Grim Hunter

Kraven the Hunter (Sergei Nikolaevich Kravinoff; Russian: Сергей Николаевич Кравинов) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #15 (August 1964) as an adversary for the superhero Spider-Man. He has since endured as one of the web-slinger's most formidable foes, and is part of the collective of adversaries that make up Spider-Man's rogues' gallery. Kraven has also come into conflict with other heroes, such as Black Panther and Tigra. He is the half-brother of the Chameleon and is one of the founding members of the Sinister Six.

In Kraven's first appearance, he calls Spider-Man "the most dangerous game", a direct reference to the 1924 short story of the same name, in which General Zaroff, a Russian big-game hunter (and a primary inspiration for the character), hunts people for sport.

Kraven is typically portrayed as a renowned big-game hunter whose goal in life is to beat Spider-Man to prove himself as the world's greatest hunter. Though he is often overconfident in his own abilities, about which he likes to boast, he possesses a great sense of honor, and treats his adversaries as equals until proven otherwise. Because of this, Kraven has sometimes been depicted as an antihero and has teamed up with other heroes, including Spider-Man, the Avengers of 1959, and Squirrel Girl, in ''The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl'' (2015–2019). The character is widely regarded as one of Spider-Man's most formidable enemies, and has gained considerable attention from storylines such as 1987's "Kraven's Last Hunt," 2010's "Grim Hunt", 2015–2019's " The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl's Friend Kraven", and 2019's " Hunted". The mantle of Kraven the Hunter has also been assumed by Kraven's sons Alyosha and Sergei Kravinoff II, and his daughter Ana Kravinoff.

Since his original introduction in comics, the character has been featured in various other Marvel-licensed products, including video games, animated television series, and merchandise. Aaron Taylor-Johnson portrayed Kraven the Hunter in the Sony's Spider-Man Universe (SSU) live-action film ''Kraven the Hunter'' (2024).

Publication history

The character first appeared in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' issue #15 (August 1964), and was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko. Though he would occasionally appear in other characters' titles, he was most frequently used as a Spider-Man foe. He is killed off in the acclaimed 1987 storyline by J. M. DeMatteis, Mike Zeck, and Bob McLeod, "Kraven's Last Hunt". Although generally considered to be the definitive Kraven the Hunter story, the story originally had a completely different character in Kraven's role. Writer DeMatteis recounted:

Despite Kraven the Hunter being one of Spider-Man's most long-standing arch-enemies, DeMatteis claims that none of Marvel's editorial staff objected to the proposal to have him killed in the story. Kraven later returns as a ghost in the graphic novel '' The Amazing Spider-Man: Soul of the Hunter'', also by DeMatteis, Zeck, and McLeod. DeMatteis also wrote "Kraven's First Hunt" for ''The Sensational Spider-Man'' Annual '96, a retelling of ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #15 which incorporated several DeMatteis retcons, such as that Kraven was abusive towards the Chameleon.

Fictional character biography

Sergei Kravinoff (Сергей Кравинов) is a Russian immigrant, the son of the aristocrat Nikolai Kravinoff who fled to the United States with his family in 1917 after the executions of Russian nobility by the February Revolution and subsequent collapse of the reign of Tsar Nicholas II.

Kraven is a maniacal big-game hunter who seeks to defeat Spider-Man to prove that he is the greatest hunter in the world. Unlike other hunters, he typically disdains the use of guns or bow and arrows, preferring to take down large dangerous animals with his bare hands. He also lives by a code of honour of sorts, choosing to hunt his game fairly. He consumes a mystical serum to give himself enhanced strength and dramatically slow the aging process. Kraven was trained as a hunter largely by a mysterious man named Gregor, a mercenary who once battled Ka-Zar. Kraven was, at one point, the lover of the voodoo priestess Calypso.

He is contacted by his half-brother the Chameleon to defeat Spider-Man. He leads Spider-Man to Central Park with the help of the Chameleon, who disguises himself as Kraven to use himself as a decoy while the real Kraven ambushes the hero. However, despite Kraven having weakened Spider-Man with a poisonous dart, Spider-Man prevails in the end. Spider-Man proves a frustrating quarry because Kraven continually underestimates the superhero's resourcefulness.

Kraven becomes a founding member of the Sinister Six when he accepts Doctor Octopus's offer to form a team to fight Spider-Man. They capture Aunt May and Betty Brant. He attacks Spider-Man in Central Park with three tigers. Spider-Man fights off the attackers and secures the next clue to where Aunt May and Betty Brant are being held. After Aunt May and Betty Brant are rescued, Kraven the Hunter and the rest of the Sinister Six are arrested by the police.

While in the Savage Land, Kraven the Hunter finds Gog in a spaceship that he stumbles upon. Realizing how useful Gog can be, Kraven the Hunter decides to use him in a plot to conquer the Savage Land. After kidnapping the visiting Gwen Stacy from a camp in the Savage Land, Kraven and Gog battle the heroes Ka-Zar and Spider-Man. While Ka-Zar deals with Kraven, Spider-Man defeats Gog by luring him into a patch of quicksand, which he sinks to the bottom of.

''Kraven's Last Hunt''

Determined to end his life as he becomes older, frustrated with his failing health and continuing failure to defeat Spider-Man, Kraven sets out a final hunt for Spider-Man. After capturing Spider-Man, he shoots him with a coma-inducing drug and buries him alive on his estate. To complete his victory, he attempts to become Spider-Man's clear superior by impersonating him in a brutal vigilante campaign and capturing Vermin, the one foe Spider-Man had never been able to defeat on his own (Spider-Man's last battle with Vermin required Captain America's assistance).

After Spider-Man emerges from his grave two weeks later, Kraven explains his actions to him and sets Vermin free. Spider-Man goes after Vermin to prevent his killing again. Kraven leaves a final confession of his crimes against Spider-Man and then commits suicide. Because of his suicide, his soul is unable to find rest until Spider-Man confronts his risen corpse on Kraven's behalf.

''The Gauntlet and Grim Hunt''

Across " The Gauntlet" and "Grim Hunt", Kraven is resurrected by his ex-wife Sasha Kravinoff and their children with a dark magic ritual using the blood of Spider-Man. Thoroughly unhappy and enraged with having been bestowed an unwanted revival, Sergei is shown to now be explosively psychopathic and cold towards his family, beating his son Vladimir and daughter Ana and expressing little attention towards his wife. After being stabbed by his daughter Ana, Sergei recovers, stating that Sasha restored him with corrupted blood which he calls "unlife". They pull off the mask of the corpse of Spider-Man hung in their mantel and discover that Kaine had impersonated Peter in Spider-Man's costume. Kaine's nature as a clone indicates his unnatural existence has muddied the properties of the ritual. Spider-Man, in his black costume, confronts Kraven and the rest of the Kravinoff Family. Spider-Man is tempted to kill Kraven, who eagerly and desperately attempts to goad him into it. Beating him brutally, Spider-Man takes Kraven's spear in hand and prepares to grant his enemy his wish but he refuses to do so when he is reminded by Julia Carpenter (who has inherited the powers of Madame Web after her death) that committing murder is not in his moral code, and furthermore, by going through with it, damns himself to a future where from that point he takes on a more brutal approach to crime-fighting, including killing suspects, which will lead him to die in a standoff against the police (a scenario previously glimpsed in an earlier issue). Following their defeat by Spider-Man, Kraven and his family escape to the Savage Land. While there, Kraven brutally kills Sasha (who complained that Kraven would have to hunt them to prove their place in the Kravinoff family) and euthanizes Vladimir. Alyosha flees in disgust of what his dad did to his stepmom and half-brother afterwards. Kraven and Ana discuss rebuilding the Kravinoff family, which leads to Ana running off to hunt Alyosha to prove herself worthy to Kraven and rebuild the Kravinoff family.

It was later revealed that back in the 1950s, Kraven the Hunter was a member of Nick Fury's Avengers alongside Dominic Fortune I, Dum Dum Dugan, Namora, Silver Sable, Sabretooth, and Ulysses Bloodstone, tracking a stolen version of the Super-Soldier Serum combined with the Infinity Formula that had been stolen by a group of Nazis attempting to create their own Captain America.

While he is in the Savage Land, Agent Venom lands in the area on an unrelated mission from the federal government. Mistaking him to be Spider-Man, Kraven attacks him and gains the upper hand before Venom escapes.

At one point, Kraven is contacted by a doctor who once treated him when a past hunt went wrong, the doctor requesting that Kraven track down a recent patient of hers—who had been used as a test subject to duplicate another man's electrical abilities—as well as asking that he capture the Black Panther—currently acting as a 'local' vigilante to regain his sense of self after the destruction of Wakanda's vibranium—in return for her help finding a way for him to die. With the aid of Storm, T'Challa is able to stay ahead of Kraven long enough to convince him that the doctor had lied about being able to kill him, Kraven agreeing to leave T'Challa alone and take the doctor's mutated animal subjects back with him into the wild.

When their identities became fractured after a temporary separation, the Hulk discovers that Bruce Banner had hired Kraven to find the lost city of the Sasquatches. Although the Hulk was uninterested with helping the Sasquatches deal with Kraven, he changes his mind and beats up Kraven.

Kaine, in the alias of the Scarlet Spider, later encountered Kraven the Hunter, who was dressed as the Scarlet Spider to torment him. With the help of Ana, Kraven kidnapped Kaine's friends to motivate the Scarlet Spider to fight him. In the end, Kaine delivered Kraven a fatal blow in the chest, which paralyzed his heart. But using the same attack, Kaine brought him back to life supposedly still breaking the curse. Following the fight, both Kravens disappeared.

''The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl''

Kraven, still claiming to be cursed, next battles Squirrel Girl at Empire State University, having earned her ire by lashing out at the local squirrels, including Tippy-Toe. Kraven departs when Squirrel Girl informs him of the existence of sea monsters like Giganto, playing on Kraven's obsessions by challenging him to hunt worthier prey. He later returns to abduct Howard the Duck, but is trapped with Howard and Squirrel Girl in a manhunt as the hunted. After surviving, he vows to only "hunt the hunters".

During the " Avengers: Standoff!" storyline, Kraven was an inmate of Pleasant Hill, a gated community established by S.H.I.E.L.D. who used Kobik's abilities to turn Kraven into a zookeeper. He rallied some of his fellow inmates to help him find Kobik and bring her to Helmut Zemo.

In the "Secret Empire" storyline, Zemo recruits Kraven into the Army of Evil. He raids the ''Daily Bugle'' to uncover Spider-Man's identity, but is defeated by Spider-Woman.

''Hunted''

In " Hunted", Kraven the Hunter reminisces about how Sasha, Vladimir, and Alyosha were killed by him and Ana for not living up to his legacy. After cutting a deal with the High Evolutionary, Kraven the Hunter has 87 clones of him created, trained as the Sons of Kraven, and sent out to prove themselves by being hunted by each other. Only one clone survived, and was dubbed the Last Son of Kraven. With help from the Taskmaster, the Black Ant, and Arcade, Kraven hunts various animal-themed characters, like the Beetle, Kangaroo, Owl, Puma, the Serpent Society, Squid, and White Rabbit. Later, Kraven disguises himself as Spider-Man and tricks Last Son into killing him.

Powers and abilities

By regularly ingesting the potion made from various unnamed jungle herbs, Kraven grants himself superhuman physical abilities, making him a physical threat to Spider-Man, although these powers are not as developed as those possessed by Spider-Man. Kraven's body is also more durable, and more resistant to certain forms of injury than the body of a normal human. He can withstand great impact forces, such as falling from several stories or being repeatedly struck by a superhumanly strong opponent, that would severely injure or kill a normal human, with little to no injury to himself. The effects of the potion have dramatically altered Kraven's aging process to the point that he has aged little, if at all, over several decades. Despite being over 70 years of age, he has the physical appearance of a 30-year-old man.

The potion enhances Kraven's sight, hearing, and smell to superhuman levels, adding to his already impressive tracking skills. He can see farther, and with much greater clarity, than a normal human. His hearing is similarly enhanced, enabling him to detect sounds which an ordinary human cannot, or sounds that a normal human could detect, but at much greater distances. Kraven can use his sense of smell to track a target by scent, much as some animals do, even if the scent has been somewhat eroded by natural factors.

Even without his superhuman powers, Kraven is an Olympic-level athlete, and a gifted tactician, hunter, and hand-to-hand combatant. He also has great knowledge of pressure points, both in the anatomy of humans and in many animals. He can strike at these nerve clusters with pinpoint accuracy, allowing him to incapacitate more powerful opponents or animals. He is familiar with many exotic poisons and tranquilizers, which he often uses during his hunts.

Due to a flaw in the ceremony that resurrected him, Kraven was given "the ''unlife''... the eternal curse", as he discovered when his daughter stabbed him through the heart. According to Kraven, he can now only die by Spider-Man's hand. However, this curse was apparently broken when Kaine temporarily killed Kraven by stopping his heart and then restarting it with the same move.

Family

Kraven the Hunter had different family members and clones. He even fathered several children who have followed in his footsteps:

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Chameleon

As mentioned above, Chameleon is Kraven the Hunter's half-brother

Grim Hunter

Vladimir Kravinoff was a son of Sergei Kravinoff, the infamous adversary of Spider-Man known as Kraven the Hunter. Unlike his illegitimate half-brother Alyosha Kravinoff who was raised in shame in Africa, Vladimir grew up in Russia benefiting from his father's wealth and luxuries. However, their father often neglected both sons while he pursued his various international quarries. Unaware of his siblings, Vladimir was raised by Sergei's servant Gregor who acted as a surrogate father teaching him Sergei's hunting techniques. When Vlad was still a boy, Sergei put his son through a rite of passage, hunting Vladimir while disguised as the fabled "Grim Hunter." Impressed by his son's abilities learned under Gregor, Sergei began to train Vlad personally. Vladimir Kravinoff took up the name "Grim Hunter" and decided to hunt down Spider-Man and several of his foes. He only had one battle with Spider-Man, and his methods were nearly the same as his father's. He was briefly involved with the Hobgoblin, even giving his identity of Jason Macendale his father's super-strength formula which reacted to the anomalies in his bloodstream which gave him greater power. This is perhaps the reason why Vladimir became more powerful than his father when he took the treatment. When he got out of jail, he decided to track Spider-Man down again only to fight the Scarlet Spider instead. Kaine (a clone of Spider-Man) arrived and after a confrontation, Vladimir was killed by the insane duplicate. On death's door, he staggered to Gregor falling in his arms and died shortly after that.

During "The Gauntlet and Grim Hunt" storyline, Vladimir's mother Sasha Kravinoff sacrifices Mattie Franklin as part of a ritual that resurrects Vladimir as a humanoid lion. While wearing a loincloth, Vladimir later assists Ana and Alyosha Kravinoff with capturing Anya Corazon as well as a second attempt to capture Arachne. Following Kraven the Hunter's resurrection, Vladimir was shown attempting to attack Arachne and Araña while they are bound. Sergei fends off Vladimir rather brutally. Sasha mentioned to Sergei that Vladimir's sub-human state was the result of a test resurrection to see if she can revive Sergei. After Spider-Man defeated the Kravinoff family, they escaped to the Savage Land where Sergei killed Sasha and Vladimir. On Vladimir's part, Sergei quoted "I'm sorry, Vladimir...you did not deserve this" and throws his hunting knife into Vladimir's neck. He explained to Alyosha that it was due to "respect for the dead" as he Sergei shoots him.

Alyosha Kravinoff

Alyosha Kravinoff is a mutant who is the second Kraven the Hunter through an unnamed female mutant some time after the death of Vladimir.

Unlike Vladimir, Alyosha was separated from his family and raised in an African jungle. After Kraven's suicide, Alyosha came to New York City to investigate the father he barely knew. Dressed as Kraven, Alyosha confronted his uncle Dmitri Smerdyakov (AKA Chameleon). Believing his abusive half-brother had returned from the dead, Chameleon revealed to Alyosha much about the dysfunctional Kravinoff family. Kraven's former lover Calypso Ezili did actually return from the dead and she mistook Alyosha for Kraven the Hunter. She seduced Alyosha, but afterwards he spurned her affections. Later, riding a bull elephant atop Manhattan's rooftops, Alyosha attacked Spider-Man. He poisoned him with a hallucinogenic dart, but then set him free. While at the Kravinoff estate, Alyosha was learning about his father from Spider-Man when Calypso returned with Kraven's tribesmen. She set the home ablaze and killed all but Gulyadkin the Lion. Calypso poisoned Alyosha and Spider-Man and used her hypnotic powers to force the two to fight to the death. Spider-Man resisted and injured Calypso, while Alyosha subdued her with his lion. Despite asking for her forgiveness, Alyosha savagely killed Calypso and all the tribesmen with her.

He was later hired by the city of New York to help capture the Fantastic Four's enigmatic enormous canid Puppy. Next, he was hired by White Wolf, head of the deposed Wakandan secret police, to capture Black Panther. Black Panther turned the battle around, nearly killing Alyosha. Sandman later invited Alyosha to join Sandman's Sinister Six to hunt Doctor Octopus and Senator Ward (the host body for the alien Z'nox). Venom, slighted at his rejection by the Six, hunted each of the team members. Refusing to be "the hunted", Alyosha trapped Venom with fire, but Venom seriously injured him and escaped.

Alyosha then adopted a more relaxed, suave, and charismatic personality. As "Al," he began dating Timber Hughes, an aspiring actress who worked as a waitress at an all-villain bar. Al sought to help Timber's career in Hollywood by becoming a director. Despite celebrity connections, Al's efforts were stonewalled by arrogance, greed, and corruption within the Hollywood elite. Forced out of Hollywood by the powerful Rothstein brothers, Al is beaten while Timber was brutally raped. Both Al and Timber exacted vengeance which involved defeating another half-brother Ned Tannengarden (who was later killed by Chameleon) and left Hollywood to pursue heroics in New York City.

Alyosha is one of few mutants that retained their superhuman powers after the M-Day. He is one of the superpowered beings recruited within the ''Beyond!'' miniseries by Stranger posing as the Beyonder.

Alyosha Kraven later eventually becomes fully deranged from experimenting with his father's potions, and in his madness began collecting a zoo of animal-themed superhumans, including Bushmaster II, Gargoyle II, Tiger Shark, Kangaroo II, Aragorn (the version that was owned by the Vatican Black Knight), Vulture, Mongoose, Man-Bull, Dragon Man, Swarm, Mandrill, Grizzly III, Frog-Man, and Rhino. In the end, the Punisher (whom Kraven referred to as "Tiny Monkey") managed to sabotage this zoo. Kraven himself escapes to the Savage Land.

During " The Gauntlet" storyline, Alyosha returned to New York to help his half-sister Ana and stepmother Sasha in the Grim Hunt by hunting Kaine. They then witness Spider-Man's fight with the Lizard. He was present at the ritual where Sasha sacrificed Mattie Franklin as part of a revival ritual that resurrects his half-brother Vladimir as a humanoid lion-like creature. After the Kravinoff Family was defeated, Alyosha alongside the other Kravinoff Family members escaped to the Savage Land where Kraven plans to hunt them to in order to prove that they can earn a spot in the Kravinoff Family. Alyosha soon abandoned his family after Kraven killed Sasha and Vladimir telling him to do his sick game on his own. In an attempt to impress Kraven, Ana pursued Alyosha with the intent of killing him in exchange that he trains her to rebuild the Kravinoff Family.

Alyosha was later confirmed to have been killed in the Savage Land by his sister Ana when she and their father returned from the Savage Land to hunt down Kaine in Houston, Texas.

Nedrocci Tannengarden

There was a third son named Nedrocci "Ned" Tannengarden who tried to kill Alyosha, but he was murdered by the Chameleon (who, during that time, believed himself to be the original Kraven the Hunter).

Xraven

It was revealed during 2009's ''X-Men/Spider-Man'' crossover miniseries that years earlier, Kraven made a deal with Mister Sinister. He and the Blob (Marvel Comics), Blob tracked down the X-Men, and they fought the united forces of Spider-Man and the original X-Men. Kraven fled after a short battle, but not before wounding each member of the X-Men. Kraven returned to Sinister, with genetic samples from Cyclops (Marvel Comics), Cyclops, Jean Grey, Marvel Girl, Iceman (Marvel Comics), Iceman, Warren Worthington III, Angel, and Beast (Marvel Comics), Beast. Furthermore, Sinister requested from Kraven a sample of his DNA. Mister Sinister later cut a deal with Cletus Kasady, Carnage to obtain a sample of the Carnage (character), Carnage Symbiote (comics), symbiote. After removing the sentience from the Carnage symbiote sample, Mister Sinister combined it with the DNA of the original X-Men and Kraven the Hunter, where he would use this creation at a later date. Years later after the death of Kraven, an Morlocks (comics), ex-Morlock who had kept his powers post M-Day named Joe Buggs was murdered by a mysterious mutant hunter. His friend Ed (who had lost his powers) went to the X-Men for help. He claimed that the man who killed Buggs was Kraven the Hunter. Although they were skeptical about Kraven's apparent resurrection, the X-Men called on the help of Spider-Man, who had battled Kraven many times over the years. After discussing the battle that they had with Kraven years ago and the fact that he had given samples of the X-Men's DNA to Sinister for cloning, the lights went out on the wing where they were located. The hunter attacked and quickly dispatched Colossus (character), Colossus, but was held at bay by Spider-Man's webbing. He broke free, claiming his name is Xraven. The X-Men quickly realize that Xraven has all of the powers of the original X-Men, while also sporting retractable claws, big hands and feet, fangs, and wings that have a very flexible skeletal structure enough for him to press them to the back of his torso and legs with only the slightest bulge visible under his clothing (the Carnage symbiote sample allowed the wings to be flexible). He was able to defeat Cyclops and Kitty Pryde, Shadowcat, holding her hostage, giving the ultimatum that he would kill her if they did not surrender. Spider-Man insulted Xraven, claiming that Kraven would never threaten a helpless girl. Xraven was momentarily fazed by his comment, but attacked again, claiming that he is the "favored one". Cyclops realizes Xraven's weakness and tells him that Mister Sinister sees him as nothing but a pawn. He tells Xraven to read his mind, in order for him to see the kind of a man Sinister really is. After Xraven sees Cyclops's memories, he flees, but the X-Men become aware of the fact that he was able to get DNA samples from Shadowcat, Colossus, Nightcrawler (character), Nightcrawler, and Wolverine (character), Wolverine. Returning to Mister Sinister with the samples, Mister Sinister tells him that he planned to clone a new generation of mutants, and that he would unite all mutantkind. After seeing what Sinister's real intentions were in Cyclops's memories, Xraven destroys the samples, claiming that Mister Sinister would breed slaves as opposed to warriors, and Xraven attacks him. Although it is clear that Mister Sinister survived his confrontation with Xraven, it is currently unknown whether Xraven survived.

Upon researching Xraven, Captain America does not consider him evil. He states that Xraven must be brought in, partly because of the murder he committed and partly to prevent the Kravinoff family from obtaining him.

Ana Kravinoff

The daughter of Kraven the Hunter, Ana Kravinoff becomes the first female to take on the name of Kraven the Hunter. She first appears tracking Spider-Man to his apartment, but mistakenly believes Peter Parker's roommate Vin Gonzales was him. She then methodically ruins Vin's life, and captures him. Despite Vin's claims that he was not Spider-Man, Kraven prepared to hunt him, but was stopped by the real Spider-Man, who was wearing Daredevil's costume (which had eyelids for him to be able to see). At the end, it is revealed that she is Kraven's daughter by a woman called Sasha Aleksandra Nikolaevich (also the mother of the deceased #Grim Hunter, Vladimir Kravinoff). She and her mother have recently set about forming an alliance of Spider-Man villains to get revenge on the wall-crawler and kidnap Madame Web. They also hired Deadpool to keep him distracted while they kidnapped Mattie Franklin.

Ana and Sasha later meet up with Alyosha Kravinoff, who assists them in preparing for the "Grim Hunt", where they start going after Kaine.

Ana assists her half-brother Alyosha Kravinoff into attempting to abduct Arachne, only to run afoul of Spider-Man, who repels them. Ana alongside Alyosha, Electro (Marvel Comics), Electro, and Diablo (Marvel Comics), Diablo are present when Sasha sacrifices Mattie Franklin as part of a ritual that resurrects Vladimir Kravinoff as a humanoid lion creature. Ana alongside Vladimir and Alyosha attacks Anya Corazon, only to end up fighting Spider-Man, Arachne, Kaine, and Ezekiel Sims (who was really Ana's half-uncle Chameleon in disguise). The Kravinoffs manage to overpower them and make off with Anya and Arachne. After Chameleon sheds his disguise and Spider-Man partially succumbs to the drugs the Kravinoffs have given him, Ana is present when Kaine (dressed as Spider-Man) is killed as a sacrifice as part of a ritual that revives her father Sergei Kravinoff. Following the resurrection, Sergei gets acquainted with his family. When Kraven returns after preventing Vladimir from attacking the captives, he is shown to lack a sense of control, attacking Ana until he is stabbed in the heart by Ana in self-defense. Sergei recovers, stating that Sasha restored him with corrupted blood or the "unlife" as he puts it. When the Kravinoff Family is defeated, Ana alongside the other Kravinoffs escapes to the Savage Land. After Sasha and Vladimir are killed by Kraven and Alyosha flees, she runs off to hunt Alyosha to prove herself to Kraven. She tells Kraven that if she can take down Alyosha, Kraven should train her and help rebuild the Kravinoff family. Otherwise, he will forget about family.

Ana later attacks Anya Corazon (who is now operating as Spider-Girl) in an attempt to finish the hunt she started during The Grim Hunt. Although obviously the stronger fighter, Ana is eventually defeated thanks to Spider-Girl's experience at fighting in New York City. She is thereafter incarcerated.

Ana later escapes incarceration and heads to Houston to hunt Kaine (the current Scarlet Spider). Ana and her brother Alyosha deliver the killing blows to Kaine that lead to his blood resurrecting her father Kraven the Hunter. However, since Kaine himself was resurrected shortly afterwards so that there could be balance between Hunters and Spiders, it remains to be seen what other motives Ana has for Kaine as there are visions of a dark future ahead for the Scarlet Spider.

With the help of Ana, Kraven kidnaps Kaine's friends to motivate the Scarlet Spider to fight him. In the end, Kaine delivers a fatal blow to Kraven, which paralyzes his heart. But using the same attack, Kaine brings him back to life, supposedly breaking the curse. Following the fight, both Kravens disappear.

Ana Kravinoff later serves as the guide to the Inhumans Gorgon (Inhuman), Gorgon and Flint (Marvel Comics), Flint, taking them to the Chimanimani Mountains of Mozambique, Africa, where they found the hidden Inhuman city of Utolan. During this time, Ana reveals that she has Inhuman ancestry on her mother's side, something she discovered while hunting down her mother's family members (and for which her father tried to kill her when she told him). She came to Utolan looking for a cure, but was sedated by order of the councilwoman Sanara, who took some of her genetic material for use in the city's eugenics-based practices. Ana managed to escape and hunted down Sanara. She was exposed to Terrigen Mist during her hunt, which awakened her Inhuman genes. As she prepares to kill Sanara, Ana notes that it is time to "embrace [her] nature".

In a prelude to the " Hunted" storyline, Ana accompanies her father in hunting the New Men (Marvel Comics), New Men to draw out the High Evolutionary. When Ana learned that her father had the High Evolutionary make 87 clones of himself, Ana considers this a disgrace to the Kravinoff family and declares herself a "Kravinoff no more" which Kraven shrugs off.

During the "Sinister War" storyline, Ana Kravinoff is discussed as a new recruit for the Sinister Syndicate. Kindred's giant centipedes bring the Sinister Syndicate and Ana to Kindred where Foreigner's group and the Superior Foes are, as Kindred holds a contest for someone to take down Spider-Man so that he can be punished for his sins. Ana is with the Sinister Syndicate when they intercept Overdrive (character), Overdrive, who was carrying Spider-Man away from Foreigner (character), Foreigner's group.

Sasha Kravinoff

Kraven's wife and Ana and Vladimir's mother Sasha Kravinoff was part of a Gauntlet on Spider-Man's life, causing chaos and weakening Spider-Man prior to the events that led to resurrecting Kraven from the grave.

Last Son of Kraven

The Last Son of Kraven (one of the many Sons of Kraven) was cloned from Kraven the Hunter's DNA by the High Evolutionary. He hunted his fellow clones and returned to Kraven the Hunter, where he proved himself by presenting him with the skulls of his fellow clones. Kraven the Hunter sent the Last Son of Kraven to subdue and capture Spider-Man for the upcoming Great Hunt that is sponsored by Arcade's company, Arcade Industries. Marvel Comics. The Last Son of Kraven later chased after the Black Cat. Kraven the Hunter donned the black Spider-Man suit, where he tricked the Last Son of Kraven into killing him. After attending his funeral of his "father", the Last Son of Kraven went to the Kravinoff estate, ripped off his clothes, and trashed it out of frustration. After calming down and drinking some wine, the Last Son of Kraven found a letter written to him by his "father" behind Kraven the Hunter's rifle on the wall. The letter from Kraven the Hunter stated that the Last Son of Kraven was to finally inherit his legacy not as Kraven's son, but as the man himself, since he was cloned from his DNA. The Last Son of Kraven read in the letter "You were forged in fire, born in blood. My spirit made flesh. More than my child—you are me, and I am you. One and the same now." This led to the Last Son of Kraven taking on the aliases of both Sergei Kravinoff and Kraven the Hunter, where he cuts his hair, wipes off his tiger stripes, and dons a copy of Kraven the Hunter's costume.

Reception

''IGN'' ranked Kraven the Hunter 53rd in their "Top Comic Book Villains" list. David Harth of ''Comic Book Resources'' described Kraven the Hunter as a "cool villain", praising the design of the character, and described him as "more than a match for Spider-Man."

Other versions

2004-05 ''Marvel Age Spider-Man''

An alternate universe variant of Kraven from Earth-5030 appears in ''Marvel Age Spider-Man'' #14.

''Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows''

An alternate universe variant of Kraven from Earth-18119 appears in ''The Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows'' as a member of Regent (comics), Regent's Sinister Six.

Earth X

An alternate universe variant of Kraven from Earth-9997 appears in ''Earth X''. This version is a humanoid lion.

Earth-001

An alternate universe variant of Kraven from Earth-001 appears in ''Spider-Verse''. He accompanies Verna and the Hounds in hunting Miles Morales before being killed by the Superior Spider-Man.

Earth-31

An alternate universe variant of Sergei Kravinoff from Earth-31 called Hunter Spider appears in ''End of the Spider-Verse''. While fighting and killing a giant spider that killed a lion he was hunting, he was bitten by it and acquired arachnid physiology and abilities. Months later, he took to hunting animal-themed supervillains on J. Jonah Jameson's behalf. He later joins the Sinister Squadron to serve as a spy within the Spider-Society amidst their fight with Shathra.

Earth-803

A steampunk-themed alternate universe variant of Kraven from Earth-803 appears in ''Spider-Verse''. This version is a member of the Six Men of Sinestry.

Earth-312500

An alternate universe variant of Kraven from Earth-312500 who was killed by Spider-Man appears in ''Spider-Man: Last Stand''.

''Marvel 1602''

An alternate universe variant of Kraven from Earth-311 appears in ''Marvel 1602''. This version is a butcher also known as Karnov.

''Marvel Noir''

An alternate universe variant of Kraven from Earth-90214 appears in ''Marvel Noir''. This version is an animal trainer who is later killed by man-eating spiders.

''Marvel Zombies''

A zombified alternate universe variant of Kraven from Earth-2149 appears in ''Marvel Zombies''.

''Old Man Logan''

An alternate universe variant of Kraven from Earth-21923 appears in ''Old Man Logan''. Additionally, Kraven's descendant Vladvena and her unnamed brothers from Earth-807128, collectively known as the Killer Kravinoffs, appear in ''Old Man Hawkeye''.

''Secret Warps''

Bushman the Hunter, an amalgamation of Kraven and Bushman (character), Bushman created by the Infinity Gems, appears in ''Infinity Wars''.

''Spider-Gwen''

An alternate universe variant of Kraven from Earth-65 appears in ''Spider-Gwen''.

''Spider-Man: Life Story''

An alternate universe variant of Kraven from Earth-19529 appears in ''Spider-Man: Life Story''. Due to suffering from terminal cancer, he commits suicide before the Venom (character), Venom symbiote possesses and resurrects him.

''Ultimate Marvel''

An alternate universe variant of Kraven from Earth-1610 appears in Ultimate Marvel. This version is a Russian Australians, Russian Australian and the host of a reality television series where he hunts dangerous animals who intends to hunt and kill Spider-Man (Ultimate Marvel character), Spider-Man on live television to boost his ratings. Kraven later undergoes genetic enhancements and gains the ability to transform into a monstrous leonine form.

''Ultimate Universe''

An alternate universe variant of Sergei Kravinoff from Earth-6160 appears in ''Ultimate Spider-Man (2024), Ultimate Spider-Man''. This version is a billionaire oligarch whose family was exiled from Russia during the "Rasputin Purge". Stated to be from a long line of hunters, he always hunts prey in pairs; killing one and preserving the other. Additionally, he is a lieutenant of Kingpin (character)#Ultimate Universe, Wilson Fisk who controls Staten Island on his behalf and later joins his Sinister Six to combat the Harry Osborn#Ultimate Universe, Green Goblin and Spider-Man (Ultimate Universe character), Spider-Man. In pursuit of this goal, Kravinoff abducts and hunts the pair before Spider-Man beats him into submission. Gwen Stacy#Ultimate Universe, Mysterio subsequently advises Spider-Man to leave New York before killing Kravinoff and faking the Goblin's death.

''What The--?!''

A funny animal-themed alternate universe variant of Kraven called Raven the Hunter appears in ''What The--?!'' #3.

In other media

Television

* Kraven the Hunter appears in ''The Marvel Super Heroes'' "Iron Man" segment episode "Cliffs of Doom", voiced by Chris Wiggins.
* Kraven was intended to appear in ''Spider-Man (1967 TV series), Spider-Man'' (1967), but the producers were unable to use him due to his appearance in ''The Marvel Super Heroes''. As such, original character Harley Clivendon (also voiced by Chris Wiggins) appears in his place.
* Kraven the Hunter appears in the ''Spider-Man (1981 TV series), Spider-Man'' (1981) episode "The Hunter and the Hunted", voiced by Jack DeLeon.
* Kraven the Hunter appears in the ''Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends'' episode "The Crime of All Centuries", voiced by Robert Ridgely.
* Kraven the Hunter appears in ''Spider-Man: The Animated Series'', voiced by Gregg Berger. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information. This version is not portrayed as a villain, only coming into conflict with Spider-Man after the former was driven insane. Additionally, Kraven was originally a big-game hunter who got wounded while saving his fiancée Calypso (comics), Mariah Crawford. To save his life, Crawford administered a serum that healed him and strengthened his senses and physical abilities, though it also caused him to become increasingly bestial and paranoid until Spider-Man assists in curing him. In later appearances, he would join forces with Crawford and the Punisher to cure Spider-Man after he mutates into the Man-Spider and work with Spider-Man and Black Cat (Marvel Comics), Black Cat to cure Crawford of her own feral transformation before leaving with her for the wilderness.
* A Counter-Earth (comics), Counter-Earth incarnation of Kraven the Hunter simply called the Hunter appears in the ''Spider-Man Unlimited'' episode "Enter the Hunter!", voiced by Paul Dobson (actor), Paul Dobson. This version is an African-American mercenary who works for the High Evolutionary and the rebels opposing him depending on who can pay his fee. Additionally, he is one of few humans that live in the upper sections of the High Evolutionary's city and utilizes a toxic serum that gives him the traits of certain animals when mixed with their pheromones, but shortens his lifespan.
* Kraven the Hunter appears in ''Spider-Man: The New Animated Series'' episode "Mind Games", voiced by Michael Dorn. This version previously fought Spider-Man prior to the series and poisoned the Gaines Twins' parents, which led to the twins acquiring hypnotic powers.
* Kraven the Hunter appears in ''The Spectacular Spider-Man (TV series), The Spectacular Spider-Man'', voiced by Eric Vesbit. This version was originally a renowned hunter who could take down large animals with only his natural abilities. He later enlists Jackal (Marvel Comics character), Miles Warren to transform him into a humanoid Lion, leonine creature and joins the Sinister Six.
* Kraven the Hunter appears in ''Ultimate Spider-Man (TV series), Ultimate Spider-Man'', voiced by Diedrich Bader. This version is a member of the Sinister Six who wields high-tech versions of traditional hunting weapons and mystical artifacts he collected from his journeys. Additionally, he killed White Tiger (Hector Ayala), Hector Ayala / White Tiger and gained an arch-enemy in the latter's daughter and successor White Tiger (Ava Ayala), Ava Ayala.
* An amalgamated incarnation of Kraven the Hunter appears in ''Spider-Man (2017 TV series), Spider-Man'' (2017), voiced by Troy Baker. Similarly to his Ultimate Marvel counterpart, this version is the host of a TV show called ''Kraven's Amazing Hunt'', though he also possesses Alyosha Kravinoff's long hair and eye paint and a cybernetic right arm.
* Kraven the Hunter appears in the ''Avengers Assemble (TV series), Avengers Assemble'' episode "T'Challa Royale", voiced again by Troy Baker.

Film

* Sam Raimi had jokingly confirmed that a proposed idea for his cancelled ''Spider-Man in film, Spider-Man 4'' would reveal that Peter Parker's landlord Mr. Diktovich (played by Elya Baskin), would be an elderly retired Kraven the Hunter, who now laid low under a new identity, having had a daughter, Ursula, and being aware of Peter's double life as Spider-Man, but keeping it secret out of admiration. Raimi would later clarify that this was indeed a joke and not considered as a serious idea for long.
* Marc Webb confirmed that Kraven the Hunter's spear appears in the end credits of the Sony Pictures film ''The Amazing Spider-Man 2'', with the intention being that Kraven would have appeared in future films ''Sinister Six#Film, The Sinister Six'' and in ''Spider-Man in film, The Amazing Spider-Man 3'' before the franchise was cancelled.
* Director Ryan Coogler revealed that he originally planned to include Kraven in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film ''Black Panther (film), Black Panther''.
* Director Jon Watts stated he was interested in including Kraven in the MCU film ''Spider-Man: No Way Home''. This would later become a backup plan in case their original intentions for the sequel to include the concept of the multiverse (Marvel Comics), multiverse did not pan out.
* Two alternate universe-displaced variants of Kraven the Hunter make non-speaking cameo appearances in ''Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse'' as prisoners of the Spider-Society.
* Kraven the Hunter appears in a Kraven the Hunter (film), self-titled film, portrayed by Aaron Taylor-Johnson as an adult and Levi Miller as a young adult. This version was attacked by a lion before he was saved by Calypso, who gave him a potion that granted him the abilities of nature's greatest predators. Ever since, Kraven uses his newfound powers to hunt criminals.

Video games

* Kraven the Hunter appears as a Boss (video games), boss in ''Spider-Man 2: The Sinister Six''. This version is a member of the Sinister Six, eponymous team.
* Kraven the Hunter appears as a boss in the Xbox port of ''Spider-Man (2002 video game), Spider-Man'' (2002), voiced by Peter Lurie.
* Kraven the Hunter appears as a boss in ''Spider-Man 3 (video game), Spider-Man 3'', voiced by Neil Kaplan.
** In the Treyarch version, he is partnered with Calypso, who provides him with various magic spells that give him the powers of a bear, a crow, and a black panther. After Calypso transforms the Lizard into a giant monster, she and Kraven leave Spider-Man to fight the Lizard himself.
** In the Vicarious Visions version, Kraven leads a group of hunters and only uses one potion that grants him super-speed. He is defeated by Spider-Man shortly before the Lizard mutates himself into a giant monster.
* Kraven the Hunter appears as a boss in the PS2 and PSP versions of ''Spider-Man: Web of Shadows'', voiced by Dwight Schultz.
* Kraven the Hunter appears as a boss in ''Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions'', voiced by Jim Cummings. Kraven kidnaps Spider-Man, brings him to a jungle temple to hunt him on the former's terms with help from his students, and forces him to cooperate by revealing that he has a fragment of the Tablet of Order and Chaos. After Spider-Man evades his traps, humiliates him in front of his students, and defeats him in a cage match, Kraven uses the fragment to enhance himself, gaining superhuman speed and strength. However, he is defeated by Spider-Man, who claims his tablet fragment.
* Kraven the Hunter serves as inspiration for one of Mike Haggar's costumes in ''Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3''.
* Kraven the Hunter appears in ''Marvel Avengers Alliance'' as a member of the Sinister Six.
* Kraven the Hunter appears as a playable character in ''Lego Marvel Super Heroes'', voiced by JB Blanc.
* Kraven the Hunter appears as a boss in ''The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014 video game), The Amazing Spider-Man 2'' film tie-in game, voiced by Steve Blum in the console version and Nolan North in the mobile version.
** In the console version, Kraven is a renowned hunter. After being hired by Wilson Fisk to eliminate the latter's rivals and hunt down Oscorp's failed cross-species experiments, Kraven manipulates Spider-Man into helping him by engaging in vigilantism and serving as a mentor to him until Spider-Man discovers the truth and defeats him.
** In the mobile version, Kraven is the leader of the Russian Mob and a rival of Hammerhead (comics), Hammerhead.
* Kraven the Hunter appears in ''Marvel Heroes (video game), Marvel Heroes''.
* Kraven the Hunter appears as a playable character in ''Marvel: Future Fight''. This version is a member of the Sinister Six.
* Kraven the Hunter appears as a playable character in ''Marvel Puzzle Quest''.
* Kraven the Hunter appears as a playable character and boss in ''Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2'', voiced by Ronan Summers.
* Kraven the Hunter appears as a boss in ''Spider-Man 2 (2023 video game), Spider-Man 2'', voiced by Jim Pirri. This version is the leader of a group of private mercenaries called the "Hunters" who seeks to hunt various superpowered individuals, such as the Spider-Men, in the hopes of finding someone he considers a worthy opponent to fight and kill him in battle before he dies of terminal cancer. Additionally, he killed his family and several supervillains off-screen as part of his quest. After nearly killing Spider-Man, Kraven fights Harry Osborn / Venom (character), Venom, who overpowers and kills him.

Miscellaneous

* Kraven the Hunter appears in ''The Amazing Spider-Man (comic strip), The Amazing Spider-Man'' (1977).
* Kraven the Hunter appears in ''Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark'', portrayed by Christopher Tierney. In some productions, this version was a scientist who was experimented on by the Norman Osborn, Green Goblin while in others, he was the comics' portrayal of Kraven. In all productions, he becomes a member of the Sinister Six.
* A future incarnation of Kraven appears in ''Marvel's Wastelanders, Marvel's Wastelanders: Old Man Star-Lord'', voiced by Patrick Page.
* Kraven the Hunter appears in a 1966 Aurora plastic model kit.

See also

* "The Gauntlet and Grim Hunt"
*''The Most Dangerous Game''

References

External links

Ultimate Spiderman Kraven The Hunter

Kraven The Hunter
at Marvel Database

{{Authority control

Kraven the Hunter,
Characters created by Stan Lee
Characters created by Steve Ditko
Comics characters introduced in 1964
Fictional animal hunters
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Fictional Russian people
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Marvel Comics characters who can move at superhuman speeds
Marvel Comics characters with superhuman durability or invulnerability
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