Spider-Man: The Animated Series Episode Seven: Kraven the Hunter

Kraven the Hunter

First Aired: April 1st, 1995

Synopsis: Peter Parker shows up to a Hardy Foundation laboratory for an interview, only to find the costumed Kraven the Hunter smashing it up while a scientist, Mariah Crawford, cowers. Changing to Spider-Man, Peter's able to save Mariah and get away from Kraven. She explains that Kraven was a hunter who she hired as a guide when she needed to go into the jungle to find a scientist friend of hers. Kraven and Mariah became lovers over time. Although she found her friend, he had taken a drug he had invented which had made him more bestial. He gave her the only remaining sample of it, which she had to use on Kraven when he was badly injured. Over time Kraven became more monstrous, and she fled to America to try and find a cure. Spider-Man leaves Mariah in an apartment for safety, saying that the owner won't be home for a while. She ends up fleeing it when she sees an ominous shadow at the door, assuming that it's Kraven, but it turns out to be Robbie Robertson, returning home early from his holiday. When Kraven finds the apartment, he assumes that Robbie is Mariah's lover, and attacks him.

Peter Parker goes to a fashion show of Mary Jane's, but Kraven tracks him there by scent, and he has to change to Spider-Man. Kraven reveals that he's captured Robbie, and gives Spider-Man six hours to give him Mariah or else he'll kill Robbie. Mariah, for her part, has gone to a lab and is working on a cure for Kraven. Spider-Man's unable to find her, and works out that Kraven must be hiding in a zoo. He goes there to save Robbie, but ends up in a fight with Kraven which ends with him wrapped up by bolas. It's at this point that Mariah bursts in with a cure, but she triggers a trap which throws her into a cage of lions and Robbie into a pool of crocodiles. Spider-Man frees himself and saves Robbie while Kraven fights the lions to protect Mariah. Spider-Man then helps Kraven stop the lions, but Kraven's been badly injured. Mariah gives Kraven her cure, which heals him. In the aftermath, the two of them are on a boat heading off into the sunset, while Spider-Man laments that as the hero, he's the one who's supposed to have a happy ending.

Miscellaneous Notes:

• It's no, "No! Robbie! My best friend!", but we do get Spider-Man saying, "Robbie's one of the people I respect the most!", and later, "I'm sorry I put you in such danger, my friend." It's a start, I guess.

Review: I've mentioned before that I like Kraven when his hunter/jungle theme is leaned into so that he's not just a generic strongman, and while I couldn't point to one thing that manages to pull it off here, it does manage to do so. Honestly, it might just be the mention of him having taken a serum to make him so strong and efficient - that little plot point suddenly makes him just a bit more fantastic. (Did any of the Kravens in the other series have mention of having taken a serum? I can't recall).

Helping with the portrayal is the surprising choice to give Kraven an almost tragic origin - he didn't ask to be given the serum, and all that Mariah wants to do is cure him. It's not the most amazing backstory, but it's definitely the strongest we've seen for Kraven out of all the cartoons so far. With the implication that he might not be fully aware of what he's doing, he suddenly gets a lot of depth beyond "I must hunt the greatest game of them all: Spider-Man!" Credit to the episode for taking a risk and going with a bit of a different backstory, because it totally works. With the way it ends, I also hope that we don't see this version of Kraven again - he totally deserves his happy ending.

In addition to all of the above, there was also some good Peter Parker drama in the episode - while at the fashion show, both Mary Jane and Felicia Hardy try making plans with him after the show. We're starting to form a love triangle between the three of them, and I'm looking forwards to seeing where it ends up going. Overall, this episode does a pretty good job at giving us a new take on a classic villain, while also laying some seeds for some drama to come.