Reemergence
With the recent release of the animated Disney Plus series, Spider-Man Freshman Year, and with the usage of the character Spider-Man in the popular multiplayer game, Marvel Rivals, people have been reading more Marvel comic books, specifically Spider-Man stories.. There are many great iconic Spider-Man stories such as “The Night Gwen Stacy Died” and “The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man”. There is one story that stands above the rest, a much darker story, yet in my opinion, a perfect story. That story is “Kraven’s Last Hunt”.
Prologue
Before getting into the comic, a little background information is required. Kraven’s Last Hunt is a 6-part/issue comic saga created and published by J. M. DeMatteis and Mike Zeck in 1987. This runsees the Web-Slinger confront one of his most notorious villains, Kraven the Hunter for the final time. Now, upon hearing this, most people would imagine a fight similar to how Spider-Man confronts his villains in most comics, or like how he would in the live-action Marvel films. But this confrontation is not like any others and is much more grim and complex. It doesn’t feature Kraven wanting to beat Spider-Man, but instead sees him becoming Spider-Man and proving why he is superior, along with burying Spider-Man alive. Originally, DeMatteis pitched the concept to DC Comics, using the characters Wonder Woman and the Grim Reaper. However,, this idea was declined, so DeMatteis repitched the idea again but with the Joker and Batman. While this was originally also declined, this story would later be adapted into the story “Going Sane” in Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #65-68. After shopping the story around, DeMatteis successfully pitched the idea to Marvel using the hero, Spider-Man. After some time he settled on using the character Kraven The Hunter as the story’s main antagonist. With the background out of the way, let’s get into the story.
Setting the Stage
The narrative begins with Kraven training in his mansion, where he begins to monologue about who he is, his family history, how his family was driven out of their homeland of Russia, and how it no longer has dignity, culture, or honor. When they escaped to America for a better life, they found no such thing there either. Kraven goes on to talk about how he has found purpose and honor in nature – in hunting – something that the rest of the world would look down upon in disgust. Kraven has become an exceptionally skilled hunter who has taken down all of his prey, except one: Spider-Man. Spider-Man has bested Kraven for years, been the bane of his existence, and his number one obstacle in life. With very little time left, Kraven is on the verge of death. He decides that he will take on the Spider one last time. Only this time, he will come out the victor.
The Web Crawler’s Dilemma
We then cut to Spider-Man, who is dealing with death all around him. At this point, he is still grieving over the loss of his friend, Ned Leeds, who became a common crook named Joe Face and recently passed away. Spider-Man keeps saying to himself that he shouldn’t care that Joe Face is dead, after all, he was nothing but a criminal and a snitch; just another low-life thug. But he does care, because the man underneath the suit, Peter Parker, cares about everyone and tries to see the good in all. Due to this care, Spider-Man decides to stop by a wake put on by Joe Face’s friends and colleagues to pay his respects, and to donate money so that they can give Face a proper burial. We then see Peter return home, contemplating the day and everything that has been happening in his life – mainly all the deaths. While Kraven is training and preparing to properly take down the Spider, we see Peter have a terrible nightmare. Due to not getting any sleep, Peter decides to go out on patrol to clear his mind. Little does he know, Kraven is also out on the hunt, waiting. Waiting for his prey to arrive so he can strike. Peter then fights Kraven, but due to the lack of sleep and everything occurring in his life, he is unable to perform defenses and attacks he would normally be able to. This then leads him to get tranquilized by Kraven and captured. The story then cuts to Kraven and his henchmen burying Spider-Man alive. But something is different about Kraven: he’s wearing a copy of Spider-Man’s costume (we see this copy earlier on in the issue). At long last, Kraven has finally defeated Spider-Man, but his mission is far from complete – for now, he must prove why he is superior.
Analyzing the Masterpiece
I’m going to stop there, as I don’t want to spoil any more of this masterpiece of literature. I want everyone to go read this instead. But now I want to get into why I like this comic so much and why I think it’s perfect. Starting with the comics’ concepts of identity, purpose, and fear, along with the duality of the main characters we see throughout the story, and how they are all connected to the idea of Spider-Man. Starting with identity: we see this the most within Kraven. Kraven has found purpose in life through the hunt and only one thing stands in his way: Spider-Man, who has embarrassed him repeatedly throughout the years. The Spider and Spider-Man have been his main obstacle in life and with his life soon to be over he only has one last hunt left. Fearing not being able to prove himself and accomplish his goal, Kraven decides to go all out and prove that not only can he beat Spider-Man, but that he is superior to him. That he is a better Spider-Man due to his training, abilities, and will. Through this, he demonstrates his view of the duality of their relationship. He believes that Spider-Man should represent fear, honor, and strength – characteristics that only he possesses. When it comes to Spider-Man/Peter Parker, he believes that the identity and idea of Spider-Man isn’t some all-powerful supernatural being who strikes absolute fear into his enemies and crushes all opposition. Rather Spider-Man is just a myth, it’s the person behind the mask that makes Spider-Man, Spider-Man. Peter Parker is a man who cares for people; a man full of hope, who is passionate and tries to protect the innocent and life itself, including the lives of his enemies. This is Spider-Man’s duality: the difference in how he sees himself, and how others perceive him, from the people of New York, to the criminals of the underworld, and even to villains like Kraven The Hunter. His fear of failing his duties and not protecting or even being there for his loved ones pushes him to succeed, and to never give up, no matter the circumstances.
Perfect Symmetry
While this story does a great job of portraying Spider-Man and the idea of Spider-Man for me, what makes this comic so special, but also so perfect, is how it humanizes Kraven. While he may commit all of these horrible and evil actions, we see why he does it. His motivations are tragic, yet understandable. Additionally, the way this comic can seamlessly blend themes of vengeance and fear, with love and hope should be commended. At the end of the day, while we are rooting for Spider-Man and are joyful to see him succeed as we always are, we do something as readers that we don’t normally do. We sympathize and care for the villain, which we don’t see in comics and superhero stories all that often. In this case, we don’t see Kraven the Hunter as some stereotypical laughable villain of the week, we see him as a tragic human being who has endured so much hardship and whose struggle is compelling. For some people, his story may even be relatable. That is why I believe “Kraven’s Last Hunt” is not only one of the best Spider-Man comics ever made, but a perfect comic, and that is why everyone should read it. Also, that image of Peter digging himself out of the grave is iconic and awesome.
Works Cited:
Draper, Matt. “The Nightmarish Tragedy of Kraven’s Last Hunt.” Comic Book Herald, 8 July 2020, www.comicbookherald.com/the-nightmarish-tragedy-of-kravens-last-hunt/.
Eddy, D. Emerson. “Classic Comic of the Week: Kraven’s Last Hunt.” Comics Bookcase, Comics Bookcase, 8 Mar. 2021, www.comicsbookcase.com/features-archive/kravens-last-hunt.
R/Spiderman on Reddit: We’re Really about to Get the Iconic Kraven’s Last Hunt in Spider-Man 2, This Game Is Gonna Be Amazing!, www.reddit.com/r/Spiderman/comments/13qzgtn/were_really_about_to_get_the_iconic_kravens_last/. Accessed 14 Feb. 2025.
“Spider-Man- Fearful Symmetry: Kraven’s Last Hunt- Chapter 1- ‘the Coffin’ Retrospective.” We See the World in Ben-Day Dots, www.weseetheworldinbendaydots.com/comic-reviews/spider-man-fearful-symmetry-kravens-last-hunt-chapter-1-the-coffin-retrospective. Accessed 14 Feb. 2025.
Walsh, Dominic. “Retro Review: Kraven’s Last Hunt (1987).” SciFiPulse.Net, 1 Apr. 2024, www.scifipulse.net/retro-review-kraven-s-last-hunt-1987/.
“‘Spider-Man’ Kraven’s Last Hunt (Story Arc).” Comic Vine, comicvine.gamespot.com/kravens-last-hunt/4045-43327/. Accessed 14 Feb. 2025.
