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Chris Evans (Steve Rogers) who portrayed Captain America in "Marvel's The Avengers," returns to Cleveland to film "Captain America: Winter Soldier."

(Plain Dealer File)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- All those yellow, plastic "FB" signs with arrows on them that you're seeing around town mean one thing: "Marvel Studios' Captain America: The Winter Soldier" is here.



The movie, with Christopher Evans reprising his role as the Avenger Captain America, is being filmed in various locations around the city through mid-June. The most expansive shooting area is the city's West Shoreway, Ohio 2, which will be closed from May 30 through June 14 from Lake Road near Edgewater Park to East Ninth Street by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.



Other shooting spots in downtown Cleveland will force limited street closures including Euclid Avenue, East Ninth Street, Prospect Avenue and Lakeside Avenue.



The "FB" designation is short for the code name of the movie, "Freezer Burn," which refers to the time Captain America and Bucky were frozen in ice in suspended animation. Two years ago, The Avengers movie was filmed downtown under the code name "Group Hug."



Casual comics fans will immediately pick up on the "Freezer Burn" gag, but only the most die-hard fans will catch the significance of the name of the production company for the project: "Vita Ray Productions II."



Vita Rays were used to stabilize the "Super Soldier Serum" that turned scrawny Steve Rogers into the musclebound power house, Captain America. Think of Vita Rays as radiation treatment following chemotherapy for cancer. In the comic books, without the Vita Ray treatment, the person treated would go insane.



What is apparent from the comics, and not so much in the first Captain America movie, is that the Super Soldier Serum was developed at great cost. Most of the men it was tested on, died. The serum was lost after Captain America was created and has not been replicated.



As it did with the filming of The Avengers movie, Marvel Studios is giving nothing away about the plot. In the comic series, "The Winter Soldier" refers to Cap's sidekick, Bucky, who was presumed dead at the end of World War II when he and Cap tried to stop the launch of a missile aimed at Great Britain. Both fell into the sea. Cap was frozen in suspended animation until found and rescued by The Avengers.



In the comic series, Bucky's frozen body was found by Russian secret agents who saved his life and turned him into a cold-blooded assassin. He eventually got his memory restored and fought spies as The Winter Soldier.



In the film: "Captain America: The First Avenger," the Bucky character is a friend who was last seen falling off a train to his apparent death.



The Southerly Wastewater Treatment Plant in Cuyahoga Heights will be used as a film location on and off from Monday through May 31. The Lakeview Cemetery Dam, which is owned by the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, will be used as a location roughly from Saturday through May 31.



The district is being reimbursed for use of the facilities for up to $200,000. A large portion of the money, up to $2,000 for each day of filming, will be donated to Harvest For Hunger.



The Plain Dealer will be covering the filming of "Marvel's Captain America: The Winter Soldier" and readers are asked to pitch in. If you see a star around the city, send your photos or videos to #CleFilms via Instagram or Twitter.





