Kraven the Hunter is one of the oldest and most enduring villains in Spider-Man's rogues' gallery, but can the Marvel character carry his own film without his web-slinging opponent?
Earlier this week, Sony signed Equalizer 2 screenwriter Richard Wenk to deliver an initial script for a solo film focused on Kraven the Hunter, which will be set in the company's own Marvel cinematic universe set to launch this October with Venom. As confirmation of the project surfaced online, the collective reaction has largely come down to two major questions: how and why?
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While Venom and its host Eddie Brock have their history rooted in a deep-seated vendetta against Peter Parker, the Marvel antihero has since gone on to enjoy standalone success separate from Spider-Man, fighting crime as a lethal protector. Even Sony's other confirmed spinoff, Silver and Black, focuses on Spider-Man supporting characters Silver Sable and Black Cat, both of whom have their own individual identities as a mercenary and master thief, respectively.
But Kraven, since his inception, has been firmly associated with the friendly neighborhood wall-crawler, all across his 54-year history. The big game hunter has certainly tangled with other Marvel superheroes, including Black Panther and Squirrel Girl, but, at the end of the day, the villain always comes back to his longstanding feud with Spider-Man, even after death.
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First created in 1964 in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man #15 by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, Sergei Kravinoff was contracted by his half-brother Dmitri, better known to comic fans as the Chameleon, to kill Spider-Man. Using his superior tracking skills, Kraven turned all of New York City into a hunting ground as he pursued the young hero, intent to kill him with his bare hands. Frustrated by Spidey's resilience, Kraven views Peter as the ultimate quarry and makes it his life's goal to hunt him down and destroy him.
To that end, Kraven accepts Doctor Octopus' offer to team up and found the initial incarnation of the Sinister Six. Over the years, though, the hunter is still unable to make good on his promise to kill Spider-Man, both alone and with the supervillain team. The closest the villain ever got fulfilling his years-long pursuit of Spidey came in the classic 1987 Spider-Man story arc Kraven's Last Hunt.
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Written by J.M. DeMatteis with art by Mike Zeck, the story has Kraven tranquilize the newly-wed Spider-Man and bury the comatose hero alive. Having finally defeated his enemy, Kraven temporarily assumes his identity in a bid to prove he's better at being a hero than his former quarry by wearing his own version of the black Spider-Man costume and fighting crime with lethal force. When a revived Parker confronts the hunter, Kraven, finally feeling at peace, commits suicide.
Kraven's Last Hunt is not only one of the very best Spider-Man stories ever told, it shows a villain whose entire purpose is to surpass his opponent in every way. By subduing Peter Parker single-handedly and becoming what he perceives is a more effective version of the hero, Kravinoff's life is complete. The bad guy has won, and, to quote Alexander the Great, he has no worlds left to conquer. Spider-Man doesn't matter to Kraven anymore, robbing the villain of his entire raison d'être and leading to his suicide.
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Even after the character's resurrection in the 2011 follow-up Grim Hunt, Kraven is tied even more closely to Spider-Man. As part of the villain's resurrection, his family attempts to use the life force of the Web-Slinger to bring back Kravinoff. Unbeknownst to the family of hunters, the life force of Parker's clone Kaine is used instead, resulting in an impure resurrection. As such, the only thing that can put Kraven's tortured soul to rest is if Spider-Man kills his old foe himself in an inversion of their original antagonistic relationship.
Both in life and as one of the undead, Kraven the Hunter needs Spider-Man. The iconic Marvel superhero is the entire reason Kraven exists. He never went on to become a larger threat for the Marvel Universe like Norman Osborn or Wilson Fisk. Venom and Eddie Brock have their own redemptive arc, as Brock attempts to reconcile his own inner darkness that is amplified by the symbiote and the deadly offspring it creates -- including the homicidal Carnage. Brock and the symbiote's relationship is paradoxically both symbiotic and self-destructive. Silver Sable and Black Cat have the potential to enjoy their own freewheeling buddy dynamic akin to a more action-oriented Thelma & Louise.
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But Kraven the Hunter?
Without Spider-Man, Sergei Kravinoff is little more than a Russian-tinged version of The Crocodile Hunter, albeit considerably more lethal and less family-friendly. Kraven the Hunter and Spider-Man need each other, and a movie without the two together is fated to feel incomplete.