- "Dude, do you wanna be a high school dropout?"
"I am so far beyond high school right now." - ―Ned Leeds and Peter Parker[src]
Midtown School of Science and Technology, or MSST, is a high school in New York City.
History
Establishment
- "All you guys go to that school you pretty much have your life planned out right?"
- ―Adrian Toomes to Peter Parker and Liz Toomes[src]
Midtown School of Science and Technology was established in New York City in 1962.[1]
Entering the Campus
Peter Parker and Ned Leeds talk in the halls
The school notably had Peter Parker and his best friend Ned Leeds as students. It also had an Academic Decathlon Team managed by Roger Harrington and led by Liz Toomes, as well as its own TV show hosted by Jason Ionello and Betty Brant. Parker took advantage of the school's equipment for his Spider-Man activity, using the chemistry labs to synthesize his Synthetic Webbing and hiding his homemade suit behind a series of lockers.
Due to his activities as Spider-Man, Parker soon quit the school's marching band and robotics lab's club. He also intended of leaving the Academic Decathlon team.[2]
Gym Class
Peter Parker and Ned Leeds during gym class
In 2016, once Leeds discovered Parker's secret identity, he kept asking questions about Spider-Man during classes. During a physical training session in the school's gymnasium, Leeds enthusiastically revealed that Parker knew Spider-Man as they had overheard Toomes speaking about how she liked the superhero.[2]
Spying on Thugs
Parker took the Chitauri Energy Core he picked up while fighting Adrian Toomes' Crew into the school for further study. He and Leeds decided to take the core for a mass spectrometer analysis, however, Parker saw the Shocker and Randy Vale in the school's corridors tracking the energy core. Parker spied on the two thugs by hiding under the table and successfully planted a tracker on them before they left the school.[2]
Spider-Man's Popularity
The school is overrun by a "Spider-Mania"
The Midtown Academic Decathlon won the national tournament in Washington, D.C.. Although they were endangered while visiting the Washington Monument, they were rescued by Spider-Man and successfully returned to the school with their trophy. Following the rescue, Spider-Man became even more popular with the students. Due to what he had discovered regarding the Vulture stealing from Damage Control, Parker intended to leave school for a while and arrest him. Although Parker got detention for his numerous absences, he escaped from the school to track down the Vulture.[2]
Homecoming Dance
After returning to Midtown, Parker was summoned by Principal Morita, who renewed Parker's detention. Parker dedicated himself to his studies, although he regretted that he could no longer be Spider-Man. However, Parker's life got a little brighter when he met Toomes in the hall corridors and she agreed to be his homecoming date.
Peter Parker is ambushed by Shocker in Midtown's bus park
On the night of homecoming at Midtown, Parker and Toomes arrived and met their friends in the dancing hall. However, since Parker had figured out the Vulture's true identity as Toomes' father, he apologized to Toomes and left her in the dancing hall. Parker then ran down the hallways and collected his Homemade suit behind the unused lockers. He then ran out of Midtown, but was ambushed in Midtown's bus park by the Shocker. However, Leeds rescued Parker, causing the Shocker to be tied up to a school bus.
Spider-Man then instructed Leeds to go to the school's computer room. Although he failed to inform Happy Hogan of the situation, Leeds successfully helped Spider-Man to catch up with the Vulture. However, Leeds was caught by Monica Warren, who asked him what he was doing instead of attending the dance. In order to cover for Spider-Man, Leeds pretended to be watching porn.
Liz Toomes leaves Midtown
Following the Duel at Coney Island and the Vulture's arrest, Liz decided to leave the Midtown School of Science and Technology. She and Parker had their final talk and Parker apologized to Liz for ditching her for the dance. The two then said goodbye to each other. Due to Liz's departure, Roger Harrington gathered the decathlon team in the library and appointed Michelle Jones as the new team's captain. Happy Hogan then came to see Parker at the school to thank him for having prevented the Vulture from stealing the cargo he targeted.[2]
Living with the Snap's Consequences
Students disintegrate from the Snap
In 2018, the Snap happened, causing half of the universe's population to turn to dust, which included students from Midtown. The surviving students were left to continue their school year.[3]
The Blip
Peter Parker returns to Midtown after the Blip
Five years later, as a result of the Avengers' actions, the Blip occurred, which restored everyone back to life; however, unlike everyone who survived, those restored were the same age they were at the time they disappeared. Peter Parker was one of those students who were restored to life and upon his arrival back at Midtown, he felt emotional.[4] To the frustration of the students, the Midtown staff decided to have the students restart their school years the following term; they felt this unjust as they had just had their midterms and therefore already knew the classes.[3]
2023-2024 School Year
Peter Parker and Ned Leeds on the last day
In 2024, Midtown offered a school sponsored trip to Europe, specifically for those students who returned in the Blip. On the last day of the 2023-2024 school year, Peter Parker told Ned Leeds he had to run some errands before their departure.[5][3]
Academic Staff
| Name | Subject | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Morita | Administration | Principal |
| Roger Harrington | Science | Teacher Academic Decathlon Coach |
| Monica Warren | Physics | Teacher |
| Andre Wilson | Health and Physical Education | Teacher Coach |
| Barry Hapgood | Woodwork | Teacher |
| Cobbwell | Chemistry | Teacher |
| Ronda Kramer | Art (formerly) | Teacher |
| Berman | Video Making | Teacher |
| Watcher Informant | Bus Driver | |
| Julius Dell | History | Teacher |
Students
MSST logo
- Betty Brant
- Chris Buongiorno
- Zach Cooper
- Tyler Corbyn
- Brad Davis
- Jason Ionello
- Michelle Jones
- Ned Leeds
- Kenneth Lim
- Sue Lorman
- Yasmin Monette
- Peter Parker
- Vihaan Ramamurthy
- Sebastian
- Josh Scarino
- Flash Thompson
- Suzan Yang
- Zoha
Alumni
Former Students
Appearances
- Captain America: Civil War (indirectly mentioned)
- Spider-Man: Homecoming Prelude (mentioned)
- Spider-Man: Homecoming
- Spider-Man: Far From Home (footage)
- Avengers: Endgame
- Peter's To-Do List
- Spider-Man: Far From Home
- Spider-Man: No Way Home (unreleased)
Trivia
- In the comics, Peter Parker and Jessica Jones were classmates in Midtown High School.
- Midtown School of Science and Technology was established in 1962, as a reference to Spider-Man's first appearance in Marvel Comics in Amazing Fantasy Vol 1 #15.
- The school is visually designed after a similarly STEM-focused real world NYC public high school, the Manhattan Center for Science and Mathematics in East Harlem.
- Howard Stark and Abraham Erskine appear in a mural in the school and Bruce Banner is among the famous scientists pictured in one of the classrooms.
- The school day ends at 2:45 pm.
- The school mascot is a tiger, which is a reference to Mary Jane Watson's nickname for Peter Parker in the comics.
- The school is quite prestigious in the neighborhood, shown when Adrian Toomes called the school as 'that school'.
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