The Amazing Spider-man #15

August, 1964

Written by Stan Lee, Illustrated by Steve Ditko

My Favorite Bizarre Reference:

Under Stan Lee’s name in the credit box it says “Because we couldn’t afford Micky Spillane.”

Wikipedia tells me that Mickey Spillane is a crime novelist, most popular in the seventies and eighties, whose most famous character is Mike Hammer. He got his start writing comic stories for Captain Marvel, Superman, Batman, and Captain America. I think Stan Lee probably could have afforded him if he really wanted to.

Kraven the Hunter

This was a good recovery from the last issue. The Chameleon, the first villain Spider-man ever faced, is back. He’s portrayed as a man of the world, a spy with fine tastes and a hatred for heroism. He knows that he can’t beat Spider-man on his own, so he’s brought in a ringer: Kraven the Hunter.

Kraven is an impressive character. He spews out a couple of clichés, such as “It’s an old jungle trick” and “I am here to hunt the most dangerous game of all: man!” (Page 6) But for the most part he’s an engaging villain who deserves a lot more issues.

He’s not necessarily evil. He’s a hunter and he wants to hunt the most difficult prey he can find. The Chameleon befriended him at one point and has now put him on the trail of Spider-man. What makes Kraven interesting is the way he fights. He has a more realistic style and therefore is more frightening than most Spider-man characters. Example: In their first encounter he poisons Spider-man with some type of nerve agent. The poison makes Spider-man woozy and causes his hands to shake for over forty-eight hours. This seems spookier than a giant metal arm or an electric bolt to me.

Here’s the unrealistic part: Kraven keeps himself strong by drinking some crazy juju juice that he stole from an African shaman. He can run as fast as a cheetah and drop a charging rhino with a single punch. But, despite these powers, Spider-man is faster and stronger. So Kraven has to rely on technique and his bag of tricks to fight the webslinger.

Spider-man's opinion of Kraven highlights a great personality flaw. Kraven announces that he plans to hunt and capture Spider-man and Peter Parker thinks, “He’s the worst kind of enemy- a nut who fights you just for the sheer fun of it.” (Page 9) He doesn’t realize that he and Kraven share the exact same pass time. In nearly every issue Spider-man is either commenting on how much he’s enjoying fighting people or wishing he could tussle with someone who can give him a run for his money. He enjoys the thrill of the fight as much as Kraven. In fact, just a few scenes before he calls Kraven a nut, Spider-man beats up a group of drunks and thinks, “Now that was a pleasant way to spend a few idle minutes.” (Page 8)

The difference between Spider-man’s penchant for violence and Kraven’s hunter lifestyle is that while Kraven brazenly wears his unbalanced excitement on his sleeve, Spider-man tends to make excuses and punish himself for it. Kraven, after finding that Spider-man is much stronger than he anticipated, is ecstatic. The Chameleon comments on his state of agitation saying, “I don’t get it, Kraven! You say he’s far stronger and far more dangerous than you anticipated- and yet you’re happy about it!” (Page 10) Spider-man, on the other hand, morosely imagines what will happen to Aunt May if Kraven captures him.

Keep in mind, there’s no need to fight Kraven. The Hunter has not broken any laws and is not even necessarily a bad guy. He also doesn’t know Spider-man’s secret identity, so if he remains Peter Parker for a few days Kraven very well may leave the country. But instead of the peaceful road, Peter concocts some dip-shit scheme to plant a tracking device on his enemy so he’ll know where he is all the time.

He doesn’t need to know where he is.

If Peter’s truly worried that he might be captured by Kraven thereby ruining Aunt May’s life, he should just not dress in tights for a week or two. But, just like Kraven, he desires the test of skills. He wants to prove his manhood and he wants to battle.

Spider-man “hunts the hunter” (Page 20), as Stan Lee was destined to write at one point in this book, and comes out on top. Peter Parker is as macho as Kraven, more macho, perhaps, than Flash Thompson, but excuses himself for it with a deprecating self-image and mental flagellation. Spider-man defeats Kraven and the Chameleon and the two are deported to South America where the hunter will hunt and plan his vengeful return.