Hong Kong police have arrested two student leaders of the protests, which began in the region in September.
Occupy Central supporters refuse to budge despite repeated attempts to remove them but police obtained a court order allowing them to clear swathes of tents and barricades.
Eighty court bailiffs were also appointed to help clear the area.
Hong Kong police arrested 45 pro-democracy protesters this morning amid violent scenes on a major road in the Asian financial centre.
Video footage shows police using pepper spray on protesters who refused to move and officers wrestling several demonstrators to the ground before taking them away.
Protesters have been demanding full democracy for the former British colony in the wake of restrictions placed by China on the city's next elections in 2017.
The superhero appeared to join pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong which have been going on for over a month.
A Hong Kong resident says the Occupy Central protests, now in their third week, show another side to a city known for its "cold efficiency".
Despite clashes on the streets a university student used a brief moment of quiet to ask his girlfriend to marry him and she said 'yes'.