"THE THRILL OF THE HUNT!"
Writer: Stan Lee/Plot/Pencils: Steve Ditko/Inker: Steve Ditko/Letterer: Sam Rosen/Editor: Stan Lee/Cover Art: Steve Ditko
Synopsis: Kraven the Hunter returns, more determined than ever to mount Spider-Man's head on his trophy room wall...
Review: And so, we begin what I like to call 'Ditko's Final Five,' the last five issues the great man worked on before departing the title - and Marvel - in 1966. I group these five issues together because I feel that they share some common elements, and some common problems, that aren't present in his earlier work on Spidey. First, you've got the inclusion of the ESU setting, and new characters like Gwen and Harry, who make a welcome return here after being absent from the last two issues, but they're just as contemptuous of Peter as they were before. This is where the big problem with these final five issues comes from: Ditko's insistence on sticking with the status quo of Peter being a social outcast.
After crafting so many excellent stories for the character, and developing Peter to become the determined, strong-willed individual he is by the end of Issue #33, Steve seems to lose his instincts, or at least, he directs them to the wrong ideas. It seems to me that Steve was trying to mould Peter into an Objectivist, Ayn Randian superhero in the vein of his later creations Mr A and the Question; a fiercely individualistic character with black and white morals, who is frequently shunned by the world around him. The problem is, you can't keep things that way forever, because the stories will become repetitive, and the title will begin to stagnate, with no real development for Peter anymore, as by this point he was a fully formed character as far as Ditko was concerned, with no further need for growth. This is all just my speculation, but if you're familiar with Ditko's other work, particularly the characters I mentioned previously, you'll begin to notice a lot of commonalities over these last five issues. This is also where the different approaches of Stan and Steve couldn't be more apparent, and it feels as if Stan is having to compensate for Steve's misguided approach in his dialogue, being forced to contrive a reason why Peter doesn't try and make any friends, or explain his aloofness during his time at ESU so far. Steve's artwork is still absolutely beautiful, but by this point, I think Stan was better suited to take the character and do something new and exciting.
There are still plenty of wonderful things in this issue, however. The opening splash page, with Kraven entering his trophy room, surrounded by mounted animal heads and stuffed kills, is one of his very best, an exquisitely detailed and busy image that really comes to life off the page. Kraven himself is always a welcome addition, and I love how this time, he's not working with anyone else. The Chameleon hasn't hired him, he isn't teamed up with the other members of the Sinister Six. It's just Kraven, and his lust for the hunt, his untameable desire to kill Spider-Man and prove himself the greatest hunter of all time. For a first truly solo outing, Kraven is a lot of fun, and I love the final showdown between him and Spider-Man, with the two of them stalking each other through a block of condemned buildings, made even more exciting when a bunch of hoodlums bust in on the action to fight both Spider-Man and Kraven. Ditko's scenery is absolutely beautiful in this issue; I get a kick out of Kraven choosing the Chameleon's old lair as a hideout, a nice bit of continuity with Kraven's first appearance, and the eerie blank-faced masks staring out from the walls are pure Ditko magic.
There's also a bit of character development, as Betty chooses to leave New York after she suffers a nightmare of Peter revealing himself to be Spider-Man (the very idea!). Betty's absence is another thing that characterises these last five Ditko issues, with more focus being put on Gwen; it seems that Stan wasn't alone in wanting to push her as Peter's main love interest, as Ditko is clearly trying to build up her presence in the comic as well, although she won't really become the Gwen Stacy we know until John Romita takes over the art duties (the same goes for Harry as well).
ASM #34 is quite a good introduction to the overall quality of the final five Ditkos: it's good, but not great. The artwork is to the usual high standard, and aspects of Kraven's plan can be seen as an unintentional precursor to the acclaimed Kraven's Last Hunt, what with Kraven pretending to be Spider-Man in order to lure the real web-head out into the open. The action is solid, and there's some more subplot development as Betty leaves New York for parts unknown, but with all that said, it's still a pretty basic story. It's simply a case of Kraven turning up again, tracking down Spider-Man, fighting Spider-Man, and losing. There's not a whole lot else going on, which sums up quite a lot of these last five stories, but it's a fun enough time nevertheless.
Rating: 3.5/5
Next time, the Molten Man returns to do battle with the web-slinger once again...
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