Six new character posters for The Dark Knight Rises

The Dark Knight Rises has stepped its promotional push up a notch this week, following yesterday's official poster with the release of six new character-specific one-sheets.

The new posters profile Batman, Catwoman and Bane, and are split into two distinctive groups. The first three posters show the trio shrouded in darkness, their shapes crumbling slightly at the edges as the rain lashed down around them.

The second set of posters show the three characters staring off into the middle distance, against a midnight blue backdrop reminiscent of the Dark Knight poster. "The legend ends," reads the tagline, ominously.

All six are pretty cool, although we definitely prefer the darker set in terms of atmosphere. The Bane poster is particularly good, with Tom Hardy's face half-obscured by shadow, and looking more menacing than ever.

The Dark Knight Rises opens in the UK on 20 July 2012. Until then, you can feast your eyes on the full range of posters, below...