It was a scorching day in Africa. The gazelles and the lions were about. The female lions were on the prowl, looking for their prey. The gazelles were cautious, trying not to be the prey. They kept their heads up, looking around for their predators. Meanwhile a lioness stared down the herd, trying her best to spot the weakest gazelle. She steadily crept forward, keeping her head and back low. Everything was silent. Then all hell broke loose.
The lioness leapt from the high grass, as did the other female lions hunting for food. She ran forward with grace, watching which gazelle would slow down first. She scanned the herd and found the weakest gazelle. She leapt upon it sinking her teeth into its hide. Her unrelenting jaws would not let go. The gazelle wailed out in pain as it took its last intake of breath.
Unbeknownst to both predator and prey was another beast that stalked them both. It watched from a lone tree, keeping silent as to stay unknown. As soon as it saw the lioness let its guard down it took this as its chance. It leapt from the tree and moved with a speed almost unnatural. It let out a wail as this unknown hunter plunged his knife into the lion's side.
The hunter twisted his blade and stood up to observe his kill. The sides of his lips curled up into a smile as he picked up his prey with one arm easily.
"You are not even worthy of my talents, but even a hunter must eat." He said to the dead lion. He picked up the gazelle with the other arm and slung it over his shoulder. He walked far to his home and began to work on skinning the animals.
"My love, you have returned!" a woman says, running from the rather large home. She embraces the hunter as he stands to meet her.
"Calypso, my love," he says, leaning his head back to look at her. Calypso had dark brown skin, and long hair. She wore bracelets on her arms and legs and beads in her hair.
She is beautiful, thought the hunter, no one can match her.
Calypso pulled back from the hunter and smiled, "There is something I must show, my love." She said as she grabbed his hand and guided him into their home. She led him down into the sub level of their home where she opened a wooden door with strange markings on it.
"I have found of a way to aid you in your hunts." She said as she showed him a small vial of a strange blue liquid. "I have made this for you darling."
The hunter stroked her face and then took the bottle to admire it. "What is it, my dear?" he asked simply.
"It's a potion that will make you as fast as a cheetah and as strong as a lion. Any prey you desire will be yours." She replied, holding him close.
The hunter looked at her and smiled a smile that only she could bring out of him.
"But my darling, what can outrun me. I am the most talented hunter in the entire world. Nothing can evade me. I do not need this." He said back. The narcissism of the comment made Calypso draw back a little.
"There is one who might say different." Calypso retorted. She walked over to her drawers and pulled out a piece of paper, "Do you see this man? He is a strange mixture of both man and spider. He's been able to evade every attempt made to capture him."
The hunter scanned the piece of paper. A sketched photo of a man with big eye triangular eyes and strange lines crisscrossing over his body took up most of the paper. The hunter saw him as more of a fool then a threat. He was barely worth his time.
"Darling, he isn't much of a threat. I have been able to tell what a threat was, and this man-bug is an annoyance at the most." The hunter said. He slightly guffawed at the idea this creature was able to escape capture.
Calypso sighed and narrowed her eyebrows. "A man who goes by the name of Jameson has offered a generous reward for this creature."
"Then this Jameson you speak of is as much of a fool as this bug you waste my time with." The hunter retorted.
"He possesses powers of which neither you nor I have seen the likes of. He sticks to walls and swings from a web which sprouts from his wrists." She said, still trying to gauge his interest.
"He sounds like a regular spider which I could easily squash beneath my boot." The hunter replied.
Calypso started to realize that she was most likely not going to be able to win this argument by trying to convince him about this man.
"Then why don't you, great and mighty hunter?" she teased, "Or is Kraven the Hunter too afraid of a little spider to even attempt to find him?"
"Watch your tongue, Calypso." Kraven warned. He hated his skills being called into question, especially by his own love.
"Then hunt him down, darling. If he is of no threat then he should be an easy hunt. The money itself will be rewarding." Calypso said trying to gauge him into her trap.
Kraven slowly mulled it over. This creature would be an easy hunt and even though he wouldn't be worth the money it would be an easy payment.
"Alright then, my love," Kraven answered, "I will go on this hunt. And this…Spider-Man, will fall to the might of Kraven!"