Get Kraven Part One

Hollywood, California

Screenwriter Ben Charles is having a meeting at National Studios with Joe and Harold Rothstein, producers from Camelot Pictures. The brothers get a good laugh when they trick Ben into thinking that he is their favorite writers. Getting down to business, they tell Ben that they like the rewrites he has done for them. The Rothstein’s like his work and guarantee that they will make his movie an instant hit. When he talks about his past credits, he tells them that the TV show he worked on for the past three years, saying it was one of the most manipulative pieces of crap on television at the time. The two producers love this and the fact that Ben is full of hate. That’s when they ask him how he would like to work with a famous director. Ben can’t believe they’re offering him this opportunity. That’s when they drop the reality, they actually hired that director to re-write Ben’s script.

Ben Charles is furious to hear this, especially after they tell him that his story, a drama about the AMA covering up the cure for cancer, is being re-written as an action-comedy. Adding insult to injury, the plot is going to be changed to be about a cure for jock itch. Ben doesn’t want them butchering his script and offers to buy it back. The Rothsteins tell him they’ll sell it back for one hundred grand, plus expenses. Ben tells them that he’ll find a way to get the money and leaves. Unphased by any of this, the twins continue stuffing their faces and consider using their influence to blackball Charles from the industry.

New York City

Al Kraven has taken his girlfriend Timber Hughes out to see a movie. They both find the film terrible, wondering how Hollywood thought this would make a good movie. Their commentary is interrupted when one of the patrons tells them to keep it down. Kraven turns around and tells him that if he is actually enjoying this movie he deserves a beating. That’s when the man realizes he is talking to Kraven the Hunter and decides to be quiet. However, by this point, Al and Timber have grown bored and both decide to leave.

Later that evening Timber wakes up to see that Kraven is still awake and asks him what’s wrong. He tells her that he feels like he’s trapped in a life that, no matter what he does, he makes no difference in the world. He thinks about all the talking heads on television he admires and how their words reach so many people while he spends his nights in bars yelling at anyone who will listen. Timber assures him that he is a good man and that’s the reason why she loves him and points out that he’s just depressed. She then points out that if he’s unhappy with his life right now, he’s got the money — inherited from his father — to change it. She then tells him to go for a run to blow off some steam. Before leaping off the balcony of their apartment, Kraven tells her that she deserves better than him.

In Central Park, Spider-Man is in the middle of a battle with Mister Hyde and the Cobra when Kraven comes and offers to lend a hand. Spider-Man lets Al take on Mister Hide while he deals with the Cobra and the pair quickly defeat the two crooks. Al then asks Spider-Man to talk and they go to the tiger pen in the Bronx Zoo to do so. He tells Spider-Man all of his frustrations and the web-slinger tells him that if he should go to Hollywood and become a producer if he wants to change the type of garbage the entertainment industry is churning out, pointing out that he has the money and influence to do so. Al decides to follow Spider-Man’s advice and quickly disappears while the web-slinger is not looking. The following day, Kraven and Timber arrive at Los Angeles International Airport where entertainment reporters swarm him with questions about what his plans are in Hollywood.[1] All Al will tell the press is that Hollywood is going to know that he’s here and drives away in a limo.

Recurring Characters

Al Kraven, Timber Hughes, Spider-Man, Mister Hyde, Cobra, Ben Charles, Joe Rothstein, Harold Rothstein, Nickel

Continuity Notes

1. One of the reporters asks if its true that he turned down the lead role in 20th Century Fox’s Daredevil movie. This is a reference to the 2003 film that starred Ben Affleck. In the Marvel Universe, Marvel films and television shows appear in universe, but they are considered new releases per the Modern Age of the Marvel Universe. However, in this case the references to 20th Century Fox (the company that made Daredevil) and Ben Affleck should be considered topical. Particularly in the case of 20th Century Fox as that company was later bought by Disney (current owners of Marvel Comics) and rebranded as 20th Century Films in an effort by Disney to distance its newly acquired properties from the Fox brands that are still owned by Rupert Murdock’s Newscorp (such as Fox Sports and Fox News)

Topical References

• Dated pop-culture references: Ed, Mister Ed, Adam Sandler, Eddie Murphy, Kate Shaw, Kevin Smith, Cineplex Theaters, Bernie Mac, Bill O’Reilly, Camren Diaz, Howard Stern, Bill Maher, United Artists, 20th Century Fox, Ben Affleck

Call Me Al

Al Kraven has arrived at the Bar With No Name and starts complaining about how he he saw an interview with a Hollywood starlet who was complaining about how hard it was to be an actor.[1] Kraven figures her life is easy, saying that working all day in a loading dock is hard work. Sitting at the bar he tells the bartender to pour him a drink because he’s been having a bad day. He’s soon greeted by his girlfriend, Timber Hughes, who works as a waitress at the bar. Hearing about his day, Timer offers to take the edge off once she gets off work. He tells her that he is meeting with someone, but he’s not sure who because he got some weird anonymous call to meet here.[2] He then tells Timber and the bartender why he had a bad day: He met the Punisher.

He explains how he spent his day tracking down a producer who was negative about one of Timber’s auditions to give him a piece of his mind. After leaving the producers office he hears screams coming from an olive oil import company next door and finds the Punisher about ready to kill two mobsters. He tried kicking the Punisher but the vigilante ended up kicking him through a wall. Frank Castle then warned Kraven to back off, saying he never liked Al’s father and is prepared to not like him as well. Unwilling to try and let Castle murder the two mobsters he tried attacking again, but the Punisher knocked him out. Frank then admitted that Al was tougher than his old man and, after killing the two men Kraven tried to save, left.

Hearing this story, both Timber and the bartender warn Kraven to be more careful as, even with powers, the Punisher is nobody to treat lightly. That’s when Spider-Man arrives looking for the person he was told to come and meet. He quickly realizes that he’s in the middle of a super-villain bar. The villains quickly begin attacking Spider-Man and when the bartender asks Al to stop the fight he refuses until Mister Hyde starts threatening his girlfriend. Spider-Man and Kraven exchange quips as they deal with the other patrons in the bar and eventually, the fight stops.

Spider-Man and Kraven then sit down in a booth to try and figure out who called them to meet up at the Bar With No Name. As Spider-Man starts making jokes again, Kraven tells him to cut it out, saying he knows that he’s really Peter Parker since his enhanced senses allowed him to track him. However, he doesn’t consider Spider-Man an enemy, Kraven tells the web-slinger that he respects his privacy and will keep Peter’s identity a secret. Spider-Man is surprised that Al doesn’t blame him for the death of his father. Kraven retorts that while he loved his father he hated how Sergei Kravinoff chose a life of crime and that death came for him as it was destined to, Spider-Man’s presence there is immaterial.[3] He tells the web-slinger that this mentality was how he was raised. As the pair start wondering who called for them they are suddenly joined by a man who appears to be Kraven the Hunter.

However, neither Al nor Spider-Man are convinced that this is the real Sergei Kravinoff since he is dead. Grabbing this impostor by his fest, Al slams him into the wall and demands to know who he is. The man who claims to be Kraven then knees Al in the balls and steals his knife, insisting that he is really Kraven the Hunter. He then easily knocks down Spider-Man, Al, and the bartender. Paying attention to Timber, “Kraven” says he can smell his “son” on her and says the boy has good taste in women before fleeing the bar.

Once they recover, Spider-Man and Kraven head to Edwards Psychiatric Facility to question the only person they can think of that could so convincingly disguise himself, the Chameleon. However, when they check the cell, Al’s uncle is still locked inside in a straitjacket and begins raving like a lunatic at the sight of them. Still they question the Chameleon, and he seems to be utterly insane. Still, Al asks him if he can get out of his cell at night. The Chameleon begins to freak out at the suggesting, thinking that Spider-Man would harm him if he did and curls up on the floor.

Later, Kraven runs to a nearby zoo to blow off steam. Spider-Man catches up with him in the tiger pen and the pair compare notes. They are convinced that the Chameleon didn’t impersonate the original Kraven, but none of them are entirely certain that they are still dealing with an impostor. This gets them talking about Sergei and Al tells the web-slinger that in a weird way, his father actually respected Spider-Man. He almost admits that he is afraid that he might fall victim to the insanity that affects his family. Spider-Man is certain that Al won’t suffer the same fate. However, Kraven’s mind isn’t set at ease by a guilt ridden neurotic like Spider-Man.[4] They then get to talking about their personal lives and there are some things, such as his marriage, that Spider-Man won’t get into.[5] When the subject of Timber’s acting career comes up, Kraven admits that he is growing tired of the New York superhero/villain scene and Spider-Man suggests that he go to Los Angeles so Timber can pursue her acting career, suggesting the change of scenery could be good for him.

That’s when the man claiming to be Kraven the Hunter attacks them again. This leads to another chase that ends when “Kraven” shoots Spider-Man with a poison dart and flees. Al gives the web-slinger a cure and when Spider-Man asks what his enhanced senses are telling him, Al suddenly realizes who they are dealing with. They return to the mental hospital and confront the Chameleon again. There they discover a secret tunnel that he has been using to escape his cell. They also pull off his mask to reveal he has been that he has been posing as Kraven’s death father. When he tires to make sense of this, he realizes the Chameleon is completely insane and thinks that he is Sergei. After the orderlies sedate his uncle, Al once again expresses his concerns that he’ll inherit the family curse, but Spider-Man once again assures him that this won’t be the case. He thanks Spider-Man for his kind words and help this evening and tells the web-slinger that his first name is Aloysha, but his friends can call him Al.

Recurring Characters

Al Kraven, Timer Hughes, Spider-Man, Chameleon, Mysterio, Electro, Scorpion, Doctor Octopus, Vulture, Rhino, Tarantula, Grizzly, Punisher, Stilt-Man, Mister Hyde

Continuity Notes

1. One of the patrons at the Bar With No Name is Mysterio. The Mysterio profile in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #8 confirms that this is Daniel Berkhart.

2. The bartender hopes that Kraven isn’t meeting with the Green Goblin saying that Norman Osborn scares all the other patrons. He’s referring to the events of Spider-Man’s Tangled Web #13 when Kraven had a few drinks with Osborn.

3. Al’s father, Sergei Kravinoff, was the original Kraven the Hunter. He had been a foe of Spider-Man since Amazing Spider-Man #15. He committed suicide in Amazing Spider-Man #294.

4. Even a limited series focusing on one of Spider-Man’s foes isn’t complete without a mention of poor Uncle Ben. Amazing Fantasy #15.

5. Kraven tries to get the dirt on Peter’s then current troubles with Mary Jane. The facts:

• At the time of this story, Peter and Mary Jane were going through a separation after she was the prisoner of a deranged stalker from Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 2) #13 to Peter Parker: Spider-Man #29. She left Peter in Amazing Spider-Man Annual 2001. They will eventually get back together in Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 2) #50.

• Mary Jane is referred to as Peter’s wife here. However, not long after this story, the couple’s marriage is erased from existence by Mephisto in Amazing Spider-Man #545. In the new timeline, Mary Jane would be referred to as Peter’s fiancee instead of his wife.

Topical References

• Dated pop-culture references: E! New Daily, Nicole Kidnman, Moulin Rouge, Jerry Lewis, Hooters Restaurant. Kentucky Friend Chicken, Magnum P.I., George Clooney, Siegfried and Roy, Matt Damon, Big Mac, the Paul Simon song “You Can Call Me Al”

Additional Notes

• Despite the fact that the cover says this series is a 7 issue limited series it’s actually 6 issues.