Wait...Did Spider-Man go to high school in Manhattan?

[Slimybug]

I've always known that Peter Parker is from Queens and he went to high school at the fictional Midtown High. Yesterday, I found out that Midtown is actually one of the neighborhoods in Manhattan. So, was the implication that Peter went to school in Manhattan? Come to think of it, when was it ever officially stated that he goes to Midtown High, or that the Parker residence is in Queens? Dang it, now I feel like I need to go back to issue 1!

[Kaitou D. Kid]

No. Midtown High is in Queens.

The only time the high school was in Manhattan was in Spectacular Spider-Man. IMO, it makes more sense.

[Hugo Strange]

No. Midtown High is in Queens.

The only time the high school was in Manhattan was in Spectacular Spider-Man. IMO, it makes more sense.

Wasn't it on Manhattan in JMS run?

[Kaitou D. Kid]

Wasn't it on Manhattan in JMS run?

I thought it was Queens?

[HypnoHustler]

Midtown High was supposed to be in Queens. JMS screwed up and thought “Midtown” meant it was in Manhattan and depicted it as such, and editorial were either too timid to correct their new star writer or too ignorant themselves. This was in the early 2000s during the Quesada/Jemas era, when they had publicly declared that continuity wasn’t all that important anymore (another more minor continuity error was Peter seeing Ezekiel and thinking “I’ve never seen anyone crawl on a wall before,” or something to that effect, despite the previous existence of Ben Reilly and Venom).

So there you go, folks. It was always in Queens until 2001. JMS, not being too knowledgeable about Spider-Man continuity, screwed up and put it in Manhattan… and now it’s a bit of a mess with it having been depicted by subsequent writers in both places since then. I just tell myself the school moved from Queens to Manhattan, which schools don’t really do, but whatever… comics.

[Slimybug]

I'm just really surprised that Stan Lee, such a devout New Yorker himself, would label a Queens High School "Midtown," knowing that might lead to confusion.

This led me to question where in NY Stan Lee was from, and it turns out, via Wikipedia, he was born, apparently at home, in Manhattan, on the corner of W. 98th St. and West End Ave. In case anyone was curious.

[PCN24454]

The only conclusion is that Peter goes to school in a fictional version of Midtown, one that’s in Queens rather than Manhattan.

[NC_Yankee]

No. Midtown High is in Queens.

The only time the high school was in Manhattan was in Spectacular Spider-Man. IMO, it makes more sense.

Midtown is in Queens, but it does not actually matter. Why? In NYC they have speciality High Schools. For example there is one in the Financial District if a kid is interested in Wall St and Finance and is willing to do the hour commute from Queens to The City ( Manhattan).

[Slimybug]

Midtown is in Queens, but it does not actually matter. Why? In NYC they have speciality High Schools. For example there is one in the Financial District if a kid is interested in Wall St and Finance and is willing to do the hour commute from Queens to The City ( Manhattan).

And in the MCU, Peter goes to just such a specialty school: Midtown Science High School. Wait, does anyone know where Midtown High is supposed to be in the MCU?

[NC_Yankee]

And in the MCU, Peter goes to just such a specialty school: Midtown Science High School. Wait, does anyone know where Midtown High is supposed to be in the MCU?

I am willing to bet that Midtown Science HS is based on the Bronx Academy of Science ( one of the top science schools in the country). But it is a lot easier to stick the fictionalized version of the school in Queens then explain why Peter is going to HS in The Bronx.

[Chris0013]

Unfortunately in this day and age anything having to do with NYC...people think Manhattan. For some reason they do not understand the boroughs.

[Huntsman Spider]

I am willing to bet that Midtown Science HS is based on the Bronx Academy of Science ( one of the top science schools in the country). But it is a lot easier to stick the fictionalized version of the school in Queens then explain why Peter is going to HS in The Bronx.

Funny enough, I recall Spider-Man making a quip about the Bronx in the 90s animated series episode where he teamed up with Doctor Strange and Wong to rescue Mary Jane from Baron Mordo's cult, which was trying to bring Dormammu into the world: "Big deal. I've been through the Bronx. I'm ready."

[PCN24454]

I am willing to bet that Midtown Science HS is based on the Bronx Academy of Science ( one of the top science schools in the country). But it is a lot easier to stick the fictionalized version of the school in Queens then explain why Peter is going to HS in The Bronx.

Which version of Midtown High are we talking about? I assumed that we were talking the OG one from the comics.

[HypnoHustler]

Unfortunately in this day and age anything having to do with NYC...people think Manhattan. For some reason they do not understand the boroughs.

People OUTSIDE of NYC may think that. That’s fair… I’m from NYC and know very little about the different sections of LA or Chicago.

Of course, New Yorkers are well aware of the boroughs.

In any event, JMS should’ve been corrected by an editor.

[NC_Yankee]

People OUTSIDE of NYC may think that. That’s fair… I’m from NYC and know very little about the different sections of LA or Chicago.

Of course, New Yorkers are well aware of the boroughs.

In any event, JMS should’ve been corrected by an editor.

Exactly: No one from Queens says I am from Queens. They say I am from Howard Beach, Flushibg, Jamaica, Rego Park etc. Same applies to Brooklyn: Bensonhurst, Bay Ridge etc. People who are unfamiliar with the differences in neighborhoods should watch The Warriors. This is a major theme of that movie: The gang dealing with different neighborhoods ( and those gangs who inhabit them) while trying to get back to their home base in Coney Island