Spider-Man's Get Craven #4
Get Kraven Part Four
In the bedroom of their rented home, Al Kraven and his girlfriend Timber Hughes share a moment of passion in bed. After, Timber thanks Al for coming to Hollywood with her to follow her dreams of making it big. At that same moment, Ben Charles enters a hotel bar to meet with his friend Marty. Marty can’t help but notice that Ben looks like shit, unaware that the screenwriter has lost it all and recently made two failed attempts at suicide. Ben has come to ask Marty to help sell his script. Marty says that this will be very difficult to do after he crossed Joe and Harry Rothstein, two of the most powerful producers in Hollywood. Ben doesn’t understand why Marty’s firm won’t continue to shop it around, pointing out that Marty himself once said that Hollywood is run on feuds. He reminds Marty that he thought the script was good. Marty admits that Ben was the next biggest thing in Hollywood, a real crown jewel. That’s when Ben realizes that Marty is talking about him in the past tense. That’s when Marty realizes that Ben hasn’t read the e-mail, remembering how Ben sold everything in order to buy his script back from the Rothsteins. Marty then tells Ben that he had to drop him as a client because in Hollywood you never give money back, that’s something you never bounce back from. Marty then pays for his drink, says he owes Ben for introducing him to his wife, and offers to buy dinner if Ben calls to set it up next month. As Marty gets up to leave, he can’t help but admit that Marty is really good at being an agent.
By this time, Kraven has gotten out of bed to get himself something to eat, promising Timber that he’ll be hopping back into bed with her when he’s done. That’s when Al’s enhanced senses warn him that someone is inside their home. He orders Nickle to protect Timber until he gets back When Timber is told that there are five men with guns in the house, she rolls over in bed telling Al to deal with it because she hates guns. Going into the living room, Al tells the intruders that they have until the time he finishes eating to get out of his house before he kicks their asses. This doesn’t phase Joe and Harry Rothstein, who has brought a bunch of heavies — the barnacle-covered Beater, the literally named Gerbil, and a surgeon called the Script Doctor — to try and intimidate Kraven. However, Al isn’t interested in any “advice” the Rothsteins have come to give him and tells them that his threat still stands. When they accuse him of being rude, Kraven picks up Joe and throws him into his twin brother. The Beater then charges at Al, telling his comrades to flank him. However, Kraven is fast enough to take down both the Gerble and Script Doctor in a single fluid motion. He then starts trading blows with the Beater. However, the Rothsteins have suddenly lost their confidence and orders the Basher to get them out of there. Vowing to finish this later, the Basher grabs his employers and carries them out of Al’s apartment. He leaves behind the Gerbel and Script Doctor, who suffer another beating at the hands of Kraven, who can’t believe the half-assed villains he has to fight compared to Spider-Man’s rogue gallery.
Later, in Downtown Los Angeles, Ben Charles is continuing his downward spiral by trying to buy an entire sheet of Hydrocodone from a drug dealer, who turns out to be one of the most socially conscious drug dealers Ben has ever met. Ben tells him to just sell him drugs already when the dealer notices that he has a script under his arm. Interested in hearing what it’s about, Ben tells the drug dealer that it is a story about how the government is trying to cover up the cure for cancer. The dealer then asks if its based on a true story, and Ben says that cancer is just a metaphor for how the government regularly abuses its powers of secrecy. The dealer remarks that a story like that could get him killed and Ben admits that this script certainly has. Meanwhile, Al returns to bed and tells Timber and Nickle about what happened since both of them slept through the fight. Kraven assures Timber that the isn’t going to quit because of the Rothsteins. When he gloats over how much butt he kicked, he discovers that neither Timber nor Nickle is particularly interested in hearing about it.
The following morning, the Vulture has arrived at Kraven’s office at National Pictures, trying to impress Dana — Al’s assistance — by telling her that he’s Al’s unofficial godfather. When she seems disinterested, the Vulture complains about how everyone in Hollywood is lame. Since Dana has been getting by in crutches, being called lame really hits home, and she leaves the room in tears. That’s when Al and TImber arrive and ask what brings Adrian Toomes to Hollywood. Toomes doesn’t mince words and says he was hoping Al could give him a job. When Al asks Adrian what he knows about making movies, the Vulture points out that he knows just as much as Al does. Kraven admits that Adrian is correct, and decides to hire him on. He tells Toomes to start reading the scripts in his office to find a good movie to produce while he speaks with the studio president. However, his job is conditional on Adrian never speaking to the head of the studio and to leave Dana alone. He then welcomes Toomes to Hollywood. Al and Timber soon meet with Ned Tannengarden, who is having his blood changed. He assures Kraven and Timber that he’s fine, and the two are starstruck to see that Ned is hanging out with actor Jack Monroe.[1] As it turns out, Ned is hoping that whatever movie Al and Timber decide to produce they’ll consider casting Jack in the role. Ned also wants to talk about their recent publicity, saying that Al’s recent fights with his uncle, the Chameleon, and Rothstein’s goons have created some negative press. He cautions Al that a good producer doesn’t become a star of his own movie and tells him to maintain a low profile from now on. When Al explains that he was defending himself against Joe and Harry Rothstein, who broke in his home with their goon squad, Ned assures them that he will deal with the twin producers in his own way and not to worry about them in the future. In the meantime, Ned needs to do something to repair Kraven and Timber’s damaged public image and has hired the best public relationships manager in town, a woman named Connie Hunt. Adding an ominous tone to this, lightning flashes outside after Ned mentions Connie’s name.
Later that evening, Ben Charles arrives at the front gate at National Pictures where he convinces the guard — a former child actor — that he needs to get in and pick up some of the items he left after the Rothstein’s fired him from the studio. Once inside the studio, Ben Charles works his way up to its iconic rooftop water tower and begins working up the nerve to jump.
Recurring Characters
Al Kraven, Timber Hughes, Joe Rothstein, Harry Rothstein, the Beater, the Gerbil, the Script Doctor, Ben Charles, the Vulture, Ned Tannengarden, Nickle
Continuity Notes
Despite what some poorly researched wiki would have you think, this actor is not the same Jack Monroe who was Bucky in the 1950s and later Nomad in the modern era. This is confirmed in the Nomad entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #8. The only “source” suggesting this connection is some idiot fan contributor that doesn’t realize that two people can have the exact same first and last name.
Topical References
Dated pop-culture references: Scott Baio, Kirk Cameron, Kinkos, Warren Zevon, Wheaties, People’s Choice Awards, Vicoden (that’s a brand name, not a drug kiddies), Gary Coleman, Webster, Emmanuel Lewis. Diff’rent Strokes
