What is the meaning of life? This question has been asked by philosophers, theologians, writers, and well, pretty much anybody who’s ever lived. Depending on your worldview the answer will vary.
Charles Darwin believed in survival of the fittest. The Christian attitude on the meaning of life focuses on love of God and neighbor as the reason for existence. This year has been challenging for so many reasons, but fiction has given me an outlet, a brief break, from the stresses of the pandemic, work, and parenting. Sometimes the best books are the one you simply pick up off the shelf, seemingly on a whim. That was the case when I checked out The Amazing Spider-Man: Hunted from my local library.
Written by Nick Spencer this Spider-Man series featured his battle with the villain Kraven the Hunter. Honestly, this was the first Spidey comic I read with the focus on this enemy, so I didn’t know what to expect. But I was quite entertained by the storyline. And there were several great lessons about life in this gem of a series.
The premise of Spider-Man: Hunted centers on Sergei Kravenoff (Kraven) kidnapping several animal-themed superhumans and hosting a hunt in Central Park. He invites the rich to pay to participate in a hunt virtually (using the technology of the villain Aracade). Spider-Man must act quickly to save many of his archenemies from the crosshairs of Kraven’s plot.
The Beast Outside or Within?
One of the central themes in Spider-Man: Hunted was on whether monsters can change. Kurt Connors (aka The Lizard) was a geneticist who transformed into the reptilian villain when he used an experimental DNA serum to regenerate his arm. Throughout Spider-Man’s history, Connors succumbed to this alternate persona but in this volume, he functions as an ally to Spidey.
Connors has managed his lizard-like rage and now has a family. But when Kraven captured Kurt’s son Billy, he returns to beast mode.
Who is the real beast in this story?
You can certainly make the case The Lizard and all the other kidnapped animal-themed villains were the monsters. Outwardly they look the part. And the villains made choices in the past putting them in the category of sub-human. But the true beast comes from within in Spider-Man: Hunted. Kraven the Hunter not only kidnapped people but he created a hunt (to the death).
Billy Connors got bullied early in the volume because of his looks. There existed a beast within the bullies’ hearts. The young Connors displayed more humanity than the “humans”. This goes to show that looks deceive and don’t determine character.
Life Isn’t Merely about Survival
To again refer to Charles Darwin, life is about survival of the fittest. This bears out in the natural world. Kill or be killed. But this worldview isn’t the whole truth. Not even close. Life isn’t just about survival, it’s about thriving.
Kraven’s hunt injected excitement into the participants (hunted and prey alike), but in his heart, he deserved more. The Hunter had a natural family, but they didn’t survive long in the Savage Land. Kraven had the High Evolutionary create him a new family.
Narrator: This was the family the Hunter had promised–one made in his own image. Perfect clones of their father, each one altogether. Entirely human but designed to age into adulthood at an accelerated pace. Time was of the essence, after all.
Kraven’s daughter left him in disgust of the abominations he had created. Survival of the fittest played out for his clones too. One night, one of his sons came home and told Kraven, “I hunted them (the other 86).” Kraven replied, “You are a monster. An abomination. A beast–I have never felt such pride as I feel now.”
What it Means to Live (Love)
Over most of Spider-Man: Hunted it appeared the Darwinian view would win-out. Several of the animal-themed metahumans died during the hunt. Spider-Man was on the run for the majority of this series. Issue #18 centered on Gibbon, a misunderstood character, whose “weakness” led to Kravinoff’s robots (VR controlled) killing him. Spider-Man’s failure to save him surprised me. But during Gibbon’s final moments, Peter Parker held his hand and provided some comfort so the “villain” wouldn’t die alone.
How often do you comfort the afflicted (in the hospital or prisons)? Reading this story in the comfort of my home caused me to reflect on how much more of the spiritual works of mercy I could carry on in my life.
Life is really about love— not survival of the fittest. You can possess the best DNA, be the fastest, smartest, or most dexterous but if you lack love, you’re nothing in the end.
Kraven believed in a prophecy that only the spider could truly kill him. He admired the arachnid as the apex predator (cunning, strong, patient). In the end, Kraven admired another quality in Spider-Man.
Kraven (Peter Parker): But behind the mask, you are also a man. I always saw him there; he seemed the lesser. The inferior. I understand now. You’re more than your power. More than your strength. It is the heart that beats inside you that makes you worthy of the spider. The heart of a good man. A hero, even.
Kraven freed the prisoners because he realized the hero’s way is greater than the path of the hunter. After defeating Spider-Man in a hand-to-hand combat, Kraven donned Parker’s suit to become the spider. In fulfillment of the prophecy, he sacrificed himself (allowed his son to kill him). Kraven’s love for his son was a desire for him to be the greatest hunter ever.
Love transforms everything. Some days it feels like life is merely about survival— this year it feels like it daily! Suffering and pain will not ever go away. Donning the suit of Love (armor of God) will not only protect you from becoming the prey of the Enemy but will help you love better.
Matt Chicoine
Matthew Chicoine is a free-lance writer, a life-long Catholic, and an avid truth seeker. He earned an M.A. in theology from the Franciscan University of Steubenville in 2014 and enjoys binge reading Tolkien, Chesterton, C.S. Lewis, Fulton Sheen and comic books. Visit his blog at https://thesimplecatholic.