Over the summer, a new trailer was released for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice at San Diego Comic Con. I watched it, and I have to say this about the upcoming film: I don’t think this will work. Financially, it’ll probably be a huge hit. Batman and Superman are names that anyone with even passing knowledge of comic books knows. However, it’s the damage to the characters, and indeed comic book movies, that I’m concerned about.

A nerd is defending comic book characters in a lengthy piece. Go ahead and get your jokes out now. I’ll wait. Now that that’s over, lets get to it.

The main problem lies in the title. Batman v Superman? I know that this is an interesting idea, with two incredibly powerful beings duking it out, but it’s completely counterintuitive. It’s been established for decades now, even past whole universe reboots, that Batman and Superman know each other. But more importantly, and I want to make this clear: THEY! DON’T! FIGHT! EACH OTHER!!!!

In the trailer, Ben Affleck, the new Batman, says that Superman “Has the power to destroy the human race.” That is technically true. Since Superman’s abilities are based on our yellow sunlight, which is always coming to Earth, his power is effectively limitless, barring some kryptonite.

But what Affleck says next astounds me. “We have to destroy him.” Superman is not a doomsday weapon. He’s the opposite of that. He wants to ensure the life of everyone on the planet. It’s why he hasn’t killed any of his archnemises. It’s why David S. Goyer, the man who wrote this movie, wrote a story where Superman renounced his American citizenship, because Superman does not belong to any one country over the others. He fights for truth and justice, universal causes applicable to anyone, regardless of nationality. If Superman were a villain, we’d all be dead by now, since Superman can destroy anything he comes across in this villainous interpretation. No, Batman can’t beat Superman. Get over it.

We also see Wonder Woman in this trailer. I’ll let this whole paragraph show just how important the most recognizable superheroine in history is to these filmmakers. Good to see her on screen.

But the gall of this movie doesn’t stop. It’s part of the new Justice League cinematic universe DC and Warner Brothers are making to compete with Marvel’s. Understandable businesswise, as the Marvel Cinematic Universe has grossed huge profits and is critically successful. But to do this, we’re getting appearances from not only DC’s trinity of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, but also Cyborg and Aquaman. Part of what made Marvel’s insane gamble work was that it came on slowly, introducing Iron Man, then Hulk, then Thor, then Captain America, before bringing it all together in The Avengers. We were introduced to these characters, their powers, their supporting cast, and their villains all in separate movies so it’s easier to process, making the team-up that much more enjoyable. To properly introduce the heroes, we’d need a Batman movie, a Wonder Woman movie, and so on. Suicide Squad is meant to be a group film, so I’ll let that slide for now.

Warner Brothers is trying to do the same thing Marvel did quicker, and with a darker tone. But it’s doing so with only one major release to set the pace, 2013’s Man of Steel, which polarized both critics and fans. A majority of other movies that DC Comics superheroes have starred in, including Green Lantern, Catwoman, the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Superman Returns, Jonah Hex, and Steel (starring that paragon of the silver screen Shaquille O’Neal) have tanked. League even made Sean Connery retire. The only major successes they’ve had are with Christopher Nolan’s rightly renowned trilogy of Batman films and the first two Superman films with Christopher Reeve. And darker doesn’t mean better. It means more people die and more people brood. If done correctly, as in Nolan’s trilogy, it can be quite good. But if it isn’t, like this is shaping up to be, it comes off as either pretentious, excessive, or cruel, often some combination of these. I think its telling that one of the production companies involved, helmed by director Zach Snyder, is called Cruel and Unusual Films. I wish I were making that up.

No, I’m not looking forward to Batman v Superman. I have very little reason to.