Superheroes unite to save the innocent and kill the villain in superhero movies, and soon they will also unite at the box office.

This summer, many superhero movies are coming out. “Thor” was the first released of many to come. The line-up includes movies such as “Captain America,” and “Green Lantern” and “X-Men: First Class,” which are already in theaters.

“Superheroes rank right up there with watermelon and Otter-Pops,” said Alek Fiestner, a pre-nursing major who was most excited to see “X-Men:First Class.” “That’s why they’re released in the summer.”

The excitement for superhero movies and comic books made into movies comes from the imagination they bring, Fiestner said.

“They involve imagination and ideas that are outside the bounds of human ability, which induces a temporary freedom from the demands that chain us to everyday living,” Fiestner said.

“X-Men: First Class” made $56 million its opening weekend and “Thor” opened making $66 million. Since the release of superhero movies, profits for these films have been high. When “Superman” first released in 1978, it made $394 million, according to IMDb.com, The Internet Movie Database.

Turning comic book characters into movies is the safe way out for producers, according to Jonathan Walgamott, a senior studying advertising.

“I think the comic book craze started and continues because studios are afraid to risk losing money over a story that won’t sell, so they are using things that have sold in the past as some sort of emotional insurance,” Walgamott said.

Many superhero movies have been made in the past and are being remade now. According to Walgamott, this is short-changing consumers from the many other good stories there are to make into films.

“I think it’s sad that really talented people are cannibalizing others’ work rather than creating their own original stories,” Walgamott said. “Especially when there are so many well-written stories with the same amount of profit generating potential that haven’t been shared yet.”

According to Bryce Allen, an advertising graduate, the excitement of superheroes goes back to Greek mythology and gives some explanation as to why there is such a craze for these films.

“If you look at Greek mythology and many other societies there seems to be an obsession with someone who possesses extraordinary traits,” Allen said. “We drop everything to see a movie about heroes because deep down, we all wish it were real.”