Comic Book Prisons You Wouldn't Want to Be Locked Up In

Arkham acts like a prison, not just a mental hospital. It rarely cures anyone; inmates are mostly murderous psychopaths. Frequent breakouts and bad security might attract new inmates. You will likely get a straightjacket. You will only watch the Joker escape again. Batman will probably punch you if you try anything.

The Phantom Zone is a Kryptonian detention center. It sends criminals into a non-existent state. The torture involves Phantom Zone inmates still seeing the physical plane. They just cannot experience it, or commit crimes there.

Ryker's Island is a real place. Street-level Marvel villains get locked up there. The Punisher escaped bloodily. Daredevil escaped legally. You face shanked attacks more than super-powered inmates here.

Belle Reve is where DC's Louisiana sends its worst criminals. Inmates sometimes leave by joining the Suicide Squad. They call it the Suicide Squad for a reason.

Blackgate holds Gotham's 'sane' criminals. This place sits on an earthquake fault line. When Arkham Asylum gets destroyed, inmates likely find psychotic new cellmates.

InNew Avengers, Marvel's brightest heroes gathered all their super-powered prisoners at The Raft. A super-powered breakout stopped when Sentry turned on his rioters and joined the Avengers. With inmates like that, what enemies does he need?

Under Iron Heights Penitentiary, a worse place called The Pipeline exists. Its warden, Gregory Wolfe, can shut down inmate muscles. The Flash keeps his collars there.

During theCivil WarDuring the Civil War storyline, Marvel's science heroes (Iron Man, Mr. Fantastic, and Yellow Jacket) built a prison for allies turned enemies. 'Project 42' sits inside the Negative Zone, an anti-matter universe where Marvel sends characters no one cares enough to kill off.

Shrinking enemies and storing them in a prison the size of an ant farm is not 'cruel and unusual punishment.' Ant-Man handles baddies this way. It is cruel, but not unusual: the forced ironic nickname.

The real prison in upstate New York sets the scene for Rorschach's incarceration and escape inWatchmen. Here, Rorschach delivers the line, "None of you seem to understand. I'm not locked in here with you. You're locked in here with me," after throwing hot grease in someone's face.

In the alternate timeline ofKingdom ComeSuperman leaves retirement because the next generation of superheroes are murderers. The uncooperative "heroes" go to the Gulag mega-prison, disappointed Superman. That is a tough situation.

The central power battery stores all the willpower the Green Lantern Corps uses to police the galaxy.The Green Lantern Corps uses the central power battery to police the galaxy.The Corps also held the villain Parallax for billions of years. Hal Jordan bonded with the yellow fear embodiment and broke it free. Parallax is not someone you want to share a room with. You also probably lack cable on Oa, and getting it hooked up inside a giant battery is unlikely.

Hulkbuster Base, also known as Gamma Base, confines and cures the Hulk. Trapped here means you likely got hit by a Gamma bomb. You live a tortured life of isolation and exile; you are basically one big science project.

Genosha appears like a rich, advanced island nation. You find out it sits on the backs of incarcerated mutate slaves. Living in Genosha means you are likely a slave. Being tracked, beaten, and genetically altered by the evil mutant Magistrates is rough. Mutates—non-mutants with powers—suck because they never gain enough fan appeal for the X-Men. It is totally racist.

Legion, Professor X's son, is a schizophrenic mutant with multiple personality disorder. Each personality has a different mutant power. With Merzah the Mystic's help, he builds a prison in his mind to control and subdue his personalities, draining their psychic forms with needled gloves. Prison needles are never good.

Sin City's prison is a black and white nightmare. John Hartigan wastes eight years on a crime he did not commit. Marv is executed for many crimes he committed (and some he did not).If you are locked up here, someone probably framed you for something.If you are locked up here, you probably were framed for something.

In the hellish Age of Apocalypse,, mutants rule the globe, and humans are locked in massive pens to serve the despot's eugenic goals. Prisoners do much "breeding" but have little choice about partners., mutants rule the globe, and humans are locked in massive pens to serve the despot's eugenic goals. Prisoners do much "breeding" but have little choice about partners.

Rick and company voluntarily shack up here in The Walking Dead.Rick and company voluntarily shack up here in The Walking Dead., but it is close to Woodbury and its ruler, The Governor. Nice neighborhood, bad neighbors.

Supreme hides his bad guys in Alan Moore's self-aware take on the character. Locked in this place means you are fictional, maybe aware of it, and in real danger of being removed from existence.