Marvel Comic Conjecture: Kraven the Hunter

Kraven. We all remember him. Lion vest with a mane and truly villainous, if dashing, facial hair. The last the comic world heard of him, it was during the Grim Hunt event. During some resurrecting and familial homicide, we really got to meet a newer, gentler Kraven. Deep in the middle of the Grim Hunt, however, we see a Kraven who has been given a second chance. A second chance forced on him by Spider-Man who would not euthanize him, despite his pleading. With his daughter hunting her brother, what does Kraven do in the meantime?

Well, I’ll tell you what he should do.

We all remember Kraven’s Last Hunt. Kraven really shined at baiting, trapping, “killing”, becoming Spider-Man. He has been dead for quite sometime, and Spider-Man has been through quite a bit. Kraven would want to know more about his enemy. Each of the evolutions of Spider-Man’s character would be a different level that Kraven would have to match or surpass.

For instance, Parker became sort of a folk hero, leading an army of spider-powered civilians against an army of spider-powered criminals. Kraven could become a hunter of assassins, like the Hand, Elektra, or Bullseye. At this point, after a small miniseries, his daughter would have completed killing her brother, and rejoins Kraven. They begin creating a “family” of hunters, sending them out beat back the assassins very publicly.

As a matter of fact, not knowing about Octavius in the Superior Spider-Man, Kraven would have to try and trump all of the successes made by Peter Octavius. Using his potions and aboriginal magics, he could summon kinds of Loa to possess people and keep tabs on crime in the city. He would hunt certain super-villains, being shocked when he found out the Spider-Man had killed some dangerous villains in the last few years. He would take over Spider Island, turning it into a home base for his new Pride. He would build a grand fortune as an almost Indiana Jones level relic hunter, which he uses to continue to build his private army. Kraven would even go so far as to back a relatively unknown character to run against Jameson for mayor.

During his rise in power, Spider-Man’s rogues’ gallery begins to disappear. The superior hunter that Kraven is becoming is building his own menagerie for his own nefarious purposes. Finally, he would leave clues leading Spider-Man to his underground hunting ground below Kraven’s Pryde Island, the former Spider Island.

Throughout all of these ministrations, Kraven would become more and more convinced that he understands this new Peter Parker, allowing his confidence to build. Allowing his ego to swell out of control. When Peter, who has been dealing with his many teams and events and has been left basically impudent to stop Kraven as everything he has done has been legal, finally is drawn into his trap. Kraven releases all of the villains all at once, freeing them with the promise that the first to kill Spider-Man will be the only one freed. Once Peter escapes and defeats all of his villains, Kraven would attack him one on one.

The best way to finish this would be to have Kraven’s overconfidence cause him to miscalculate. In an interestingly dramatic trick, have Spider-Man monologue as if he were still Octavius, telling Kraven that the spider he was trying to become, was just another villain. A villain, in fact, who had admitted that Spider-Man was already Superior.

So what do you think? Do you think Kraven could be done better? How would you do it? Hit me up in the comments below!