What Happened To Everyone Who Became Spider-Man?

7. Kraven The Hunter

First Appearance As Spider-Man: Amazing Spider-Man #293

Several other villains managed to assume Peter Parker's identity while he was active as Spider-Man, but only two have managed to do so while deposing the original wearer. One of them is Kraven the Hunter, an originally B-tier Spider-Man villain who ascended to new heights of villainy in J. M. DeMatteis and Mike Zeck's seminal story, Kraven's Last Hunt.

Set during a period where Spidey was still wearing the black suit (only not the alien version), DeMatteis had Kraven kill Spider-Man in his opening issue on the character. It ends with the Russian villain burying Peter in his own coffin, with the second showcasing the longtime adversary in his own Spidey costume, determined to prove that he was better than wall-crawler in every conceivable way.

It's a brilliant story - perhaps even Spidey's best - and it ends with the wall-crawler mustering the strength to break out of his grave to beat Kraven once and for all. During his time as the web-slinger, Kraven single-handedly defeats Vermin, brutalises dozens of New York criminals and grows progressively more unstable with each passing issue, to the point where he kills himself, satisfied that he'd proven to his foe that he was superior.

It was an incredible end for the character, but with comics being comics, he was soon resurrected. Kraven has since embarked on a number of roles - some villainous, others not so much - but none have managed to equal the heights the character achieved with his titular last hunt.