Grim Hunt Chapter Two

At the Kraven estate, Sasha Kravinoff asks her children if they can feel how close they are to bringing her beloved Sergei back to life. As the newly resurrected Grim Hunter — who has come back as a lion creature — devours raw meat, she orders Aloysha to go out and find more spiders to sacrifice. A helpless victim to all of this is Madame Web, who mourns for the loss of Mattie Franklin, whose life was sacrificed to bring the Grim Hunter back from the dead.

Meanwhile, at Mattie Franklin’s apartment, Spider-Man and Arachne are visited by what appears to be the rotting corpse of Ezekiel Sims.[1] The stench of rot is overwhelming, but Sims explains that there is a war going on between spiders and hunters and Spider-Man needs to step up to the plate or else he won’t be the only person resurrected this evening. Arachne wants an explanation and Spider-Man quickly tells her that everyone with spider-powers were chosen by a deity to act as their totem in the physical world.[2] Ezekiel goes on to say that the original Kraven the Hunter was an avatar of the Animus, the primal energies of the world. Kraven was apparently connected to that world by dark magics that eventually drove him mad. This is why he thought the only way he could defeat Spider-Man was to become him, thus leading to Kraven’s last hunt.[3] Even though Kraven committed suicide that day, his spirit still lives on in the unseen places between life and death and Sasha Kravinoff seeks to bring him back by sacrificing the lives of spiders. He goes on to say that Mattie Franklin has already been murdered and Madame Web is a prisoner kept alive only due to her clairvoyant visions.[4] Ezekiel tries to encourage Spider-Man into recruiting an army to face the Kravinoff family, but the web-slinger demands to know who is next on their list.

Meanwhile, at Peter Parker’s apartment, Michele Gonzales returns home with some food to help her roommate get well enough to continue job hunting.[5] She is surprised to see that the apartment has been cleaned and when she hears movement in Peter’s bedroom she goes in to look but finds nobody.

At that same moment, Araña flees from the Kravinoff’s. Entering a part she is ambushed by the Grim Hunter. Luckily, Spider-Man arrives to pull her out of harms way. While Spider-Man struggles with the Grim Hunter when suddenly the drum beats come back and start disorientating.[6] That’s when someone throws a rock at the Grim Hunter’s head, knocking the man-beast out. Spider-Man thinks it was Arachne who threw the rock but it turns out that it was his clone, Kaine, who has rejoined the battle. Spider-Man finds the entire ordeal surreal since Kaine has cut his hair and shaved his face making him look more like Peter Parker than ever before. That’s when Arachne snares the Grim Hunter in some psi-webs.

Araña demands to know what is going on, but Spider-Man says there isn’t time. However, that’s when Aloysha Kravinoff joins the battle. He blows some knock out dust in Araña’s face and carries her unconscious body. Spider-Man tries to stop her, but he is too weak to stop him. Kaine has had enough of dealing with Ana Kravinoff that he knocks her out with a single punch and helps Spider-Man get away. As the Kravinoff family escapes, Spider-Man wants to go after them, but Kaine points out that he’ll only get himself killed. Kaine tells him that the smartest thing he can do is run because the other spiders aren’t his real family and he owes them nothing. Spider-Man responds by punching Kaine in the face, and tells him that up until this moment he didn’t realize what a piece of garbage he was and wonders how someone who shares his DNA can be so selfish. He tells Kaine that what he sees as guilt is actually responsibility and he intends to end this war tonight. He is joined by the corpse of Ezekiel Sims who mirrors Kaine’s concerns over Spider-Man’s condition and suggest that they recruit Venom and Anti-Venom to the cause.

Ezekiel takes Spider-Man to an isolated location fifteen miles out of the city where he fills the web-slinger in on how Sasha Kravinoff has been running him through a gauntlet by using Madame Web’s visions to nudge events into her favor. However, instead of leading Spider-Man to allies “Ezekiel Sims” leads him into a trap set by the Kravinoff family and Mysterio. As it turns out, “Ezekiel” was actually the Chameleon in disguise. Spider-Man flees from his foes to look for Araña but the constant beating of the drums make him even weaker and he eventually falls into an open grave. As they look for him, the hunters are ambushed by Spider-Man who seems to have gained a new vitality and begins fighting like a demon possessed. However, this battle quickly ends when Sasha Kravinoff shoots the web-slinger through the chest with the same rifle her husband used to take his life.

This shot causes Spider-Man to fall near the sacrificial altar where Madame Web is waiting. She tells the wall-crawler to run because he is the one that holds the web of fate together and that he is too important to die right now. Spider-Man is glad that someone views him like this but he is soon ambushed by the Kravinoff family. Viciously stabbed, Spider-Man is then gored by Aloysha with a spear and then put on the altar. There, Sasha Kravinoff plunges her sacrificial dagger into Spider-Man’s heart. As his blood leaks into the soil, Sasha orders her husband to arise from his grave. Suddenly, Kraven bursts free from his grave, reborn.[7]

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Sacha Kravinoff, Ana Kravinoff, Aloysha Kravinoff, Grim Hunter, Chameleon, Madame Web, Arachne, Kaine, Araña, Mysterio, Karven the Hunter

Continuity Notes

1. Ezekiel Sims spent a great deal of time trying to educate Spider-Man on the mystical aspects of his powers from Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 2) #30 until his demise in Amazing Spider-Man #508. This is not Sims as well see later this issue. Spider-Man recounts how Ezekiel attempted to sacrifice him to a spider totem, only to sacrifice his own life in his place.

2. Spider-Man refers to this deity as a goddess. However, that’s not entirely accurate as we learn in Spider-Verse, the entity they all serve is the Great Weaver who is revealed to be male. (See Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 3) #9-15)

3. Kraven’s Last Hunt was chronicled in Web of Spider-Man #31-32, Amazing Spider-Man #293-294, and Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #131-132.

4. Madame Web and Mattie Franklin were kidnapped by the Kravinoffs in Amazing Spider-Man #600 and 611 respectively. Mattie was killed last issue. Arachne is visibly upset by this news as she spent time with Mattie when she first became Spider-Woman in Spider-Woman (vol. 3) #1, 3-4.

5. Peter has been unemployed since he got fired from his job as a photographer at city hall in Amazing Spider-Man #624.

6. The drum beats (DOOM! DOOM! DOOM!) are a homage to the Torment storyline from Spider-Man #1-5.

7. The man sacrificed on the altar is, obviously, not Peter Parker. It’s actually Kaine and the switcharoo is revealed next issue.

A Prophecy

Kaine is sitting in the kitchen of his landlord, the elderly Mrs. O’Brien. He listens to her ramble on about how long she has lived and how she goes to sleep at night praying God will take her away and wakes up every morning thanking him for giving her another day of life. Kaine figures listening to these stories is the price for cheap rent and free meals. After she is finished telling her story, Kaine tells her that he has got a job and he will be out late. She tells him to wake her up and tell him when she gets home, reminding him that she doesn’t sleep much these days.

In reality, Kaine is going to the local bar debating on if he should take the job offered to him by Denton, a mobster in town. He has been living in Chicago for the past three months and he isn’t sure if he wants to take on a job that will pit him against Kraven the Hunter, one of Peter Parker’s old foes as Spider-Man. He decides to pass on the job since he can make money other ways and starts showing a girl some moves on the pool table. However, her boyfriend doesn’t like how he is making time with his girl and threatens Kaine’s life. Kaine isn’t afraid to die and tells the rube that he'd be doing him a favor but warns him that he’s not going down without a fight. He then tosses the other man out the bar’s front window with a single throw. The bartender then orders Kaine to leave and pulls a gun. As Kaine is refusing to leave he is suddenly struck by one of his clairvoyant visions.

Recovering from the seizer caused by his precognitive visions, Kaine knocks out the bartender and leaves. He returns to the home where he rents a room and finds that Mrs. O’Brein had suddenly dropped dead, which makes him laugh. Kaine then thinks about the vision he just had, of himself laying dead in a pool of his own blood with Kraven the Hunter standing over him. He decides to see if this vision will come true and begins following Sergei Kravinoff as he makes his rounds about the city. He also researches Kravinoff and learns about his past, finding his history as part of the Russian aristocracy interesting.[1] He eventually tracks Kraven down to his home where his assistant, Mwanga gets the drop on him with a gun. Kraven tells Mwanga to put the gun down and invites the stranger into his home. Kraven has been aware that Kaine had been trailing him and became curious to know more about his staker and wants to talk.

Sergei offs to pay Kaine double the money Denton offered him to renounce the contract on the hunter’s life. When Kaine asks why he should, Kraven says he’d have to kill him. He has also looked into Kaine’s past and found nothing by mystery but feels almost like they are kindred souls, like brothers.[2] Kaine however, doesn’t believe he has a soul and attacks Kravne, only to have his throat slit like it was nothing.

Recurring Characters

Karven the Hunter, Kaine

Continuity Notes

1. Kraven the Hunter’s life is connected to the Russian aristocracy which was abolished following the October Revolution of 1917. Unlike other characters who exist in the Modern Age, Kraven’s life has been extended by unexplained means. The closest reference to his prolonged life is made in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #6. One could make the assumption that Kravne’s lifespan has been extended by the various potions and serums he uses to enhance his physical abilities.

2. Kaine mentions he has “two brothers” is a reference to the fact hat Kaine is a clone of Peter Parker. Parker is one of his “brothers” while the other is another clone who has named himself Ben Reilly. See the Clone Saga for details (which ran from Web of Spider-Man #117 until Spider-Man #75.

Spidey Sundays Part Two

Brain and Bull have used a device to flee the authorities of their world and have ended up in the world of comic books. They quickly spot Spider-Man heading to the Baxter Building and follow after him in a rented helicopter. Spying on Spider-Man’s conversation with the Fantastic Four, Brain overhears Spider-Man consulting Mister Fantastic over some problems he’s having his latest invention. Overhearing this, Brain suddenly learns what Spider-Man is trying to create.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Bull, Brain

Continuity Notes

• Although unclear here, the universe that Bull and Brain travel to is not the Earth-616 universe which becomes clear when you see how fast and loose writer Stan Lee is with continuity, the silly plot, and not to mention how Spider-Man is self-aware of the fact that he is a comic book character. As I write this (September 2020) the reality Bull and Brain come from and the one they visit have yet to be designated a reality number.