Kraven the Hunter (Sergei Kravinoff; Russian: Сергей Кравинов) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Debuting in The Amazing Spider-Man issue #15 (August 1964) as an adversary to the superhero Spider-Man, he has since endured as one of the web-slinger’s most formidable foes, and is part of the collective of adversaries that make up Spider-Man’s rogues’ gallery. Kraven has also come into conflict with other heroes, such as Black Panther and Tigra. He is the half-brother of the Chameleon and one of the founding members of the Sinister Six.
Kraven is typically portrayed as a renowned big-game hunter whose goal in life is to best Spider-Man in order to prove himself as the world’s greatest hunter. Though he is often overconfident in his own abilities, which he boasts about, he possesses a great sense of honor, and treats his adversaries as equals until proven otherwise. Because of this, Kraven has also been depicted as an antihero and an ally of Squirrel Girl and sometimes Spider-Man himself, whom he came to respect deeply for the numerous times he defeated Kraven.
The character is widely regarded as one of Spider-Man’s most formidable enemies among his rogues, and gained considerable attention from storylines such as 1987’s “Kraven’s Last Hunt,” 2010’s “Grim Hunt” and 2019’s “Hunted”. In 2009, Kraven was ranked as IGN’s 53rd greatest comic book villain of all time. The character has appeared in numerous Spider-Man media adaptations over the years, including animated series and video games.
