MARCO SPEAKS SPIDEY: WHAT IF…? SPIDER-MAN #1 REVIEW

What If… Kraven Survived His Last Hunt?Some What If…? stories change one tiny moment and then gleefully smash the dominoes. This one takes a darker route: What if Kraven the Hunter survived the ending of “Kraven’s Last Hunt”? J.M. DeMatteis returns to the psychological territory he knows better than almost anyone, joined by artist Yıldıray Çınar, color artist Alex Sinclair, and letterer Joe Caramagna. The result is less multiversal popcorn and more a rain-soaked gothic nightmare wearing Spider-Man’s black costume.The divergence begins when Kraven finally looks at Peter and understands that the “Spider” he has spent years hunting was never a supernatural monster. Peter is simply a man—and, after being drugged, buried alive, and psychologically broken, a deeply wounded one. Instead of ending his own life, Kraven returns Peter to Mary Jane. It sounds almost merciful until the consequences arrive.Peter is left terrified, fragile, and unable to trust his own mind. Mary Jane and Robbie Robertson eventually place him under the care of Dr. Ashley Kafka, hoping that time and treatment can help him heal. Meanwhile, Kraven does what Kraven always does when confronted with an uncomfortable emo...