Spider-Man 2 Villain: Who is Kraven the Hunter?

Spider-Man 2‘s main villain is Kraven the Hunter, a character that newer Spider-Man fans may not be totally familiar with. Kraven the Hunter has been featured in the Spider-Man comic books for decades, and he’s also made appearances in various Spider-Man animated series. However, it’s safe to say that the majority of casual fans are most familiar with the villains that have appeared in live-action Spider-Man movies and the Insomniac video game. Those individuals may have no clue who Kraven the Hunter is, as he has yet to make his live-action film debut and wasn’t in the 2018 Spider-Man game.

By the end of this year, even casual fans should know plenty about Kraven the Hunter. Besides the fact that Kraven the Hunter is going to be featured in the Spider-Man 2 video game as its primary villain, a live-action film about the character starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson in the lead role is set to premiere this October. For now, though, it’s clear based on reaction videos across social media after the PlayStation Showcase that there are quite a few people who have no idea who Kraven the Hunter is.

With Kraven the Hunter set to be the main villain of Spider-Man 2, it’s worth explaining exactly who he is and why fans should be excited to square off against him in the new video game.

Who is Kraven the Hunter?

Kraven the Hunter is a Russian big game hunter who enhances himself with a potion that gives him the strength to go toe-to-toe with super-powered beings, primarily Spider-Man. Kraven first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #15 all the way back in 1964, making him one of the earliest villains featured in Spider-Man’s rogues gallery. Kraven has had many encounters with Spider-Man, usually solo, but he was notably a founding member of the Sinister Six.

The most famous Spider-Man story featuring Kraven the Hunter is easily Kraven’s Last Hunt, which sees him drug Spider-Man, bury him alive, and then take on the mantle of Spider-Man himself to prove that he could do a better job at being a superhero. After Kraven succeeds in his plan, he lets Spider-Man go and then decides to kill himself. It’s possible this storyline will be featured in the Spider-Man 2 game, but the Kraven featured in Kraven’s Last Hunt is much older and defeated after so many failed run-ins with Spider-Man, whereas the Kraven in Spider-Man 2 is arriving to New York for the first time.

What is Kraven’s Goal in Spider-Man 2?

The Spider-Man 2 story trailer featured at the recent PlayStation Showcase showed Kraven hunting down and killing a man in the jungle, but he’s seemingly bored by the whole thing and is hungry for a challenge. That’s when his goons let him know about all the super-powered people concentrated in New York City, and so Kraven decides to make the Big Apple his new hunting grounds. More specifically, he seems to be hunting down The Lizard, which puts him in direct conflict with both Peter Parker and Miles Morales.

Presumably, Kraven’s plans are going to get spoiled enough that he will then turn his full attention to taking out both Spider-Men, but it seems he will be focused on The Lizard in the game’s earlier hours. Kraven won’t be the only villain in Spider-Man 2, however, as the game’s reveal trailer confirmed that Venom will also be featured in some capacity as well.

The Spider-Man 2 gameplay reveal from the PlayStation Showcase showed Peter Parker in his infamous symbiote suit. It appears that, at some point, Peter will lose the symbiote suit, and it will combine with someone else to create Venom, though the jury is still out on who exactly Venom will be in Spider-Man 2. It’s possible Venom will be Eddie Brock just like in the comic books, but it’s also possible that Insomniac will be looking to introduce a different character as Venom.

Other members of Spider-Man’s rogues gallery will no doubt appear in the Spider-Man 2 game as well, but fans will have to wait and see who else made the cut. For now, it seems clear that Kraven the Hunter is being positioned as the main villain, with his exploits eventually leading to confrontations with The Lizard and Venom as well. There’s also the chance that players will have to fight Peter Parker as Miles Morales considering the influence the symbiote seems to already be having on the former’s personality, but time will tell on that front.

Spider-Man 2 is clearly going to have no shortage of villains, and considering how great of a job Insomniac did with Doctor Octopus’ character, it will be exciting to see what the studio manages to pull off with Kraven the Hunter and the other bad guys appearing in the open world sequel.