Empire State University

**Empire State University**, or simply known as **ESU**, is a college located in New York City.

## History

Empire State University is where Peter Parker and several of his friends go to college. Peter's biology teacher is Dr. Curt Connors.

A new science known as Neogenics, which involves manipulating human DNA, was developed at ESU along with a device known as the Neogenic Recombinator. At one time Curt Connors used the Recombinator at ESU to regrow his lost arm. However, the process turned him into a giant lizard that Spider-Man ended up having to hunt down.

Sometime later J. Jonah Jameson contacted the ESU employee, Dr. Farley Stillwell and paid him to use the Neogenic Recombinator to transform Mac Gargan into the Scorpion.

When Spider-Man realized that his new black costume was making him more violent he went to ESU to see Curt Connors. After Connors examined the suits material he learned that it was really an alien symbiote and that it was trying to take control of his body. Spider-Man ignored Connors warnings but later learned that the symbiote was taking control of him and got rid of it by using the sonic noises from a church bell.

Wilson Fisk later paid for a criminology school to be built on the ESU campus. At the ground breaking Hobgoblin flew above Fisk's head and took aim at him. As he fired his gun Peter Parker rushed up and pushed Fisk out of the way.

The Toomes Foundation later offered to give ESU grant money to continue their Neogenic research, but only if Dr. Connors students could come up with the most original Neogenics project. Connors mad this a competition among his students and had them work on their own Neogenics projects. Connors also told his students the whoever's Neogenics project won the grant money that student would also become his research assistant.

Michael Morbius (one of Connors students) then began to spy on Peter Parker to learn what his Neogenic project would be. Morbius then broke into Peter's locker and found a vial of blood. After studying the blood in the ESU lab Morbius learned that it was enhanced with Neogenics. Morbius believed that the Neogenic blood was Peter's Neogenics project and knew that if he were to submit it he would win the job as Connors assistant. However, Morbius did not know that the blood sample he found was was not Peter's Neogenic project but really Peter Parker's Neogenic spider blood. At this time Peter was starting to mutate into an inhuman creature and was going to test a cure made by Mariah Crawford on his blood sample before using it on himself. However, Morbius began to study the blood himself in one of ESU's labs. Morbius exposed the blood to the radiation from the Neogenic Recombinator to determine what it was made out of. During his tests a bat flew into the beam coming from the Neogenic Recombinator and drank some of Peter's blood. This in turn made the bat radioactive. As soon as Morbius realized that the bat was messing up his experiment he attempted to shoo it away. However, the vampire bat bit Morbius on his hand. The radioactive bite from the vampire bat then turned Morbius into a vampire.

Morbius later went back to ESU and attempted to drain Debra Whitman's blood. However, Flash Thompson rushed in and tackled Morbius. Morbius then drained Flash's blood. Man-Spider then arrived and chased off Morbius. Morbius later stole the Neogenic Recombinator from the ESU Science Lab and planned on using it to to turn everyone on Earth into vampires. Morbius was latter stopped by Spider-Man and Blade.

When the Tablet of Time was discovered it was brought to ESU to be studied by Curt Connors. However, Tombstone broke into the lab and abducted Curt Connors so that he could decipher the writing on the Tablet of Time to make Silvermane young again. Tombstone got away with Connors despite Spider-Man's attempt to stop him. However, Dr. Connors was later rescued by Spider-Man.