The Dark Knight Rises Spoilers: 12 Biggest Secrets Revealed & Reviewed

If the early reviews are anything to go by - including Shaun's 5 star review for this very site - The Dark Knight Rises is set to continue the trend of Nolan's first two Bat films, and transcend to the place where film becomes phenomenon. An extremely healthy box-office is assured, and it's not exactly a major stretch to assume that it will become one of the highest grossing films of all time, pulling in a box office return to reflect how anticipated it was. But then we already suspected that that would be the case, based on the amount of pre-release coverage the film has attracted, built mostly on a foundation go pure speculation thanks to the typical tight-lipped approach Chris Nolan took to marketing the film (up until the last few weeks at least). As a result, there have been a multitude of questions bouncing around among fans since the early days of cast announcements, teaser trailers and leaked set information, and the buzz has continued right up to release date, with Nolan's marketing team boxing clever with how much material they actually released. That strategy encouraged a climate of spirited debate: what would happen, who would appear and why exactly has Bruce Wayne gone missing for eight years? Well, fans of spoilers can wipe that confused look off their faces, as we present out spoiler guide to the major revelations of the film: those points which address the most persistent questions relating to cast and story. If you're of a delicate nature and have no interest in having those important secrets revealed to you, it's probably best you turn away now. For everyone else, what follows is a list of twelve of those big secrets. And it's not just a matter of needless revelation - in each case the plot point involved is explored in depth and reviewed in its own right, so that the list is more of a step-by-step guide to the major secrets of the film, and their relative successes. So even if you've now seen The Dark Knight Rises, it's well worth reading, but take a deep breath, because it's a fairly major article. Warning: There are many huge spoilers within. If you don't want to know what happens in the film, don't read ahead. You have been warned AGAIN. Click next to reveal the first secret. They get increasingly sensational as the list progresses towards number one...