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With The Dark Knight now the second-highest domestically grossing film of all time, some of Batman's friends and co-workers are having trouble convincingly faking their delight over his success. First and foremost among that group would be Superman, with one source claiming the Kryptonian native had gotten "catty" with the cowled vigilante recently, demanding to know if he'd "remembered to celebrate Mother's Day this year," before adding, "Come on, Flash. Let's go play Wii Fit," and storming out of the Justice League cafeteria. It's no secret what the source of that animosity is— Bryan Singer's uninspiring take on the Superman mythos fizzled at the box office, failing to capture the public's imagination—and according to Variety, the very fate of the failed franchise reboot now hangs in the balance:

Fans have been clamoring all over the web—and on this blog—for a complete reboot. And within the halls of Warner Bros. the same debate rages on.

They too believe that the last movie didn't break the mold and wound up in some kind of middle limbo. Today I was told that it is a priority at the studio to find the right direction and if Bryan Singer is willing to do that, fine, but if he gets in the way, he may not stay on the project. There are no writers working on a Superman script now. The studio wants to figure it out. "It might be better to start from scratch," one exec admitted.

It's an intimidating creative dilemma for Warners. Were it only as easy as one commenter's suggestion that they "make it more darker and not commerciallize [sic].. just like THE DARK KNIGHT the writer and the director make some risk to the movie and look what happen??" Indeed, look what happen. But the addition of a mutilated, lip-licking villain and surgically-implanted detonation devices won't necessarily guarantee that audiences seeking a jolt of unabashed and patriotic optimism will warm to a cynically repackaged Rottenguy: The Shadowy Kryptonian Prince Returns.