| Kraven the Hunter | |
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Kraven the Hunter, as depicted on the cover of the The Amazing Spider-Man #34 (vol. 1) March 1966. Art by Steve Ditko. |
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | The Amazing Spider-Man #15 (Aug 1964) |
| Created by | Stan Lee Steve Ditko |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Sergei Kravinoff |
| Team affiliations | Sinister Six Kravinoff Family "Avengers" (1959) |
| Notable aliases | Spider-Man |
| Abilities | Superhuman senses, strength, speed, stamina, durability, agility, reflexes, and longevity Expert hunter and hand to hand combatant |
Kraven the Hunter is a fictional character, a supervillain and enemy of Spider-Man appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Kraven's name is Sergei Kravinoff. He also appears as Xraven, with white-grey skin and red eyes, possessing the powers of X-Men. He is the half-brother of Dmitri Smerdyakov, better known as the Chameleon. The character first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #15 (August 1964), and was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko. In 2009, Kraven was ranked as IGN's 53rd Greatest Comic Book Villain of All Time. [1] The background of the character is described, below, using in-universe tone.
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Sergei Kravinoff is a maniacal big game hunter known as Kraven the 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 honor of sorts, choosing to hunt his game fairly, though he does use a mystical serum to give him similar strength to Spider-Man. Spider-Man proves a frustrating quarry because Kraven continually underestimates the superhero's resourcefulness. He was contacted by his half-brother, the Chameleon to defeat Spider-Man. Kraven was a founding member of the Sinister Six, and was the second foe to battle Spider-Man, fighting him at a zoo using wildcats.
Kraven finally completes his ultimate objective in the acclaimed 1987 storyline by J. M. DeMatteis and Mike Zeck, "Kraven's Last Hunt", where he seemingly kills Spider-Man and buries him on his estate, then poses as the hero in a brutal vigilante campaign. Though Spider-Man survives (having only been drugged), Kraven is satisfied with his success, and after helping Spider-Man defeat the rat-like monster Vermin, and having no further goals, commits suicide.
Kraven later returns as a ghost in the graphic novel Amazing Spider-Man: Soul of the Hunter.[2]
Kraven is later resurrected from the dead by Sasha Kravinoff and the Kraven family with a ritual using the blood of Spider-Man.[3] He is shown to now be explosively psychotic and cold towards his family, beating up his son and daughter and expressing little attention towards his wife, which Chameleon states might stem from inward anger from being resurrected, given it was by Sergei's own hand that he met his end. After being stabbed by his daughter Ana, Sergei recovers stating that Sasha restored him with corrupted blood or the "unlife" as he puts it. They pull off the mask of the corpse of Spider-Man hung in their mantel and find out that Kaine is in Spider-Man's costume.[4] Spider-Man in his Black Suit confronts Kraven and the rest of the Kravinoff Family, and he is tempted to kill Kraven. However, he refuses to do so when he is reminded by Julia Carpenter (who has inherited the powers of Madame Web after her death) that he does not stand for murder, explaining that he is the center of a moral 'web' that would be destroyed if he breaks his moral code. Following their defeat at the hands of 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 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.[5]
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.[6]
While he is in the Savage Land, 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.[7]
The Chameleon was the person who initially gave Kraven the idea of hunting Spider-Man in Amazing Spider-Man #15. After Kraven died, the Chameleon was revealed to be Dmitri Smerdyakov and is Kraven's half-brother. Kraven's lover, the voodoo priestess Calypso, manipulated the Lizard against the wall-crawler in the first issues of Todd McFarlane's best-selling Spider-Man series. It was later revealed in a story arc concerning Ka-Zar that Kraven was trained as a hunter largely by a mysterious man named Gregor, a mercenary who battled Ka-Zar.
Kraven has also had two sons take up his role:
There was a third son as well named Ned Tannengarden who tries to kill Alyosha, but he was murdered by the Chameleon (who during that time believed himself to be the original Kraven the Hunter).
Also, Kraven once raised an alien creature called Gog who he found in a spaceship that had crashed in the Savage Land.
It was revealed during 2009's X-Men/Spider-Man crossover that years ago, Kraven made a deal with Mister Sinister. He and the Blob tracked down the X-Men, and they fought the united forces of Spider-Man and the original X-Men. He 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 Girl, Iceman, Angel, and Beast. Furthermore, Sinister requested a sample of his DNA.[8]
Years later, after the death of Kraven, an 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, 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, and he was able to take down Cyclops and 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 told 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. He quickly fled after he saw Cyclops' memories, but the X-Men become aware of the fact that he was able to get DNA samples from Shadowcat, Colossus, Nightcrawler, and 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' memories, Xraven destroyed 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.[9]
The Xraven clone possesses the combined powers of the original X-Men, as well as Kraven the Hunter's fighting techniques, strength, and agility. His telepathic powers are able to block Spider-Man's spider sense, as well as Wolverine's heightened senses. His increased stamina makes it possible for him to be teleported by Nightcrawler repeatedly without suffering from fatigue. He has pale, white-grey skin, red eyes and no hair. Xraven also had a black diamond-shaped mark on his forehead, similar to the one on Mister Sinister.
A third, female Kraven has recently appeared. She tracks 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.[10] 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 notably had eyelids for him to be able to see). At the end, it is revealed that her name is Ana Tatiana Kravinoff, that she is only about 12 years old, and that she is Kraven's daughter by a woman called Sasha Aleksandra Nikolaevich, also mother of the deceased Vladimir. 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. Their revenge scheme will play an important role in the Gauntlet.[11] Ana and Sasha later meet up with Alyosha Kravinoff who assists them in preparing for the "Grim Hunt" where they start going after Kaine.[12]
Ana assists Alyosha into attempting to abduct Arachne, only to run afoul of Spider-Man who repels them. Ana alongside Alyosha, Electro, and Diablo were present when Sasha sacrificed Mattie Franklin as part of a revival ritual that resurrected Vladimir Kravinoff as a humanoid lion creature.[13] Ana alongside Vladimir and Alyosha attacked Anya Corazon, only to end up fighting Spider-Man, Arachne, Kaine, and Ezekiel (whom was really Chameleon in disguise). The Kravinoffs managed to overpower them and make off with Araña and Arachne. After Chameleon sheds his disguise and Spider-Man partially succumbs to the drugs the Kravinoffs have given him, Ana was present when Kaine (dressed as Spider-Man) was killed as a sacrifice as part of a ritual that revived Sergei Kravinoff.[14] 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.[15] When the Kravinoff Family was defeated, Ana alongside the other Kravinoffs escaped 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.[16]
Ana later attacks the new 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.[17]
By regularly ingesting the potion made from the various unnamed jungle herbs, Kraven grants himself a number of abilities including sufficient superhuman strength, speed, stamina, agility, and reflexes to make him a physical threat to Spider-Man, though 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, 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.
In Spider-Man Noir, Kraven is depicted as a former animal trainer in a circus that was taken by Norman Osborn, a mob boss known as "The Goblin", as one of his hitmen and collectors.
He was killed when a mass of man-eating spiders covered his body and started eating him. His final act was to kill Osborn when his mangled spider-ridden corpse lands on him thus spreading the mini man-eaters. [18]
In the first issue, he is seen with his Sinister Six teammates terrorizing Empire State University after the Kingpin hires them to distract a heist. He was zombified by the Zombie Spider-Man after he rips out his throat, as Spider-Man's efforts to resist his hunger were overwhelmed by the unique scent of Kraven's various jungle potions.
In a dystopian future, Kraven works for the tyrannical ruler of New York City. He works to quash a rebel disruption of the power structure by simply murdering everyone; including kids. Spider-Man throws him off a building to his death. [19]
In the Ultimate Marvel series, Sergei Kravinoff is an Australian and the host of his own TV reality show. In the TV show, he hunts down dangerous animals, and intends to hunt and kill Spider-Man on live television in order to boost his ratings. He is arrested after being knocked out with a single punch by the superhero (who was trying to help two people out of an overturned car) and his show is canceled. In the Ultimate Six story arc, Kraven genetically tampers with his DNA, allowing him to become a gruesome werewolf-like monster (similar to the werewolf depiction in The Wolf Man) with large hands and feet, claw-like fingers, enlarged red veins, darker skin, fang-like teeth and berserk-like feral behavior. Kraven is taken in S.H.I.E.L.D. confinement after being taken down by the Ultimates for tampering with his DNA. Kraven eventually escapes with other Spider-Man villains. They capture Spider-Man, tie him up, unmask him, humiliate him, and blackmail him into joining them. Kraven helps with the attack on the White House, though he is electrocuted by a lightning bolt from Thor when he tries to attack Peter. He is last seen in another S.H.I.E.L.D. containment facility surrounded by soldiers, while claiming that he was under mind control. Alongside the rest of the Ultimate Six, Kraven plays a role in the Death of Spider-Man storyline. Norman Osborn breaks him and the rest out of the Triskelion, and after their escape, Osborn informs them that God wishes for them to kill Peter Parker. [20]
In What The--?! #3 Kraven appears as a raven called Raven the Hunter. [21]
Kraven appears in the Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark musical as a member of the Sinister Six and is played by Christopher Tierney.[25]
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