Spider-Man suffers a tragic loss when he finally faces Kraven the Hunter. The latest story arc in Ultimate Spider-Man finds Peter Parker and Harry Osborn prisoners of Kraven. The villainous member of Kingpin’s Sinister Six has set up a game inside the Savage Land, where he hunts Peter and Harry as if he’s big game hunting. It’s live or die, kill or be killed, which goes against everything Spider-Man stands for. However, Kraven also knows Spider-Man’s secret identity, which means he knows about Peter’s family. Can Peter keep them safe? And does he have what it takes to finish the job and end Kraven for good?WARNING: Spoilers for Ultimate Spider-Man #14 ahead.
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Ultimate Spider-Man #14 comes from the creative team of Jonathan Hickman, Marco Checchetto, Matthew Wilson, and VC’s Cory Petit. The Spider-Man/Green Goblin part of the story picks up on February 1st, with Peter Parker and Harry Osborn five miles from the edge of the Savage Land. They’ve done a good job of living off the land, commandeering two dinosaurs to ride like horses until it comes time to kill and eat them for food. Once they get a mile from freedom Peter and Harry start to have the tough conversation of how they should handle Kraven.
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Harry is in favor of killing Kraven before they leave the Savage Land since he won’t stop hunting them, no matter where they run. Peter, on the other hand, is only focusing on the now — getting to his family and keeping them safe. He’ll worry about everything else later. “The now” almost smacks them in the face when Kraven attacks with a sniper rifle from a far distance. Harry injures his ankle, leaving Peter to distract Kraven while Harry gets to cover. Kraven does his best to shoot Peter, but he uses his superhuman abilities to jump and dodge each gunshot. This is our first example of Spider-Man’s trademark “spider-sense” on display. Peter and Harry then get some unexpected help from the Mole Man.
Kraven kills Harry Osborn, the Green Goblin
Thanks to the Mole Man, Peter and Harry are almost to freedom. They rig a trap at the end of a tunnel with the collars Kraven used to keep them subdued. Once the tripwires are activated, the collars will detonate like a bomb. Unfortunately, Kraven tracks them down and almost mows Peter and Harry down with a gun torrent. Peter once again shows off his Spider-Man agility to dodge the bullets until the torrent runs out. When Peter tries to escape, Kraven reminds him that he’s a hunter, and there’s nowhere Peter can run. Peter agrees and stands to fight Kraven in hand-to-hand combat. This moment of hesitation allows Harry to set their trap, catching Kraven in the blast explosion.
Kraven still has some fight in him, and attacks Peter with a knife. But Kraven is wounded, letting Peter break Kraven’s right wrist and knock Kraven to the ground. After leveling some intense punches on top of Kraven, Harry encourages Peter to kill Kraven, but of course, Peter won’t. Their arguing allows Kraven to pull out a hidden pistol and fire it. The bullet goes through Peter’s side, surprising him since he doesn’t sense any danger. However, Kraven isn’t aiming for Peter, he is aiming for Harry, who is shot dead from a gunshot wound to the forehead.
Spider-Man escapes from Kraven, but how does he keep his family safe?
Spider-Man starts to beat Kraven to death but is stopped by Mysterio. It seems Kraven’s associate in the Sinister Six has other plans for the hunter. But if Peter kills Kraven, then Mysterio’s attention would turn to him. Mysterio reminds Peter that Kraven is a killer, and his family will never be safe. Peter doesn’t even know if his family is still alive. Mysterio allows Peter to leave the Savage Land to save his family. We then get a heartbreaking reunion between Peter and Mary Jane, after Peter crawls into their apartment in a bloody heap.
After apologizing to Mary Jane for being missing for so long, Peter tells Mary Jane that Harry is dead, and he couldn’t save him. Peter also reveals that the bad guys know who they are. Mary Jane is understandably scared and asks Peter what they’re going to do. Peter can only respond with, “We run.”
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The saga of Spider-Man vs. Kraven the Hunter concludes here, but Spider-Man has bigger problems to worry about. He has to get his family somewhere safe, and he’s not even aware that his son Richard has been dressing up as Spider-Man in Peter’s picotech/symbiote/A.I. suit, and has crossed paths with the new Black Cat. The cover of the next issue of Ultimate Spider-Man teases a showdown with Sandman, so Spider-Man’s problems are only growing.
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