New footage for Marvel's Spider-Man 2 revealed that classic Spider-Man villain Kraven the Hunter would be appearing in Insomniac's game. While Venom was confirmed in the game's reveal trailer back in 2021, many speculated that the ominous voiceover in that trailer would be Kraven, but this was unconfirmed until the new footage showed the hunter in action.
Before launching into 11 minutes of gameplay footage at the May 2023 PlayStation Showcase, a cutscene played that showed Kraven in a jungle being tracked by a fellow hunter. Of course, Kraven turned the tables and revealed that he had been hunting his hunter the whole time, before killing him and expressing his disappointment, longing for a true equal to hunt. One of his allies presents him with a tablet showing the various superpowered and highly skilled people in New York, including both Peter and Miles' Spider-Men, suggesting that he may find worthy prey there.
Who Is Kraven The Hunter?
In the comics, Sergei Kravinoff (aka Kraven the Hunter) is one of the world's best game hunters and a master tactician, much as he appears to be in Marvel's Spider-Man 2. What sets him apart is that he lives by a code of honor in which he believes he is hunting his game fairly, usually opting to use his bare hands or melee weapons such as knives and spears, rather than using ranged weapons such as guns or bows and arrows, despite being an expert marksman.
In some iterations of the character, Kraven also concocts a serum that gives him increased strength and reduces his aging. It is unclear whether Insomniac's version has this, or if he is simply strong enough to lift and choke a man - as he does in his introduction cutscene - after years of training and hunting.
What Is Kraven's "Great Hunt?"
Given Kraven's impressive amount of skill, he eventually gets bored tracking regular prey. By the time players are introduced to him in Marvel's Spider-Man 2 it's clear that he has begun tracking people that his team has procured for him in a search for his "equal." With skilled-yet-regular people not being enough for Kraven, his team suggests that he moves the hunt to New York to take on far more powerful foes with superhuman abilities to make it more of a challenge.
While several non-superpowered people with increased skills are in Marvel's Spider-Man 2's New York, such as Black Cat or Prowler, there are many others with powers for Kraven to hunt, such as Peter and Miles' Spider-Men, nearly every villain from the previous games who were sent to the RAFT prison, and The Lizard. The gameplay footage shows Kraven and his team hunting the latter six months later using highly advanced technology such as hunter drones as they chase Dr. Curt Connors' reptilian alter-ego, carelessly spreading destruction across the city in their pursuit.
Both Spider-Men try to fend off Kraven's hunters throughout the gameplay footage, and dialogue suggests that they have both already had run-ins with Kraven, likely due to him hunting them and some other superpowered characters in the months prior. With Peter having acquired the Venom symbiote prior to Marvel's Spider-Man 2's gameplay footage, and not pulling his punches against Kraven's hunters, it's possible that Kraven may have found the equal he desired after all.
Source: PlayStation/YouTube
