Sergei Kravinoff, aka, Kraven the Hunter, is one of Spider-mans longest running foes,
with the goal of proving that he is the greatest hunter in the world.
And given what he’s managed to achieve, I’m willing to give him that title.
But he’s had quite a history, and is an enemy with much more depth than would would
initially suspect.
So we’re counting down our Top Ten Shocking Kraven The Hunter facts.
10.
He “Killed” Spiderman...Then Became Him
In perhaps what is regarded as the best story involving Kraven the Hunter, Kraven’s Last
Hunt, Kraven finally succeeded in taking down Spiderman by simply shooting him with a rifle.
Having taken him down, Kraven takes his place for Spider-man...temporarily.
You see he didn’t actually kill Spiderman so much as set a new plan in motion to prove
his superiority, by capturing Vermin with his bare hands, a feat Spiderman required
Captain America’s assistance to do which leads to our next noteworthy point.
9.
He Shot Himself
Yes.
Tragically, Kraven took his own life at the climax of this story.
Having proved his point to Spiderman by allowing Vermin to defeat Spiderman, Kraven has completed
his hunt.
He sees no foe worthy of defeating him, and has proven that he is superior to Spiderman.
Finding peace in this, he releases Vermin and allows Spiderman to pursue Vermin with
the knowledge that Kraven will never hunt again.
Kraven confesses to his crimes and in his final moments, takes his own life by firing
a rifle in his mouth.
Rest in Peace.
8.
He’s Cursed to be Immortal
Considering that last point you might find this a little strange, but he’s a comic
book character and no one stays dead for very long.
So Spiderman’s Clone Kaine, was killed fighting against Kraven’s Family, who had machinations
to revive Kraven using the blood of Spiderman.
The problem was, he was cursed to a state of unlife, which makes him effectively immortal.
7.
He Can Only be Killed by Spiderman or His Clones
So because of the curse, Kraven can only be killed by Spiderman or one of his clones.
Kraven wasn’t happy to be alive, so he tried to make Spider-man kill him almost immediately,
but given Spider-man is...well, Spiderman, this obviously didn’t happen.
So, instead, he retreated with the rest of his family to the Savage land.
Which was definitely not for their benefit as most of them would die due to his actions.
Kraven was definitely not a family man.
6.
Spiderman Became Kraven the Hunter
In What If?
Spider-Man #1 (2011), a one-off tale, Spiderman in a conflict with the Kraven family, finally
kills Kraven the Hunter.
Unfortunately, this sets off a chain reaction in Peter, leading him to track down his enemies
and kill them one by one.
Eventually, this leads Peter to becoming the new Kraven, and enslaving the original Kravinoff
family.
Madame Web tries to enlist assistance to take down Peter, including allying with Venom,
Anti-VEnom and Spider-Woman, however none are successful.
It isn’t until Spider-Girl succeeds in blinding Peter and sparing his life, that Peter finally
gives up his life as the hunter, forcing him to live, seemingly, on his own.
5.
His Own Clone Killed Him
So after his family resurrected him, Kraven found himself dissatisfied having a daughter
to carry on his legacy, leading him to force the High Evolutionary to create 87 clones
of himself.
Kraven took the clones to the Savage Land and trained them in the ways of the hunt until
sending them out into the world.
However, one of the clones began to hunt and kill his siblings.
After giving his brothers skulls to Kraven, Kraven sent his clone to capture Spiderman
in hopes of using him to break the curse.
However, after Spider-Man refuses to kill Kraven, Kraven realizes what he must do to
perish.
The curse states that only the Spider can kill him, and so he, just like before, becomes
the Spider, and allows it to be his undoing.
Kraven dons a copy of the black suit spiderman costume, and when The Last Son of Kraven returns
home and finds spiderman, and promptly begins to beat him, finally killing him via strangulation.
However, after unmasking him, he finds that he’s actually killed Kraven.
Kraven, having foreseen this, left a letter to his son, stating that it was his destiny
to inherit Kraven’s legacy, and become the new Kraven the Hunter.
4.
Kraven was going to be in the Sinister Six Movie
So, before the MCU reintroduced Tom Holland as their new Spider-Man, the sony franchise
starring Andrew Garfield originally planned to introduce their own Sinister Six, which
Kraven the Hunter had actually been planned for.
They even went as far as teasing it in the post-credits for the second movie.
However, since Spider-Man has since been rebooted into a split universe with Sony and Marvel
Studios, that movie was eventually cancelled.
Although some think that Kraven has a good chance of appearing in the MCU.
Could be!
I dare not make any predictions but I’d be open to that.
3.
Chameleon is his Half-Brother
So we’ve established that Kraven’s family is pretty messed up, well this apparently
was a hereditary trait, as The Chameleon, AKA, Dmitri Nikolayevich, is also his half-brother.
This fact wasn’t revealed until after Kraven died the first time and despite being Kraven’s
personal servant, and the abuses he suffered at Kraven’s hands, the two were still best
friends.
Which is kind of nice in a twisted serial murderer kinda way.
2.
Ultimate Kraven was a Reality TV Star
So, as we know by now, the Ultimate universe basically made significantly alterations to
a lot of characters.
In this universe, Kraven was a reality tv show, an interpretation that would also be
used in the 2017 SPider-Man animated series, where he hosted a show called Kraven’s Amazing
Hunt.
The character is presented as being part Australian, which makes the show somewhat Crocodile Hunter-esque.
That said, this version of Kraven is comparatively weak, and is promptly defeated by Spider-man
on Live TV, resulting in his show being cancelled.
Kind of an embarrassing version of the character in all honesty.
Though that’s nothing new for the ultimate universe.
Kraven Actually Took Down Deadpool
Yeah this is actually brand new.
So Kraven, or rather, Clone Kraven, as some fans are NOT into this new Kraven, in the
second issue of Deadpool, actually is successful in trapping and disabling Deadpool.
Of course he hasn’t succeeded in killing him, and given we’re only in the second
issue, I can’t see that actually happening, especially since at the last moment he’s
teleported away by Elsa Bloodstone shooting him in the forehead, but still.
It’s an impressive feat to be able to go toe to toe with Deadpool in any capacity.
And those are our top ten shocking Kraven the Hunter facts.
He’s actually a pretty impressive character in the hands of a good writer.
And Kraven’s Last Hunt is a fantastic storyline.
Any Kraven moments stand out to you guys?
Lemme know.
And as always, have a good one!