Episode Review - Enter the Hunter!
Review and Media by Stu

Episode #6 - Enter the Hunter!
Original Airdate - February 3rd, 2001
Sir Ram hires the Hunter, a human mercenary, to hunt down Spider-Man. As bait, the Hunter kidnaps Karen O'Malley, and during the course of this he learns Spidey's secret identity. Spider-Man must face the Hunter in his high-tech lair, rescue Karen, and somehow convince him that he's not really Peter Parker.

Credits
Story By: Roger Slifer, Michael Reaves, Will Meugniot
Written By: Diane Duane, Peter Morwood
Directed By: Patrick Archibald

Review:
This episode we get to see another re-imagined Spidey foe, this time with Kraven The Hunter. Kraven's had an odd animation record, with the 80's and 90's versions being pretty bland (though his appearances in Spider-Man And His Amazing Friends and Spider-Man: The New Animated Series were pretty great). I've never found him to be that interesting as a character, honestly, and there are at least a dozen villains I'd rather see done, but Kraven here? Surprisingly not too bad but still lacking.

The Hunter's design comes across as a little generic, as did his dialogue and general characterization. He's your basic assassin, nothing more, nothing less. Still, he uses the same mumbo jumbo potions that Kraven in the comics has used since his first appearance, so that was actually a plus. His voice was decent enough and, if I'm not mistaken, it's Scott McNeil voicing The Hunter. For those not in the know, McNeil also voiced Wolverine in X-Men: Evolution.

The plot is as pretty basic, as Sir Ram and The High Evolutionary decide Spider-Man is better off out of their way, hiring The Hunter to take him out. If you're a Kraven fan, you'll either love this or be deeply insulted by it, depending on how much you enjoy alternate takes on characters. All that said, a slight improvement overall...

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