JULY CHARACTER OF THE MONTH: Kraven the Hunter

This month we are returning to featuring a character of the month after taking the month of June off.  To kick things back off we had a little showdown of some of the best "hunters" in entertainment but a true hunter prevailed.  He is a true man's man with his bristling chest hair, his big muscles, facial hair, and the desire to kill the biggest and best game. (JK)  All joking aside, this month we a featuring truly one of the most dangerous "Hunters" in all of comics.  He has been proven to be methodical and calculating in his appearances and ruthless as they come.  

 

Kraven the Hunter, its all in the name.  Sergei Kravinoff was Russian born.  Growing up in a rich but rough family.  As a young Adult he moved to Africa and a passion grew as a hunter.  While there his skills of hunting and survival grew exponentially.  Wanting to be the best, Kraven stole a potion from a witch doctor that gave him enhanced physical abilities.  With it he gained great recognition as a hunter of the most dangerous game.  Always wanting a challenge and to be considered the greatest hunter in the world, he decided to hunt the greatest prey in the world.  This led him to New York and garnered his excitement and passion for trying to hunt and kill Spiderman.  Unfortunately this eventually led to his death.  After many years he was revived by his daughter Ana.  He has most recently been tied to Spiderman by fate.  Supposedly Kraven is immortal unless he dies by Spiderman's own hands.

Courtesy of Marvel.wikia.com


Powers

Chemical/Magical Enhancement: After Kraven ingested Calypso's mythical potions, his physiology underwent several changes endowing him with superhuman physical attributes. The powers he gained put him 'on the top of the food chain' as they are even greater than those of Captain America, who is himself considered a pinnacle of human evolution. Kraven is better, stronger, faster and more cunning than any human, coupled with his skills, Kraven truly is a dangerous and deadly adversary.

Superhuman Strength: Kraven was superhumanly strong and was capable of lifting approximately 2 tons. However due to his fighting experience his strength is just enough to go toe-to-toe with the likes of Spider-Man.

Superhuman Speed: Kraven was capable of running and moving at speeds greater than even the finest human athlete. At his peak, Kraven could spring short distances at speeds up to 60 miles per hour.

Superhuman Stamina: Kraven's musculature produced less fatigue toxins during physical activity than the musculature of an ordinary human. He could exert himself at peak capacity for several hours before fatigue began to impair him.

Superhuman Durability: Though far from invulnerable, Kraven's body was somewhat tougher and more resistant to injury than the body of an ordinary human. He could withstand great impacts and blunt force trauma, such as being punched and kicked by Spider-Man, without injury.

Superhuman Agility: Kraven's agility, balance, and bodily coordination were enhanced to levels that were beyond the human body's natural limits. His agility and speed are enough to keep up and even catch up to Spider-Man.

Superhuman Reflexes: Kraven's reflexes and reaction time were enhanced to levels that were beyond the human body's natural limits.

Extended Longevity: Kraven's jungle potions drastically altered his natural aging process, causing him to age much slower than an ordinary human. Despite being in his 70's at the time of his death, Kraven had the physical appearance and vitality of 30 year old man.

Enhanced Senses: Even before ingesting the serum, Kraven had peak human senses but the ingestion seems to have enhanced them even further. He can see clearly over vast distances, but is still affected by darkness. His sense of hearing is also greatly improved and has very sensitive hearing. His smell is his strongest and most trained sense. Kraven is able to track prey by smell alone and can remember different scents and their owners, much like a dog.



Abilities

Experienced Combatant: Kraven is a master of many armed and unarmed forms of combat and his skill is great enough to beat Spider-Man in one-on-one combat. He is also a expert knife fighter. His fighting style is very savage in nature and Kraven has developed a unique fighting style by fighting wild and vicious animals with his bare hands. His fighting skills are often enough to defeat Spider-Man in combat, a being with far greater strength than Kraven.

Weapon Specialist: He masters the usage of most melee weapons such as swords, axes, staves and spears. However due to his hunting experience he is also skilled with ranged weaponry and has a remarkable skill with rifles and blow darts.

Expert Marksman: Kraven used all sorts of ranged weaponry during his life and as a result he possesses great accuracy and skill with guns and throwing weapons and also blow darts. He rarely misses his target.

Master Tactician and Strategist: Kraven was a brilliant tactical mind and often deploys elaborate traps to surprise his foes. He makes excellent use of his taming skills by incorporating deadly predators into his schemes. Kraven's observatory skills are top-notch and he can patiently wait for hours just to find the perfect moment to strike. His plots allowed him to outsmart and kidnap the likes of Spider-Man and even Venom. He recently used his tactical skills to haunt the new Scarlet Spider (Kaine) while disguised as Ben Reilly.

Master Hunter and Tracker: Kraven was and still is one of Earth's best hunters. He possesses astonishing tracking abilities and is even able to track Spider-Man across rooftops, furthermore he can pickup his prey's trail from meager details in the area. He also has vast hunting experience, knowing many special hunting methods and animal specific habits. He also developed techniques to track and hunt superpowered individuals like Spider-Man without their notice.

Medical Knowledge: He is very familiar with medicine and with exotic poisons, drugs, plants, tranquilizers and their effect on both animal and human anatomy. He has amassed a great knowledge about animal biology and has moderate knowledge about human anatomy as well.

Master Animal Tamer: Kraven can subdue and train almost any animal. Animals he trained show fearless loyalty to Kraven and follow his orders almost perfectly. He is able to train two animals and then command them in unison and with flawless synchronization. Due to this skill most people think he uses some sort of mind control.

Minor Occult Knowledge: During Kraven's travel throughout the world, he came into contact with numerous tribes and civilizations. Thus he witnessed many of their rituals and has minor skills in there performance. He was able to recreate the Calypso serum for himself and his family.

Strength level

While empowered by his mystic poisons, Kraven could press lift 2 tons.