Raft (Marvel)

The Raft is a prison that features in Marvel Comics.

History

The Raft was a Maximum-Maximum Security wing prison that was located near Ryker's Island Maximum Security Penitentiary and was operated by S.H.I.E.L.D.. (Alias v1 #26)

After recovering from mind control, Jessica Jones managed to get an arrangement whereby she could confront the Purple Man over his actions against her in the past. (Alias v1 #26)

An attack from Electro caused the power systems of the prison to be damaged allowing all the supervillains to be freed from their cells. (New Avengers v1 #1) Despite the intervention of several superheroes, at least 42 supervillain in-mates managed to escape the prison during the resultant chaos. (New Avengers v1 #3)

During the Civil War, Spider-Woman received intelligence that indicated that Captain America was not dead but kept detained at the Raft. The New Avengers were sceptical about this information but decided to investigate and arrived at the scene only to learn that it was a carefully constructed trap by Iron Man. Doctor Strange cast a spell causing all the Pro-Registration heroes to see their fears allowing the New Avengers to escape. (New Avengers v1 #29) When the Skrull's began their Secret Invasion, they released a technological virus that targeted key areas around the globe including the Raft that resulted in its prisoners escaping confinement and starting a riot at the prison. (Secret Invasion v1 #1) Following the Skrull's defeat, many of their number were captured and imprisoned at the maximum security prison of the Raft. Director Norman Osborn had his Thunderbolts interrogate several of them who were killed in order to gather information on the whereabouts of the kidnapped Danielle Cage. (New Avengers v1 #49) After the Siege of Asgard, Director Osborn was arrested for his actions in the devastation where he was sent to prison at the Raft with him placed in an entire floor by himself in sub-basement level 7. (Dark Avengers v1 #16)

Hank Pym decided to take his students at Avengers Academy on a tour of Raft with them meeting Luke Cage and his team of Thunderbolts who provided accounts of their own experiences of being villains. During this time, Hazmat used her powers to generate an EMP that shut down much of the prison. This allowed her, Mettle and Veil to sneak onto the floor holding Norman Osborn as they wanted to demand his aid in turning them back to normal. (Avengers Academy v1 #3) Whilst in the Raft, a senate committee decided to transfer Norman Osborn to a secret supermax facility that held other prisoners included Kingmaker, Ai Apaec, Carl Rives, Xirdal, and Toxic Doxie. Norah Winters was assigned the story by the Daily Bugle to do a story on Osborn where she learnt that he had secretly been removed from the Raft. (Osborn v1 #1)

Following the Phoenix crisis, the X-Man Colossus surrendered himself to authorities for his actions during the event. This saw him being transferred to the Raft where Wolverine attempted to have him released through normal procedures but was denied. Cable dispatched his X-Force team to recover Colossus from the maximum security prison with Boom Boom providing a distraction by getting arrested by a S.H.I.E.L.D. patrol to get access into the facility. (Cable and X-Force v1 #6)

Overview

The purpose of the prison was to hold the worst super-criminals and keep them contained. (Alias v1 #26) Its location underwater served as a security measure designed to prevent escape. (New Avengers v1 #1)

It contained prison cells that covered eight different levels. Prisoners were encased in thick steel metal Adamantium-lined cells. Special equipment was present that allowed the neutralisation of super-powered criminals abilities. (New Avengers v1 #1)

No civilian visitors were allowed without a super-powered agents as a chaperone. An army of highly-trained and fully armed agents were stationed at the Raft to guard the prison. (New Avengers v1 #1)

There was a security field surrounding the entire perimeter which detected anything that crossed the line whereupon the system went under lockdown leading to guard boats being deployed. (Cable and X-Force v1 #6)

Members

Staff

• John Walker :
• Luke Cage :

Prisoners

• Baron Blood :
• Bushwacker :
• Cletus Kasady : (New Avengers v1 #1)
• Crossbones :
• Jigsaw :
• Tiger Shark :
• Tombstone :
• Vermin :
• Sentry : (New Avengers v1 #1)
• Norman Osborn : (Osborn v1 #1)
• Ai Apaec : male South American chimera god called the Decapitator that was a superhuman spider deity. (Osborn v1 #1)
• June Covington : blonde haired female chemical biologist and geneticist who was known as Toxic Doxie whose experiments killed hundreds among the urban poor as she enhanced her own biology. (Osborn v1 #1)
• Superia : Dr. Diedre Wentworth was captured by the New Avengers and placed in detention at the Raft. (New Avengers v2 #13)

Notes

• The Raft was created by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Gaydos where it made it first appearance in Alias v1 #26 (November, 2003).

In other media

Television

• In The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, the Raft appeared in the pilot episode of the animated television series. It was shown as one of four specialized high security prison facilities maintained by S.H.I.E.L.D. alongside the Big House, the Cube and the Vault. It resembled a simple garbage scow floating over the floating but this was a simple cover as there was a much larger prison complex deep underwater at the bottom of the ocean that was used to hold the in-mates. Managed by S.H.I.E.L.D. and situated in the waters off New York City, the facility's early history was defined by its state-of-the-art containment technology, which included power-dampening fields and reinforced Graviton-proof cells intended to hold inmates like Baron Zemo, The Abomination, and Graviton himself. This era of stability came to a violent end during the "Breakout" event, when a massive systems failure—secretly orchestrated by Loki—simultaneously deactivated the power-dampeners across all four prisons. At the Raft, this resulted in a catastrophic surge of freed villains who overwhelmed the S.H.I.E.L.D. guards and nearly destroyed the island's structural foundations. This specific chapter of the prison's history was marked by the desperate intervention of Iron Man, Thor, and the Hulk, whose battle against the escaping convicts served as the foundational moment for the reformation of the Avengers. Following the riot, the Raft remained a scarred symbol of the authorities' inability to contain the rising tide of super-villainy, eventually leading to its temporary decommissioning as the Avengers took over the responsibility of recapturing the 75 escaped fugitives.
• In Marvel Disk Wars: The Avengers, the Raft appeared in the setting of the animated television series. It was the site where Tony Stark had the public unveiling of Dr. Nozomu Akatsuki D.I.S.K. devices for use in capturing criminals. Stark had Pepper Potts bringing Dr. Nozomu's sons Akira and Hikaru for the event. However, Loki would attack where he released the villains that had been encoded onto the D.I.S.K.s.
• In Jessica Jones, the Raft was mentioned in the live-action television series set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
• In Marvel Future Avengers, the Raft appeared in the setting of the animated television series. It was a prison located in the sea that was made to hold the most dangerous supervillains. After the Red Skull’s defeat, he was kept contained within the prison. Another prisoner was Obadiah Stane who was kept as a prisoner with no chance of release.

Films

• In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Raft made multiple appearances in the shared continuity setting:
  • In Captain America: Civil War, the Raft made its first appearance in the live-action film. It was revealed as an ocean based prison that opened up to the surface to allow craft to land. The prison was created to hold super-powered criminals and keep them secure in cells with its operation being headed by Secretary of State Thunderbolt Ross. Due to their opposition of the Sokovia Accords, Captain America's allies that included Hawkeye, Ant-Man, Scarlet Witch and Falcon were all kept at the Raft following their capture. Steve Rogers late went into the prison to free his compatriots.
  • In Spider-Man: Homecoming, the Raft briefly appeared in the mid-credit sequence of the live-action film. It was shown that both Adrian Toomes and Mac Gargan were prisoners at the Raft.
  • In Captain America: Brave New World, the Raft appeared in the setting of the live-action film.

Video games

• In Marvel Heroes, the Raft appeared in the setting of the MMORPG video game. Raft served as the high-security starting point for the game’s narrative, functioning as a specialized S.H.I.E.L.D. detention centre for the most dangerous super-powered criminals in the Marvel Universe. The prison’s history was defined by a catastrophic security breach orchestrated by Doctor Doom, who used the stolen power of the Cosmic Cube to disable the facility's advanced containment fields and power-dampeners. During this chaotic era, the island was immediately overrun by high-profile inmates such as Green Goblin, Living Laser, and Taskmaster, who led a violent insurrection against the S.H.I.E.L.D. tactical teams and the arriving heroes. The atmosphere within the Raft was one of total industrial collapse as the facility’s internal automated defences were turned against the guards, and the lower decks became a war zone filled with escaped 'trash mob' convicts and elite bosses. This specific chapter of the prison's history was marked by the desperate attempt to prevent a mass exodus of villains into New York City, culminating in a final confrontation on the prison’s rooftop where the Green Goblin utilized the distraction of the riot to secure the first of many fragmented tablets for Doom’s overarching plot. Following the riot, the Raft remained a smouldering wreck, serving as the first 'instance' that proved the established authorities could no longer maintain order without the direct intervention of the assembled heroes
• In Marvel Avengers Academy, the Raft was shown in the setting of the mobile video game. It was shown to be under construction outside Avengers Academy with Nick Fury stating that it was made to punish those academy students that refused to train and study.
• In Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order, the Raft appeared in the setting of the Wii video game. It was shown as being a prison that contained superpowered villains when a jail break occurred. At that time, the Guardians of the Galaxy had teleported to the Raft by accident when they tried to protect the Infinity Stones. This brought them into conflict with the in-mates leading to them meeting the Avengers and informing them of the threat of Thanos.

Appearances

• Alias v1:
• New Avengers v1:
• Secret Invasion v1:
• Dark Avengers v1:
• New Avengers v2:
• Avengers Academy v1:
• Osborn v1:
• Cable and X-Force v1:
• Superior Spider-Man v1:

External Links

• Marvel Database Entry
• Comicvine Entry

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