Marvel has revisited classic Spider-Man stories before, but it’s rare for the publisher to hand one back to the writer who made it iconic in the first place. Nearly four decades after Kraven’s Last Hunt became one of the defining stories in Peter Parker’s history, J.M. DeMatteis returns to Sergei Kravinoff with What If…? Spider-Man: What If Kraven Survived His “Last Hunt”? to explore the one question fans have wondered ever since the original ended: what if Kraven never died?
The one-shot imagines an entirely different future for both Peter Parker and his greatest hunter. It follows the psychological scars left by Kraven’s victory, the years of obsession that follow, and a final twist that transforms one of Spider-Man’s most famous endings into something even darker. It’s hard not to admire the sheer audacity of Marvel’s approach. Instead of asking another writer to imagine how Kraven’s Last Hunt might have ended differently, the publisher invited J.M. DeMatteis back to rewrite his own masterpiece nearly 40 years later. The result isn’t a cheap attempt to improve on one of Spider-Man’s greatest stories, because it doesn’t need to. The original ending remains untouchable. Instead, DeMatteis delivers a haunting alternate conclusion that feels like the kind of story only the creator of Kraven’s Last Hunt could have written. It’s one of the strongest What If…? comics Marvel has published in years.
Spoilers below for What If…? Spider-Man: What If Kraven Survived His “Last Hunt”?.
Collider Exclusive · Marvel Personality Quiz Which MCU Hero Are You? Spider-Man · Daredevil · Iron Man · Punisher · Thor · Cap
Six heroes. One destiny. Answer 10 questions to discover which Marvel Cinematic Universe hero shares your personality, values, and fighting spirit. Will you swing, fly, or thunder your way to glory?
🕷️Spider-Man
😈Daredevil
🤖Iron Man
💀Punisher
⚡Thor
🛡️Cap
01
What drives you to do what’s right? Choose the answer that feels most like you.
02
It’s 2 AM. Where are you? Your answer says more about you than you’d think.
03
How do you handle a villain who keeps escaping justice? Every hero has a method. What’s yours?
04
How do you feel about keeping a secret identity? The mask — or the lack of one — says everything.
05
You’ve lost someone important because of your heroism. How do you carry that? Every hero pays a price. The question is how they pay it.
06
What’s your role when working with a team? Who you are under pressure is who you actually are.
07
Where do you draw the line between justice and revenge? The answer defines what kind of hero you really are.
08
When you’re not saving the world, what does life look like? The person behind the mask is always the more interesting story.
09
What keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you’re honest about what you’re actually afraid of.
10
The battle is lost. You’re outnumbered, outgunned, and exhausted. What do you do? This is your tiebreaker — choose carefully.
Your Hero Has Been Identified Your MCU Hero Is…
Based on your answers, the Marvel hero who matches your spirit, values, and instincts has been revealed.
Queens, New York
🕷️ Spider-Man
You carry the weight of the world on shoulders that are younger than they should have to be — funny, loyal, and endlessly self-sacrificing.
You do the right thing not because it’s easy, but because no one else will.
You understand that responsibility isn’t a burden you choose — it’s one that finds you.
Whether it’s a neighbourhood mugging or a multiverse crisis, you show up.
Peter Parker’s lesson — that great power demands great responsibility — isn’t a slogan to you. It’s the code you live by, even when it costs you everything.
Hell’s Kitchen, New York
😈 Daredevil
You fight in the shadows between law and chaos, guided by a fierce moral compass that refuses to let the guilty walk free.
You use every tool available — your mind, your body, your faith — to protect those the system overlooks.
You’ve looked into the darkness and chosen not to become it, though the line has never been easy.
Matt Murdock’s duality — champion in the courtroom, devil in the alley — mirrors your own.
Relentless, conflicted, and unwilling to stop. That is exactly you.
Stark Industries, Malibu
🤖 Iron Man
Brilliant, driven, and occasionally insufferable — but always the person who solves the unsolvable problem.
You lead with your mind and back it up with resources, innovation, and a stubbornness that borders on heroic.
You started out looking out for yourself, but somewhere along the way the world became your responsibility.
Tony Stark’s arc — from ego to sacrifice — is your arc too.
You build, you plan, and when the moment comes, you’re willing to give everything. Because in the end, you’re Iron Man.
New York City
💀 The Punisher
You’ve been through fire that would break most people — and it did change you, completely. What’s left is unyielding, relentless, and operating by a code forged in grief.
You don’t ask for forgiveness, and you don’t expect gratitude.
You see a corrupt, broken world and you’ve decided to do something about it, consequences be damned.
Frank Castle’s war is born from love twisted by loss — and so is yours.
Uncompromising and unflinching — the world may not agree with your methods, but your conviction is absolute.
Asgard · Protector of the Nine Realms
⚡ Thor
Powerful, proud, and on a lifelong journey to become worthy of the legend you carry.
You lead with strength but have learned — sometimes painfully — that true greatness comes from humility and growth.
You’re larger than life, yet more vulnerable than you let on.
Thor’s story is one of transformation: from arrogant prince to worthy king, from isolated warrior to beloved protector.
You bring the storm when it’s needed — and the warmth when it matters just as much.
Brooklyn, New York · The Avengers
🛡️ Captain America
You believe in something bigger than yourself — and you fight for it even when the world has moved on and nobody else will.
You don’t bully the small guy, and you never stop when it gets hard.
Steve Rogers didn’t become a hero when he got the serum — he was always one. So were you.
Your strength isn’t in your fists; it’s in your refusal to compromise what’s right, no matter the cost.
In a world full of people taking the easy road, you’re the one who picks up the shield and stands up — every single time.
Marvel Gives ‘Kraven’s Last Hunt’ an Entirely New Ending
What If…? Spider-Man: What If Kraven Survived His “Last Hunt”? cover.Image via Marvel Comics
Instead of taking his own life after proving himself superior to Spider-Man, this version of Kraven spends years chasing another impossible prize. Peter survives the events of Kraven’s Last Hunt, but the trauma fundamentally changes him. Haunted by nightmares and consumed by guilt over killing Vermin, Peter spends time institutionalized while struggling to reclaim the life that Kraven stole from him. At the same time, Kraven becomes convinced that only one creature can complete his life’s work: the Venom symbiote. When the alien eventually abandons Peter, it sees Kraven as the perfect host. That’s exactly what Sergei has been waiting for. Throughout the years, Kraven secretly poisons his own body using herbs and rituals taught to him by Calypso, transforming himself into a living trap designed to destroy the symbiote the moment it bonds with him. Rather than becoming Venom’s ultimate host, Kraven sacrifices himself to ensure the creature dies with him, giving the hunter the purpose he had spent years searching for.
The story could have ended there, finally giving Kraven the peace he never found in the original comic. Instead, DeMatteis adds one final surprise. Years later, Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson visit Kraven’s grave, believing the hunter’s story has finally come to an end. But the final page reveals an unknown figure beginning to dig Sergei’s body out of its grave, suggesting that even after rewriting the ending of Kraven’s Last Hunt, Marvel isn’t finished with Kraven Kravinoff just yet.
What If…? Spider-Man: What If Kraven Survived His “Last Hunt”? is available to purchase now.
