A hero is only as good as its villains, and that especially holds true for Spider-Man. The friendly neighborhood hero has gathered an extensive rogues' gallery throughout the years, and most of them have earned a place in our hearts for all the wrong reasons. Venom, Green Goblin, Doc Ock... we love to hate them. After all, they are capable of outshining the wall-crawler if the story is just right, and there's no better example than Kraven's Last Hunt. In it, Sergei Kravinoff gets all the spotlight to himself, and the result is simply spectacular (to say the least). That's why we were excited to see what Ultimate Spider-Man (2024) had in store for the beloved villain.
Jonathan Hickman's story reimagines the wall-crawler in a unique, fun, and fresh way. Peter's older in this tale, he's the father of two, he's (finally) married to Mary Jane, and he's fortunate enough to spend time with Uncle Ben. Fans have connected to Ultimate Spider-Man (2024) in a way very few other Spidey stories have managed to achieve. So, coming out of the "Kraven's Hunt" arc, fans were excited to see what Sergei Kravinoff's role would be moving forward. Unfortunately, his story came to an end earlier than anyone could've anticipated.
Gwen Stacy killes Kraven in Ultimate Spider-Man
Ultimate Spider-Man (2024) No. 16 was recently released, and it's filled with many shocking twists and turns. For starters, Harry isn't really dead. Remember how Kraven seemingly shot and killed him back in issue 14? Well, it turns out it was all just a big illusion from Mysterio, whose real identity was finally revealed. As fans originally theorized, the Master of Illusions isn't a single person, but a group of people. One of them is, of course, Quentin Beck, and another member is none other than Gwen Stacy herself (yet another big twist in this issue).
But perhaps the biggest surprise comes in the form of an unexpected death. Comic book readers revisit the moment Harry was seemingly shot, and discover what truly happened behind the curtains. Moments before Kraven pulls the trigger to end his prey, Gwen Stacy uses her magical Mysterio amulet to replace Harry with a decoy. While both Peter and Sergei believed that the Green Goblin truly met his end, the real him was pulled away from danger.
Once Spider-Man beats Kraven and returns home to see if his family is okay, Mysterio returns to the crime scene once again. Sergei barely has a moment to ask what game the Master of Illusions is playing, but instead of finding an answer, he finds himself on the other side of the barrel of a gun. Gwen shoots Kraven and seemingly ends his life once and for all — an event that surely won't sit well with the Kingpin. However, we can't help but ask ourselves: Is any of this real? Is the world's greatest hunter really dead just after 16 issues in the Ultimate Spider-Man series? Or is this, yet, another fakeout?
Regardless of what really happened, we know the Sinister Six will be back in Ultimate Spider-Man (2024) No. 19 as revealed by the issue's description. However, their roster might be radically different compared to what it used to look like at the beginning of the story. The original Black Cat is dead, and while her daughter took his place, we can't imagine she'll be a full-blown supervillain. Could somebody else take her place? Similarly, Kingpin will need to find a replacement for Kraven, who was recently killed. Can the Sandman join the group?
Besides, we need to address the elephant in the room: Could the Green Goblin become evil now? Harry has been eager to use lethal force from the beginning, but Spidey has successfully convinced him otherwise up until this point. However, the billionaire just learned that he could be killed at any moment by a supervillain if he doesn't strike first. So it wouldn't be too far-fetched to assume that Harry will start a hunt of his own (along with Gwen / Mysterio) that will result in a big trail of bodies. Spider-Man, of course, won't be happy about that, and the two former best friends might actually have a reason to turn into sworn enemies.
Things are only getting more complicated the further we go into Ultimate Spider-Man (2024), and that's without taking into account the upcoming incursion. The future is looking grim for the wall-crawler, and we couldn't be any happier.
Ultimate Spider-Man (2024) #17 will be released on May 28, 2025.