Our friendly neighborhood Spiderman has experienced loss and darkness before. Throughout his life, he has lost countless loved ones, and J. M. DeMatteis’ ‘Fearful Symmetry: Kraven’s Last Hunt’ focuses on that loss and places him in more dangerous situations, both physically and mentally.
This Spiderman story was first published in 1987 and immediately became one of the best ever told. As both Peter Parker and Kraven, The Hunter are put on opposing sides of the same mirror, while Vermin exists to enhance the difference between the two, it is replete with rich imagery, symbolism, and outstanding narrative. As we analyze the plot and how some similarities have played out, as well as the individuals in the story, this will become increasingly evident.
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The Predator, The Predator, And The Ambiguity On Who Stands On Top Of The Food Chain – Kraven’s Last Hunt Plot Breakdown
The story opens with a monologue from Kravin as he speaks about himself, his honor, his glory, and his family. He talks about his lineage as a Russian nobleman. The Czars being overthrown meant that there was no place for someone of his social position in a Russia run by the Lenins and Trotskys. As a result, his family relocated to the United States in 1917.
He glorifies dignity, honor, the jungle, and the hunt while looking at civilization with disgust. He has been alive for quite some time now and has been able to retain good physical health with herbs and potions from Africa, all being brewed by the knowledge he gained while living in the jungles of Africa. However, he cannot escape his old age and acknowledges that death is closing in on him. But he cannot die yet as he has always been busted by Spiderman and he intends to outdo him.
Meanwhile, a cannibalistic killer is on the loose in New York City. At the same time, Joe Face dies not long after the death of Peter’s friend Ned Leeds, whose death seems to have taken a huge toll on Peter. He recognizes a pattern, as everyone he loves seems to end up dead. He assumes that he is going to die as well.
At night, Peter gets a nightmare about Kraven, who seems to pose as a spider in the midst of several other spiders. The spiders engulf the hunter but the hunter fights back as he eats away the spiders. In the dream, Peter could not breathe or move, which also foreshadows what is about to come. With his head pounding and heart drumming, he goes out on the streets, swinging from building to building.
He keeps sensing that something is searching for him when Kraven the Hunter presents himself in front of Spiderman. His tormented mental state distorts Kraven’s appearance into Joe’s and Ned Leed’s faces and he intercepts Kraven’s attacks. He is then webbed in a material he cannot seem to break out of and shot with a rifle.
Spiderman’s body is buried in a coffin and a rat walks over that ground. On the other hand, beating Spiderman is simply not enough for Kraven. He wants to prove his superiority by becoming Spiderman and doing the job better than Peter Parker ever did. He dons a copy of Spiderman’s black suit.
The scenes shift to a rat-infested sewer. We get to see Vermin, a foe of Spiderman’s who he had defeated with help from Captain America. Vermin is afraid of how badly he was hurt by the two of them and seems to be more of a fearful child than an evil man-rat. He was the cannibalistic man who was responsible for several murders across New York City but he was not always mutated. Underneath his hideous appearance was a man who mutated into this creature after Baron Zemo experimented on him.
Meanwhile, Mary Jane grows worried as Peter doesn’t come home. Even though he’s often out at odd hours fighting his adversaries, something in her head keeps telling her that he is dead. She goes out of the house to search for him when she is chased by two catcallers. They try to catch her but Spiderman comes and saves her. He beats the catcallers up brutally and Mary Jane realizes that it is not Peter. At the same time, Vermin leaves the sewer and searches for Spiderman.
Kraven takes down criminals like Spiderman but the people are shocked by the brutality of his combat style which leaves people severely injured or even dead. This was unlike how Peter Parker did things. He then takes great pride in doing Spider’s job better and faster than the Spider. As he hunts down the Spider’s prey, proving himself to be his superior.
Vermin takes more victims to feed his appetite while spiders begin to swarm around Peter’s grave. Kraven goes to his den and slashes a knife near a rat in a cage, telling us about his next prey. He is aware of how Spiderman needed aid from Captain America to take down Vermin so if he could just defeat the Man-Rat by himself, he would prove himself to be a better Spiderman.
He goes down to the sewers, fights Vermin, emerges victorious, and restores his honor. He then takes Vermin’s body. On the other end, a hand emerges from Spiderman’s grave and it calls to Mary Jane. Peter Parker is alive.
While he was in a sedentary state in the coffin, he had several nightmares and visions. Similar to his nightmare before, he was stuck in a situation where everything was dark and he could barely move. During one of his visions, while he was buried, Peter saw Ned Leeds. He was then attacked and he watched himself succumb to Kraven’s strength. In reality, Kraven had hit him with a tranquilizer and not a bullet because he wanted Peter to be aware of Kraven outdoing him in his own game.
Spiderman leaves his grave and comes across several newspapers, where he reads the headlines about Spiderman going berserk. He also realizes that he had been inactive for two whole weeks. He meets up with Mary Jane and wants to stay with her, in her warmth, and the safety of their house. But he knows that he must go.
Spiderman goes to Kraven’s den, who has locked Vermin up in a cage. He talks about how his mother was driven insane when she moved to America. After living a life of nobility, she was traumatized by life in the United States and in the end, took her own life. However, Kraven believes that she did not take her own life but her life was stolen from her.
Spiderman appears in front of Kraven and he begins to throw punches. Kraven does not defend himself or fight back as he has nothing to prove anymore. He has proved himself to be the better Spiderman by defeating Vermin single-handedly. He has already won.
Kraven takes Spiderman to Vermin, urging the two to fight. Vermin is lamenting over how Spiderman hurt him but Peter tries to explain that it was Kraven in his suit. His negotiations do not work and he has to fight Vermin. Considering how he needed Captain America’s help the last time and is feeble at the moment anyway, Vermin takes the upper hand in the fight. As Vermin is about to kill Spiderman, Kraven stops him and lets him go, telling him that he is free. Vermin flees.
After Vermin leaves, Kraven helps Spiderman up and calls him a good man. He urges Spiderman to go after Vermin as Spiderman does not want more people to die. Spiderman is shocked by Kraven’s behavior and takes things to the next level as he says that Kraven the Hunter will never hunt again.
Spiderman leaves. Kraven thinks about how his mother went insane and took her own life. He sticks a rifle in his mouth and shoots himself. Bloodied, he rests his body in a grave as he dies. He also leaves his confession – one where he claims to be the one who tainted Spiderman’s image so that when the cops take his body, they find it.
Spiderman goes down to the sewers to find Vermin but he claims to feel afraid, which seems to be something both Spiderman and Kraven have acknowledged within themselves. Their fear does not stem from having to fight or from their foes but it is a result of mental, traumatic experiences. As Vermin presents himself in front of Spiderman, who fears the Spider as well, the two fight again.
Spiderman and Vermin fight and this time around, Spiderman is not as helpless as before. Vermin is afraid of being killed but Spiderman acknowledges how Vermin was a man before being mutated. He tries to show empathy to bring out the human in Vermin but while doing so, he must also fight the battle in his mind.
In the end, Vermin emerges from the sewers to escape Spiderman but the Sun is out now. The creature of darkness is unable to withstand the light and with some help from Spiderman, the cops arrest him.
Peter goes home and reunites with his beloved Mary Jane while Kraven’s coffin is buried right beside were Spiderman’s coffin was.
A Review Of The Comic
‘Fearful Symmetry: Kraven’s Last Hunt’ is considered to be one of the all-time great stories of the friendly neighborhood Spiderman. Except the story is far from being friendly and a lot more somber in nature. Writer J.M. DeMatteis referred to ‘The Tyger’, which is a poem by William Blake in the narration of the comic:
Tyger Tyger burning bright,
In the forests of the night;
What immortal hand or eye,
Could frame thy fearful symmetry
However, the narration replaces ‘Tyger’ with ‘Spyder’ as Kraven talks about Spiderman.
William Blake wrote ‘The Tyger’ and its parallel poem ‘The Lamb’ to signify how the same God who created a powerful predator such as the tiger is the same God who created the weaker prey, the lamb. However, Kraven addresses Spiderman as the tiger, even though he himself happens to be the hunter.
So that would make his adversaries his prey and yet, Spiderman often beats him but he puts Spiderman above Kraven, which could be why he is so desperate, not to just defeat Spiderman but to prove himself to be the superior Spiderman.
Vermin has a similar role in the story, he is the Tyger who hunts down his prey i.e. the common people but he is also the Lamb who is afraid of being hurt by Spiderman. And Vermin’s role is crucial as it lets us see how differently Peter Parker and Kraven look at things even when Kraven finds himself in Peter’s shoes, literally.
The title of the comic begins with ‘Fearful Symmetry’ which is a phrase that pops up whenever Kraven narrates his version of Blake’s ‘ Tyger’. The story constantly draws parallels between Kraven and Spiderman, as if they are symmetrical, and yet, their outlooks are so different.
Both Kraven and Spiderman ponder over death but as Kraven awaits his own death and takes his own life, Spiderman fears his death and wants to stay alive as he wishes to be with his lover and wife, Mary Jane. Kraven plays the role of the Spider, a creature who is feared, while Peter plays the role of the man, someone who knows and values love.
That is often the reason why Kraven separates the words Spider and Man as he speaks. Kraven considers Vermin to be a beast, the ideal fusion of man and animal, while Peter, with his compassionate nature, sees the man within. In the end, Kraven’s grave is also next to Spiderman’s. However, unlike Spiderman, Kraven actually happens to be dead.
Kraven also draws parallels between his relationship with Spiderman and the end of the Czarist rule in Russia, his homeland. His not being able to defeat Spiderman in the past makes him equate Spiderman with Lenin’s Marxist faction – the Bolsheviks.
As part of a noble family, this change caused his family to relocate to the United States, a place he does not love so Kraven begins to see Spiderman in a very negative light as his brain enters a more and more turbulent state, causing him to finally follow the footsteps of his mother.
Peter Parker also battles with several claustrophobic thoughts following his traumatic experience of being buried, resulting in an inevitable situation of PTSD. Illustrating the feral instincts of Vermin also makes this DeMatteis masterpiece darker, grittier, and edgier.
One of the coolest things about this comic is definitely its artwork by Mike Zeck and Bob McLeod. There’s a particular panel that illustrates the entirety of Spiderman’s movement when he is attacked by Kraven, which is extremely cool.
There’s this other amazing illustration where we get to see Kraven posing as a spider amongst several spiders. It gives the illusion of the hunter blending in its surroundings to conceal its presence as it waits for its prey. The moment its prey arrives, it pounces on it.
It is not uncommon for people to think that comics have simple stories and are not sublime and enriching. And if you want to prove them wrong, Kraven’s Last Hunt is an ideal suggestion.
The emotional value here is truly impeccable as we see Peter Parker care for and love Mary Jane and show compassion towards others. Kraven’s narration also helps add several more layers to his personality, as he is a man who seeks honor over anything else.
The story sheds the spotlight on Peter’s loving nature as the first thing he thinks about as he resurfaces is Mary Jane. He does not live for revenge, he does not live for glory, but he lives to love. Despite being a man who has lost so much, he does not stray away from the light.
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