Let me first begin by saying I’m definitely excited for next year’s "Suicide Squad" movie, but probably for all the wrong reasons. It’s clear that Warner Bros has been enviously eyeing the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but also lacks either the patience or the faith in their properties, to gradually integrate new characters and elements into this world. So, in 2016, they’re more or less saying “f*ck it, here’s one movie about all the good guys, and another about all the bad guys, badda-bing badda-boom!”

And you know what? DC might be the only one who could pull something like "Suicide Squad." Marvel might have more intelligent story arcs, and a better sense of editorial direction, but it can’t hold a candle to DC’s villains. With that in mind, the concept of The Suicide Squad alone is enough to sell me; take the dirty dozen, but fill it with super-villains. Yet, taking another glance at the trailer, there’s something I find particularly striking; this is possibly the most female-centric super-hero movie to ever hit the big screen.

First off, let’s talk about Amanda Waller, the overseer of the whole gang of misfits. Now, you might not be able to tell by looking at her, but she might be one of the most fascinating characters in the whole DC universe. In a lot of ways, she may be the most sane character in the history of comics. She’s the one who looks at a world filled with super-heroes and asks, “How could this possibly be a good idea?!”

Her role is to contain craziness with as much level-headed reasoning as possible. What I’ve always found awesome about her character is that artists have almost never tried to portray her as flashy or physically imposing, because they don’t need to. Her power comes entirely from her intelligence, and her tough-as-nails tenacity; if she wants something accomplished it’s going to get done, no matter what the consequences.

Then you’ve got Katana and Enchantress. Now, I’ll admit I’m a little conflicted towards them (and we've also had next to no information on them, so I'm speculating here). On the one hand, part of me is a little nervous that they’ve taken possibly the first Asian character to ever appear in a super-hero movie (excluding "Big Hero 6"), and made her a ninja with the Japanese flag literally branded across her face; it’s one of those designs that you know was designed by a white guy who just watched a couple of Samurai movies. And yet, at the same time, I can’t help but see her character as awesome in kind of the same way Kill Bill's "The Bride" is bad-ass; she’s a female fighter whose primary identity is that of a warrior. I’m aware that that same line of reasoning has been used by apologists to try and cover up the sexism of something like "Suckerpunch," but I’d argue that there’s nothing fetishized about her design. Now, the same can’t exactly be said about the design of Enchantress. I’ll admit, the fact that they’ve got one of these mercenaries walking around in a Leia-esque metal bikini is more than a little strange. That said, from the (limited) information we’ve had on her character, it does seem like they’re trying to go for terrifying than sexy, but I guess that all depends on what they do with the character.

Now, before I move onto Harley Quinn (which is kind of a doozy), I do want to say something about the obligatory hero pose. What I really find awesome about the women of "Suicide Squad," is that awesomeness is accentuated by the dull design of the men. You’ve got four dudes who look they walked straight off the set of "Expendables 4," a hipster with tribal tattoos, and a guy with a skin problem. It also doesn’t help that they’re mostly wearing similar shades of grey, meaning they literally blend into the background. But then, you have these bright flashes of color with Harley Quinn and Katana, both of whom stand in the center, meaning that your eye is naturally drawn to them. To add to that, you’ve got the Enchantress, who is intentionally hiding from the viewer, adding a real creepiness to her character.

I know that this micro-analysis sounds pedantic, but compare this to just about any poster with Black Widow in it. In "The Avengers" line-ups, she’s usually hiding in the background, and even when she isn’t, the simplicity of her black cat suit is always overwhelmed by the bright flash of her male counterparts. It’s subtle, but it let’s the viewer know that Black Widow is definitively a supporting character. But with Suicide Squad, the women are what make the team something special; they embody all its style and dark humor.

Speaking of dark humor, let’s talk about Harley. What’s so fascinating about her as a character, is that she’s hilariously endearing and deeply distressing on equal levels. On the one hand, she’s sort of like an ultra-violent Bugs Bunny, a character who’s just totally bonkers, but also operates on a bizarre, sexual, anti-heroic logic; making her this awesomely irreverent and anarchistic force of nature. At the same time, she’s also the poster child of an abusive relationship, someone who has been totally broken down to the point where her entire identity functions around her abusive boyfriend. As a result, what kind of character she is fluctuates wildly depending on who’s writing her, and whether she’s serving another character's story or shaping her own.

The reason I’m so nervous about this, is that they’ve decided to show her origin story. Remember that part at the end of the trailer where the Joker is holding the two electro-shock panels? The one that’s sort of become the most famous image of the trailer? Well, if you watch carefully, you’ll notice that Harley is the one strapped to the table; the one who the Joker is “gonna hurt really, really bad”. So, in all likelihood, we’re going to see the Joker kidnap his psychiatrist and brutally brainwash her into becoming his insane clown groupie…. Doesn’t that sound fun?

Now in all fairness, Jessica Jones managed to tread similarly uneasy themes, and in doing so managed to show how psychological abuse can affect even someone with super-human strength. But while Jessica Jones' abuse was just a component of her origin story, Harley Quinn’s super Stockholm Syndrome is literally her only power. That becomes really problematic because it puts her character in this weird dichotomy; by constructing her awesome anti-hero persona, you also run the risk of making the abuse that caused her change seem like a good thing. It’s like saying, “Hey, sometimes you get bitten by a radioactive spider, sometimes you’re kidnapped and emotionally tortured by a psychopath, but either way, you’re better off for it!”

I’m not saying that there isn’t an intelligent way to explore her character; hell, there’s probably even a way you could work some pitch-black humor into the mix. But the other problem is that whereas Jessica Jones does intelligently explore this premise, it’s also able to give it the time and depth it deserves because of its TV show format. Here, not only is Harley’s psychology only going to be given roughly two-to-three hours of screen time, but it’ll also be crowded out by nine other protagonists, plus the joker. And that’s why "Suicide Squad" has me somewhat terrified. We’ve been bombarded with photos of Jared Leto’s Joker and stories of his on-set antics; yet we still don’t know all that much about Harley. That’s kind of depressing, because in a story like this the Joker should be present to service Harley Quinn’s strange journey, not the other way around.

So that's the situation, and for what it’s worth, I still think the movie could go either way. I know David Ayer is a talented director, and so I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. But at the same time, I get nervous whenever I remember how Warner Bros just shrugged off Superman destroying an entire city in "Man of Steel" and I'm still cringing at the way Wonder Woman hops into the scene at the last second of the "Batman V Superman" trailer. I really just can’t help but see Warner Bros as a spoilt little child trying to grab all the cool toys at the store, kinda like Killgrave in "Jessica Jones."