Amazing Spider-Man Presents: Black Cat #4
The Trophy Hunter Part Four
The Black Cat is on a rescue mission to save her mother, Lydia, from the Kravinoff estate. This involves her playing Vasili Sidorov who has been stealing back valuables that were taken from the Kravinoff family in order to curry favor with Ana Kravinoff. Felicia quickly disarms a bomb tied to her mother and frees her. She assures her mother that everything is under control because her team is posing as a moving crew outside.
On the front lawn, Sasha Kravinoff is furious that Vasili has apparently delivered fakes of their long lost valuables. Sowing more confusion, Felicia’s team is acting like regular movies while Kyoko — who was disguised as the Black Cat — acts like she was hired by Vasili to pose as the Black Cat. This all creates a distraction that allows the Black Cat to move the explosives to a nearby greenhouse. Getting fed up, Vasili sets off the explosives which blow up the greenhouse. This angers Sasha even further and she orders the “movers” to remove all the boxes of junk off her property. She then drags Vasili into the mansion to deal with him.
When they come inside, they find the Black Cat waiting for them. She apologizes for the mess caused today but explains that Vasili killed one of her friends and kidnapped her mother. She then hands over a stack of photos of Ana Kravinoff that the Cat took from Sidorov had in his storage unit. He tells Sasha that he was stealing back all their possessions not to impress her, but her daughter. This angers Sasha who is about to kill Vasili, but the Cat realizes that she can’t allow this to happen — no matter how much she hates him for what he done. This leads to a fight between the Black Cat and Sasha Kravinoff. The Black Cat begins losing her advantage and tries to run when suddenly Ana Kravinoff bursts into the room, slamming a door in Felicia’s face and seemingly knocking her out.
Ana has come because the “weaver” has spoken and she said the time to begin their scheme.[1] That’s when Ana notices that Sasha’s wedding ring is gone from her finger. Realizing that the Black Cat took it they notice that she has fled the room. The Black Cat manages to escape the Kravinoff property and leaps onto the roof of the truck of her ally’s moving van as it drives into the city. Inside one of the crates is Lydia Hardy, who they managed to smuggle off the property without being seen. The Cat then goes looking for Spider-Man to warn him that the Kravinoff family is gunning for him but can’t find any sign of him. Little does she know is that Spider-Man is already fighting for his life against the Kravinoff family. In the following days, Felicia moves her mother out of town and sets her up with a new job and identity so she doesn’t have to worry about her safety.
Weeks later, the Black Cat finally finds Spider-Man who survived the ordeal that the Kravinoff family had in store for him, however, they still managed to resurrect Kraven the Hunter. Felicia then reveals that she stole Sasha’s ring, and gives it to the web-slinger as a trophy for his victory over the Kravinoffs. Spider-Man is touched, but he tells Felicia to hold onto it for him instead.
Meanwhile, Vasili Sidorov has been on the run since his plans fell apart. Despite his best efforts, he is found by the newly resurrected Kraven the Hunter and his daughter Ana. For allowing the Black Cat to steal from her family, Ana has decided that Vasili needs to die. He tries to bargain for his life, offering them the Black Cat’s true identity. However, Ana isn’t interested. She tells Vasili that they all have their places. As she plunges a knife into his back, she reminds him that her place is to hunt as much as it is the Black Cat’s place to steal.
Later that night, the Black Cat is already starting her next heist. With the aid of her faithful assistants, she is breaking into Avengers Tower in or to steal Captain America’s original shield.[2]
Recurring Characters
Black Cat, Vasili Sidorov, Sasha Kravinoff, Ana Kravinoff, Aloysha Karvinoff, Lydia Hardy, Kyoko, Poet, Tami, Spider-Man, Kraven the Hunter
Continuity Notes
The weaver that Ana is talking about is Madame Web who the Kravinoff’s kidnapped in Amazing Spider-Man #600. She is foretelling the Grim Hunt in which is priming Spider-Man for a sacrifice to bring Kraven the Hunter back to life. See Amazing Spider-Man #634-637.
This Shield was used by Captain America in Captain America Comics #1 until he replaced it with his trademark circular shield in the following issue.
