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Insomniac Games developed a thrilling superhero adventure inMarvel’s Spider-Manand the continuation inMarvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, where we saw our favorite web-slingers take down a plethora of iconic villains. Now inMarvel’s Spider-Man 2, Peter Parker and Miles Morales need to team up to avoid being captured by Kraven the Hunter.
RELATED:Marvel’s Spider-Man: The Entire Story Explained
Although Kraven never interacted with Morales in the comics, he and Parker have had a bloody history. Kraven’s desire to best Spider-Man quickly evolved into an infatuation, and then finally, a crazed obsession that drove him mad. The two share a unique dynamic among Spidey’s adversaries.
A Hunter Is Born
Sergei Kravinoff was born inVolgograd, Russiain 1917, during the Russian Revolution. Kravinoff’s family was part of the autocracy that the Russian citizens tore down in favor of the Soviet Union, and theyfled to the United States.
When he got older, Kravinoff journeyed to Africa where he discovered his true talent:hunting. He fought against several ferocious beasts in the wild, and he transformed into one of theworld’s greatest hunters. From that point on, he was known only as Kraven the Hunter.
Kraven was unlike any other hunters before him. Kraven believed using weapons like guns was considered cheating, and did not truly prove how worthy of a hunter you are. Instead, Kraven trained himself tosubdue his prey with his bare hands.
Kraven develop the skills required to accomplish this feat bydrinking potions from a witch doctor named Calypso. She gave him herbal potions thatenhanced his physical stature, drastically improving his strength and speed to equal that of the wild animals he’d encountered. As a bonus, the potion slowed his aging andextended his natural life for several years.
Hunting Spider-Man
After conquering all manner of wildlife throughout the world, Kraven becamedisinterested in hunting, until encountering Spider-Man. Kraven studied the web-slinger and envisioned capturing him, something no one has done before.
With the help of the potions from Calypso, Kraven proved to be a formidable opponent for Spider-Man. However, his first attempt to ensnare the web-slinger failed, even with the help of Spidey’s other foe Chameleon.
Seeing that Spider-Man might prove to be too much for him alone,Kraven joined forces with Doctor Octopus, Vulture, Electro, Sandman, and Mysterio to form the Sinister Six. This was the first iteration of the villain group, but even the combined firepower and intellect of these six villains could not defeat Spider-Man.
The Last Hunt
The repeated defeat at the hands of Spider-Man began to drive Kraven mad. His sanity started to deteriorate as his aggression against the hero built up inside of him. Kraven even mistakenly thought Deadpool was Spider-Man, because he was at the timebonded with the Venom symbiote. Before Kraven departed their fight, the symbiote advised the hunter touse a gun thenext time he encounters Spider-Man.
The Last Hunt storyline covers Kraven finally getting the better of the webhead. Even though Kraven made it a point tonever use gunsfor hunting in the past, his obsession to capture Spider-Man consumed him. Kraven shot Spider-Man andburied him at his estate.
But to truly show he was superior to Spider-Man, Kravenput on his costume and roamed New York. In his brief stint as Spider-Man, Kravenbrutally attacked criminalsthat resulted in15 men in the hospital and one killed. Kraven also captured the villainVermin, someone that Parker needed help from Captain America to defeat.
While Kraven was masquerading as Spider-Man, the real web-slingerrose from his grave. Kraven did shoot Spider-Man, but with atranquilizer dart. Kraven confronted him and explained how he’s proven to be better than him after capturing Vermin alone.
After releasing Vermin for Parker to pursue him again, Kraven left his confession for the police explaining that he had impersonated Spider-Man. With his honor restored, Kraventook his own life.
Kraven’s Resurrection
Death in Marvel comics is usually a temporary concept, and that’s the case with Kraven. InThe Grim Huntstoryline, Kraven’s wifeSasha Kravinoffcrafted a plan to bring Kraven back from the dead. The Kravinoff family caught Spider-Man andsacrificed him in a ritual to resurrect Kraven.
It’s revealed that Parker’s cloneKainetook his place, and was killed instead for the ritual. This mistakecursed Kraven, andnow hecouldn’t die unless his death was carried out by Spider-Man himself.
Kraven begged for Spider-Man to kill him, but he spared his life. In defeat, Kraven took his family to theSavage Land. He wanted them to get stronger by surviving in the jungle, to which Sasha objected. Kravenkilled herwithout hesitation, while his children went with him to the jungle.
The Great Hunt
Following a confrontation with a newly revived Kaine, Kraven requested aid from theHigh Evolutionary. They created87 clonesof Kraven, and the hunter would raise them as an army. When he returned to the Savage Lands to see how many clones survived the wild, Kraven was surprised to seeonly one come back.
The clone explained that he killed the other clones toprove he was the only one worthy of the Kraven name. Kraven named him the Last Son of Kraven, and the pair hatched a plan to capture other hunters and force them into a survival arena in Central Park.
Besides the hunters, Kraven also coerced Spider-Man to join the fray, still hoping that the web-slinger willtake his life. However, Spider-Man managed to subdue Kraven and save the prisoners without surrendering to his extreme demands.
The End Of Kraven
With that act, Kraven finally understood the ideals that Spider-Man lives by. The hunter freed the remaining prisoners and told Spider-Man that the Great Hunt was over. In one last attempt to break the curse, Kraven tried something new: heput on Spider-Man’s costume again and let himself be killed by his son.
Because Kraven embraced Spider-Man’s morals, he more or less embodied the hero’s spirit, and the curseallowed him to die. Kraven was buried wearing Spider-Man’s costume at his estate, and left a note for his son, the new Kraven the Hunter.
