InCaptain America: Brave New World, Marvel finally remembered a keyMCUlocation introduced back inCaptain America: Civil War.Captain America: Brave New Worldbrings back several MCU characters and details the franchise hadn’t revisited in a while.Tim Blake Nelson’s Samuel Sterns a.k.a. the Leaderand Liv Tyler’s Betty Ross return seventeen years after their debut inThe Incredible Hulk, Gamma-induced transformations become relevant again withThaddeus Ross' transformation into Red Hulk, and Ross' animosity towards Captain America and the world’s superpowered individuals provides context forCaptain America: Brave New World’s plot.
A lot has happened between the events ofCaptain America: Civil Warand the beginning ofCaptain America: Brave New World. The Avengers disbanded, failed to stop Thanos, dealt with the Snap’s aftermath for five years, and undid the Snap. The world has witnessed Scarlet Witch’s Hex, a Celestial’s interrupted Emergence, Gargantos' attack on New York, and a secret alien invasion. The whole multiverse has also been on the brink of destruction multiple times, though few people have noticed it. Over an in-universe decade after Steve Rogers parted ways with the Avengers due to the Sokovia Accords, Sam Wilson faces an international conspiracy as Captain America.
The MCU Forgot About The Raft’s Importance After Civil War
The Raft Has Barely Been Relevant Since Steve Rogers Broke Out His Avengers Team
Captain America: Brave New Worldrevisits the Raft — the maximum security underwater prison created to hold the world’s most powerful and most dangerous individuals. Introduced inCaptain America: Civil War, the Raft was supposed to imprison the Avengers who opposed the Sokovia Accords. However, Steve Rogers broke into the Raft at the end ofCaptain America: Civil Warand freed his fellow heroes. Since then,the MCU has barely acknowledged the Raft, suggesting that the US government abandoned the idea of sending dangerous criminals there following the Sokovia Accords' failure.
Red Hulk’s MCU Introduction And Recasting Almost Happened Very Differently 9 Years Before
Thaddeus Ross' Red Hulk transformation almost happened nine years before Captain America: Brave New World, as shown by early plans for a Phase 3 film.
As revealed byShe-Hulk: Attorney At Law, Abomination was transferred to the Department of Damage Control’s Supermax prison after being sent to the Vault inThe Incredible Hulk. At Supermax,Wong repeatedly freed Abomination in order to participate in underground martial arts tournaments, and Damage Control only found out when footage shot at the Golden Daggers club was aired on television. Meanwhile, Baron Zemo ordered a successful attack on the Flag-Smashers while imprisoned at the Raft. Clearly, MCU prisons are rarely as secure as they seem.
Which Marvel Characters Are Still In The MCU’s Raft
Only Three Marvel Characters Are Presumed To Be In The Raft
As of the MCU’s 2027, only three Marvel characters are presumably still held at the Raft.The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’s finaleconfirms that Baron Zemo isn’t in any rush to exit the underwater prison, and to this day, Zemo is the only character originally introduced in the MCU to be housed there.Luke Cage’s Willis Stryker a.k.a. Diamondback was arrested and convicted inLuke Cageseason 2, andLuke Cage himself made sure that Diamondback was sent to the Raft instead of a regular prison. After a violent spree, Trish Walker a.k.a. Hellcat was similarly convicted and sent directly to the Raft inJessica Jonesseason 3.
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Other Raft prisoners who have since found freedom are Scott Lang, Wanda Maximoff, Clint Barton, and Sam Wilson himself. Of these, only Wanda has any superpowers of her own that would make her a reasonable threat to contain in the Raft. Team Captain America seem sto have been sent to the Raft by Thaddeus Ross as a message to all heroes and vigilantes who don’t play well with the authorities. Funny enough, Zemo, Diamondback, and Hellcat also lack any abilities that would make them better candidates for the Raft than a villain like Abomination.
The Raft Can Still Be An Important Location In Future MCU Projects
Phases 5 And 6 Still Have Time To Make The Raft Relevant Again
Now that the MCU revisits the Raft, it could gain relevance following the events ofCaptain America: Brave New WorldandThunderbolts*. President Ross' Red Hulk transformation, which leads him to destroy the White House inCaptain America: Brave New World, makes him an indisputable candidate for the very prison he helped create. Likewise,the Leader and Sentry might only be contained in a prison as safe as the Raft. Alternatively, if President Ross and Valentina Allegra de Fontained aren’t arrested inCaptain America: Brave New WorldandThunderbolts*, they could use their influence to send other dangerous superhumans and vigilantes to the Raft.
Anthony Mackie’s Recent Comments About Captain America: Brave New World Setting Up The MCU’s Future Has Me Concerned Marvel Wasted The 6 Years Since Endgame
Anthony Mackie hints that Captain America: Brave New World is the beginning of a new MCU chapter, which makes the last six years concerning.
Following the events ofSecret InvasionandDaredevil: Born Again, governments could be eager to capture any superhuman or extraterrestrial threat, as well as any vigilantes that work outside the law, despite the Sokovia Accords not being formally enforced. Considering the Thunderbolts are also coerced into working for Valentina Allegra de Fontaine as a secret ops team, it’s possible that Yelena Belova, John Walker, Alexei Shostakov, and Ava Starr Antonia Dreykov are threatened with being sent to the Raft. Bucky Barnes, on the other hand, probably won’t risk another imprisonment after trying to make things right inThe Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
