This month’s Hero proves that, even though a person’s public image was forged in gunfire, disputes can still be settled in a civil manner. More specifically, they can be settled in a civil court of law. To that end, 50 Cent has sued Taco Bell for $4 million for using his name without permission in a guerilla advertising campaign.

In a lawsuit filed on July 23 in a Manhattan federal court, the rapper, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, claims the Mexican-themed fast-food chain promulgated a letter encouraging the “Get Rich or Die Tryin’” star to change his name to either “79 Cent,” “89 Cent,” or “99 Cent” to promote the company’s “79-89-99 Cent Why Pay More” campaign. The letter was eventually sent to “Fiddy,” but only after it had been disseminated to the media.

The suit claims that the stunt was designed to fool consumers into thinking the Grammy-nominated artist had endorsed the chain. “As Taco Bell intended, many customers believed that 50 Cent had agreed to endorse Taco Bell’s products. Indeed, postings on numerous Internet ‘blogs’ castigated 50 Cent for ‘selling out’ by his apparent endorsement of Taco Bell.”

The lawsuit accuses the Irvine, California-based company of “diluting the value of his good name.” Now, instead of changing his name to “99 Cent,” Taco Bell has devalued it to about “12 Cent.” Don’t those bastards know the dollar is weak enough already? Plus, with inflation the way it is, he may soon have to go by the moniker “Nickel.”

The suit further asserts, “Without seeking or obtaining Jackson’s authorization, defendant Taco Bell made him the star and focus of its nation-wide advertising campaign by using his name, persona and trademark to promote Taco Bell’s business and products.” Executives at Taco Bell, like many Americans, fail to realize that 50 Cent has worked hard to earn the hardcore thug image that he enjoys today. By getting shot in the face more than Jenna Jameson, he’s paid the price to gain the street cred that he currently enjoys.

We firmly believe that 50 Cent is justified in having this beef with Taco Bell. (We also firmly believe that actual beef at Taco Bell is merely an urban myth.) His image is totally incongruous with that of the restaurant chain. One has rock-hard abs while the other has rock-hard soft tacos. One is known for drive-thrus while the other is known for drive-bys.

The bottom line is that the folks at Taco Bell should be thankful that filing suit is the only action 50 Cent has taken against them. Fortunately for them, he managed to “think outside the gun.”