The Jokers were ready. So were the Banes, and at least two Batmen – or is it Batmans?

No matter – Batman fans of all sizes, shapes and ages settled into their cars, lawn chairs and pickup truck beds long before dusk Thursday, eagerly anticipating an evening of full Batman immersion on Screen 1 at the iconic Milford Drive-In theater.

The special Batman double feature drew fans from the region and beyond, some garbed and painted in character and others in everyday shorts and T-shirts. The draw of the drive-in, many said, was the fact that “The Dark Knight,” the second in Christopher Nolan’s superhero trilogy, was scheduled as sort of an appetizer for the midnight premiere of the third and final piece, “The Dark Knight Rises.”

One of the “Jokers,” Devlin Dzmura, made sure he would be ready for the Part 3 debut. “I watched ‘The Dark Knight’ twice today,” he said, sitting in the bed of a pickup between “Batman” and “Bane,” who were Tim Hartford and Corey Wade, respectively. “Had to get ready.”

The friends, who rode up from Georgetown, Mass., agreed: The best Joker is Heath Ledger.

“He’s probably the best character ever,” Dzmura said. “He’s not in (The Dark Knight Rises), but I think it’ll be pretty good anyway.”

For Hartford, the attraction to back-to-back Batman features is how the actors portray their roles.

“To see childhood characters brought out in this way is amazing,” he said.

Dzmura, who said with a laugh that he plays the Joker “because I can identify with him,” has been donning his Joker persona since he created it for the 2008 debut of “The Dark Knight.”

“I dressed up on a whim, and it was the best experience I ever had,” he said. Reprising the role Thursday was a no-brainer, he added. “Hey, you only get so many opportunities for midnight showings.”

The trio let on a little secret: At midnight, Dzmura said, “The Joker will turn into Batman.”

Several rows away, another Joker and Bane unfolded lawn chairs and opened snacks.

“I bought it when ‘The Dark Knight’ came out. This is probably the last time I can wear it and not look like a total fool,” Mont Vernon resident John Walsh said with a laugh.

He used to play a better Joker, he said, but lost his vest at a party somewhere along the line.

“Yeah, the vest kind of made it. I wore this thing to a lot of theme parties,” Walsh added.

His co-villain Bane, aka Goffstown resident Patrick Byrne, said he adapted his get-up as the character evolved.

“In the comics, he (Bane) kind of looks like a wrestler. Now, he’s more like a terrorist, with the big boots, dark clothes and all,” Byrne said. “I guess he had to change – nobody’s afraid of wrestlers these days; we’re afraid of terrorists.”

The two were roommates at Roger Williams University, graduating in 2011.

“My senior year, that’s when this thing got a lot of use,” Walsh said of his Joker suit. It worked for most any kind of party. “I’d sort of weave it into any kind of relevance I could,” he said with a laugh.

Manchester residents Kyle Widness and Tony Nazaka said they showed up early Thursday, anticipating a crowd similar to that of last year’s Harry Potter midnight showing. “We came here because all the (indoor theaters) showings have been sold out,” Widness said. “We got here around 4:30 or 5 for the Potter show, and it was already crowded.”

The two “pre-gamed,” they said, by watching “Batman Begins,” the 2005 original, on Wednesday.

“Now we get the other two in a row. It’s pretty perfect,” Widness said.

Dean Shalhoup can be reached at 594-6443 or dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com. Also follow Shalhoup on Twitter (@Telegraph_DeanS).