Marvel's Kraven the Hunter is one of Spider-Man's oldest villains. His quest to prove himself as the greatest hunter in the world led him to a maniacal pursuit of the Web-Slinger for years, and would eventually see him hand Spider-Man arguably his greatest defeat. With his mission completed, Kraven died peacefully, only to be resurrected against his wishes years later by his family.
Having successfully completed his hunt of Spider-Man, Kraven is free to pursue new challenges in the Marvel Universe. And no challenge may be greater than pursuing the X-Men. But Marvel's premier mutant team boasts several powerhouses that may prove too difficult for the proud hunter to overcome. Here now is a look at five X-Men members Kraven could beat as well as five he would lose to.
10 Can Beat: Angel
As Angel, the winged Warren Worthington III was one of the founding members of the X-Men. His initial power was flight, but when his wings were mutilated during the Mutant Massacre, a desperate Angel accepted an offer from Apocalypse to become the deadly Archangel, granting him razor-sharp wings in the process.
Even with the advantage of flight, Kraven would have little trouble besting Angel thanks to his long-range weaponry. Archangel would be a tougher task, as he's able to launch his sharp wings at high speeds. Ultimately though, Kraven would be able to neutralize the wings long enough to knock Archangel out.
9 Lose To: Warpath
James Proudstar initially sought revenge on the X-Men, as he blamed them for the death of his brother Thunderbird. He took on the team using the name Thunderbird, but had doubts about the circumstances of his brother's death and stopped the attack. He would later adopt the codename Warpath and join the X-Men as well as the X-Force and the New Mutants.
Kraven wouldn't be able to track Warpath due to his heightened senses and would be forced to engage him in close range combat. Warpath has a major advantage in the strength department and would take Kraven out in relatively swift order.
8 Can Beat: Bishop
Bishop traveled back in time to track down mutant criminals that escaped via a time portal then stuck around to prevent his dystopian future from happening and joined the X-Men, which is very on-brand for the team. He became a powerful member thanks to his ability to absorb and release energy.
Bishop's powers do him no good against Kraven though, as none of his weapons are energy-based. Bishop is far from defenseless without his powers, as he's a highly skilled marksman and fighter, but Kraven would wear him down with poisons and tranquilizers to eventually come out ahead.
7 Lose To: Psylocke
Kraven loves a challenging hunt, and the most challenging prey to hunt in the Marvel Universe is the telepath. And if the telepath can put up a fight, that's even better. Enter the telepathic former ninja Psylocke.
Despite his stealth, it's doubtful Kraven would be able to get the drop on Psylocke. He could try his best to keep her off balance and unable to focus, but it would only be a matter of time before she got in his head and saw his next moves coming. If she was still having trouble, she's also telekinetic and could use those abilities to put an end to the fight.
6 Can Beat: Nightcrawler
In a lot of ways, Nightcrawler is the heart and soul of the X-Men. His happy-go-lucky demeanor makes him easy to vibe with, and his teleporting abilities have saved the X-Men more times than they can count.
Unfortunately, for Nightcrawler, Kraven would use his teleporting against him. Teleporting physically exhausts Nightcrawler, so Kraven would set a series of traps that force him to repeatedly teleport. When Nightcrawler's completely worn down, that's when Kraven would step in to finish him off.
5 Lose To: Colossus
If Kraven were looking at "big-game" hunting regarding the X-Men, then there's no bigger game than Colossus. The X-Men's powerhouse poses a bit of a quandary for Kraven as Colossus is a fellow countryman, but ultimately the thrill of the hunt outweighs patriotism.
Kraven would quickly regret that decision though, as he'd find that none of his nets are strong enough to hold Colossus nor are any of his weapons worth any good against him. One angry punch from Colossus later and Kraven's waking up back in Russia.
4 Can Beat: Havok
A foe Kraven would need to be particularly wary of is Havok. All Havok needs is to connect with one of his powerful plasma blasts and then it's curtains for Kraven.
Unfortunately for Havok, he isn't quite as brilliant a strategist as his brother is, which would leave him open to Kraven's treachery. With backup traps set for his backup traps, it would only be a matter of time until Kraven managed to ensnare Havok with one of them.
3 Lose To: Storm
Defeating an Omega-level mutant would be the ultimate feather in the cap for Kraven, and realizing it's best to avoid telepaths could lead to him targeting Storm. That would be a big mistake.
Kraven may be a hunter, but Storm learned to be a thief at a young age and knows a thing or two about stealth, so she would be difficult to sneak up on. If she did lose track of Kraven, she could throw him off her scent by shifting the winds. With Kraven lost, she now becomes the hunter, and when she finds him she can turn those winds into a full-blown tornado.
2 Can Beat: Sunspot
As his name suggests, Sunspot's powers come from the sun as he can channel the solar power he absorbs into super strength. But Kraven knows the easiest time to slay a vampire is during the day and would apply that logic to Sunspot and hunt him at night.
The more strength Sunspot uses the quicker he exhausts his solar reserves, so Kraven could force Sunspot out at night and trick him into a rockslide. Having to use all his super strength to free himself, and without any direct sunlight to charge him back up, Sunspot would be ripe for the picking.
1 Lose To: Wolverine
Thanks to the potions Kraven regularly ingests, his aging has been drastically slowed. He's well over seventy yet looks like he's thirty. But Wolverine is the king of slowed down aging and was hunting well before Kraven was even born, so it's on!
Kraven would be able to track Wolverine, but Wolverine would literally be able to smell him coming a mile away, so he'll have the claws out waiting for Kraven to catch up. The fight would be savage and Kraven would get some good shots in, but Wolverine is the best there is at what he does for a reason. Anything Kraven does, Wolverine will heal from, while Kraven can't make the same claim.