10 Comics For Spider-Man Fans Who Love Grim Hunt

Spider-Man may be Marvel’s “friendly neighborhood” superhero, but some of the best Soider-Man comics are also the darkest. And Kraven the Hunter usually appears in those dark comics, forcing Spider-Man to fight and draw blood when he would otherwise have refused. Like “Grim Hunt,” Spider-Man stars in some iconic comics that many readers should check out.

If fans loved Kraven in “Grim Hunt,” they’ll want to check out his most iconic hunts in “Kraven’s Last Hunt” or “Hunted” in Amazing Spider-Man. Fans who love a more aggressive Spider-man should read Peter’s violent pursuit of Kingpin in “Back in Black” or Kaine’s solo adventures in Scarlet Spider. “Grim Hunt” delivered so much, and these comics will scratch the itch of readers looking for more of the same.

10 Kraven’s Last & Greatest Hunt

Readers can’t walk away from “Grim Hunt” without reading the comic book that laid its foundations. That’s Spider-Man comic blasphemy. All the tension and character turmoil of “Grim Hunt” rests on the shoulders of “Kraven’s Last Hunt.”

The original story is still Kraven’s best comic and moved the line of how dark Spider-Man comics could be. “Grim Hunt” is a sequel to a comic that many readers feel should have been left untouched, but Kraven’s return in “Grim Hunt” only adds to the impact of his death in “Kraven’s Last Hunt.”

9 Spider-Man faces His Iconic Enemies, One After The Other

“The Gauntlet” story arc directly precedes “Grim Hunt” in Amazing Spider-Man comics, so it’s a natural companion to Kraven’s return. While “Grim Hunt” focused on Kraven the Hunter, each story spotlighted one of Spider-Man’s classic villains, from Electro to the Rhino to the Lizard.

“The Gauntlet” is both a love letter to Spider-Man’s greatest Silver Age villains and a brutal fighting ring––a cage match that Spider-Man didn’t sign up for––where he’s forced to battle his villains month after month. “The Gauntlet” is relentless and exhausting, but it’s just the tip of the iceberg that is “Grim Hunt.”

8 Kraven Hunts Venom

It’s the showdown fans had been wishing for. At the time, a fight between Kraven and Venom was both special and practical. Kraven considered himself the greatest hunter on Earth. What better prey than an alien symbiote who turned someone into Venom?

In hindsight, this comic book fight only predicted the confrontation in Insomniac’s Spider-Man 2 video game. The “Lethal Protector” arc of Venom was incredible and proved that Kraven is willing to take on anyone and anything. If only Kraven could force Spider-Man to wear the symbiote instead of those black suit knockoffs.

7 Kraven & Venom Bond

Kraven is not a main character in Spider-Man: Life Story but appears several times and significantly impacts Peter’s life. Life Story adapts several key Spider-Man comic events and recontextualizes them into a world where Peter and the Marvel characters actually age.

In Life Story, Spider-Man uses the symbiote to strengthen himself and aid his aging body. He battles Kraven, similarly to how they fought in “Kraven’s Last Hunt,” and then Kraven bonds to the symbiote and becomes a monster that attacks Spider-Man in his old age at the end. Kraven fans will love his brief but exciting appearances in Spider-Man: Life Story.

6 One Of The Darkest Spider-Man Comics

“Grim Hunt” is dark, with several character deaths and a bloody character resurrection, but even Kraven’s violent return to life has nothing on the dark events of Spider-Man: Reign. Many readers have claimed that Reign is the Spider-Man equivalent to Batman’s The Dark Knight Returns.

That statement alone holds so much praise. Fans make this comparison thanks to Reign‘s mature and violent themes. Spider-Man is forced out of retirement to defeat a team of his old enemies, like Doctor Octopus, Mysterio and Kraven. The Hunter particularly steals the show, trying to defeat Spider-Man’s spirit as much as his body.

5 “What If Spider-Man Killed Kraven The Hunter?”

In this alternate Marvel universe, Kraven dug out of his grave only to find himself back in it, delivered there by Spider-Man. What If? Marvel comics are often the most exciting as they serve as sandboxes for creators and readers.

What if Spider-Man had decided to kill Kraven at the end of “Grim Hunt” instead of letting him live? The one-shot comic answers that question and delivers a series of events that may be even darker than the original “Grim Hunt.” How would committing murder, even on Kraven, a man who was dead mere hours earlier, affect someone like Peter Parker?

4 Untold Tales Of Spider-Man & Kraven

For the past several years, J.M. DeMatteis has been taking readers back into Spider-Man’s past, stretching the events of past storylines, such as Peter’s time during the Clone Saga or Ben Reilly’s saga as the Sensational Spider-Man. “Spider-Man: Lost Hunt” primarily takes place directly after the events of the 90s Clone Saga, but it also takes readers back to Kraven’s origins.

If any writer can play with Kraven’s backstory and get away with it, it’s DeMatteis, who crafted “Kraven’s Last Hunt.” “The Lost Hunt” only adds to Kraven’s mythology and is well worth the read for anyone who enjoyed Kraven’s resurrection in “Grim Hunt.”

3 Peter Parker Dons The Black Costume Once Again

“Grim Hunt” lives up to its name as one of the darkest Spider-Man comics of all time. “Grim Hunt” also features a Peter Parker who seeks vengeance and blood. Readers who prefer that kind of Spider-Man should check out “Back in Black.” Spread across the Spider-Man comic titles at the time, “Back in Black” takes place after the events of Civil War.

Aunt May is injured after an attack meant for Peter Parker. Enraged and determined to track down the Kingpin, who placed the hit on Peter, Spider-Man dons a version of the black suit and goes hunting––giving Kraven the Hunter a run for his money as Marvel’s greatest predator. “Back in Black” culminates in a brutal fistfight between an angry Spider-Man and an outmatched Wilson Fisk.

2 A Spider-Man With An Edge

Kaine is one of the most tragic figures in the Spider-Man universe. He’ll never be as good as Peter Parker or as worthy as Peter Parker. Kaine wasn’t even good enough to be used in a ritual to resurrect Kraven in “Grim Hunt.” No, they needed the real deal.

Fans who want to learn more about Kaine should read his solo adventures in Scarlet Spider (volume two). Unlike Peter or Ben Reilly, the original Scarlet Spider, Kaine is an antihero who constantly fails to live up to Spider-Man’s perfect image. Scarlet Spider presents Kaine’s inner struggle to accept his flaws and strengths.

1 Kraven Forces Spider-Man Into A Central Park-Sized Hunt

Spider-Man wakes up in Central Park––refitted to house a grand hunt––dressed in his black costume. Kraven sure does prefer the black suit to Spider-Man’s classic red and blue threads, but it usually evokes a darker story. This time, however, Spider-Man isn’t alone. Kraven has captured every animal-themed Spider-Man friend and foe, from Black Cat to the Lizard to the Gibbon.

All trapped in this Central Park hunting ground, Spider-Man must team up with his villains to stay alive and defeat Kraven. “Hunted” is not only one of the best arcs of Amazing Spider-Man in the last five years but one of the best comics starring Kraven the Hunter.