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| Grim Hunter | |
| Full Name: | Vladimir Kravinoff |
| First Appearance: | Spider-Man (Volume 1) 47 (June, 1994) |
| Created by: | Howard Mackie; Tom Lyle |
| Home Universe: | Earth-616 |
| Alignment: | Bad |
| Status: | Deceased |
| Place of Birth: | Russia |
| Citizenship: | Russian |
| Base: | N/A |
| Affiliations: | Kraven the Hunter |
| Powers/Abilities: | Supernatural physical attributes from Jungle Serum |
| Height: | 6' 4" (1.93 m) |
| Weight: | 240 lbs (109 kg) |
| Hair Color: | Black |
| Eye Color: | Brown |
| Unique Features: | Now appears as a giant humanoid lion creature |
Vladimir Kravinoff (of Earth-616), also known as the Grim Hunter, is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe.
History[]
Early Life[]
Vladimir is the son of Kraven the Hunter, one of Spider-Man's more well-known foes. Raised by his father's servant, Vladimir was unaware of his father's other children, assuming himself to be the only one. It wasn't until he passed a rite of passage in which Kraven himself hunted the boy, disguising himself as the mythic "Grim Hunter". Thanks to the teachings of Gregor, Vladimir survived, and impressed his father enough to learn under him.
Meeting Spider-Man[]
Years later, a grown Vladimir decided to hunt Spider-Man and his enemies. He fought the wall-crawler only once, using methods almost identical to his father's. He also briefly allied himself with the then-current Hobgoblin. When he was released from prison, he attempted to track Spider-Man with his scent, which instead led him to Ben Reilly, who was currently active as the Scarlet Spider. Ben managed to escape, and Vladimir's further pursuit of the scent led him to the mad clone Kaine, who killed him and branded him with the "Mark of Kaine".
The Gauntlet and Grim Hunt[]
Even later, Vladimir's mother and little sister sacrifice Spider-Woman in a ritual to resurrect him, as an experiment to see if the ritual would work for his father. It brings him back, but because Mattie was not "pure spider", he was resurrected as a monstrous lion creature. Vladimir, now possessing a powerful animalistic side, assisted his siblings, Alyosha and Ana, in capturing Arachne and Araña. A short time later, a resurrected Kraven was forced to fend off a feral Vladimir, to prevent him from killing their captives.
Death[]
After Spider-Man managed to defeat the Kravinoff family once more, they fled to the Savage Land. Once there, Kraven killed his wife, Sasha, who was furious with her husband for allowing Spider-Man to best him and force them to the Savage Land, and euthanized Vladimir, who reasoned it as "respect for the dead".
Powers and Abilities[]
Due to his ingestion of his father's serum, he received his father's abilities, though he seemingly did not require ingesting it periodically. When ingested, the serum granted him:
- Superhuman Strength: At his strongest, Vladimir can lift three tons.
- Superhuman Speed: He has been recorded running at speeds up to 65 miles per hour.
- Superhuman Stamina: Vladimir's body did not fatigue nearly as quickly as an ordinary human's, enabling him to function for several hours before tiring.
- Superhuman Durability: Vladimir could withstand blunt force blows from superhuman foes, though he was still vulnerable to conventional weaponry.
- Superhuman Senses: Like his father, Vladimir's senses were enhanced to that of an animal's, such as a sense of smell that rivaled that of a bloodhound's.
- Superhuman Agility: Vladimir's balance and coordination were enhanced far past an olympic level athlete.
- Superhuman Reflexes: Like his agility, Vladimir's reflexes were far faster than the finest human's.
- Slowed Aging: While Vladimir died too young to truly showcase this facet of his abilities, it is assumed that, as he and his father use the same serum, that they shares this ability as well.
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