Marvel's Kraven the Hunter Explained: Why Aaron Taylor-Johnson's Spider-Man Villain Is Getting a Solo Movie

2018's Venom proved there's a lot of money to be made in an adult-oriented Spider-Man movie that doesn't actually feature Spider-Man, so it should come as no surprise Sony is putting all of its weight behind the fledgling cinematic universe known as "Sony's Spider-Man Universe." That includes a movie geared toward one of the oldest and most iconic Spidey villains around - Kraven the Hunter. Aaron Taylor-Johnson will play the character, also known as Sergei Kravinoff, in a Spider-Man spin-off movie for Sony.

And if that weren't enough, Kraven will be one of the main villains in Insomniac's next Spider-Man game. Clearly, the spider-hunting business is booming.

Who exactly is Kraven, and why does he deserve his own movie? Let's take a closer look at this vicious hunter and why he's one of the very few Marvel characters to have the honor of sending Spider-Man to the grave. Here are the topics we cover:

• Who Is Kraven the Hunter?
• Kraven's Powers and Abilities
• Sergei Kravinoff's Origin
• Why Spider-Man: Kraven's Last Hunt Changed Everything
• Kraven's Family Legacy
• Kraven's Second Death
• Kraven in Marvel TV and Games
• Sony's Kraven the Hunter Movie

Who Is Kraven the Hunter?

With a name like "Kraven the Hunter," it's not difficult to figure out this particular Marvel villain's shtick. Sergei Kravinoff fancies himself the greatest hunter in the world. And to cement that reputation, he's set his sights on the most dangerous and elusive prey of them all - Spider-Man.

For most of his costumed career, Peter Parker has dodged Kraven's many schemes and managed to stay one step ahead of this master huntsman. He's just lucky Kraven chooses to hunt with honor; otherwise, his head might have been mounted on a wall years ago.

Sergei Kravinoff fancies himself the greatest hunter in the world. And to cement that reputation, he's set his sights on the most dangerous and elusive prey of them all - Spider-Man.

Kraven's Powers and Abilities

When Kraven boasts of being the world's greatest hunter, he's not just blowing smoke. He's spent decades honing his craft. He's a master tracker and is skilled with all manner of armed and unarmed combat styles. Kraven will use guns when necessary, but he tends to prefer battling his prey up close and personal.

Kraven also augments his already impressive physical skills with a special potion. That potion grants him enhanced strength and senses, while also significantly slowing his aging. That's why a man old enough to remember fleeing the Russian Revolution of 1917 still looks so robust and strong a century later.

Sergei Kravinoff's Origin

Kraven first debuted in 1964's The Amazing Spider-Man #15, making him one of many iconic Spider-Man characters created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. That issue depicts Kraven as the half-brother of fellow Spider-Man rogue The Chameleon. The two siblings join forces to lure Spider-Man into the open and kill him, but Spidey proves too wily for their tricks.

That basically sets the tone for many subsequent Kraven appearances. No matter how often Kraven resurfaces and tries to prove himself the ultimate hunter, he can't help but underestimate his foe. Even when Kraven joins the Sinister Six, the group's constant in-fighting prevents them from achieving their shared goal.

As crafty as Spider-Man is, one could argue the only reason Kraven has never succeeded in killing him is that Kraven is too honorable. He avoids guns where possible, and he prefers to confront his prey directly rather than striking from a distance. Unlike many Marvel villains, he refuses to take shortcuts.

Over time, that repeated cycle of failure begins to weigh on Kraven's mind. The psychological toll of his unnaturally long lifespan doesn't necessarily help, either. All of that feeds into what most would consider to be the ultimate Kraven vs. Spider-man story, Kraven's Last Hunt.

Why Spider-Man: Kraven's Last Hunt Changed Everything

The 1980s were a pivotal time for Marvel and DC's superhero comics, with stories like The Dark Knight Returns, Saga of the Swamp Thing and X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills bringing a new level of depth and sophistication to the table. For Spider-Man, 1987's Kraven's Last Hunt (also sometimes titled Fearful Symmetry: Kraven's Last Hunt) marked a major turning point for the franchise.

With his health finally failing, Kraven makes one final attempt at killing Spider-Man and proving himself the superior opponent. Kraven succeeds in shooting Spider-Man and burying him alive, only to don the hero's black costume and play the role of vigilante.

Spidey eventually frees himself, Kill Bill-style, and stops Kraven from murdering a minor, misunderstood villain named Vermin. Kraven finally accepts the truth - that Spider-Man is the more honorable of the two - and commits suicide. Not your typical Spider-Man ending, to say the least.

Creators J.M. DeMatteis and Mike Zeck later revisited their story in 1992's Amazing Spider-Man: Soul of the Hunter. There Spider-Man learns Kraven's troubled soul remains trapped in limbo because of his suicide, forcing our hero to battle the hunter's reanimated body in order to help Kraven's soul finally achieve peace.

But as is so often the case with superhero comics, that rest was not to last.

Kraven's Family Legacy

While Kraven himself died in Kraven's last Hunt, his surviving family members have carried on his legacy. Marvel debuted two new versions of Kraven during the '90s, both of whom are the sons of Sergei Kravinoff. Sergei's legitimate son, Vladimir, was raised in luxury in Russia and becomes the Grim Hunter as an adult. His illegitimate son Alyosha is a mutant who grew up in exile in the African jungle and takes up the Kraven mantle as an adult.

Later, Marvel introduced a third child of Kraven, his daughter Ana. Ana's debut leads into an extended 2009 storyline called Spider-Man: The Gauntlet. Similar to Batman: Knightfall, The Gauntlet sees Spidey clash with a number of long-time foes, not realizing a secret mastermind is orchestrating these battles to slowly wear him down physically and psychologically. That culminates in The Grim Hunt, where Kraven's wife Sasha and her children use the blood of Spider-Man to resurrect Kraven and restore their family.

Unfortunately, Kraven is less than thrilled to be alive again. After realizing the blood in question was taken from Peter's clone Kaine, Kraven fears he's become cursed by "unlife." Kraven kills Sasha and Vladimir, leaving Ana to hunt Alyosha and prove herself as his one worthy heir.

Kraven's Second Death

Since his resurrection, Kraven has continued to play a role in various Marvel titles, not always as a villain. The master huntsman is consumed by his quest to lift the curse plaguing his second life. In the process, he winds up becoming a supporting character in the comedic series The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl.

Kraven's resurrection eventually feeds into 2019's Amazing Spider-Man: Hunted. There, readers learn Kraven commissioned dozens of clones of himself from The High Evolutionary. After pitting the clones against one another, one survivor emerges as his true heir - the Last Son of Kraven.

Having finally found his heir, Kraven arranges an elaborate hunt inside New York's Central Park, capturing numerous animal-themed supervillains and allowing the world's wealthiest hunters the chance to pilot drones and hunt the captive villains for sport. But Kraven, naturally, has ulterior motives.

The hunters learn too late that their own lives are tethered to their drones. The entire hunt is a ruse aimed at punishing those who hunt without honor or courage. Kraven also hopes to use the hunt to finally lift his curse by forcing Spider-Man to kill the Lizard. Once more, Spidey outwits his foe and proves there's always another way.

Echoing the events of Kraven's Last Hunt, Kraven dons a Spider-Man costume once again, but this time attempting to honor Peter Parker's example. Ironically, that leads to his death when the Last Son of Kraven attacks and kills the man he believes is Spider-Man. Now there's only one Kraven left in the Marvel Universe, and he has a much more persona grudge against Spidey.

Kraven in Marvel TV and Games

• TV: Kraven has appeared in nearly every single animated Spider-Man series, including Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, Spider-Man: The Animated Series, The Spectacular Spider-Man, Ultimate Spider-Man, and Marvel's Spider-Man. Surprisingly, Kraven didn't appear in the original 1960s cartoon, but only because of rights issues stemming from a prior appearance in an Iron Man-focused episode of The Marvel Super Heroes. Instead, a similar character named Harley Clivendon was added to the Spider-Man series.
• Games: Despite being among the oldest Spider-Man villains, Kraven didn't make the jump to games until the early 2000s, appearing in titles like Spider-Man 2: The Sinister Six on the Game Boy and certain versions of 2002's Spider-Man (based on the Sam Raimi movie). Following those early appearances, Kraven has appeared in more movie tie-in-games, comics-inspired games like Spider-Man: Web of Shadows and Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, and mobile titles like Marvel Future Fight and Marvel Puzzle Quest.

Kraven's latest and possibly greatest video game role will come in the Playstation 5 game Marvel's Spider-Man 2. The original reveal features an unseen Kraven narrating about his desire to find a worthy opponent - and his sights are set on Peter Parker and Miles Morales.

Kraven was later revealed in the flesh during Sony's Playstation Showcase livestream in May 2023. The new footage reveals that Kraven runs a Deadliest Island-esque retreat that allows him to hunt others for sport. As in the comics, he sees Spider-Man as the chance to finally hunt and test his mettle against a truly worthy opponent.

But as to whether Kraven is the true villain of the sequel or part of a larger puzzle, we'll have to wait until the game debuts later in 2023 to find out.

Sony's Kraven the Hunter Movie

Kraven has yet to make a live-action Marvel appearance, unless you count the infamous, short-lived stage musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark. However, the villain was teased in 2014's The Amazing Spider-Man 2, where his spear can be seen alongside other relics of the Sinister Six.

Now it appears Kraven will debut in his own solo movie as part of the Sony's Spider-Man Universe cinematic universe. MCU veteran Aaron Taylor-Johnson has been cast as Sergei Kravinoff, and Triple Frontier's J.C. Chandor is directing. Kraven the Hunter's ensemble cast also includes Ariana DeBose as Kraven's lover Calypso, Fred Hechinger as his half-brother Chameleon, Russell Crowe as Kraven's father and Alessandro Nivola as the Rhino.

Kraven the Hunter will be the first of Sony's Marvel movies to be rated R. Sony showed off a sizzle reel of footage at CinemaCon 2023, culminating in Taylor-Johnson's character lifting up the iconic fur suit from the comics.

It's unknown how much, if at all, Spider-Man will appear in the film. But if the last few decades of Kraven stories have taught us anything, it's that this hunter's psychological problems run far deeper than his rivalry with Spider-Man.

Note: this article was originally published on September 10, 2021. It was updated on April 24, 2023 with the latest information about the Kraven movie.