The Marvel Universe is full of supervillains, and many prisons exist to contain them. Places like the Vault and the Raft use special technology to keep villains in check. In the 1990's, the Spider-Man books introduced the Ravencroft Institute for the Criminally Insane. Unlike the other facilities, Ravencroft, which was located in the state of New York, would focus on the mentally unstable supervillains, and would try to rehabilitate them.
Much like DC's Arkham Asylum, Ravencroft showed the inner workings of the darkest kind of villains. Dr. Ashley Kafka was the face of the institute. She believed in a better way to help those she considered victims. Thanks to Spider-Man, she was in no short supply of patients. While Kafka meant well, she wasn't always successful. Ravencroft has been in the background of many comics, but there are some that journey into the center of the institute and tell stories that can only take place there.
10 Spider-Man Unlimited #1
By Tom DeFalco, Ron Lim, Jim Sanders III, Nel Yomtov, And Chris Eliopoulos
Ravencroft first appeared in the pages of Spider-Man Unlimited. Some key factors were established right away. Ravencroft was an alternative to the Vault. Ravencroft would be a place that could study the villains delivered to them and work on ways to get rid of their powers and heal their minds.
Cletus Kasady was the first villain delivered to Ravencroft's team of scientists and doctors. The other thing the issue established about Ravencroft was how unprepared its staff was. Kasady easily accessed his symbiote and turned into Carnage. He slaughtered some guards and escaped. Ravencroft could get powerful and dangerous villains but would have trouble holding them.
9 The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 1 #394
By J.M. DeMatteis, Mark Bagley, Larry Malstedt, Bob Sharen, And Joe Rosen
Judas Traveler was an amoral psychologist with illusion powers. He took an interest in Ravencroft and its patients. After gaining access to the facility, he used his powers to seal off Ravencroft so that only Spider-Man could enter.
This was the first story where Spider-Man really got to witness the inner workings of Ravencroft. Spider-Man had only seen his enemies wreaking havoc at the height of their power. In Ravencroft, the likes of the Chameleon and Carnage were restrained, afraid, and obsessed with Spider-Man. Traveler tried to break Spider-Man by making him doubt his mission, but Spider-Man survived the encounter with a greater belief in his purpose.
8 The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 1 #403
By J.M. DeMatteis, Mark Bagley, Larry Malstedt, Sam de la Rosa, Bob Sharen, And Bill Oakley
Judas Traveler abducted Spider-Man and put him on trial in Ravencroft. Traveler himself sat as the judge, Carnage was the prosecutor, Dr. Kafka and John Jameson were Spider-Man's defense team, and the jury was full of Ravencroft's patients. Spider-Man's clone Kaine was along for the ride.
Much like the Batman: The Animated Series episode "Trial", Traveler deduced that Spider-Man created his villains and his death would mean no more villains. Traveler sentenced him to death, but because Kaine was willing to give his life to save Spider-Man, Traveler reversed his decision. Ravencroft made for a creepy setting where the outside rules of law and order were twisted.
7 Absolute Carnage #1
By Donny Cates, Ryan Stegman, JP Mayer, Frank Martin Jr., And Clayton Cowles
The idea behind the Absolute Carnage series was that the bedlam of Cletus Kasady was infectious. Norman Osborn himself had a brush with Kasady's mind after an encounter with the Carnage symbiote and had to be put into Ravencroft.
Spider-Man, Venom, and John Jameson visited Ravencroft as Kasady was infecting its residents with symbiotes. The heroes found themselves unbalanced just by being inside Ravencroft. The differences between Spider-Man and Venom got worse, and John turned into the Man-Wolf. The color of the entire comic book had an eerie red-tint, which heightened the looming danger of Carnage.
6 Absolute Carnage Vs. Deadpool #1
By Frank Tieri, Marcelo Ferreira, Roberto Poggi, Rachelle Rosenberg, And Joe Sabino
Deadpool has always been off-balanced. He took Spider-Man's suggestion to go to Ravencroft. Deadpool's timing was unfortunate as he arrived after Carnage and his army of symbiotes had taken over. Deadpool was attacked, and the only way for him to escape was to burn down the institution.
Ravencroft had always been a place of anarchy, but this was the first time the building was destroyed. Carnage's madness could barely be contained, and the destruction of Ravencroft meant there was nothing keeping Carnage from the rest of the world. It was a shocking event that would have serious repercussions.
5 Ruins Of Ravencroft: Carnage
By Frank Tieri, Angel Unzueta, Guiu Vilanova, Rachelle Rosenberg, And Travis Lanham
After Ravencroft was destroyed, Mayor Wilson Fisk decided to rebuild it. Three one-shots came out that detailed the backstory of Ravencroft and wove that history through Marvel lore. The first comic went back to the 1400s and settlers in New York.
The ground that would become Ravencroft itself was cursed. It became the place of the first murder in the New World. It was also the very place the murderer was contained. In a spine-tingling twist, the murderer was revealed to be Cortland Kasady, an ancestor of Cletus Kasady. This act set the stage for the entire history of Ravencroft to be a place that would perpetuate crimes in its attempt to curb them.
4 Ruins Of Ravencroft: Sabretooth
By Frank Tieri, Angel Unzueta, Guillermo Sanna Bauza, Rachelle Rosenberg, And Travis Lanham
The second one shot moved the setting to the 1800s. The future location of Ravencroft was witness to historic events such as the Revolutionary War and became the setting of supernatural and alien activity such as those from Shuma-Gorath and the Skrulls.
Ravencroft lore gained its founder, Jonas Ravencroft. In 1899, he purchased the land to create a mental healthcare facility. This tale of Ravencroft carried a great weight of tragic irony in the optimism in its founding. It became a place villains could manipulate. Sabretooth was able to trick the staff into inducting Wolverine. The sense of impending doom filled the story.
3 Ruins Of Ravencroft: Dracula
By Frank Tieri, Angel Unzueta, Stefano Landini, Rachelle Rosenberg, And Travis Lanham
The final issue of the Ruins of Ravencroft one-shots took place in the 20th century. Like the previous issues, the story had nods to Marvel history. Loki had visited Ravencroft at one point. In the 1940s, Captain America and Bucky went there to retrieve a comrade who had fallen victim to Baron Blood.
Captain America fought Marvel's Dracula against the backdrop of Ravencroft, which looked cool, but it wasn't what made the issue great. Jonas Ravencroft narrated events as he realized that his dream of helping the criminally insane was failing. Ravencroft was never going to help monsters, and it ultimately became a place that created them.
2 Ravencroft #1
By Frank Tieri, Angel Unzueta, Rachelle Rosenberg, Dono Sanchez-Almara, And Joe Sabino
After Ravencroft was rebuilt, it got its own miniseries. The first issue was just as entertaining as the one-shots that lead up to it. Misty Knight and John Jameson helped run the institute. Despite their best intentions, Ravencroft would always be Ravencroft.
The comic took full advantage of the fact that Ravencroft should be for rehabilitation, as it showed supervillains in group therapy. Ravencroft remained a dangerous place that had creatures lurking beneath the surface. With Wilson Fisk as mayor and Norman Osborn as director, the story presented the idea that the true dangers don't come from those inside Ravencroft but those that have power over it.
1 Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 5 #49
By Nick Spencer, Ryan Ottley, Humberto Ramos, Mark Bagley, Cliff Rathburn, And Other Artists
Norman Osborn left his Green Goblin persona in the past when he became director of Ravencroft. The Sin-Eater returned with the ability to take the powers of others. He decided to target Osborn, and Spider-Man wrestled his conscience over whether to save him.
Osborn became the Green Goblin again. Spider-Man and the Green Goblin teamed up to fight their way through Ravencroft and confront Sin-Eater, more powerful than ever. The Green Goblin could always bring up the worst feelings in Spider-Man, and being in Ravencroft made things even worse. Spider-Man ended up abandoning Norman just as Ravencroft collapsed. Ravencroft's physical collapse paralleled Spider-Man's internal one.