Richard Wenk revealed that Kraven the Hunter's proposed stand-alone film will draw inspirations from Kraven's Last Hunt, and that the film would include Spider-Man. [10] The whole thing with Mary Jane Watson either dying or having a vision was really stupid and out in left field; it did not really add much to the overall story. Well, other than the quip about "with great love comes great responsibility". It really disturbed me that people would think that the purpose of that story was to glorify suicide,” said the author. “That is something I would never do. That is not my view of life or the universe.” In doing so, he was able to psychologically torture his hero and add a level of depth to a villain who had never benefitted from such exploration.

Any size contribution will help keep CBH alive and full of new comics guides and content. Support CBH on Patreon for exclusive rewards, or Donate here! Thank you for reading! I have slain the Spider. Become him. I have hunted as the Spider hunts... consumed the Spider's prey. I have proven myself his superior in every way."In the Atomic Mass Games product Marvel Crisis Protocol, the tactics card “ Fearful Symmetry“ appears as a Tactics card. The card allows the Kraven model to be replaced with a Spider-Man Peter Parker model if Kraven removes the Spider-man from play. This new Spider-man is controlled by the player that controlled Kraven previously. After the showdown with Kraven and Vermin, Kraven decides to take his own life, I like how that scene got portrayed, but there doesn´t seem to be a real explanation on how he found that peace. There's so much to say about this story. It is dark, drug-fueled, and a thematic meditation. It gets to the heart of Spider-Man, and of Kraven the Hunter. It is, very simply, about the conflict between man and beast. While the story of “Kraven’s Last Hunt” has become one of the definitive modern Spider-Man stories, it wasn’t always meant to star Peter Parker.

Even I think that the story is a statement why the super-heroes are always able to win (and survive) in the comic book reality, since over there, the super-villains didn’t work or react like the real life criminals. A novelised adaption of Kraven's Last Hunt was released in October 2014 as part of Marvel Prose Novel series, adapted from the original issues and expanded upon by Neil Kleid. In this adaptation, Peter and Mary Jane are not married, due to the changes in continuity that resulted from the " One More Day" story arc. Kraven's Last Hunt actually holds up fairly well. The art is better than most of the art from the time period and the writing is actually some of the best Marvel had in the 1980's. Kraven has his finest hour and then Spider-Man has one of his. There are a couple moments in this storyline that remind me of Spider-Man lifting that giant hunk of machinery off of himself during the Ditko run. It shows what Spider-Man is all about. So, until then, I was aware about its importance of this story, inside of the titles of Spider-Man but I was amazed (pun intended but with respect) when this tale got a so high position in that poll involving the entire Marvel universe. Kraven believes that replacing Spider-Man simply involves skills and abilities. He has no real regard for the character's heroism, merely seeing him as an iconoclastic figure. He is essentially what a darker Peter Parker would be like, for better or worse. This is just like the many comics of the following decade that replaced cohesive storytelling and traditional heroics with things that simply looked interesting. Sure, Spider-Man's less forceful ways might not always grant him victory like Kraven's do, but they reflect his greater regard for life in all its forms. This is emphasized by Kraven dying alone, whereas even a beaten and bruised Spider-Man was able to go home to his then-wife Mary Jane.Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 1) #15, #293-294, Web Of Spider-Man #31-32, Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #131-132, Marvel Team-Up #128, Amazing Spider-Man: Soul Of The Hunter, What If? #17 and material from Sensational Spider-Man Annual ’96, Amazing Spider-Man #634-637 , What The--?! #3 One of the best Spiderman stories, and of those the darkest without a doubt. Starting from a story that was originally written for Batman and that at the time did not interest DC, we have here a character, Kraven, who has always been on the list of minor wallcrawler villains. Kraven decides to restore the honor he thinks he has lost by defeating his unbeatable enemy and then putting himself in his place to prove that he can be better than Spiderman.

Spider-man's barely in this book so be prepared for a lot of boring Kraven and Vermin stuff before getting to Spidey's appearances. But when he does appear, it doesn't seem to be the real Spider-man. For instance, the first issue where Kraven defeats him? No way would Spider-man be defeated by a D-list villain so easily! And when he punches Kraven in the face? Kraven's head should've come off. How many times have we seen Spidey do incredible things because of his super-strength? Punching Kraven, an ordinary human with no powers, full force in the face like he does should've killed him.Fetal Position Rebirth: Peter Parker dreams of himself naked in the fetal position, floating in a white void, while drugged and Buried Alive by Kraven. Then the drug-induced sleep turns nightmarish, with amongst other niceties Peter "birthing" out of a Giant Spider. Incredible. Absolutely incredible. So far, this may be the best comic I have ever read (although, after finishing this I began reading "Marvels," and that may become my favorite due to how stellar it has been thus far). In 1994, DC published DeMatteis' Batman/Joker version of the story as "Going Sane" in Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #65-68.

While each issue takes a different motif and contrasts characters against one another in varying ways, there’s a recurring theme of intrusive thoughts and fears within each character’s mind. And, specifically, it’s the intrusive thoughts of death. Those deep, dark ideas that suddenly come out of nowhere to remind us of our mortality. Spider-Man catches up with Vermin and lures him above ground, where sensory overload renders Vermin helpless. Spider-Man turns Vermin over to the police and vows to get him help from Reed Richards. Buried Alive: Peter suffers this fate after Kraven drugs and defeats him. It takes him two weeks to wake up from his state and break out of the coffin. Arc Welding: A decade later, this crossover became important again because it created a span of time that Peter can't account for his whereabouts... meaning he had no alibi for the murders committed by his deranged clone Kaine.

Heroically Support Comic Book Herald!

Kraven’s Last Hunt is meant to feel like a nightmare come to life and DeMatteis and team use a series of storytelling techniques to trap the reader in this mind-bending horror.