The Raft is becoming more prominent in the Marvel Cinematic Universe but its most iconic moment will always be the formation of the New Avengers.
WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier episode 6 “One World, One People” written by Malcolm Spellman and Josef Sawyer and directed by Kari Skogland, streaming now on Disney Plus.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier contained several references to the Raft, a high-tech prison located in the middle of the ocean, and Helmut Zemo’s (Daniel Brühl) final scene sees him incarcerated there after being apprehended by the Dora Milaje. The Raft’s Marvel Cinematic Universe history is not very extensive, but the prison plays an important role in the comic book universe, where it even led to the formation of the New Avengers.
Created by Brian Michael Bendis, Michael Gaydos, Mark Bagley, and Art Thibert the Raft first appeared in Alias #26 in 2003. The comic book Raft is an extension of the nearby Ryker’s Island prison and is listed as “Ryker’s maximum, maximum security installation.” It is responsible for incarcerating supervillains and was run by S.H.I.E.L.D. Zebediah Killgrave/the Purple Man was a prisoner there and Jessica Jones traveled to the Raft to interrogate him. Killgrave later escaped and went after Jessica but she was able to resist his mind control thanks to psychic defenses created by Jean Grey. Jessica beat Killgrave and he was then returned to the Raft.
Six months after the Avengers disbanded, Spider-Man villain Electro was hired to stage a mass breakout at the Raft. When he launched his attack Matt Murdock/Daredevil, Foggy Nelson, and Luke Cage (who was working as Nelson and Murdock’s bodyguard) were visiting the Raft to see Robert “Bob” Reynolds/the Sentry on behalf of Reed Richards. The Sentry had been incarcerated in the Raft because it was believed that he killed his wife. Matt’s group was greeted by Jessica Drew, the original Spider-Woman, who had returned to work as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. Electro shut off the electricity in the prison, stranding Matt’s group in the lower levels. He then triggered a massive explosion that initiated a riot.
The explosion led Spider-Man and Captain America to investigate but they were attacked by the prisoners, who were set free by the explosion. Matt asked the Sentry to help his group escape before they were attacked by Carnage, Mister Hyde, and others. Foggy eventually convinced the Sentry to help and he flew Carnage into space before ripping him apart. Matt’s group got outside and began fighting alongside Spider-Man and Captain America before they were also joined by Iron Man. After escaping his cell Killgrave attempted to take control of Luke, ordering him to attack the other heroes and threatening Jessica Jones and her and Luke’s unborn child. But as a safety precaution, S.H.I.E.L.D. had drugged Killgrave to neutralize his powers. An outraged Luke began beating him and possibly would have killed him if Captain America hadn’t talked him down. Once the Sentry returned the heroes managed to restore order to the prison.
Despite Electro and forty-two supervillains escaping, Cap was impressed by the group’s efforts and told Iron Man he believed they were meant to be a new version of the Avengers. He set out recruiting the others for the rejuvenated team, with everyone except Daredevil (who was dealing with his secret identity being publicly exposed at the time) accepting. The team began investigating the breakout and apprehended Electro, after which they gained a lead that led them to the Savage Land, where they teamed up with Wolverine, who would become the final member of the first team of New Avengers.
The Raft has continued to play important roles in later stories, although these have often made the facility seem somewhat incompetent, as breakouts have become a regular feature of many Marvel events such as Secret Invasion. In addition to the likes of Killgrave and Carnage the prison has contained the Juggernaut, Doctor Doom, and even Loki in the past. When the Thunderbolts program was reactivated under Luke Cage’s leadership it operated out of the Raft, in the hopes that prisoners would reform while participating in crime-fighting missions, for which they received reduced sentences.
Some time later, Spider-Man was given ownership of the Raft after blackmailing J. Jonah Jameson. He turned it into a new headquarters, which he dubbed “Spider-Island Two” but this was destroyed when the Goblin Nation attacked. Since then a new version of the Raft prison has been built at the location. Since its introduction the Raft has received significant upgrades as the task of containing supervillains becomes even more difficult. Rather than drugging the prisoners, later versions used an energized dampening field to neutralize inmates’ powers, with the most powerful of the incarcerated also being given power-dampening spinal implants. The water around the island is also filled with jellyfish that use a nerve toxin, making swimming to freedom almost impossible.
About The Author