hit theaters.

"The Avengers" stars Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johannson, Jeremy Rennner, Samuel L. Jackson and Robert Downey Jr.