The "pimps" at Marvel Studios may have finally closed the deal that pulled the last inch of Iron Man's blockbuster rug from beneath Terrence Howard, but a radical group of franchise purists are fighting his ouster with the new petition "Terrence Howard as War Machine in Iron Man 2." It seems a legal impossibility at this point, with Don Cheadle locked in as Col. Jim Rhodes, but! As the scrappy revolutionaries in Audrina Patridge's neighborhood showed us on Tuesday, there is no affront that can't be corrected with a surge of Democratic fervor — and maybe some fanboy earnestness to spare:

ARE YOU A FAN? THEN YOU SHOULD BE OUTRAGED AT MARVEL! [...] Marvel is under the impression that just any person can play Col. James "Rhodey" Rhodes. They are sadly mistaken. Marvel asked Terrence Howard to be Rhodey. He signed on to play Rhodey. Terrence Howard became Rhodey. We were under the impression that when you signed a contract with someone, it was their word. "That's how Dad did it. That's how America does it. And it's worked out pretty good so far." Signed, Future Ticket Holders

And outrage is mounting at the petition site, where nearly 900 of those angry FTH's have stormed the barricades with pickets screaming, "Marvel you're going to pay for your wretched treachery," "I support this petition With all my power and right to the death," " Ya lol i agree! down with Cheadle! Up with Howard!" and — in the equivalent of a dirty bomb thrown in Marvel's lobby — "Terrance [sic] Howard o nada! mejor cancelen Iron Man 2." Surely whenever the SWAT team is finished over at MGM Tower, they'll be on the spot in Beverly Hills.