Julius Dell

The comic book stories published by Marvel Comics since the 1940s have featured several noteworthy concepts besides its fictional characters, such as unique places and artifacts. Since the introduction of Peter Parker as a character in 1962, with the superhero alter-ego, Spider-Man, a number of these locations have been prominently featured in connection with storylines specific to this character. These have then been carried over to depictions of Spider-Man in film, video games, and other media. There follows a list of those features.

Residences

* Aunt May's house: Located at 20 Ingram Street, Forest Hills, Queens, nearly every depiction of Spider-Man begins with Parker living with his Aunt May and Uncle Ben (or just his Aunt May, where Uncle Ben is already shown as being deceased). The house is sometimes depicted as being next door to the home of Mary Jane Watson. Storylines have occurred in various comic book runs and other media where Aunt May's home is attacked. In the 2018 American computer-animated film, '' Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse'', a shed in the backyard leads to a secret underground lair where Parker (deceased in that universe) had kept a variety of costumes and technology. In the 1981 TV cartoon, ''Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends'', the house serves as the Spider-Friends' headquarters, though Aunt May remains unaware of their activities.

Companies

* Daily Bugle: A newspaper headquartered in a building where Parker works as a photographer for J. Jonah Jameson.
* Oscorp: A research company headquartered in a skyscraper owned by Norman Osborn, which later became the headquarters for Alchemax.
* Parker Industries: A company that was founded and owned by Parker.

Educational institutions

Empire State University

Empire State University (ESU) is a fictional university whose alumni include Peter Parker (Spider-Man), Harry Osborn, Gwen Stacy, Brian Braddock (on an exchange program), Emma Frost, Hector Ayala, Brad Davis, Chip Martin and Johnny Storm (the Human Torch). Doreen Green (Squirrel Girl) is currently enrolled in its computer science undergraduate program. Kamala Khan ( Ms. Marvel) and Sophie Cuckoo are enrolled in the post-Krakoan Age.

Staff included Miles Warren, Edward Lansky (aka Lightmaster), Mendel Stromm, Gregson Gilbert (creator of the Dragon Man), Clifton Shallot (the mutant Vulture), David Jude, Curtis Connors, and David Alleyne (the mutant Prodigy).

Empire State University in other media

Empire State is featured in ''Spider-Man'' with students and faculty like Curt Connors, Farley Stillwell. Students included Alisa Silvermane (daughter of Silvermane), Debra Whitman, Felicia Hardy, Flash Thompson, Liz Allen, Mary Jane Watson, Michael Morbius, and Peter Parker. It appears in ''The Spectacular Spider-Man'' with members being Martha and Curt Connors, Dr. Miles Warren and Max Dillon. Students included Eddie Brock, Gwen Stacy and Peter Parker.

ESU is seen in ''Spider-Man'' set in the Spider-Man Insomniac Universe, where it resembles New York University.

ESU is alluded in ''Spider-Man 3'' and in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Midtown High School

Midtown High School (also known as Midtown Science High School or the Midtown School of Science and Technology) is a fictional school appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The school is depicted as being located in Queens, NYC. It is commonly depicted as the high school of Peter Parker, Flash Thompson, Liz Allan, Cindy Moon, and others in comic books and other media.

In live-action films, the Midtown School of Science and Technology appears in the Sony Pictures films ''Spider-Man'' (2002), ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' (2012) and ''The Amazing Spider-Man 2'' (2014), as well as the Marvel Cinematic Universe films '' Spider-Man: Homecoming'' (2017), '' Avengers: Endgame'' (2019), '' Spider-Man: Far From Home'' (2019), and '' Spider-Man: No Way Home'' (2021).

History

The fictional school is located in Forest Hills in New York City, New York. The school first appeared in ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.Saffel, Steve. ''Spider-Man the Icon: The Life and Times of a Pop Culture Phenomenon'' (Titan Books, 2007) , p. 21. According to comic book historian Peter Sanderson, Lee based the fictional school on Forest Hills High School in New York City. In the Tom Holland ''Spider-Man'' films, the Midtown High School closely resembles an actual elite NYC public high school: the Bronx High School of Science. Director Jon Favreau is an alumnus of Bronx Science.

=Faculty

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=Students

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Other versions

Midtown High School appears in ''Ultimate Spider-Man''. Just like the mainstream comics, it depicts Peter, Flash and Liz Allan as students. Unlike the mainstream comic book, characters such as Gwen Stacy, Eddie Brock, Mary Jane Watson and Harry Osborn also debut in the high school instead of the Empire State University. X-Men member Kitty Pryde is also depicted as attending the high school. The comic also depicts a new character called Kenny "King Kong" McFarlane, who is depicted as best friend of Flash in high school. Mark Raxton is also depicted as a student who attends Midtown High school.

Midtown High School appears in ''Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane''. Student faculty includes Peter Parker, Mary Jane Watson, Liz Allan, Flash Thompson, Harry Osborn and Gwen Stacy. Felicia Hardy appears as a tough transfer student. Jessica Jones was a former friend of Mary Jane's who, surprisingly became a goth girl. Luke Cage has a surprising and brief cameo where he flirts with Mary Jane. Ned Leeds and Betty Brant are older students with the former being Mary Jane's ex-boyfriend. A new character named Lindsay Leighton is the school's drama queen who envies Mary Jane's acting ability.

Midtown High School in other media

=Television

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* Midtown High School is a major recurring setting in ''The Spectacular Spider-Man''. Unlike most other depictions, this version of the school appeared to be located in Midtown Manhattan judging from Spider-Man's commute in an earlier episode. The series debuts both Principal Davis (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson) and Aaron Warren (voiced by Brian George) in other media. Other staff included are the class's coach Coach Smith (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson), and the theater teacher St. John Devereaux (voiced by Jeff Bennett). The recurring students depicted in the series are Peter Parker, Gwen Stacy, Flash Thompson, Liz Allan, Sally Avril, Kenny "King Kong", Hobie Brown, Rand Robertson, Glory Grant, Harry Osborn, Mary Jane Watson, Sha Shan Nguyen and Mark Allan. Eddie Brock was also a graduate of the school before attending Empire State University. The series also debuts students from the comics Seymour O'Reilly (voiced by Steve Blum) and "Tiny" McKeever.
* Midtown High School appears in ''Ultimate Spider-Man''. S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury appointed S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Phil Coulson to be the Acting Principal. Another notable staff member is a janitor named Stan (voiced by Stan Lee) who is one of the original S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents. During Season Three, Stan becomes the Acting Principal at the time when Phil Coulson was away on a special mission.
* Midtown High School is featured in ''Marvel's Spider-Man''. Its known teachers include assistant chemistry teacher Anna Maria Marconi and science teacher Sal Salerno (voiced by Sean Schemmel in season one, Phil LaMarr in season two).

=Film

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''Spider-Man'' and ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' film series

* Midtown High School appears in the 2002 feature film ''Spider-Man'', where Parker is depicted as a high school senior until graduation. Both he and Harry Osborn appear as best friends while Flash Thompson is depicted as the class bully. Instead of Liz Allan, Mary Jane Watson is depicted as Peter's high school crush and once girlfriend of Flash. Allan does appear in the film, but is only named in the novelization. It is mentioned that Harry had to go there after flunking out of many private schools.
* Midtown Science High School appears in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' and ''The Amazing Spider-Man 2'' along with the viral marketing of the films. The students in the film are Peter Parker, Flash Thompson, Gwen Stacy, Sally Avril and a shy student named Missy Kallenback (portrayed by Hannah Marks).

Marvel Cinematic Universe

Midtown School of Science and Technology has appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the films '' Spider-Man: Homecoming'', '' Avengers: Endgame'', '' Spider-Man: Far From Home'', '' Spider-Man: No Way Home'', and in the TV series ''Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man''.

=In video games

=
* Midtown High appears in the 2005 ''Ultimate Spider-Man'' video game as a location.
* Midtown High appears as a location in the 2023 game ''Marvel's Spider-Man 2''. The interior appears in a flashback where students Peter and Harry sneak through to find an item Peter left in his locker, and later where Harry learns his mother Emily has died; in the present day, the school is destroyed in a battle between Peter, now Spider-Man, and Harry, who has bonded to the Venom symbiote.

Institutions

Ravencroft

Ravencroft Institute for the Criminally Insane was a maximum-security asylum for the mentally ill. Many insane murderers and supervillains were kept at Ravencroft.

The institute was first mentioned in ''Web of Spider-Man'' #112, written by Terry Kavanagh.

The institute is officially opened in ''Web of Spider-Man'' Annual #10 (1994). The institute is featured in a number of Spider-Man storylines. Dr. Ashley Kafka was the founder and first director of Ravencroft. John Jameson was head of security. Both were fired in ''The Spectacular Spider-Man'' #246 and Dr. Leonard Samson became Ravencroft's new director. In Leonard Samson's next appearance, he owned a private practice instead of running the institute.

The institute reappeared in '' Vengeance of the Moon Knight''. In this incarnation, it housed mostly non-superpowered psychopaths and had an imposing metal front gate with a Gothic facade similar to DC's Arkham Asylum.

Known patients at Ravencroft include Carnage, Chameleon, D.K., Doctor Octopus, Electro, Green Goblin, Gale, Jackal, Massacre, Mayhem, Mysterio, Prism, Pyromania, Ramon Grant, Shriek, Venom, Vulture, and Webber.

The storyline after ''Absolute Carnage'', ''Ruins of Ravencroft'' eventually explains its true origin. It turns out that the institute is more than just for the criminally insane. It used to act as a staging area for superhuman experiments, particularly supernaturals such as for Dracula in centuries ago prior to being raided by Captain America-Steve Rogers and Bucky (now a Winter Soldier in the present) during World War II in the 20th century.

Ravencroft in other media

* Ravencroft appears in ''Spider-Man'', run by Dr. Kafka and fills a similar role in the comics with Eddie Brock reuniting with Venom and Kasady getting the Carnage symbiote, here by Baron Mordo and Dormammu.
* Ravencroft appears in ''The Spectacular Spider-Man'', with Electro, Doctor Octopus, Cletus Kasady, John Jameson, and Venom as known patients.
* Ravencroft appears in ''The Amazing Spider-Man 2'', with Dr. Ashley Kafka as a leading scientist and Electro as a patient until Harry Osborn breaks him out.
** Ravencroft also appears in the tie-in video game of the same name, in which Oscorp uses it to conduct secret experiments.
* Ravencroft appears in '' Venom: Let There Be Carnage'', with Shriek as a prominent inmate. It was torn down by Carnage/Kasady.

References

External links

*

Midtown High School
at Comic Vine

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Lists of fictional locations
Lists of fictional organizations in comics
Marvel Comics locations
Marvel Comics organizations
Queens, New York, in fiction
Spider-Man lists