The reveal of Spider-Man 2 has shown gamers what to expect from the latest entry in the video gaming Spider-Verse. The recent release of Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse featuring the PS4 Peter Parker was a fascinating moment for fans, but they remain much more concerned with the upcoming release of the Spider-Man 2 game.
This game has been confirmed to feature the Venom symbiote taking over Peter Parker to some degree. Black-Suit Spider-Man was shown and other important aspects of the upcoming game were shown off as well. Spider-Man 2 has been confirmed to feature Kraven the Hunter as one of the primary antagonists of the game, and there are plenty of great Spider-Man stories from Marvel Comics featuring this villain.
6 The Ultimate Universe Kraven
Marvel Comics began the Ultimate Universe in the 2000s as a way to retell many of the stories of heroes and villains within their universe in a modern fashion. Kraven, in the Ultimate Universe, became a reality TV big game hunter who sought Spider-Man as a trophy more to boost ratings than his normal reasoning.
Unfortunately for Kraven, he was merely a man and was much less prepared than his Earth-616 counterpart normally was for the masked hero. He was taken down immediately by Ultimate Spider-Man and found himself out for revenge, trying different methods to gain superpowers, so he could avenge the embarrassment he suffered from such a brutal defeat at the hands of Peter Parker. While this was, at times, a comical version of Kraven, it was a fascinating look at how characters change in other universes.
5 Kraven’s First Hunt
The first appearance of Kraven the Hunter in Marvel Comics came in 1964 when he was introduced as a big-game hunter hailing from Russia. The character was joined in The Amazing Spider-Man #15 by his half-brother, who took on the guise of The Chameleon in order to help Sergei Kravinoff destroy Spider-Man, who he named as the most dangerous game he could take on and his greatest challenge.
Through a variety of traps and tricks used by the pair of villains, this issue nearly led to the premature death of Peter Parker. Fortunately, Kraven wasn’t able to bring down the friendly neighborhood hero, but his impact was felt and Kraven the Hunter managed with a single-issue appearance to become one of the most lasting and notable villains in the history of Spider-Man comic books.
4 Kraven’s Redemption ft. Squirrel Girl
Another baffling, hilariously fun story featuring Kraven the Hunter up to some not-so-villainous antics features another Marvel hero, namely Squirrel Girl. While considered more of a comedic hero than a major Marvel Comics staple, Squirrel Girl has done some truly great things in the pages of her own comics, including defeating Thanos once, but nobody claimed everything in comics makes sense.
With Kraven, she began turning his life around and convinced him not only to stand trial for the crimes he had committed in the past but to begin hunting other hunters and by that way find redemption for his past. A true redemption arc in comics is rare, and Kraven’s was very interesting to watch. For such a dark villain, it was an unusually fun turn.
3 The Grim Hunt
Albeit not quite a Kraven the Hunter story arc, The Grim Hunt was all about the lasting effects of Kraven’s eventual death at the hands of Spider-Man. The Grim Hunt was about the widow of Kraven recruiting her children to help kidnap not only Spider-Man but many other Spidey heroes and allies to boot.
This sinister plot was an eerie tale as it dealt with the aftermath of one of Spidey’s biggest adversaries actually dying. It is often terrifying to experience enemies that plot from behind the scenes in attempts to manipulate and slowly tear down the world of a hero, and that is what Spider-Man faced in this story arc.
2 Hunted
Kraven has hardly ever felt the need to team up with other villains directly, preferring to have other hunters who work as his minions helping him. However, in a strange story arc, he convinced the High Evolutionary to clone him, and then trapped a number of animal-themed heroes and villains within the confines of Central Park in order to hunt them individually.
Spider-Man was the primary focus of this hunt, as usual, and found himself trying to save the hostages that Kraven had taken. While doing this, Spidey also had to find a way to get rid of the force field locking everybody inside the park without killing Kraven, which the Hunter insisted was the only way to free everybody. A climactic and fascinating tale, Hunted was one of the best examples of Kraven using the hunting gimmick uniquely.
1 Kraven’s Last Hunt
The story where Kraven actually died, the Last Hunt was the setting for his most diabolical plot to date. Injecting Spidey with a drug that would put Peter Parker to sleep for weeks, Kraven took on the mantle of Spider-Man while Peter was actually buried alive. After managing to free himself in a brutal fashion, Peter had to return to Spider-Man while Kraven was still masquerading in the role.
This story was an absolute home run and was much loved for the brutality and themes, while also featuring high stakes as Peter had to try returning to his life after being buried, while Spider-Man had to deal with his own fallout from Kraven’s death.
Spider-Man 2 is slated for release in 2023 but has yet to receive an official release date.