A good hunter always has control. I am not a good hunter. I am the ultimate hunter. I am Kraven the Hunter. I have hunted and captured three of the most dangerous animals: The strong Rhino, The intelligent Octopus, and the ravenous Vulture.

For a year now, they have been a part of my collection. Unlike most hunters, I have no intention of killing my preys. I get no pleasure out of killing animals. I prefer keeping them alive in captivity. I get to decide what they eat, when they eat, what they can do and what they can't do. It brings me much more pleasure letting them know that I am their superior, I am the alpha male, I have control over whether they live or whether they die. That is the real thrill of the hunt. Controlling the faith of your prey. With control comes power and with power also comes the need for more power. That's why I went for one more catch. That's why I went after the venomous Scorpion. Although the Scorpion would have been an easy prey, I never captured him. My intents were never such. He would serve only as bait to attract a more significant catch: The Spider. The only way a Scorpion could attract a spider is by playing in its web. The Scorpion had to seek out the Spider. But without reason, the Scorpion would never go looking for its natural enemy. If you ask a monkey to jump through a hoop he'll only look at you with a blank stare, but with proper motivation, you can teach any animal new tricks. Fear is the greatest motivation.

I made The Scorpion fear for his own survival. Night after night, I went at him until he would fulfill his task. Our first meeting left him bloodied and bruised and very perplexed. Like the monkey who you ask to jump through the hoop, he did not understand. He did not fulfill his task. Our second meeting left him with a broken arm, a broken leg and some broken ribs. He did not fulfill his task. Our third meeting I severed his tail leaving him defenceless and with the promise of a fourth meeting. Doubting his survival of a fourth meeting, the Scorpion turned to the only one he could. He turned to the only species who beat me in the past. He turned to The Spider. A good hunter always has control.

The Spider came looking for me. We fought. He bested me. Now I am here, laying on the ground with him standing over me. He is looking down at me. He is thinking that he won and that it is over. He is wrong. The battle is about to start.

As he turns around and walks towards liberating my captives, I strike. Not with the blade hidden in my back pocket. Not with my poisonous darts. Not even with my hands or feet. I strike with a few simple words:

-"Them? Or me?"

He stops. He looks at me over his shoulder and says nothing. He does not seem to understand the dilemma he faces. He is waiting for more explanations. "HE" is waiting for "ME" to enlighten him. I now have control. Even though he is standing and I am lying here with my aches and pains, I have the power. As I negotiate with every aching part of my body trying to sit up, I let the Spider linger. He gets impatient. He grabs me by the mane, sits me up and asks me what I meant. I let the Spider linger. His patience comes to an end. Still holding me by the mane, he lifts me up against the wall. That is when I enlighten him. That is when I present him with the consequences to his decisions.

I tell him that having confronted him in the past, I know that his first concern has always been to protect the innocent. His first concern, right now, is to open the doors and let my beautiful animals run free. But he did not think it through. He did not think about the first thing that these beasts would do with their freedom after a year of being tormented in a cage. They will seek revenge and they will not stop until my heart does. My death would be on him. His quest for justice without death is about to come to an end, unless he devotes himself to protect me. "ME", the one that spent half his life hunting him. Slowly turning his head to look at my prisoners, The Spider realizes the impasse he is in. He loosens his grip on my mane. I fall back to the ground. He walks towards the control panel to open the cages, but stops halfway. He looks at me. He looks at my pets. Looks back at me and back at them. He, who always has control, finds himself at a lost. No more quips. No more comebacks. No more jokes. He stands completely silent yet I can hear his mind screaming in pain. A primal scream. He is confused. Like a spider who just got a couple of its legs pulled off, he is trying to get a grasp. I add:

-"Spider-Man… I managed to keep The Rhino, Doctor Octopus and The Vulture in captivity for a year. That is something that you, or the police, never succeeded. Think twice before opening those doors. I did what you never could."

Watching him stare at the ground, shaking his head slowly, he knows I am right. I took away whatever legs were left on the Spider. I try to laugh, but my aching body won't allow it. After a couple of seconds that must have felt like hours to him, The Spider raises his head. I can tell he made a choice. He turns to face me. With the agility I expect of him, he jumps to the ceiling as a strand of web comes out of his right web shooter and lands on the switch controlling the doors to the containment units. As he opens the door to freedom for The Rhino, a strand of web comes out of his left web shooter and lands on me. As he opens the door to freedom for Doctor Octopus, he pulls me up to safety. As he opens the door to freedom for The Vulture, he closes the door on his own freedom. The Spider is now responsible for my imminent death. If I die by the hands of one of those three, The Spider would be imprisoned with remorse. He would be sentenced for life.

Hanging from the ceiling, behind The Spider, I can see the strong, the intelligent and the ravenous creatures coming for me. I fight through the pain and reach for the blade in my back pocket. Stabbing The Spider would only inflict temporary damages. What I am about to do will cause permanent damages to The Spider. The pain of contorting my arm to reach in my back pocket is unbearable, but it will all be over soon. I use the blade to cut through the webbing that was holding me to safety. As I feel the webbing giving way, I lean over and whisper in The Spiders ear:

-"A good hunter always has control…"

The last strand of webbing breaks.

I fall.

The three hungry animals will get what they want.

The Spider lets out a primal scream.

I have what I wanted.

I smile.