Kraven the Hunter (Sergei Nikolaevich Kravinoff; Russian: Сергей Николаевич Кравинов) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #15 (August 1964) as an adversary for the superhero Spider-Man. He has since endured as one of the web-slinger's most formidable foes, and is part of the collective of adversaries that make up Spider-Man's rogues' gallery. Kraven has also come into conflict with other heroes, such as Black Panther and Tigra. He is the half-brother of the Chameleon and a founding member of the Sinister Six.
In Kraven's first appearance, he calls Spider-Man "the most dangerous game", a direct reference to the 1924 short story of the same name, in which General Zaroff, a Russian big-game hunter (and a primary inspiration for the character), hunts people for sport.
In Kraven's first appearance, he calls Spider-Man "the most dangerous game", a direct reference to the 1924 short story of the same name, in which General Zaroff, a Russian big-game hunter (and a primary inspiration for the character), hunts people for sport.
