‘Dark Knight Rises,’ ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ Teaser Posters Released [PHOTOS]

Official teaser posters for two of the most-anticipated summer blockbusters -- The Dark Knight Rises and The Amazing Spider-Man -- have been released.

The superhero films will both hit the box office in summer 2012, and the posters share a glimpse at what eager comic book fans can expect from these new adaptations.

The Dark Knight Rises poster, entitled The Legend Ends, features a back shot of the villain Baine, portrayed by Tom Hardy. Batman's shattered mask is pictured in the foreground, as if the antagonist had just conquered the superhero.

Rain pours down in the scene, which is particularly striking with black, white and gray hues. The shadowy poster is an alluring view of what will be The Dark Knight Rises, starring Hardy, Christian Bale and Anne Hathaway, leaving many to speculate about the fate of the characters.

Guesswork will only increase when the first six minutes (a prologue of sorts) of The Dark Knight Rises plays before Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol at 70mm IMAX theaters starting Dec. 16, reports Film Drunk.

Another poster that has recently been released is the teaser poster for The Amazing Spider-Man, starring Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone.

The poster, entitled The Untold Story, is simple but powerful. It features Garfield's Peter Parker climbing up a stone wall, cloaked in darkness. His shadow is not that of a man, but of a spider.

Shadows are consistently used in comic iconography, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The gloomy silhouettes often reveal the true soul or identity of the character, one that is not necessarily perceptible on the surface.

The Amazing Spider-Man will hit theaters on July 3, 2012.