Every Marvel Character Locked Up In The Raft

Aside from the bad guys that have been snapped out of existence or died horrible deaths, some Marvel Cinematic Universe villains have simply ended up finding themselves behind bars. To keep them in check, these menaces to society and superheroes have been sent to The Raft, a supermax prison planted slap bang in the middle of the ocean just by Ryker's Island. It was first introduced in "Captain America: Civil War," when those who opposed the Sokovia Accords were bagged and tagged in fancy prison threads, only to be swiftly broken free by Steve Rogers (Chris Evans). Since then, we've seen some real lawbreakers get trapped on that rock with no way off unless someone gives the go-ahead. But the MCU is a big place, and following the events of "Captain America: Brave New World," the facility is only getting more crowded.

From failed politicians to maniacal war criminals, The Raft has a fascinating guest list of occupants so far — so much so that we kind of hope a prison break occurs soon, so we can see these ne'er-do-wells back out in the open. If they did escape, it would only mean more chaos, calls for action from their sworn enemies, and further crossing of streams in areas that fans would have never anticipated. For now, let's take a roll call of who's currently locked up in The Raft and is unlikely to see land any time soon.

After his very public, gamma-infused outburst in "Captain America: Brave New World," Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross (Harrison Ford) did the noble thing by accepting defeat and acknowledging he's a danger to the public as an all-new Red Hulk. At the end of the film, we learned he'd willingly given himself up to be imprisoned at The Raft, verifying that while he might have been transformed into a monster, the man underneath knew what decisions needed to be made.

But while Ross might have a future behind bars, there's no telling how long it will last. When Red Hulk debuted in print, he was very much a new enemy for Hulk to swing his mighty large fists at before becoming another anti-hero of sorts in the Marvel universe. Besides becoming a part of the team that is named after him (the Thunderbolts), Ross even spent a brief stint as an Avenger. With that in mind, there's a chance that the best part of "Brave New World" could return, and the man behind the rage monster and former Commander-in-Chief is all for it.

When asked if he'd be up for stepping back into the split shoes of his monstrous alter-ego again, Ford said (via GamesRadar), "I hope he can come back. I hope [there's] a story in which he can develop into something other than the Red Hulk. I think we have the capacity to shift shape between Hulkness and humanity, but that's really not my department." Here's hoping Ross' prison time gets reviewed soon.

While Ross might be taking the noble approach by keeping himself away from society, one man who truly deserves to be in the deep, dark hole he's found himself in is super genius Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson). After orchestrating the entire ordeal that pushed Ross to see red in "Brave New World," Sterns surrendered, declaring himself the hero in the twisted game he created for himself. In the post-credit scene, it is revealed that Sterns has been sent to The Raft alongside Ross, where he hints at the battles that lie ahead for both Wilson and the rest of the heroes who are set to face a new threat with a familiar face in "Avengers: Doomsday."

Even so, being a brilliantly evil intelligence suggests that the only reason Sterns has been sent to The Raft is because he wants to be there. Throughout "Brave New World," the villain known in the comics as The Leader spends most of the film pulling strings, ensuring that everything goes according to his evil plan. With that in mind, there's a chance his plan could include his eventual capture and time held up in the correctional facility that's lost at sea. Might there be a chance that Sterns becomes The Leader of a revolt or breaks free on his own to cause more chaos in the future? With the MCU now the home to three Hulks (and a Sakaarian with Skaar), Sterns could show his enormous head further down the line. Let's just hope it won't take another 17 years before he does.

Perhaps one of the greatest MCU villains is one who also enjoyed a brief moment of freedom after being broken out of prison by two of Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Making his entrance and becoming the number one enemy of Wakanda following the events of "Captain America: Civil War," Baron Zemo (Daniel Brühl) got a brief bit of fresh air when he was forced to work alongside Sam Wilson and Bucky (Sebastian Stan) during "Falcon and the Winter Soldier."

However, his time back with society was short-lived, because after negotiations with the Dora Milaje, Bucky sent the Baron to The Raft, where he was meant to continue his sentence with no release date on the cards. The initial theory was that the former decorated Sokovian hero would end up leading the "Thunderbolts" as he does in the comics, but as that film approaches release, there has still been no sign of him, which is disappointing, especially since Brühl is eager to bring the character back into the MCU action.

Speaking to Screen Rant in 2024, Brühl discussed the chance of him returning to the franchise given that Zemo is down but not completely out of the world filled with heroes and villains. "It's fine for me, I can wait. I'm a very patient man," the actor said. "And who knows, I mean, I'm still not dead, I'm very confident that I'll be back." Well, he might be out of line, but he's right.

Now that "Daredevil: Born Again" looks to clear the murky waters linking the Netflix shows to the MCU, that also includes the other street-level heroes who made up the Defenders and, more importantly, the villains who came with them. In the case of "Luke Cage," one villain that proved to be an issue was Willis Stryker (Erik LaRay Harvey), who, even after getting an enhanced suit to take on the Power Man of Harlem, ended up being brought down and finding himself in a hotspot for imprisoned supervillains. Revealed to be the half-brother of Luke Cage (Mike Colter), Stryker, aka Diamondback, tried to frame our boy Luke for a series of murders, only for the bulletproof hero to set the record straight and bring Stryker down in the process.

Unfortunately, like every other character in the Netflix/Marvel run of shows, there's no confirmation on whether Diamondback would return to the MCU, given that his half-brother who loves a yellow shirt hasn't been confirmed to be making a comeback either. Be that as it may, all it would take is a swing by a very specific cell in The Raft to confirm that Stryker is waiting to get some payback.

Poor Trish Walker (Rachael Taylor). She's one of the few inhabitants in The Raft who started out with the best intentions before it all went sideways. After her half-sister Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter) was getting all the attention as the super-powered private investigator, Walker tried her hand at giving herself superpowers in the third season of Netflix's show, "Jessica Jones." The results didn't go the way she hoped, though, as Walker took on the alias of Hellcat and quickly stained the name by gaining murderous tendencies and forcing Jones to bring down the last remaining entry of what family she had left.

By the end of the third season, it's confirmed that Walker is heading to The Raft to live among the worst of the worst in an isolated area, with no promise of release or a bright future of recovery. Of course, given that Matt Murdock has earned a second chance with Disney+ the other heroes and the characters that surround them could get just as much attention at a later date. For now, though, the Hellcat is well and truly caged until further notice, with no assurance that her rehabilitation will have worked and she won't go for another round with her dear sister, Jess.