10 Best Kraven the Hunter Variants, Ranked

Kraven the Hunter is among many malefactors in Marvel’s menagerie of animal-themed villains. An integral member of the Sinister Six and long-time Spider-Man villain, Kraven’s long history of hunting New York’s friendly neighborhood wall-crawler means he doesn’t even spend much time in the jungle.

Kraven is an integral part of Spider-Man’s story – and the Marvel multiverse by proxy – that his variants exist in many timelines. He’s a deceptively complex character, so variants with power-ups and mutations that don’t affect his main timeline are always fun experiments. Across the multiverse, most versions of Kraven are similar to Earth 616’s greatest hunter, but the best and most memorable versions elevate the character in cool and exciting ways.

10 Peter Parker Was A Dark Kraven Variant

First Appearance: What If? Spider-Man #1 by Mark Sable and Paul Azaceta

Kraven famously buried Peter Parker alive and took the mantle of Spider-Man for a time. What If? Spider-Man #1 shows readers what could’ve happened if things had gone differently. On Earth-11209, Peter Parker killed Kraven the Hunter and, as penance, took on the mantle. He enslaved people he loved and murdered indiscriminately before he was finally stopped.

While things didn’t end well for Peter’s version of the Hunter, his track record under the mantle was impressive, and his powers were always better than the enhancements Kraven usually has. After killing Kraven, his family, Venom, and a few other spider people, he was blinded and forced to live the rest of his life with regret and dishonor.

9 Amalgam’s Kraven Was Lethal

First Appearance: Marvel Versus DC #3 by D.G. Chichester, Scott McDaniel, and Daniel Fisher

Marvel likes to experiment with their characters, and sometimes, that means creating universes where powers and backstories merge. Two such hybridized variants of Kraven exist, one from Warp World and the other from the Amalgam universe.

Bushman the Hunter is even more problematic than Prime Kraven, but Amalgam’s Lethal showed promise. Lethal combined Kraven and DC’s Cheetah to make an apex predator who never got his time to shine before his death at the hands of Dare the Terminator (Slade Murdock) and Catsai (Elektra Kyle).

8 Xraven Was The Ultimate Hunter

First Appearance: X-Men/Spider-Man #4 by Christos N. Gage and Mario Alberti

A horrible combination of the Carnage symbiote with the original X-Men and Kraven the Hunter’s DNA, Xraven isn’t a version of Kraven from somewhere else in the multiverse. However, he is still a Kraven variant because he was the Hunter when Kraven wasn’t around to do it himself. With all the powers of the original X-Men, including incredible strength, ice manipulation, telekinesis, energy projection, and more, Xraven’s arsenal was far more advanced.

Spider-Man cited Kraven’s sense of honor, and after he realized Mister Sinister’s plan was truly sinister, he took his rage out on the scheming scoundrel in a brawl so big it destroyed Sinister’s secret lab. Another Sinister-fueled Kraven variant came from Earth-14512, where Essex put a red crystal in his head and made him a monster.

7 Gwen the Hunter Was A Shadow Clone

First Appearance: Spider-Gwen: Shadow Clones #2 by Emily Kim and Kei Zama

Gwen Stacy’s day-to-day life on Earth-65 is comparable to Peter Parker’s youth on Earth-616. She’s a young adult faced with godlike threats, and when a battle costs the life of a scientist, that scientist’s partner cloned Gwen and her enemies to create hybrids. Alongside the other shadow clones, including Gwen-versions of Doc Ock, Vulture, Rhino, and Sandman, Gwen the Hunter faced off against Ghost-Spider and put up a good fight.

This Kraven variant was mostly a mind-controlled lackey for the jilted genius of Lyla Bennett. Still, she captured Reed Richards, Spider-Gwen, and several of her former teammates before gaining her freedom. Unlike other Kraven variants who meet violent or extreme ends, this Kraven took a job at a zoo.

6 Kraven and the Hunters Went Out With A Bang

First Appearance: Spider-Punk #1 by Cody Ziglar and Justin Mason

Kraven and the Hunters were a low-level street gang on Earth-138, tasked with making neighborhoods in New York City unlivable. Earth-138 takes its cues from music, so readers can probably presume the Hunters provide backups to Kraven’s vocals if they double as a band. While his gang tote futuristic guns, he wields a simpler arm cannon and fights solely against Spider-Punk.

Spider-Punk isn’t the only costumed hero this Kraven variant tangles with. He takes on his world’s Captain America and Iron Man variants solo and only narrowly loses, then goes for another round immediately after with help from Taskmaster. In the end, punk Kraven blows himself up in a rad green blaze of glory.

5 Crayfin is Silly, Kravertooth is Rad

First Appearance: Marvel Age Annual #2 (1986) by Steve Mellor

Most Mighty Marvels have animal variants in the far reaches of the multiverse, and Kraven is no exception. There are at least three notable animal variants for Kraven the Hunter, the coolest of which is Kravertooth, though the Zooniverse’s Raven the Hunter is a close second.

Kraven’s dinosaur-era feline variant has all the predatory ferocity of the Prime version, while Raven is the same character in a cartoon bird’s body. Spider-Ham’s Kraven variant parodied the prime versions’ darkest moments, making him uniquely tragic among the animal variants.

4 Kraven Makes A Great Zombie

First Appearance: Marvel Zombies Return #1 by Fred Van Lente and Nick Dragotta

In worlds where nothing stays dead and everything is always hungry, it pays to be the greatest hunter alive. Kraven has variants in several zombified worlds, including Earth-13264’s Deadlands and Earth-2149, one home of Marvel Zombies. The Spider-Man of Earth-2149 killed another zombified version of the hunter.

The first zombified Kraven settled for consuming locals and tourists in Africa. However, the zombified Kraven of Marvel Zombies Return was integral to spreading the virus to the world’s greatest heroes. His talent for hunting superpowered human bounties makes him especially dangerous as patient zero for a zombie apocalypse.

3 The Hunter Becomes Big Game

First Appearance: Universe X #7 by Jim Krueger, Alex Ross, and Doug Braithwaite

Earth-9997 or Earth X, as its eponymous trilogy calls it, is from a universe where planets are like nests for giant celestial entities. The way those entities keep their eggs safe is to populate their nests with powerful creatures. Every person on Earth X is a human mutate, including Kraven. He’s one of just a few Kraven variants to gain bestial features.

The Kraven of Earth-9997 doesn’t lead a happy life, but he does have some incredible trophies, including the supposed head of Captain America. After the Terragen Mist turned him into a lion-headed man. At first, he was pretty self-destructive, hunting people in the hopes of finding someone worthy of killing him. Eventually, he embraced beasthood and decided the age of man was over.

2 Poison Kraven Was Crucial In The Symbiote War

First Appearance: Venomverse #3 by Cullen Bunn and Iban Coello

The Kraven of Earth-11182 bonded to a symbiote, but his venomized conquest was short-lived. Instead, the variant is better known for traveling to Earth-616 as a Poison in their war on symbiotes. The evil aliens from Earth-17952 spread across the multiverse, consuming venomized variants and turning them into killing machines.

In Kraven, the Poisons found the perfect tool. Poison Kraven was better at hunting than prime Kraven, as Poisons absorb an individual’s powers and abilities and can manipulate biomass like symbiotes. He was one of a select few Poisons tasked with retrieving Carnage for the queen, and he was successful in his mission.

1 Alexei Was Kraven’s Only Worthy Descendant

First Appearance: Spectacular Spider-Man #243 by J.M. DeMatteis and Luke Ross

Alexei Kravinoff is the illegitimate son of Kraven on Earth-616. Alexei is a mutant with naturally superior strength, speed, and reflexes, unlike his brother Vladimir, The Grim Hunter. Dabbling with his father’s formulas made him evil, but he’s usually more chill than his dad.

Alexei, his pet wolf, and his partner had a harrowing journey through Hollywood stardom that led to heroics in New York City for a time, but Kraven the Hunter always returns to bounty hunting. He tangoed with Spider-Man and other A-list heroes and escaped unharmed, like any good Kraven variant should, until his unfortunate death at the hands of his family.