Kraven The Hunter Vs. Morbius: Who Would Win And Why?
Sony Spider-Man Universe keeps expanding its awesome rogue gallery of Spidey villains. After two successful Venom flicks, two new antiheroes are getting their standalone movies next: Morbius, the Living Vampire, coming out at the end of March 2022, and Kraven the Hunter premiering somewhere in 2023. So, if Morbius and Kraven ever fought, who would win?
It would be a very close fight, but Morbius would win in the end. They have similar physical attributes in terms of strength, speed, or stamina, but Morbius is much more intelligent. And although Kraven is the better combatant, Morbius has more additional skills and powers.
Honestly, this fight would be so close that it could really go either way. Despite one being a pseudo-vampire, Morbius and Kraven actually have many similar skills and powers. Their differences would eventually determine the winner, depending on the situation they’re in. Let’s dive deeper into their skills and powers to see who would win and why.
Physical Attributes
Dr. Michael Morbius suffered from a rare disease that had him extremely weak, brittle, and barely walking his entire life. While trying to find a cure, Morbius conducted experiments with vampire bats that backfired and turned him into a pseudo-vampire.
That means he has almost all the skills and attributes of a real vampire, but his condition is scientific rather than religious or mystical. He’s still alive – hence the nickname Living Vampire. Also, things like garlic, crosses, or wooden stakes don’t work against him, seeing that he’s not a real vampire.
However, he is affected by sunlight (to a degree where it won’t kill him but can cause pain and discomfort). And he needs to drink blood to survive. In return, his physical attributes went through the roof (including his senses, but more on that later).
Morbius gained superhuman speed and strength, which depends on how well-fed he was and what type of blood he drank. For instance, if he drank blood from a meth-head, the drugs would affect him, too. Also, in some instances, such as Morbius’ first appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #101, we saw that Morbius’ strength amplifies when he gets angry, too.
His stamina increased dramatically, as well as his agility and reflexes. Also, while he can’t fly, per se, Morbius can glide over shorter distances.
That brings us to Kraven the Hunter. His real name is Sergei Kravinoff, a Russian immigrant who set out to prove he’s the best hunter in the world. He was just a common human first but then drank mysterious chemical/magical potions from Calypso, a psychopathic voodoo priestess, which gave Kraven a plethora of superhuman abilities.
It gave Kraven the abilities to match a jungle cat, including tremendous superhuman strength, speed, agility, balance, reflexes, and stamina. It also gave him natural vitality, prolonging his life and slowing down the aging process (in his seventies, Kraven looked and felt like he was in his thirties).
It is said that Kraven’s abilities after the potion put him “at the top of the food chain” and that the powers were greater than Captain America’s. He’s faster, stronger, and more cunning than any human – but then again, Morbius is not really human, is he?
Ultimately, while their physiology dramatically differs, they have similar physical attributes – strength, speed, stamina, etc. While Kraven might be slightly stronger than Morbius physically, Morbius claimed he doesn’t age at all, whereas Kraven does, but slowly. Both characters get points here.
Point(s): Kraven (1:1) Morbius
Intelligence
This one is a no-brainer, so to speak, clearly going in Morbius’ favor. Dr. Morbius is a genius and one of the world-leading scientists in biochemistry. The guy won the Nobel Prize for his research, and the intelligence didn’t go away after he became the Living Vampire.
Since Michael was a kid, his health didn’t allow him to go out and play with the other kids, so Michael stayed home and read books. He’s an expert in many areas other than biochemistry, too.
On the other hand, despite the “wild” appearance, Kraven is quite a smart guy. He’s very cunning and uses that to his advantage when hunting. However, most of Kraven’s proficiency comes through his hunting, tracking, and strategic skills, along with great medical knowledge about drugs, poisons, plants, tranquilizers, and other stuff he needs for hunting.
That being said, Morbius is easily a genius-level intellectual, whereas one would call Kraven quite smart, but not a genius. The Living Vampire gets the point here.
Point: Morbius (2:1) Kraven
Combat Skills
Morbius was almost in a wheelchair his entire life, barely walking – and his condition got worse with age. The reason why he experimented with vampire bats in the first place is to find a cure for his condition. After his condition changed and he got that huge physical upgrade, it didn’t do much for his combat skills.
Morbius usually acted on instinct, driven by his hunger for blood – especially at the beginning of his newfound condition. A few times, it got to a point where the hunger completely took over, and Morbius had no control over himself or his actions.
Sure, he learned how to control himself a bit more with time and picked up on some combat skills (as he learned how to use his powers), but overall, one wouldn’t really consider him the most skilled combatant. Morbius uses power and intelligence but lacks skill in terms of martial arts, weaponry, etc.
That’s not the case with Kraven the Hunter. In fact, he might be one of the best combatants in the world, prolific in coles combat, but way better in marksmanship, strategy, melee weaponry, tracking, trapping, etc. On top of all that, the guy has decades upon decades of experience hunting down the biggest, most dangerous game – namely, our good friend, Spider-Man.
As I’ve mentioned before, the potion he took from Calypso made Kraven the pinnacle of human evolution – physically, a slightly improved version of Captain America. Pair that with his skills, and you get one of the deadliest human combatants in the world. Kraven easily takes this category.
Point: Kraven (2:2) Morbius
Superhuman Senses
Both Kraven and Morbius gained incredible, superhuman senses when they got their powers. Kraven’s are comparable to a jungle cat – enhanced sight, smell, hearing, and taste. Many people don’t know that Kraven’s senses were already at the peak human level before he took the serum/potion. After the potion, they amplified to superhuman levels.
The smell is probably his greatest attribute because it’s not only strong – as a hunter, Kraven’s smell is extremely well-trained. That being said, his eyesight is still hindered by darkness.
That’s not the case with Morbius. He can see in the dark, echo-locate (to a degree), has incredibly sensitive hearing and smell. Also, Morbius can see the infra-red and electromagnetic spectrum, recognizing body heat from objects or persons in pitch-dark environments. In Amazing Spider-Man #380, the guy smells blood from several miles away.
I’d say that their senses are pretty close, but Morbius has some extra abilities that Kraven doesn’t – like the infra-red and electromagnetic spectrum sight or seeing in almost-complete darkness. For that, I’m giving the point to the Vampire again.
Point: Morbius (3:2) Kraven
Other Powers & Skills
The reason why Morbius and Kraven are such interesting recurring characters is that their powers and skills are so incredibly vast. They don’t stop at superhuman physical attributes, great intelligence, or cool combat skills. They go beyond.
Morbius has a strong healing factor. Not as strong as, for instance, Deadpool’s, but still powerful enough to heal gunshot wounds within hours. After his accident, Morbius grew retractable claws and fangs, which he uses as weapons in combat.
Another awesome skill that Morbius has is mesmerism, or compelling – he can hypnotize others and force them to work at his command. If he stares into your eyes long enough, Morbius gains absolute control over you. Pair that with psionic gliding and a complete halt to aging and invulnerability to most vampire-related weaknesses, you get one hell of a character.
On the other hand, Kraven’s best power is the incredible skillset he’s got for combat and hunting. When you combine those skills with his physical superiority, and cunning, strategic intellect, there are not many characters Kraven couldn’t take down, given time and preparation.
Apart from superhuman physiology, Kraven has some occult knowledge, as well – enough to recreate Calypso’s potion for himself and his family, making them all super powerful. Finally, Kraven can use his knowledge to subdue and tame virtually any animal you can think of.
And, due to a weird circumstance with an occult ritual and his resurrection, a curse has Kraven nearly in a state of immortality. He can get badly hurt and taken to the brink of death, but only Spider-Man can kill Kraven.
So, Morbius probably has more superpowers in his arsenal, but one could argue that Kraven has more skills, so I’ll call this category a wash and give both of them points.
Point(s): Morbius (4:3) Kraven
Kraven The Hunter Vs. Morbius: Who Wins?
In the end, the score is 4:3 for Morbius over Kraven, meaning he would probably win the fight against the world’s best hunter. However, it wouldn’t be easy and would probably take some special conditions for Morbius to do so.
For instance, it would have to be very dark so that the Living Vampire could use his superior senses as an advantage. Another way for Morbius to beat Kraven would be to outsmart him. Considering that he has a superior intellect, he’d probably try to use it to his advantage as well.
However, if Kraven has enough time to prepare for Morbius, track him, and hunt him down, then Morbius would have a hard time dealing with Kraven. The Hunter is cunning, incredibly strategic, and has the skills and powers needed to defeat the Living Vampire under his own terms.
In the end, both could potentially win, but I see Morbius winning more often than not. The scoreboard actually paints a nice picture – I’d give Morbius a 4:3 win in a seven-fight series against Kraven.
