The slow unveiling of next summer’s “Star Trek Into Darkness” has begun in earnest, first with the official plot synopsis released last week and now with the first poster, which seems to be taking a few tips from “The Dark Knight Rises.”

This year’s conclusion to Christopher Nolan’s trilogy began its marketing push with a poster showing the Batman symbol formed from a crumbling urban cityscape, and now J.J. Abrams’ “Trek” sequel appears to be in keeping with that approach.

Forget about seeing the USS Enterprise, Kirk, Spock or any of the beloved crew. This first poster promises death and destruction in the form of the film’s villain, played by Benedict Cumberbatch, seen from behind wearing a long trench coat.

Who is he? While no one has confirmed anything officially, the initial guess was that he would be playing Khan Noonien Singh, the villain most people know from “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.” However, more recent speculation has centered around Cumberbatch being Gary Mitchell, a powerful villain with psionic powers played by Gary Lockwood in the original series episode “Where No Man Has Gone Before.”

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