Popverse's top stories of the day

• The curious festive magic of the holiday movie, and why we shouldn't think too much about it
• WATCH: The cast and creator of Star Trek: Lower Decks talk journeying to the undiscovered country with the show's final season
• Long before The Boys and The Franchise, Marvel explored the dangers of Hollywood and superheroes with X-Statix

Now we know what that secret Deadpool Christmas project was. And even cooler, we now know it's for a good cause - specifically, for the SickKids Foundation, which raises funds on behalf of The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. A new plug for the foundation was posted to Ryan Reynolds's social media December 12, and featured Reynolds returning to his Marvelous red undies along with daughter Inez, who reprises her Kidpool role from Deadpool & Wolverine. But the standout appearance comes from none other than Lynda Carter, reprising her legendary role as DC Comics own - 

Oh wait, nevermind. Watch the video below.

In the ad for SickKids posted above, which ends by promising Reynolds and partner Blake Lively will match donations to SickKids of up to $500,000 made before December 24, Lynda Carter shows up and very nearly dons her old Wonder Woman costume, going so far as to perform her classic spin that saw her transform into the DC Comics icon in the Wonder Woman TV series that ran from 1975 to 1979. Unfortunately, the DC/Marvel crossover doesn't end up working out, as Carter only sees her outfit transform into "one  [CENSORED] ugly sweater," in Kidpool's words.

Now to be quite honest, Deadpool's crack that Wonder Woman couldn't appear because of "the DC lawyers, I knew it" is probably just a wiseass remark typical to the character. Actually, you might recall Popverse's reporting on why DC and Marvel crossovers aren't happening anymore, and the reasons are a lot more complex than some Scroogey lawyers at Warner Bros. Though they're certainly a factor, it's not like there aren't any equally Humbug-types over at Marvel.

Perhaps the coolest thing to get out of this ad, though, isn't that some of the Big Two's most iconic heroes almost shared the screen, it's that some of their most iconic performers are doing heroic things off ot it. In particular, Lynda Carter has proven herself to be as much a champion of the people as her Amazonian screen persona, advocating for the sick and the oppressed many times in her storied career. For example, she served as Grand Marshall for both the Phoenix and New York Pride Parades in 2011, four years before the Obergefell decision guaranteed legal gay marriage in all 50 US States. 

To bring this back to Deadpool's wisecrack, there really are some D.C. lawyers that would rather not have Lynda Carter do her thing, though not exactly the ones he was joking about. But she's continued her "wondrous" work, magic Warrior suit or no.

Keep up to date on Popverse's Marvel coverage, with these highlights:

• Marvel Studios has accidentally created a new Phase that predates Phases 1 - 6: the MCU Phase Zero
• Which Secret Wars comic the Russos are basing Avengers 6 off of
• Overgrown children of the atom: Marvel's X-Men can't evolve past their '90s commercial peak
• The biggest outstanding questions of the Marvel Studios' movies & TV shows
• Marvel's accidental closure on the Kang storyline
• Robert Downey Jr. is entering his villain era
• Donald Trump is the landlord for Marvel's House of Ideas
• For Marvel actors, the MCU also stands for the Marvel Commercials Universe
• The Fantastic 4: First Steps offers Marvel a visual makeover, courtesy of a classic movie designer
• Marvel Studios swapping out Doctor Doom for Kang offers the chance to jettison the Multiverse Saga
• What Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige is saying (and not saying) about the MCU X-Men franchise says a lot about the future of the Mutant Saga
• If Marvel is going to bring Loki back for Secret Wars, it's time to give him an upgrade
• With Daredevil, and spinoffs from Black Panther, What If, and more, Marvel Studios' 2025 Disney+ slate is bigger than ever, and that might be a big deal for the future
• If Kraven the Hunter flops, Sony's Spider-Man Universe could look for a Marvel-assisted reboot