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 Tower: 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, Norman Osborn, Hector Ayala, Harry Osborn, Chip Martin and Johnny Storm (the Human Torch). Doreen Green (Squirrel Girl) is currently enrolled in its computer science undergraduate program. Staff included Miles Warren, Edward Lansky (aka Lightmaster), Mendel Stromm, Gregson Gilbert (creator of the Dragon Man), Clifton Shallot (the mutant Vulture), David Jude, and Curtis Connors.
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.
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. 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.