Now that we’ve gotten our first look at Aaron Taylor-Johnson in the standalone villain origin story Kraven the Hunter, it’s a good time to brush up on exactly what Kraven’s powers are and how he got them. Although the trailer suggests an alternate origin for Kraven’s abilities, let’s tackle comics canon first:
Kraven the Hunter is one of Spider-Man’s deadliest foes — and even without his extra abilities, Kraven would probably still win the Olympics. He’s in incredible shape and possesses a world-class hunting acumen. He’s also a deadly combatant, knowing all the most painful nerve clusters in the bodies of both humans and animals. In addition, Kraven’s an expert with exotic poisons and tranquilizers, which he sometimes employs during his hunts.
Speaking of deadly chemistry though, Kraven regularly takes a potion made from various jungle herbs that gives him superhuman physical abilities, which is how he can go toe-to-toe with Spider-Man and live to taunt about it. The potion also makes Kraven’s body resistant to harm, so he can survive superhero punches and big falls with minimal recovery time.
Another benefit of Kraven’s mystery concoction is enhanced senses: He can see, hear, and smell to the level of great predators on the African plains and perhaps beyond. This helps him track his targets from a long way off — and aids him in swift attacks across great distances, often before his prey even knows he’s coming. Additionally, the potion has slowed down Kraven’s aging. Canonically, he’s at or a little over 70 years old, but physically he looks in his early 30s.
How are Kraven’s powers different in the upcoming movie?
While the film doesn’t release until October so we can’t say for sure, the trailer suggests that Kraven gets an initial batch of powers as a boy, when he’s mauled by a lion that bleeds directly into one of Young Kraven’s wounds. This doesn’t make any sense at all, but neither does a mystery potion, we guess. Kraven appears to have super senses as well as extra strength, speed, and resistance from having lion blood mixed with his own. Take a look below:
However, it also appears that Sony’s Kraven has … a psychic connection with all animals? There’s a beat where he appears to sick a wolf on a bad guy, and another where he seems to see out of the eyes of a bird. But perhaps that’s just how the trailer is cut and Kraven simply exploits normal animal behaviors against his foes.
There’s also a stinger at the end of the trailer that teases some sort of potion that brings about another Spider-Man baddie: the Rhino. It’s possible Kraven is subject to that very same potion, which would turn him into a more comics-accurate Kraven ahead of his eventual fight with Spider-Man. We’re highly in favor of getting the potion into the equation, because otherwise Kraven’s just a mean Dr. Doolittle.