I think you all have made yourselves narrow-minded towards the series. Dante is still top dawg, no one disputes that fact. Even more, we know Dante makes it through because he comes back in Devil May Cry 2. Nero won't take Dante or Vergil's place because the developers are making him a character worthy enough to hold his own place in the series which I think no one is considering. Nero isn't even in the same league as Dante.
Now for those of you who are hoping Nero is gonna be strong... I'll bet you... by the end of the game Nero will have grown enough in terms of power he'll be in Dante's ballpark. It's a given, Dante or Nero will be the final boss, so brace yourselves. I'm lookin' forward to it. I was dissapointed when I didn't get to fight Dante with Vergil in Special Edition. Also take this into consideration. As a good guy, we've always fought from a disadvantage. We got a few seconds of use in Devil Trigger for previous games and outnumbered by enemies that can kill us in two to three shots. (Assuming you like Dante Must Die) Nero is the same case, it doesn't mean he's stronger than Dante by any means, he just might be able to hold his own. That's all.
Nero won't be bad as long as you keep an open mind. Nero will never take Dante or Vergil's place in the series and don't play him down because he looks like them. He's a cool guy in his own standing. Don't compare him to Dante or Vergil because that ain't fair. Anyone other than Sparda who gets compared to those two is gonna get crushed. Superman don't got squat on those two. So don't compare anyone to Dante or Vergil, or your settin yourselves up for dissapointment.

Iron Chef...