Three ginormous superhero productions are currently filming across the country: The Dark Knight Rises, Man of Steel and The Avengers. While it’s exciting to know that these movies are one step closer to being released into theaters for all of us to judge see, we’re also suffering from a bit of a set photo bonanza. The productions are filming a number of scenes on location, which is great for the finished film, but that also means that passersby have been snapping photos every chance they get. I love enthusiasm, but I’d rather not see each of these highly anticipated movies piece-by-piece by way of Joe Schmo’s shitty camera zoom over the next year.

That being said, it’s our job to cover this news, and today we’ve got some new set photos from The Avengers! Actually, the images only show crews doing prep work for some big destruction-type scene set to film next week in Cleveland (which is doubling for New York City), so they’re extremely minor on spoilers. If you’re inclined to see some of the street destruction we can expect from Joss Whedon’s all-star superhero movie, hit the jump. The Avengers opens in 3D on May 4, 2012.

Here are the set photos, courtesy of Cleveland local and Twitter-user Maggie Diane (via CBM):

Here’s The Avengers production announcement which features the relevant cast/plot info:

Robert Downey, Jr. (“Iron Man,” “Iron Man 2″) returns as the iconic Tony Stark/Iron Man along with Chris Hemsworth (“Thor”) as Thor, Chris Evans (“Captain America: The First Avenger”) as Captain America, Jeremy Renner (“Thor,” “The Hurt Locker”) as Hawkeye, Mark Ruffalo (“The Kids Are Alright”) as Hulk, Scarlett Johansson (“Iron Man 2″) as Black Widow, Clark Gregg (“Iron Man,” “Thor”) as Agent Phil Coulson, and Samuel L. Jackson (“Iron Man,” “Iron Man 2″) as Nick Fury.  Set for release in the US on May 4, 2012, “Marvel’s The Avengers” is the first feature to be fully owned, marketed and distributed by Disney, which acquired Marvel in 2009.

Continuing the epic big-screen adventures started in “Iron Man,” “The Incredible Hulk,” “Iron Man 2,” “Thor,” and “Captain America: The First Avenger,” “Marvel’s The Avengers” is the super hero team up of a lifetime. When an unexpected enemy emerges that threatens global safety and security, Nick Fury, director of the international peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D., finds himself in need of a team to pull the world back from the brink of disaster.

Based on the ever-popular Marvel comic book series, first published in 1963, “Marvel’s The Avengers” brings together the mightiest super hero characters as they all assemble together on screen for the first time. The star studded cast of super heroes will be joined by Cobie Smulders (“How I Met Your Mother) as Agent Maria Hill of S.H.I.E.L.D., as well as Tom Hiddleston (“Wallander”) and Stellan Skarsgård (“Angels & Demons,” “Mamma Mia!”) who will both reprise their respective roles as Loki and Professor Erik Selvig from the upcoming Marvel Studios’ feature “Thor.”