Kraven the Hunter

"I'm here to hunt the one you call Spider-Man. And I'm going to kill him with my bare hands."

- Kraven.

Sergei Kravenoff, alias Kraven the Hunter, is an enemy of Spider-Man in the Marvel comics universe. He was born in Russia, and lived in Africa as a big game hunter. He was known to be able to take down any prey with only his bare hands. He became superhuman after he drank a witch doctor's potion, which granted him enhanced strength, reflexes, and stamina. He now had enough power to bring down a charging elephant, wrestle a gorilla, or run as fast as a cheetah. He also used various weaponry, including knives, bolas, whips, spears, and dart-guns.

When Kraven heard about Spider-Man via his half-brother, the Chameleon, he decided that Spidey would be his next prey. After several defeats, Kraven joined the team of supervillains called the Sinister Six to attack Spider-Man.

The Last Hunt
Later on in his life, when Kraven was reaching old age, he decided to complete the greatest hunt of his career before dying. He succeeded in trapping and shooting Spider-Man with a tranquilizer, then burying him. Kraven took up the identity of Spider-Man for awhile, until the real Spidey broke free from his coffin and attacked Kraven with a vengeance. Kraven did not resist, knowing that he had finally defeated his lifelong enemy, and after the two of them took down the feral supervillain Vermin, Kraven eventually killed himself.

Xraven
In a Spider-Man/X-Men comics crossover, it was revealed that Kraven had at one point made a deal with Mr. Sinister to retrieve DNA samples from the original members of the X-Men. After Kraven's death, Sinister created a new super-mutant with the combined powers of those X-men and the Hunter himself. Xraven was eventually defeated by the X-Men and Spider-Man when they persuaded him to turn on Sinister.

Legacy
Kraven was succeeded by his son, Vladamir, who took on the name of the Grim Hunter, but he was killed by Kaine. His half-brother Aloysha, (the son of Kraven and a mutant woman) then took on the title of Kraven the Hunter, and joined Venom's Sinister Six.

Ana Kravenoff, Sergei's daughter, recently took on her father's legacy and hunted down Spider-Man in revenge for her father's death.

Resurrection
Both Sergei and Vladimir were resurrected in a ceremony by Aloysha, Ana, and Sergei's wife Sasha. This act required the sacrifice of Julia Carpenter, the third Spider-Woman. Kraven has since taken charge of his family of hunters, and has battled Spider-Man and the Black Panther. However, the revival had twisted his mind, and he killed his wife and Vladimir, who had been revived as a lion-like beast, in a test to see if they were worthy Kravenoffs. His daughter Ana, just as ruthless as he, pledged herself to her father as an apprentice, and they have since been terrorizing Spider-Man.

The Spectacular Spider-Man TV Series
Much like in the comic books, Kraven was a big game hunter who was bored of hunting regular animals, so he decided to hunt down Spider-Man with his pet lion Gulyadkin. However there are several differences compared to the comic book version and this version. After being defeated by Spidey once, he eventually encountered Miles Warren and asked him to be given powers. Warren accepted and injected Kraven with lion DNA for strength, leopard DNA for stealth, and cheetah DNA for speed, and he mutated into a man-lion beast. He also joined the show's version of the second Sinister Six.

Film
It is speculated that Kraven might appear in the upcoming The Amazing Spider-Man 3 as either the main antagonist or a part of the Sinister Six.

Other Media
Kraven is the first boss in the video game Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions. He captures Spider-Man and takes him to a remote jungle where he had many traps and minions waiting. After being humiliated by Spider-Man in defeat, Kraven used his piece of the Tablet of Order and Chaos to give him super-speed, which he has in the final battle.

The Amazing Spider-Man 3:
He is rumored for the role of the main antagonist, despite being one of the rumored members of the Sinister Six (along with Green Goblin, Rhino, Vulture, Doctor Octopus and Mysterio).