Sony has unveiled a violent trailer for its upcoming film adapting the Marvel Comics character Kraven the Hunter‘s villain origin story. The anticipated film will chronicle the transformation of Sergei Kravinoff into Spider-Man’s most formidable enemy, known as Kraven the Hunter. With the trailer, Sony has already revealed some changes made to the character while it prepares to introduce the founder of the Sinister Six to the mainstream of its Spider-Man Universe.
Among all other glimpses of Kraven’s strength, the official trailer highlights the turning point in Sergei’s life and reveals how he went from being a fearsome teenager to a scathing superhuman hunter. In a life-changing moment, Sergei is confronted by a lion during one of the hunting trips his father takes him on, but he fails to shoot in time and instead faces a deadly attack by the giant lion. As he lays there unconscious after being mauled, the animal’s blood drips into his body through an open wound, permanently altering his biology and giving him superhuman powers.
Kraven’s power-gaining story differs significantly from the original comic origin of Kraven the Hunter. Additionally, the film seems to make the villain more powerful by giving him additional powers that are not possessed by Kraven in Marvel Comics.
Kraven the Hunter’s origin story in Marvel Comics
According to Marvel Comics, Sergei Kravinoff was born to Russian aristocrats and grows up with his half-brother Dmitri Smerdyakov, who lives with them as a servant. When Sergei’s father passes away, his mother is sent to an institute for the insane where she eventually kills herself. Sergei is haunted by visions of the filthy, spider-infested asylum, which is why he seeks out to hunt Spider-Man.
Sergei then learns to survive with his wits and cunning after becoming an orphan. By the time he is a late adolescent, he travels widely and resides in every major city in Europe and Asia. Kravinoff quickly leaves the safari to live alone in the African veldt after realizing that he has a natural flair for hunting. By the time he becomes an adult, his hunting prowess is renowned, and Kraven becomes a prosperous big-game hunter.
How Does Kraven the Hunter gain superhuman abilities in Marvel Comics?
Kraven takes a herbal concoction made by a witch doctor while he is in Africa and residing in the Belgian Congo. His speed, strength, and agility are dramatically increased, and his aging is significantly slowed down by the uncommon, naturally occurring mutagenic chemicals in the potion. Thus, in Marvel Comics, Kraven receives his superhuman skills from unique herbal concoctions that he consumes periodically.
Kraven is a skilled hunter who uses a variety of tools, such as blowguns and darts, bolts, axes, spears, whips, gas bombs, and traps/restraints like magnetic manacles and nets. He also uses a leopard claw glove, a spray called “jungle scent” to dull Spider-Man’s sense of smell, and a horn to send animals on an attack. Additionally, his hunter belt has poison-tipped teeth and tusks. He also pairs these traditional hunting gears with electronics that can stun, calm, and produce a double-barreled beam to magnetize the electrolytes in one’s muscles.
Although it’s too soon to determine if the Kraven adaptation has the same powers as the original, the trailer hints that Sony’s Kraven has animal-like characteristics like an eagle’s vision and carnivorous teeth. He is also skilled in fighting methods used by exotic animals.
Watch the official trailer for Kraven the Hunter below: