Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is set to have a stacked rogues’ gallery, with Venom and Kraven confirmed to be joining the lineup of antagonists. While plenty of focus will surely be placed on Insomniac’s version of Venom, Kraven is just as exciting. There are several ways to make him a formidable antagonist, but one of the best would be to give him some similarities to Taskmaster from the first game.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 should make Kraven prominent not just in the game’s story, but in its side content. Like Taskmaster, he should fight Spider-Man several times, with tweaks made to better suit his personality. Similar challenges could be introduced as well, with the villain scouting Peter or Miles as they swing through the city. With a potential story connection only adding to the plausibility of the setup, Kraven should take on a more evolved version of Taskmaster’s role in the sequel.
Why Kraven Working Like Taskmaster Makes Sense
One big question Marvel’s Spider-Man players have is who exactly paid Taskmaster in the first game. The mercenary keeps his employer hidden, and while theories have pointed to the likes of SHIELD and AIM, Kraven seems like a solid candidate. While this is purely speculation, the idea that Kraven would hire Taskmaster to assess Spider-Man’s skills makes sense. The various challenges he performs and the actual fights with Taskmaster could give Kraven time to study up on Peter, deciding if he is a worthy hunt. Further, his success hunting other prey would likely give him the necessary money to pay Taskmaster for his services.
While it is unclear if this theory will be true or not, the approach works either way. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2’s first trailer puts a big focus on Kraven’s narration, with the villain seeming just as important as Venom for the sequel’s story. As such, Spider-Man likely will not be dealing with Kraven at the start of the game like he did with Kingpin. Players can expect him to have a big role, so Kraven studying Spidey through optional challenges in the city is a perfect fit. This could allow for some proper build-up to their big story fight, with Kraven taunting Spider-Man during and after every challenge.
Why Multiple Boss Fights With Kraven Could Work
Outside of city challenges that test players’ mastery of Spider-Man’s combat, movement, and stealth, Kraven could be fought a few times like Taskmaster was. While Taskmaster’s ability to copy his opponent’s moves made several fights with him interesting, battles with Kraven could be just as fun. While he may not have Taskmaster’s photographic reflexes, every battle with Peter could see him adding a new tool to his arsenal. He could begin countering certain attacks like Taskmaster, too, making each battle more difficult.
Kraven attacking at any time could be made even more interesting, with an odd but fitting comparison being Goro Majima from the Yakuza series. Much like Majima roamed the city and attacked Kiryu at random, Kraven could do the same to Spider-Man. A nice touch would see him using his experience as a hunter to attack when Spidey is injured, joining in at the end of a tough battle so that Peter does not have a chance to heal. With Kraven always able to appear, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 players would constantly be on edge.
While Kraven would eventually need to be defeated permanently, likely in the main story, he could make open world exploration more interesting up until that point. Insomniac could also tie a reward to each optional defeat of Kraven, with players getting something as complex as a Kraven-inspired suit or something as simple as an extra upgrade token. With Miles’ Venom Powers and Peter’s Iron Spider legs likely to make the two heroes extremely powerful, a randomly appearing boss could be a great way to balance that out. With the concept also fitting an opportunist like Kraven well, Insomniac may want to consider using a Taskmaster-like system for the villain.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 launches for PS5 in 2023.