Kraven the Hunter (The Spectacular Spider-Man)


 * Kraven is a villain from the Non MAU series.

Kraven the Hunter is the moniker of Sergei Kravinoff, a hunter who sets out to vanquish Spider-Man.

Taking On a New Quarry
Sergei Kravinoff is a skilled hunter capable of taking down his quarries with his bare hands. Born in Russia, Kravinoff eventually moved to Africa where he met and became in love with Calypso. There, he also collected so many victories that hunting became all too easy. He even tamed a lion, Gulyadkin, and turned him into his loyal pet.

At some point, Kravinoff starts receiving packages from an anonymous sender from America who sends him photos of Spider-Man. Impressed with costume hero's agility and dexterity, Kravinoff decides to hunt him down.

Kravinoff moves to America and starts tracking his prey. Donning a lion-themed attire, Kravinoff goes after Spider-Man with a range of hunting weapons, including arrows, daggers, knifes, bolos, blow darts, and a spear. However, Spider-Man manages to repel and evade every of his attacks. Kravinoff is shamefully defeated.

He sends Gulyadkin to track Spider-Man and search for him across the city into the ESU laboratory. There he meets Dr. Miles Warren. Kravinoff notices a tank of unnatural spiders and Dr. Warren explains to him that they were genetically altered to garner traits from multiple species. Kravinoff assumes that Spider-Man was created by him and that it's because of his enhanced biology that he managed to beat him. He demands to be given similar powers and Dr. Warren extorts money from him. Kravinoff denies at first, but then obliges. He instructs Warren to garner the traits of a lion, a leopard and a cheetah. Then he gives him the first down payment and threatens to sic Gulyadkin on the doctor if he doesn't live up to his end of the deal. Kravinoff is injected with the formula, but lashes out at the doctor for not feeling the effects immediately. However, he soon starts mutating into a feline hybrid and declares himself to be Kraven, the Hunter.

With his newfound superhuman senses, Kraven is able to track Spider-Man's scent on his own and takes him on. A fight ensues, but Spider-Man always keeps on step ahead of Kraven. He then manages to ward him off with his webbing, finally wearing Kraven down. Kraven is knocked out and trapped in a web, only to be retrieved by Calypso. Kraven vows that the hunter is not over, and at that point their anonymous contact introduces himself as the Mater Planner and asks Kraven how he feels about hunting in packs. Kraven agrees to join his organization. 

Hunting In Packs
Kraven is later sent to break into Ravencroft to extricate Electro and Doctor Octopus, unaware he was the Master Planner. But upon Doctor Octopus' refusal to depart, Kraven leaves only with Electro.

When the six villains are assembled in their benefactor's lair, the Master Planner announces that they will help him to usher in the era of the super criminal, after they dispose of Spider-Man. After the Times Square fiasco, the Master Planner employs a new stratagem, consisting of dividing the group into teams of twos.

After the Vulture, Electro, Sandman, Rhino had been subdued, Kraven and Mysterio engage Spider-Man. Kraven boasts of how the Sinister Six wore him down for the alpha male deliver the coup de grâce. Spider-Man manages to evade him into a shopping mall, where he bathes Kraven with a bottle of perfume, throwing off his senses. After putting himself together, Kraven goes after Spider-Man but is knocked out by a decoy of Mysterio that blows up. The Tinkerer eventually extracts him at the behest of the Master Planner.