Kraven the Hunter
Kraven the Hunter is a male comic supervillain who features in Marvel Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Origin
Sergei Kravinoff (Russian: Сергей Kravinoff) was a male Russian born to the aristocracy and lived in the time before the Russian Revolution. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #389) Their family were noted to had served the Czar for six generations. (Web of Spider-Man v2 #7) Alongside him was his half-brother Dmitri Smerdyakov who Sergei treated harshly though his sibling sought to earn his respect. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #389)
By the time of the revolution, the Kravinoff's fell causing his family to flee to America. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #389)
At some point, he had encountered the Mutant by the name of Sabretooth with the two striking an enmity. In 1959, he was dating Namora with the two spending time at his private property in Floria by the Emerald Coast. It was there that the pair were approached by Nick Fury who wanted to recruit them for his black-ops Avengers initiative. Among his fellow team members included Dominic Fortune, Sabretooth, Ulysses Bloodstone and Ersnt Sablinova who operated as the Silver Sable. (New Avengers v2 #10) Their first assignment as a team involved tracking down the Red Skull who had formed a new Fourth Reich with him being in Sweden. (New Avengers v2 #11)
In Autumn of that year, Fury gathered the team together at the Stork Club in New York City to celebrate a job well done. During the dinner, Kraven and Sabretooth resumed their rivalry once more, with Kraven shooting him in the face before he was berated by Namora. After the meal, the members each went their separate ways with Kraven and Namora heading to their houseboat docked in the 96th Street Boat Basin. Here the pair continued their argument over Sergei's behavior and were just able to make up when their boat came under attack by a submarine bearing a skull-shaped blazon on it. Kraven was able to destroy the sub by shooting a large amount of ammo crates on his own boat. (Avengers 1959 v1 #1)
After his hunts, he returned to the civilised world where he met with people to regale them with his expeditions. During this time, he encountered Aleksandra Nikolaevna who initially dismissed his claims in the social gathering. She threw her drink in his face and stormed off but Sergei caught up with her where he convinced her by telling her the truth of his hunts. Aleksandra was charmed by him and ended up becoming his friend and eventually his lover. (Web of Spider-Man v2 #7)
Spider-Man
He came to become bored as he found no challenge to his his skills. This was until he was contacted by the Chameleon in the U.S. where he offered a challenging hunt of a masked superhero called Spider-Man. Kraven came to be intrigued at this quarry and excited at a new goal to strive for with the vanquishing of the Wall-Crawler to be his greatest triumph. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #15)
Afterwards, he received an invitation from Doctor Octopus where he was asked to join several other villains including Sandman, Mysterio, Vulture and Electro. All had been enemies of Spider-Man where they each had failed to had defeated the Wall-Crawler. Thus, they decided to work together where they called themselves the Sinister Six who planned to eliminate Spider-Man. (Amazing Spider-Man Annual v1 #1)
The incident left Kraven feeling ashamed of his dishonorable tactics and he returned to his Caribbean retreat where he decided to abandon his obsession with Spider-Man. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #209)
Last Hunt
Driven by this idea, he hatched a scheme that actually defeated Spider-Man, and seemingly and uncharacteristically shot him. Considering his enemy effectively dead, Kraven buried him alive. After this, Kraven donned a copy of Spider-Man's costume and sought to prove that he was superior at his enemy's activities. He brutally attacked and beat up criminals, culminating in 15 men in the hospital and one killed. He single-handed captured a minor super villain, Vermin, whom Spider-Man needed the help of Captain America to defeat. After that triumph, Spider-Man was soon revived from the tranquilizer dart he was actually shot with and dug his way out of the grave. Kraven greeted him and explained that he had made his point about defeating his enemy. Then he released Vermin and told Spider-Man to pursue him. Convinced he had finally regained his honor, the deranged Kraven left a note for the police confessing that he impersonated Spider-Man and took his own life. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #294)
Grim Hunt
His wife Sasha then embarked on an ambitious plan to bring her dead husband back to life. This involved the sacrifice of those tied to the spider totem with the strongest bearer being Spider-Man. Thus, she and her children began hunting spiders to be sacrificed for the ritual needed to bring back Kraven the Hunter. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #635) Upon his resurrection, he became angered at his return to life and lashed out but stopped after seeing his daughter Ana. Despite that, he was in a stupor as Ana attempted to console him but he attempted to kill her with her responding by stabbing him with Sasha moving to her husbands side and was angry at her daughter for trying to kill Sergei. However, the ritual that brought him back meant that he could not die from ordinary wounds and he was angered at his family from cursing him with this un-life. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #636)
In the aftermath, he settled in the Savage Land where he told his family that he was never meant to had been returned to life. They did not understand him and Sergei ended up killing them all except his daughter Ana. Kraven decided to look for a new worthy heir to his legacy and never told his child as he began to stalk the New Men. After killing a number of them, the High Evolutionary could not bear the death of his creations and begged the hunter to stop with Kraven agreeing on the condition of the scientists aid. Thus, through the High Evolutionary, Kraven had hundreds of clones of himself being created that were to be the family and heirs he had always desired in his life. His daughter upon learning of this renounced her name and departed leaving her father to his devices. The clones went through adulthood as they fought and trained together with them eventually being dispatched on missions to prove their worth. Eventually, Kraven had sent out a call for their return with only a single Son of Kraven returning who had killed the others. The clone revealed that this proved his worth to his father and he wanted to stand by Sergei's side in hunting his greatest prey Spider-Man whereupon he would inherit his progenitors kingdom. Kraven was pleased with the clone who he felt was his true son but revealed that his next plan involved forming a great hunt of all the animal-themed costumed individuals in the world in order to punish them for not respecting their animal avatars. (Amazing Spider-Man v5 #16)
Sergei then confronted Spider-Man and attempted to goad him into killing him as he ensured that if he was slain then Arcade would free everyone within the dome. However, Spider-Man refused and his words caused Kraven to come to a realisation about his life as he intended to know peace. Thus, he allowed Spider-Man to depart and then wore a copy of Spider-Man's black suit where he went out in the field. This led led to an encounter with his son who mistakenly believed him to be the real Spider-Man and he killed his father unwittingly. (Amazing Spider-Man v5 #22) In the aftermath, a funeral was held for Sergei Kravinoff with his clone son feeling despair at his part in his 'fathers' death. However, he came to find a note written from Sergei that he had intended for this to happen as he finally knew peace and urged his son to continue as the new Kraven. Meanwhile, at his grave, Sergei's half-brother the Chameleon bade farewell to his sibling and promised to ensure that he knew peace. He also thanked him for sparing him from his hunt and that he had his own plans for the world. (Amazing Spider-Man v5 #23)
Legacy
The new Kraven later sought to make a name for himself by hunting the monsters that resided on Statten Island. This brought him into conflict with Deadpool who had become the King of the Monsters. (Deadpool v8 #2)
Overview
Personality and attributes
He was known by a number of epithets that included the Hunter, the King of Lions and as the Emperor of the Wild. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #635)
It was said that he was a handsome man who was big and powerful with him being rugged looking. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #15)
To the public, he came to be regarded as a living legend and the greatest hunter in the world. Such was his reputation that it was said he could defeat anything that lived with his bare hands. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #15)
Hunting was said to be his entire life and was what drove his actions. It was said that he fought for the sheer fun of the battle thus making him the worst kind of enemy. One of the things that attracted him to his hunts was finding a worthy foe and challenge of his skill. Kraven believed in the law of the jungle and that such tenets drove his quarry to fight to survive. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #15)
For a time, he came to abandon his hunt of Spider-Man as he believed that his obsession with him had caused Sergei to behave dishonorably. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #209)
Sergei came to marry Sasha Aleksandra Nikolaevich who was the daughter of Princess Aleksandra of Montenegro and Grand Duke Mikhail Aleksei Nikolaevich. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #567)
Ana was said to be much like Sergei with her being brash and overconfident. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #567)
He came to resent his family for bringing him back to life. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #636)
One of his associates was Calypso who tried to manipulate him to embrace his more baser nature. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #209)
The Kravinoff family was aided by a man named Gregor who helped manage their estate. (Spider-Man v1 #47)
Powers and abilities
It was remarked that he was a mass of muscle with enough strength to lift a grown gorilla by himself. He could use a knockout blow by striking the right nerve centre in his quarry. Kraven could use his smashing nerve punch that could down a fully-grown charging rhino. There was said to be no jungle trick that Kraven had not learnt. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #15)
Kraven kept a small arsenal of hunting tools leading to him being a regular one-man army. Within his belt tusks, he kept a range of equipment such as tranquilising darts. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #15) He was skilled enough in the use of a spear that he could throw with unerring accuracy at a target. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #209)
During hunts, he sometimes had loud drums being played in the background that was an old jungle trick used to confuse enemies. He could set traps using nets composed of tough material able to trap even superhuman foes. Kraven had special iron manacles that he could place on his quarry where magnetic attraction caused them to lock to their twin. By placing them on the limbs of his quarry, he could restrict the movement of his target. If the person could still move, then a small bell in the manacle rang thus alerting Kraven to the location of his prey. Sergei carried the keys capable of unlocking the manacles that were said to grow stronger the longer they were on a person. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #15)
Sergei was no ordinary hunter as he made use of secret potions stolen from a witch-doctor of a hidden African tribe. These were used to enhance himself giving him superior strength and speed. This was to the point where he could stop the charge of a bull elephant with one punch. Kraven also had special potion weapons that through a cut could enter the bloodstream and weaken his prey. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #15) His wife Sasha followed the spells and serums as well as provided a sacrifice in order to bring Sergei back to life. However, the use of the clone Kaine had affected the ritual where it cursed Kraven whereby he could not die through ordinary means. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #636)
Kravinoff was said to be connected to the spirit world through profound ways by dark magic. It was the Animus or Primal Energies that once drove him to madness. This kind of connection to the unseen places of the world which meant he did not simply end with the death of his flesh. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #635)
Notes
- Kraven the Hunter was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko where he made his first appearance in Amazing Spider-Man v1 #15 (August, 1964).
Alternate Versions
- In Old Man Hawkeye v1 #4 (2018), an alternate world setting that was home to Old Man Logan was shown that existed in the Multiverse and designated as Earth-807128. On this Earth, the Red Skull led a supervillain uprising that massacred the superheroes of the planet. Around 50 years in this future, Kraven was known to have had grandchildren who operated as a team of bounty hunters called the Killer Kravinoffs. They were hired by the Red Skull to find and apprehend the rogue Marshal Bullseye. All three were killed by Lester who was pursuing Old Man Hawkeye across the Wastelands.
- In Spider-Verse v3 #3 (2020), an alternate version of Kraven was shown to exist on Earth-14512. This version was a criminal with a Class-C Aberrant personality who was a hunter that hunted people. It was known that he had left a trail of raid-police before he was defeated by Peni Parker's father in the SP//dr suit. Kraven was believed dead at some point but in reality he was taken by Nathan Essex and his Weapon Six program who used red diamond implants to weaponise him as a deniable asset. He then looked to target SP//dr but did not know that it was Peni Parker piloting the suit and not her father.
In other media
Television
- In Spider-Man, Kraven the Hunter appeared in the 1990s animated television series where he was voiced by actor Gregg Berger. Sergei Kravinoff was descended from Russian nobility who was a big game hunter in Africa with him becoming a leading guide after hunting was outlawed. Maria Crawford hired him to find her colleague James Reeves who was doing research in the jungle with her being drawn to Sergei and the pair falling in love. Months later, they found Dr. Reeves who had become wild feral individual who had developed a miracle drug that could heal wounds and prevent disease or infection. The last vial of the wonder drug was given to Maria Crawford and warned to not use it under any circumstances before disappearing into the jungle. Crawford pursued him but was attacked by hyena's with Sergei saving her but he suffered serious wounds with Maria forced to give him the drug. She saved his life but he began to slowly develop new instincts to hunt other prey and became more primal as well as beastial where he adopted the name of Kraven the Hunter. Crawford left him for New York as she intended to find a cure for the drug with Kraven seeking her once more as he was still in love with her.
- In The Spectacular Spider-Man, Kraven the Hunter appeared in the setting of the animated television series where he was voiced by actor Eric Visbit.
- In Ultimate Spider-Man, Kraven the Hunter appeared as an antagonist in the animated television series where he was voiced by actor Diedrich Bader.
- In Spider-Man, Kraven the Hunter appeared as an antagonist in the animated television series where he was voiced by actor Troy Baker.
Films
Video games
- In Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, Kraven the Hunter appeared as an antagonist in the video game where he was voiced by actor Jim Cummings.
- In The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Kraven the Hunter appeared in the video game where he was voiced by actor Steven Blum.
Appearances
- Amazing Spider-Man v1: (1964)
- Amazing Spider-Man Annual v1:
- New Avengers v1:
- Avengers 1959 v1:
- Scarlet Spider v2:
- Amazing Spider-Man v5:
- Deadpool v8:
External Links
This article is a stub. You can help Multiversal Omnipedia by expanding it.
