The challenge has been called. "Captain America 3" will officially face-off against the Man of Steel sequel, tentatively titled "Batman Vs. Superman" on May 6, 2016!

The official announcement from Marvel.com:

"Following the record-breaking premiere of Marvel's "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" this past weekend, the First Avenger will jump into his next big screen solo adventure in just a little more than two years on May 6, 2016!

Before the untitled "Captain America 3" hits theaters, though, fans can next see Cap when he joins the rest of Earth's Mightiest Heroes once more in Marvel's "Avengers: Age of Ultron" on May 1, 2015!"

While it has already been the subject of speculation weeks before the actual opening, Marvel has finally set it in stone. They needed some assurance before they make it official, and breaking box-office records seemed enough for Kevin Feige and company.

The Box Office Prophets made the assessment for the sequel to Captain America: "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" got started on Thursday night, taking in a very strong $10.2 million from Thursday night showings. In comparison, Divergent earned $4.9 million from its Thursday night screenings, Noah earned $1.6 million, Marvel's The Avengers earned $18.7 million and Iron Man 3 earned $15.6 million on Thursday nights. The difference in opening a film in the first weekend in May versus the first weekend of April is still vast, but with Fast and Furious earning $71 million over this weekend in '09, and now Winter Soldier, we can expect this weekend to be dueled over for years to come, as the spring box office continues to expand."

Speaking of dueling over release dates, 'Batman Vs Superman' forced a duel with Marvel for May 6, 2016. The first week of May has long been Marvel territory, and they made a bold move to try and pry it away.

Now, Marvel has a certified big gun to match up against the Warner/DC flagship. To think that "Captain America" used to be the weakest link in the Marvel box-office chain, they really look fearsome.

Will Warner blink and move "Batman Vs Superman" to their more familiar June-July release date?