If you haven’t heard by now, Marvel and Sony are currently working on Kraven the Hunter, an upcoming feature film based on the character of the same name from Marvel Comics. While it was originally thought that Kraven might be joining the MCU, the film is actually intended to be the fourth installment in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe (SSU), succeeding the likes of Venom and Morbius and preceding El Muerto and Madame Web. We’re looking an at October 2023 release date, while the cast includes Kick-Ass‘ Aaron Taylor-Johnson — previously known as Pietro Maximoff — as Kraven himself; Ariana DeBose as Calypso, Kraven’s lover; and Fred Hechinger as Chameleon, Kraven’s half-brother. In addition, Christopher Abbott, Alessandro Nivola, Russel Crowe and Levi Miller have also been cast in undisclosed roles.
Now that we’re familiar with the ins and outs of Kraven’s live-action debut, let’s fill in the blanks by returning to his roots. Although he’s a member of Spider-Man’s rogues’ gallery, he’s not so memorable as some of the web-slinger’s other foes, such as the Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, Black Cat or Rhino. Despite losing the popularity contest, Kraven is largely underrated as one of Spider-Man’s most formidable nemeses, managing to overpower him physically on several occasions. Born Sergei Kravinoff during the Russian Revolution, Kraven wouldn’t become well-known beyond Russia until he mastered the art of big-game hunting and became one of the world’s greatest hunters. But what more should we know about him?
The 1950s Avengers
Born into aristocracy, Kraven swiftly climbed the ranks to become one of the world’s most capable hunters. After meeting a voodoo doctor named Calypso, his future lover, Kraven gained enhanced his physical strength, durability and senses, effectively granting him abilities akin to a mighty jungle cat, all while enhancing his health and vitality, allowing him to live longer. In 1959, Kraven was approached y Nick Fury to join the Avengers, which consisted of Blonde Phantom, Ulysses Bloodstone, Dum-Dum Dugan, Dominic Fortune, Nick Fury, Kraven, Namora (Kraven’s then-girlfriend), Sabretooth and Silver Sable. The Avengers would complete various tasks for Nick Fury, though their methods weren’t often morally sound.
Once Kraven had grown tired of big-game hunting, his half-brother Chameleon suggested that he hunt down Spider-Man, thus giving Kraven a new purpose in life. He would continue to gain superhuman powers by drinking exotic potions from Calypso, with whom he had entered a romantic relationship. Although he tried and failed to best Spider-Man, Kraven remained persistent. When he came to the realization that he couldn’t defeat Spider-Man alone, Kraven sought strength in numbers.
Founding the Sinister Six
Reuniting with his associate Doctor Octopus, it wasn’t long before Kraven had gathered some of Spider-Man’s fiercest opponents and assembled the Sinister Six; consisting of Kraven, Doc Ock, Sandman, Mysterio, Vulture and Electro. Although the Sinister Six had victory within their sights, even as they sought to pummel Spider-Man one-by-one, none could come remotely close to defeating him. Green Goblin approached Kraven sometime after the Sinister Six was founded, contracting him to kill Spider-Man once and for all, but Kraven chose to take matters into his own hands by forming an alliance with Rhino, Lizard and Raniero Drago.
As Kraven continued to underestimate Spider-Man, he would face loss after devastating loss. Eventually, his obsession with wiping out Spider-Man proved to be his undoing as he slowly lost his sanity to the cause. After meeting Deadpool and mistaking him for Spider-Man, he hatched the ingenious plan to defeat Spider-Man by shooting him point-blank, although it went against his code of refraining from guns or bows. Once he’d wounded Spider-Man, Kraven buried the web-slinger alive, then donned a replica of his costume to prove that he could excel as a crime-fighter. Once Spider-Man had overcome the effects of the tranquilizer dart used by Kraven, he dug his way out of the grave and went after him.
As Spider-Man and Kraven met face-to-face once more, Kraven made a point that he’d defeated his enemy, then proceeded to confess to the authorities that he’d impersonated Spider-Man before taking his own life soon after.
Resurrected as an anti-hero
It was Kraven’s family who concocted the scheme to resurrect him, all while facilitating the return of Spider-Man’s archenemies to slow him down and buy them time to complete the ritual. When the Kravinoffs believed to have captured Spider-Man in New York, where Kraven’s body was buried, it was discovered to be Peter Parker’s clone, Kaine Parker, who was killed and sacrificed in order to resurrect Kraven the Hunter. Since Kraven was left disgruntled by the ritual and the phoney Spider-Man’s demise, he was cursed to be unable to die unless it were at the hands of Spider-Man. Sergei became so desperate to die that he tracked down the Hulk and ordered him to bring Spider-Man in order to execute the mercy killing. Naturally, Hulk declined.
Shortly after Kraven’s resurrection, Kaine also returned to life as Scarlet Spider. Thinking he could find a loophole in the curse, Kraven confronted Kaine and planned to have him end his life and break the curse. In the end, after some convincing by Kraven, who kidnapped several of Kaine’s friends, the Scarlet Spider delivered a fatal blow to Kraven’s chest and stopped his heart, but then used the same attack to bring him back, hoping to have broken the curse without actually murdering him.
Sometime after disappearing, Kraven encountered Squirrel Girl after attacking Tippy-Toe, one of her squirrels. Kraven would eventually kidnaped Howard the Duck, leading him to cross paths with Squirrel Girl once more, but he refused to kill her. This encounter made Kraven re-evaluate his life, leading him to become a hunter of hunters. Having confronted the infamous Poachmaster General, Kraven was kidnapped by an Ultron T-Rex and subsequently rescued by Squirrel Girl, with whom he formed an unlikely bond.
Squirrel Girl would eventually reveal her civilian identity to Kraven as Doreen Green, even though he had already deduced it. After a run-in with the law in the aftermath of a fight with the supervillain Mojo II, Kraven was found guilty on trial and ran away, only to be intercepted by Spider-Man, who reluctantly let him go as per Squirrel Girl’s request. Squirrel Girl offered for Kraven to become her partner-in-crime-fighting to keep him on the straight and narrow, but he declined, saying that he needed to work on bettering himself first. He did, however, ensure her that he would no doubt become her ally once more in the future.
Eventual death and legacy
Although he had promised Squirrel Girl to refrain from villainy, Kraven found the life of a vigilante deeply dissatisfying. The Last Son of Kraven had murdered his brethren to prove himself worthy of the Kraven the Hunter’ name’s title. In an elaborate plan to force Spider-Man to succumb to his murderous instincts, Kraven initiated a fight between Hunterbots (near-indestructible robots provided to him by a benefactor) and Curt Connors (the Lizard), which placed Connor’s son Billy in harm’s way. In the end, however, Spider-Man managed to save Billy without granting Kraven’s wishes.
In a last-ditch attempt to murder the monster that he had become, Kraven donned the Spider-Man costume and intercepted a battle against the Last Son, dying by his hand. Since Kraven had ‘become’ Spider-Man to some extent and his actions was deliberate, it was enough to break the curse, allowing him to remain dead. In his wake, Kraven left a note for his son, expressing his pride and bestowing upon him his name and alias, allowing the Last Son to become himself Kraven the Hunter.