GRIM HUNTER

Real Name: Vladimir Kravinoff

Identity/Class: Enhanced human

Occupation: Former hunter; current worm food

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Gregor (advisor and tutor)

Enemies: Spider-Man (Peter Parker), Scarlet Spider (Ben Reilly), Hobgoblin (Macendale), Kaine

Known Relatives: Sergei Kravinoff (father, deceased), Sasha Aleksandra Nikolaevich (mother, deceased), Ana Tatiana Kravinoff (sister), Dimitri Smerdyakov (uncle), Alyosha Kravinoff (half-brother), Nedrocci Tannengarden (half-brother, deceased), Princess Aleksandra of Montenegro (maternal grandmother, deceased), Grand Duke Mikhail Alekse- (name cut off, maternal grandfather, deceased), Nikolai Kravinoff (grandfather, deceased), Anna Makarova Kravinoff (grandmother, deceased)

Aliases: "Son of the Hunter"

Place of Birth: Ekaterinburg, Russia

Base of Operations: New York, Kraven estate, and Russia, Kraven estate.

First Appearance: Peter Parker: Spider-Man#47

Powers/Abilities: Enhanced strength, speed, agility and stamina. His nose tracked scents better than a Bloodhound does. His equipment included an Electric glove on his right hand, spears, knives, nets, numbing potions, among other stuff.

Height: 6' 4"
Weight: 240 lbs.
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Black

History: The first of Kraven's offspring to inherit the Hunt, Vladimir was also the most misfortuned. Being a character who showed up at the wrong time, he was fed to Kaine to show how nasty the degenerate clone could be.

In his first appearance, Spider-Man#47, in a story arc ranging from #46 to #50, he got involved with the Hobgoblin (Macendale), which caused them both to gain the benefits from Kraven's super strength formula. In a extra-sized Spider-Man#50, he had his only fight with Spider-Man, reminiscent of the original Kraven's ways, which ended up by bringing Spidey out of the "I am the Spider" mood, and him and Gregor into jail, by killing two muggers Spidey was trying to catch.

After bribing his way out of jail "using their fortune", (I don't think a murderer can bail out, so I'm going for bribery) he tracked down the Scarlet Spider by scent, but when he realized he wasn't Spider-Man, he headed out for Pete's head. Ben went to Pete's apartment, but he was followed by Kaine who intercepted him and knocked him out. The Grim Hunter followed his nose there, and threatened Kaine to stay out of his business. They fought, and Kaine killed him.

Comments: The Grim Hunter was a good concept, but it lacked a direction. After his first fight with Spidey, we had seen it all, and killing him was a good decision. There was the need to sacrifice some characters to Kaine, and he fit the bill. Doctor Octopus also died by Kaine, but he was resurrected, and Vladimir will probably never be, especially now that another son of Kraven is on the scene. Too bad they couldn't throw in some more villains on Kaine's death count, like FACADE and Macendale. Rest in peace, son of the Hunter. You shall not be missed.

As a character, Vladimir was Over-confident (like his father) and obsessed with the hunt (like his father). This caused his death (like his father's).

New relatives revealed in Amazing Spider-Man I#567. Interestingly, it also gives a death date for the original Kraven - 2003, meaning that 5 years Marvel-time has passed since Kraven's Last Hunt. His son's death in 2005, thus, states that the Clone Saga thing happened about three years ago.
--Minor Irritant

By Henrique Ferreira

Clarifications: Grim Hunter should not be confused with

• Kraven the Hunter, his father @ Amazing Spider-Man I#15
• Kraven the Hunter, Alyosha (his half-brother) @ Spectacular Spider-Man II#245
• Grim Reaper (Eric Williams) @ Avengers I#52
• or any other character with “Grim” or “Hunter” in it’s name