Kraven's Last Hunt

In the mid-1980s, John Marc DeMatteis proposed a Wonder Man limited series involving Wonder Man's half-brother, the Grim Reaper, in which Wonder Man is buried and ultimately crawls out of the grave. Tom DeFalco turned down the proposal.[1] Years later, DeMatteis reworked the scene of a hero coming out of the grave into a Batman story exploring what would happen if the Joker actually killed Batman. According to DeMatteis, it would effectively turn the Joker "sane". When DeMatteis pitched the story to DC, however, it was rejected because it happened to be somewhat similar to Batman: The Killing Joke, another Batman story that was in development at the time.[2] DeMatteis then reworked the story to use Hugo Strange in place of the Joker, but this, too, was rejected.[3] Finally, DeMatteis pitched the idea again to Marvel, this time with Spider-Man and a new villain he came up with specifically for the story. Marvel editorial accepted the revised proposal.[2]

Several major elements were added to the story as DeMatteis began writing it. Marvel's plans to marry Spider-Man and Mary Jane Watson prompted DeMatteis to make their marriage the emotional focus of the story. The idea of substituting Kraven the Hunter for the new villain came to DeMatteis after a chance look at Kraven's entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe. After Mike Zeck was brought on as penciller for "Kraven's Last Hunt", DeMatteis decided it would be a good idea to use a character he and Zeck had created together: Vermin.[2]

The story was originally intended to run entirely in Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man, but editor Jim Salicrup decided to publish it as a crossover through all three Spider-Man titles, arguing that the impact of Spider-Man being killed would be lost if there were other Spider-Man stories running at the same time.[2] While working on the story, DeMatteis commented, "I'm not looking beyond those six issues. The storyline really does not enter too heavily into the continuity of the other books. In fact, I almost think you could take these issues and put them on their own as a mini-series or graphic novel."[1]

Because the plot had been completely written by the time Zeck started work on "Kraven's Last Hunt", he drew all six covers for the story before doing any of the interior art. Zeck remarked that the iconic "Resurrection" cover for part 4 (Web of Spider-Man #32) "was the absolute no-brainer of the six covers, and I completed that piece first. If an issue has a scene with the title hero rising from his own grave, it’s like receiving the number-one gift on your Christmas list! Anyone spending even one second mulling over a cover idea for that issue would have been in the wrong business. The other covers flowed from that one."[2]

In 1994, DC published DeMatteis' Batman/Joker version of the story as "Going Sane" in Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #65-68.

Spider-Man reflects on his own mortality after the deaths of Ned Leeds and common criminal acquaintance Joe Face. Meanwhile, having grown old and dejected at the world, Kraven resolves to defeat his nemesis Spider-Man. Kraven hunts down Spider-Man, shoots him with a rifle, and buries him.

Kraven dons a copy of Spider-Man's costume to prove himself superior at his adversary's former activities. The city takes notice as Kraven brutalizes and kills criminals. Kraven culminates his crusade with the unarmed capture of the cannibal Vermin, who Spider-Man needed the help of Captain America to defeat.

After two weeks, Spider-Man revives from the effects of Kraven's bullet (a potent tranquilizer) and digs his way out of the grave. He reunites with his wife Mary Jane Watson, then insists on confronting Kraven despite having not fully recovered. When Spider-Man attacks Kraven, the hunter does not fight back, considering himself the victor for having already beaten and replaced Spider-Man.

To prove his final point of superiority, Kraven releases Vermin and goads him to battle Spider-Man. Vermin defeats Spider-Man, but Kraven intervenes before Vermin can kill him. Kraven allows Vermin to go free, and tells Spider-Man he can pursue Vermin if he desires, but that Kraven's hunting days have ended.

While Spider-Man goes after Vermin, Kraven concludes he has conquered his inner demons and finally achieved happiness. After reminiscing about his past and the peace he now feels, Kraven commits suicide with a rifle. He leaves a confession of his burying and impersonating Spider-Man for the police to find, complete with photographic proof; this is published in the media.

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.

Writer J. M. DeMatteis explained that the story was intended to explore Spider-Man's character and how others perceive him:

What [Kraven] plans to do is kill Spider-Man and then take his place - prove that he can be a better Spider-Man than Spider-Man. What he becomes, of course, is not Spider-Man, but what he perceives Spider-Man to be. In a sense, what Kraven becomes is something akin to Frank Miller's Dark Knight character. [...] One of the things about Peter Parker, with Spider-Man, is that he doesn't just put on a mask and become "the Spider-Man." He doesn't become transformed into this dark creature of the night. No matter what costume he has, no matter what he does, Peter Parker is always a very human, passionate, caring guy. Kraven doesn't know that. And that is the major difference here.[1]

The story is told in between quotations from William Blake's poem "The Tyger", with the word "Tyger" replaced by "Spyder".

"Kraven's Last Hunt" has received critical acclaim and is considered one of the greatest Spider-Man stories ever written. In 2012, "Kraven's Last Hunt" was voted by readers of Comic Book Resources as the greatest Spider-Man story ever told. In his commentary on the results, Brian Cronin described the story as "a breathtaking piece of work that inspired countless imitations by other writers over the years."[6] Elsewhere, Cronin noted that by publishing the story across all three monthly Spider-Man titles, Marvel "gave the story a bit more of an 'event' feel".[3]

Writing for Complex, Jason Serafino ranked "Kraven's Last Hunt" the fifth best Spider-Man story of all time. According to Serafino, "'Kraven’s Last Hunt' features the usual comic action, but it also blends aspects from classic literature and recurring themes in order to present a deeper, more complicated narrative. It routinely quotes William Blake’s poem 'The Tyger,' and Mike Zeck’s art fills the book with gritty photorealism. This one's for a more sophisticated audience."[7]

Comic Book Revolution ranked "Kraven's Last Hunt" third on a list of the top 10 greatest Spider-Man stories, praising the story for its portrayal of both Kraven and the early stages of Peter/Mary Jane marriage. "[E]ven though ‘Kraven’s Last Hunt’ is a Kraven and Spider-Man story there are a lot of great moments that explore Peter and MJ’s relationship. As this story takes place early on in the marriage we get to see how MJ deals with Peter’s disappearance and how she would react if Peter ever died in action. It adds extra layers to marriage and makes the end of the story where Peter goes back to MJ to recover that much better."[8]

IGN Comics ranked "Kraven's Last Hunt" the #6 on a list of the 25 greatest Spider-Man stories, noting that it "is one of the most memorable Spider-Man stories of all time, without a doubt."[9]

• "The Gauntlet" and "Grim Hunt"
• "Hunted"

• Kraven's Last Hunt at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)
• Kraven's Last Hunt on Marvel Database, a Marvel Comics wiki