When Sony started announcing spin-off films for the Spider-Man universe it went from exciting to…well Morbius. Now Kraven seems to be heading in the right direction with an R rating, but something still feels off.
If any movie deserved to be an R rated film it would have been Venom 2 with Carnage appearing in it. Sadly this didn’t happen so we didn’t get to truly see how gruesome Carnage is. I mean Carnage is straight up ruthless, it was the whole purpose of Carnage, and that was dwindled with the lower family friendly rating.
So now we head to Kraven, which is finally getting an R rating, but it’s also missing the key story for it. Kraven is apparently getting the R rating due to the brutal way he kills enemies in the upcoming film, but it’s worth noting how different this character is.
Unlike Carnage, Kraven isn’t a straight up villain with an evil mind. Kraven typically hunts for someone that can match (potentially surpass) his skills, and he overcomes this obstacle with honor by hunting and killing them. He’s a very sound mind that simply has a craving to be the “best” hunter, while also having good intentions in protecting against poachers and otherwise bad people. So he isn’t a ravaging lunatic that simply wants to see mass murder like Carnage. There is typically a purpose to his hunts.
Which leads to why Kraven is leading the way as a stand alone movie, with no layout for potential payoff.
If you know Kraven then you know of the story Kraven’s Last Hunt. In this story Kraven hunts Spider-Man, and wins. Then after winning he basically attempts to “become Spider-Man” and hunts down one of the toughest villains Spider-Man faced, and again wins with ease. He proves to be a “better” Spider-Man in that sense, but fails to be the kind caring hero like Peter.
It’s honestly one of the best stories in comics, and potentially the best story for Spider-Man, so it’s interesting to see this isn’t part of the initial run for Kraven. Kraven also leads into some bigger Spider-verse style stories, all of which could help Sony expand beyond Peter Parker. Kraven is a big part of the “clone saga” which led to multiple Scarlet Spider style clones. Kaine being one of these clones attempts to do exactly what Kraven did, become a hero after being a villain, and it puts Kraven’s mentality on full display. Kraven basically explains how is this new “Scarlet Spider” any better than Kraven when they both have the same flawed history?
The writing for Kraven is more important than anything. At face value, Kraven is a super powered hunter that can easily rip enemies to shreds. Basic, right? But deep down he’s thriving to be the best hunter, which leads him to have a fascination with Spider-Man, who is faster and more agile, and has Spider-senses that give him an edge. This power struggle between the two leads you to question who really is the “best” as they both share qualities that one up one another in different ways. Kraven is physically better, but being emotionally detached gives Peter an edge.
Kraven also isn’t very good with being on a team, he is better a stand alone single villain in stories. There are supporting characters for his stories, yes, but throwing him on a Sinister Six type team just doesn’t work. This idea is even explored in the comics because Kraven’s careful planning is often flawed with teammates.
But his biggest stories come at the hands of Spider-Man, or Spider-Men I should say if we include Scarlet Spider and various spin off web slingers. In fact as a Spider-Man fan I couldn’t really name a time Kraven was oddly relevant outside of these bigger arcs. And the fact the only way you could truly tell his story is by basically ruining a potential Scarlet Spider storyline, seems like an odd decision for the studio.
An R rating could also be the source of blame for low box office numbers, which would lead Sony (or other studios) to back off from R rated comic movies. After suffering Morbius it’s also going to be hard to capture the niche audience back with somewhat unknown characters on the screen. Like I said, Carnage who is a brain eating maniac that literally is the comic book version of a serial killer didn’t get an R rating, but a guy hunting down poachers is getting it? Something doesn’t quite add up here.
Sony has access to the whole Spider-Man universe, so the question I have is why are we not seeing “clones” in action? Or Miles Morales for that matter. That way these more niche villains have some standing ground and can be fully explored properly.
