Super-Prisons of the Marvel Universe

The Marvel Universe is full of people who have broken the law. From crooks operating criminal enterprises to vigilantes who follow their own rules, villains and heroes alike have found themselves behind bars at some point. However, regular prisons were not designed for superhumans, mutants, aliens, or anyone else with fantastic powers. So, the Marvel Universe houses several prisons specifically designed to keep superhuman prisoners locked down. 

Now, let's take a closer look at some of the most notorious prisons in the Marvel Universe. From the birth of Carnage to the assembly of a new Thunderbolts team, we'll break down some of the most infamous events from each prison and the most famous faces held within their walls, as seen in tales available now on Marvel Unlimited!

THE VAULT

Designed to be the ultimate superhuman prison, the Vault is located deep within the Rocky Mountains. The prison is specifically designed to neutralize the powers of its inmates, and its halls are patrolled by the Guardsmen, experienced soldiers wearing Stark-designed armor. 

While the Vault has held dozens of villains, some Avengers were among the Vault's first inmates when it debuted in AVENGERS ANNUAL (1967) #15 by Danny Fingeroth and Steve Ditko. During his criminal career, Venom (Eddie Brock) staged one of several major breakouts at the Vault and almost triggered its nuclear-powered self-destruct sequence in AVENGERS: DEATHTRAP - THE VAULT (1991) #1 by Fingeroth and Ron Lim.

THE RAFT

Originally operated by S.H.I.E.L.D., the Raft is an island prison for superhuman criminals located in New York's East River. When a shape-shifting alien Skrull staged a massive prison breakout, the New Avengers assembled there for the first time to capture the escapees in NEW AVENGERS (2004) #1 by Brian Michael Bendis and David Finch. 

Under Luke Cage and warden U.S. Agent (John Walker), the Raft also served as the Thunderbolts' base when inmates like Ghost joined the team in exchange for a reduced sentence in THUNDERBOLTS (2006) #144 by Jeff Parker and Kev Walker. During Doctor Octopus' time as the Superior Spider-Man, he briefly took over the facility and renamed it Spider-Island.

RYKER'S ISLAND

Much like the real-world institute that shares its name, Ryker's Island is a prison in the middle of New York's East River. Although it has held superhuman criminals at a few points, it primarily imprisons non-powered criminals or vigilantes like Wilson Fisk, Daredevil, and the Punisher. 

Not long after Eddie Brock bonded with Venom, he ended up in Ryker's, where he shared a cell with a serial killer named Cletus Kasady. When the Venom symbiote freed Brock, Kasady bonded with its symbiote offspring to become Carnage in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (1963) #345 by David Michelinie and Mark Bagley. The island also briefly housed the Cellar, a superhuman prison where inmates' powers were channeled into the villainous Regent. 

RAVENCROFT INSTITUTE

Despite its name, the Ravencroft Institute for the Criminally Insane operates more like a prison than a mental health facility. Ravencroft was built over 100 years ago on land cursed by centuries of violence, as detailed in RUINS OF RAVENCROFT: CARNAGE (2020) #1 by Frank Tieri, Angel Unzueta, and Guiu Vilanova. 

Despite well-meaning staffers like Ashley Kafka and John Jameson, villains like Mister Sinister, Dracula, and Norman Osborn have used the facility's residents for their twisted plans. As one of several Spider-Man villains held there, Carnage used Ravencroft as the base for the Cult of Knull, which drew the symbiote god to Earth in ABSOLUTE CARNAGE.

SEAGATE PRISON

Located on a small island off the coast of Georgia, Seagate Prison is a maximum-security facility that debuted in HERO FOR HIRE (1972) #1 by Archie Goodwin and George Tuska. Although it has held human and superhuman prisoners, Seagate's most famous inmate is the wrongly imprisoned Carl Lucas, who became Luke Cage behind its walls. 

After Cage volunteered to test a variant of the Super-Soldier Serum, a security guard named Billy Bob Rackham tampered with the experiment to try and kill him. As a result, the experiment gave Cage super-strength and bulletproof skin instead. Several Thunderbolts—including Bucky Barnes, Hawkeye, and Mach-1, the villain formerly known as the Beetle—were also briefly incarcerated at Seagate.

GRAYMALKIN PRISON

While Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters has traditionally acted as the home of the X-Men and a center for mutant learning, it currently stands as the Graymalkin Prison, a maximum-security prison for mutants. With the X-Men scattered around the world, the mutant-hating Dr. Corina Ellis took over the X-Mansion and transformed it into a prison in UNCANNY X-MEN (2024) #1 by Gail Simone and David Marquez. 

With help from the telepathic Scurvy, Ellis imprisoned mutants like Beast, Blob, Professor X, and the mysterious Inmate X. Although the X-Men have freed some of their teammates from their former school, Graymalkin still stands as the symbolic embodiment of a world that hates and fears mutants. 

THE KYLN

The Kyln was a maximum-security intergalactic prison stationed near the cosmic center of the Marvel Universe. Comprised of several connected spheres, the Kyln contained entities as powerful as Thanos when it debuted in THANOS (2003) #7 by Keith Giffen and Ron Lim. 

Due to its location next to a universal border called the Crunch, the Kyln was one of the first places destroyed by Annihilus and his Annihilation Wave when the Negative Zone warriors attacked the universe in ANNIHILATION (2006) #1 by Giffen and Andrea Di Vito. Although most of its inmates died, Star-Lord (Peter Quill) and Gladiator managed to escape, unlike thousands of others imprisoned there.

PLEASANT HILL

Although it appeared to be the perfect small town, Pleasant Hill was secretly the most insidious prison in the world when it debuted in AVENGERS STANDOFF: WELCOME TO PLEASANT HILL (2016) #1 by Nick Spencer and Mark Bagley. S.H.I.E.L.D. used the reality-warping Kobik, a living piece of the Cosmic Cube, to brainwash criminals into Pleasant Hill's polite, mild-mannered residents. 

Guarded by S.H.I.E.L.D. agents embedded throughout the community, the town was also encased in a force field. After Baron Zemo broke free of his conditioning, he and dozens of Pleasant Hill's prisoners took over the town, leading multiple Avengers squads to team up to stop them.

THE MYRMIDON

The Myrmidon was originally a private superhuman prison built by a group of influential leaders called the Power Elite. After he was elected Mayor of New York City, Wilson Fisk used the prison to house superhumans arrested under his anti-vigilante laws starting in DEVIL'S REIGN (2021) #2 by Chip Zdarsky and Marco Checchetto. 

In addition to villains like the Enforcers and the Wrecking Crew, the Myrmidon held heroes like Captain America (Steve Rogers), Moon Knight, Mister Fantastic, and the Invisible Woman during Mayor Fisk's time in office. As Daredevil rebuilt an ancient order of warriors called the Fist, he broke over a dozen villains out of the Myrmidon and recruited them for his cause.

THE BIG HOUSE

Despite its name, the Big House is one of the smallest buildings in the Marvel Universe. Hank Pym's Pym Particles shrank this New York prison and its dozens of superhuman inmates before it debuted in SHE-HULK (2004) #5 by Dan Slott and Paul Pelletier. 

After Rhino, Sandman, the Wrecking Crew, and several of the prison's other tiny inmates broke out, Pym and the Wasp (Janet Van Dyne) created the Lang Memorial Penitentiary. A similar facility, the Lang Memorial Penitentiary is also known as the Ant-Farm and uses ants as security guards.

NEGATIVE ZONE PRISON 42

When Iron Man and Captain America's disagreements over the Superhuman Registration Act caused a rift between the Avengers, Tony Stark, Mister Fantastic, and Hank Pym designed a prison for their old friends and teammates. Located in the harsh desolation of the Negative Zone, Prison 42 was built to house heroes who did not register with the government in CIVIL WAR: FRONT LINE (2006) #5 by Paul Jenkins and Steve Lieber. 

After CIVIL WAR ended and heroes like Iron Fist, Cloak, and Dagger were released from the facility, Prison 42 held aliens and other superhuman villains. Blastaar, the Negative Zone's self-proclaimed king, briefly took over the prison but was defeated by the Guardians of the Galaxy.

THE CUBE

Originally designed to hold alien prisoners on Earth, the Cube was once one of the most classified places in the world. Featuring numerous subterranean levels, the S.H.I.E.L.D.-operated facility debuted as a prison for Noh-Varr, an alternate reality Kree hero, in MARVEL BOY (2000) #6 by Grant Morrison, J. G. Jones, and Ryan Kelly. 

When Norman Osborn transformed S.H.I.E.L.D. into the more aggressive H.A.M.M.E.R., he used the Cube as a base for his Thunderbolts, which operated as his personal strike force. More recently, Tony Stark tried to make the Cube a more humane superhuman prison where superhuman guards watch over inmates.

KRAKOA'S PIT OF EXILE

Whenever the X-Men and their allies have tried to establish a mutant nation, they have built prisons to hold their most dangerous foes. So, when the world's mutants united on a living island called Krakoa, they developed a prison called the Pit of Exile in HOUSE OF X (2019) #6 by Jonathan Hickman and Pepe Larraz. 

The Pit originally held its inmates in stasis, but Sabretooth—its first and longest-serving prisoner—turned it into a hellish hallucinogenic space where he could kill endlessly. Shortly after, some other inmates joined Sabretooth, and all of the prisoners escaped near Krakoa's final days.

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