8 Mysteries Even Spider-Man Couldn't Solve
1. The Kraven Conundrum - Fearful Symmetry
Fearful Symmetry: Kraven's Last Hunt is one of the all time great comic book arcs, period. From J.M. DeMatteis and Mike Zeck, this 1987 tale is a true work of art when it comes to its story beats and its actual art.
By that point, readers had spent 25 years seeing Spider-Man usually come out on top against any foes he faced, but this six-issue '87 offering saw the Wall-crawler bested in a way never seen before.
With his abilities having been always based around his tracking and hunting skills, Sergei Kravinoff decides he wants to score his biggest prize to date: Spider-Man.
Kraven and Spidey had faced off plenty of times over the years , but this time Kravinoff wanted to put an exclamation mark on this rivalry. Doing exactly as he intended, Kraven simply sought out Spider-Man, beat him to a pulp, fatally shot him and buried the body.
Not content, the Hunter then dons his own version of the black suit Spider-Man was wearing at the time, cracks the skulls of some criminals, and even captures the feral Vermin who Spidey had previously been having struggles with.
In basic terms, Spider-Man just could not cope with Kraven during this particular meeting. As for the 'death' of Peter Parker, that didn't actually happen, for it would be revealed that Sergei had shot his rival with a tranquilizer shot rather than a bullet - meaning Spidey eventually awoke and climbed out of his grave.
So comprehensively had Kraven beaten Spider-Man here, the villain opted to take his own life via shotgun, knowing that he'd achieved the ultimate life goal.