The hype.

The expectations of comic-book fans.

The lead-up from<B> </B>two hugely popular movies that have come before.

The bar is set awfully high for the closing chapter of<B> </B>director Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy. "The Dark Knight Rises" opens Friday, and fans are buzzing with anticipation.

We asked a few eager Bruce Wayne groupies what they're most looking forward to about the movie based on the trailers, the online chatter and published interviews. And we asked what concerns they have, if any, about the direction "The Dark Knight Rises" might take us. Here's what they had to say:

Joshua Howell, 25, Lincoln

I've been a Batman fan since I was a kid and have collected over 1,000 Batman comics. One of the best things about Nolan's films is that he has worked so hard to create a world that's as close as possible to reality, compared to the overly Gothic theatrical settings of Tim Burton and Joel Schumacher (previous directors of "Batman" films).