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The Raft

The Raft

Formerly a high security island prison for the worst super-villains located off the coast of New York on Rikers Island, the Raft has been remodeled by the Superior Spider-Man as his new base of operations, Spider-Island Two.

Name:
The Raft
Aliases:
  • Spider-Island
  • Das Floss
Start year:
1981
First issue:
DC and Marvel present Superman and Spider-Man (1981) #1
cover

The Raft is a super-security prison located on a separate island at Ryker's Island Prison, with the objective to hold a vast amount of super-powered criminals, for example: Scarecrow, Controller, the U-Foes, Karl Lykos (Sauron), Crusader, Hydro-Man, Carnage (Cletus Kasady) and also contained the weak-minded Sentry. The facility has multiple underwater cell blocks, hi-tech steel windowless cells, two way relay video surveillance and super-powered S.H..I.E.L.D agents accompanying any no super visitors.

Electro was once hired to launch a break-out to free Karl Lykos, the break out triggered a battle involving Spider-Woman, Captain America, Spider-Man, The Sentry, Daredevil, Luke Cage, and Iron Man looking to regain control of the facility and return forty two escaped inmates, this event unintentionally created the New Avengers.

The Raft is perhaps the top super-powered criminals prison establishment of the U.S. Most escaped during the breakout but were recaptured. It was also a target for the Skrulls during Secret Invasion.

Following Siege, the Avengers U.S.Agent replaced Montgomery Battle as the facility's Warden and the Raft became home to the Thunderbolts Program with select inmates being able to work towards parole by participating in the program.

During Fear Itself, it was destroyed by The Juggernaut after he became the seemingly mindless Kuurth, Breaker of Stone, releasing almost all of the inmates in process.

The Raft was shown rebuilt following Juggernaut's rampage and since the disappearance of John Walker, it is unknown who is the current Warden of the prison.

Recently mayor J. Jonah Jameson had decided that the Raft was to dangerous to keep open and had planned to shut it down after the execution of the spider slayer, Alistair Smythe. However the Superior Spiderman (Doctor Octopus) had other plans, using a video recording of Jameson telling him to kill Smythe he blackmailed him into giving him the Raft as his own personal superhero HQ, which he has renamed Spider-Island II.

In Other Media Done

Television

The Raft in Earth's Mightiest Heroes
The Raft in Earth's Mightiest Heroes
  • The Raft appears in the opening episodes of The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, where it is being used to house high profile supervillains like Graviton, Baron Zemo, the Purple Man and Arnim Zola. The prison is destroyed during Graviton's escape.
  • In the series finale of Jessica Jones, Trish Walker is sent to the Raft after being arrested for a string of violent vigilante crimes. It's also mentioned that Willis Stryker was incarcerated in the Raft after being defeated at the end of the first season of the Luke Cage TV series.
  • In the fifth of episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, the Dora Milaje take Baron Helmut Zemo to the Raft after he pays his last respects to his former home country Sokovia. Zemo appears inside the Raft in the season finale where he listens to a radio broadcast of the demise of the Flag-Smashers dosed with the Super-Soldier serum.

Film

Captain America: Civil War

The Raft in the movie
The Raft in the movie

The Raft appears in the movie as a massive underwater prison designed for dangerous criminals. Falcon, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch and Ant-Man are imprisoned in the facility after being defeated by Team Iron Man, a fact which greatly disturbs Tony Stark. At the close of film, Captain America attacks the prison and liberates his allies.

Video Games

The Raft in Spider-Man (2018)
The Raft in Spider-Man (2018)
  • The Raft is featured as a level in the 2018 Spider-Man game from Insomniac. Spider-Man arrives at the prison to quell a riot, and eventually learns that Doctor Octopus has broken into the facility in order to gather five of the inmates (Mr. Negative, Rhino, Vulture, Electro and Scorpion) to form the Sinister Six.
  • The Raft is also a level in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order. Early on in the game's Story Mode, the Guardians of the Galaxy accidentally end up transported to the Raft after Star-Lord grabs the Space Stone away from the Black Order. While there, they team up with a number of Earth superheroes (including the Avengers) to stop a massive riot.

Merchandise

Marvel Legends
Marvel Legends
  • Hasbro released a Marvel Legends Raft box set as a San Diego Comic-Con 2016 exclusive, timed to coincide with the Captain America: Civil War movie. The box set included the Abomination, Purple Man, Enchantress, Sandman and Dreadknight, as well as Spider-Man, who was supposed to be fighting the inmates. The set's packaging was designed to show the interior of the Raft during a prison riot.

Issues

November 2003

December 2003

January 2005

February 2005

March 2005

June 2005

July 2005

August 2005

November 2005

May 2006

July 2006

February 2007

April 2007

May 2007

June 2007

August 2007

June 2008

August 2008

September 2008

October 2008

November 2008

March 2009

August 2009

September 2009

November 2009

February 2010

Volumes

1963

1998

2001

2004

2005

2006

2008

2009

2010

2011