title: Fiddler on the Roof

text: Tevye is delivering milk, pulling the cart himself, as his horse is lame. He asks God: Whom would it hurt "If I Were a Rich Man"? The bookseller tells Tevye news from the outside world of pogroms and expulsions. A stranger, Perchik, hears their conversation and scolds them for doing nothing more than talk. The men dismiss Perchik as a radical, but Tevye invites him home for the Sabbath meal and offers him food and a room in exchange for tutoring his two youngest daughters. Golde tells Tevye to meet Lazar after the Sabbath but does not tell him why, knowing that Tevye does not like Lazar. Tzeitel is afraid that Yente will find her a husband before Motel asks Tevye for her hand. But Motel resists: he is afraid of Tevye's temper, and tradition says that a matchmaker arranges marriages. Motel is also very poor and is saving up to buy a sewing machine before he approaches Tevye, to show that he can support a wife. The family gathers for the "Sabbath Prayer".


title: Fiddler on the Roof

text: After the Sabbath, Tevye meets Lazar for a drink at the village inn, assuming mistakenly that Lazar wants to buy his cow. Once the misunderstanding is cleared up, Tevye agrees to let Lazar marry Tzeitel – with a rich butcher, his daughter will never want for anything. All join in the celebration of Lazar's good fortune; even the Russian youths at the inn join in the celebration and show off their dancing skills ("To Life"). Outside the inn, Tevye happens upon the Russian Constable, who has jurisdiction over the Jews in the town. The Constable warns him that there is going to be a "little unofficial demonstration" in the coming weeks (a euphemism for a minor pogrom). The Constable has sympathy for the Jewish community but is powerless to prevent the violence.


title: Fiddler on the Roof

text: The next morning, after Perchik's lessons with the younger sisters, Tevye's second daughter Hodel mocks Perchik's Marxist interpretation of a Bible story. He, in turn, criticizes her for hanging on to the old traditions of Judaism, noting that the world is changing. To illustrate this, he dances with her, defying the prohibition against opposite sexes dancing together. The two begin to fall in love. Later, a hungover Tevye announces that he has agreed that Tzeitel will marry Lazar Wolf. Golde is overjoyed, but Tzeitel is devastated and begs Tevye not to force her. Motel arrives and tells Tevye that he is the perfect match for Tzeitel and that he and Tzeitel gave each other a pledge to marry. He promises that Tzeitel will not starve as his wife. Tevye is stunned and outraged at this breach of tradition, but impressed at the timid tailor's display of backbone. After some soul-searching ("Tevye's Monologue"), Tevye agrees to let them marry, but he worries about how to break the news to Golde. An overjoyed Motel celebrates with Tzeitel ("Miracle of Miracles").


title: Fiddler on the Roof

text: In bed with Golde, Tevye pretends to be waking from a nightmare. Golde offers to interpret his dream, and Tevye "describes" it ("Tevye's Dream"). Golde's grandmother Tzeitel returns from the grave to bless the marriage of her namesake, but to Motel, not to Lazar Wolf. Lazar's formidable late wife, Fruma-Sarah ("frum" is a Yiddish word for a devout Jew), rises from her grave to warn, in graphic terms, of severe retribution if Tzeitel marries Lazar. The superstitious Golde is terrified, and she quickly counsels that Tzeitel must marry Motel. While returning from town, Tevye's third daughter, the bookish Chava, is teased and intimidated by some gentile youths. One, Fyedka, protects her, dismissing the others. He offers Chava the loan of a book, and a secret relationship begins.


title: Fiddler on the Roof

text: The wedding day of Tzeitel and Motel arrives, and all the Jews join the ceremony ("Sunrise, Sunset") and the celebration ("The Wedding Dance"). Lazar gives a fine gift, but an argument arises with Tevye over the broken agreement. Perchik ends the tiff by breaking another tradition: he crosses the barrier between the men and women to dance with Tevye's daughter Hodel. The celebration ends abruptly when a group of Russians rides into the village to perform the "demonstration". They disrupt the party, damaging the wedding gifts and wounding Perchik, who attempts to fight back, and wreak more destruction in the village. Tevye instructs his family to clean up the mess.


title: Fiddler on the Roof

text: Months later, Perchik tells Hodel he must return to Kyiv to work for the revolution. He proposes marriage, admitting that he loves her, and says that he will send for her. She agrees ("Now I Have Everything"). They tell Tevye that they are engaged, and he is appalled that they are flouting tradition by making their own match, especially as Perchik is leaving. When he forbids the marriage, Perchik and Hodel inform him that they do not seek his permission, only his blessing. After more soul searching, Tevye relents – the world is changing, and he must change with it ("Tevye's Rebuttal"). He informs the young couple that he gives them his blessing "and" his permission.


title: Fiddler on the Roof

text: Tevye explains these events to an astonished Golde. "Love", he says, "it's the new style." Tevye asks Golde, despite their own arranged marriage, "Do You Love Me?" After dismissing Tevye's question as foolish, she eventually admits that, after 25 years of living and struggling together and raising five daughters, she does. Meanwhile, Yente tells Tzeitel that she saw Chava with Fyedka. News spreads quickly in Anatevka that Perchik has been arrested and exiled to Siberia ("The Rumor/I Just Heard"), and Hodel is determined to join him there. At the railway station, she explains to her father that her home is with her beloved, wherever he may be, although she will always love her family ("Far From the Home I Love").


title: Fiddler on the Roof

text: Time passes. Motel has purchased a used sewing machine, and he and Tzeitel have had a baby. Chava finally gathers the courage to ask Tevye to allow her marriage to Fyedka. Again Tevye reaches deep into his soul, but marriage outside the Jewish faith is a line he will not cross. He forbids Chava to speak to Fyedka again. When Golde brings news that Chava has eloped with Fyedka, Tevye wonders where he went wrong ("Chavaleh Sequence"). Chava returns and tries to reason with him, but he refuses to speak to her and tells the rest of the family to consider her dead. Meanwhile, rumors are spreading of the Russians expelling Jews from their villages. While the villagers are gathered, the Constable arrives to tell everyone that they have three days to pack up and leave the town. In shock, they reminisce about "Anatevka" and how hard it will be to leave what has been their home for so long.


title: Fiddler on the Roof

text: As the Jews leave Anatevka, Chava and Fyedka stop to tell her family that they are also leaving for Kraków, unwilling to remain among the people who could do such things to others. Tevye still will not talk to her, but when Tzeitel says goodbye to Chava, Tevye prompts her to add "God be with you." Motel and Tzeitel go to Poland as well but will join the rest of the family when they have saved up enough money. As Tevye, Golde and their two youngest daughters leave the village for America, the fiddler begins to play. Tevye beckons with a nod, and the fiddler follows them out of the village.


title: Fiddler on the Roof

text: Following its tryout at Detroit's Fisher Theatre in July and August 1964, then Washington in August to September, the original Broadway production opened on September 22, 1964, at the Imperial Theatre, transferred in 1967 to the Majestic Theatre and in 1970 to the Broadway Theatre, and ran for a record-setting total of 3,242 performances. The production was directed and choreographed by Jerome Robbins – his last original Broadway staging. The set, designed in the style of Marc Chagall's paintings, was by Boris Aronson. A colorful logo for the production, also inspired by Chagall's work, was designed by Tom Morrow. Chagall reportedly did not like the musical.


title: Fiddler on the Roof

text: The cast included Zero Mostel as Tevye the milkman, Maria Karnilova as his wife Golde (each of whom won a Tony for their performances), Beatrice Arthur as Yente the matchmaker, Austin Pendleton as Motel, Bert Convy as Perchik the student revolutionary, Gino Conforti as the fiddler, and Julia Migenes as Hodel. Mostel ad-libbed increasingly as the run went on, "which drove the authors up the wall". Joanna Merlin originated the role of Tzeitel, which was later assumed by Bette Midler during the original run. Carol Sawyer was Fruma Sarah, Adrienne Barbeau took a turn as Hodel, and Pia Zadora played the youngest daughter, Bielke. Both Peg Murray and Dolores Wilson made extended appearances as Golde, while other stage actors who have played Tevye include Herschel Bernardi, Theodore Bikel and Harry Goz (in the original Broadway run), and Leonard Nimoy. Mostel's understudy in the original production, Paul Lipson, went on to appear as Tevye in more performances than any other actor (until Chaim Topol), clocking over 2,000 performances in the role in the original run and several revivals. Florence Stanley took over the role of Yente nine months into the run. The production earned $1,574 for every dollar invested in it. It was nominated for ten Tony Awards, winning nine, including Best Musical, score, book, direction and choreography, and acting awards for Mostel and Karnilova.


title: Fiddler on the Roof

text: The original London West End production opened on February 16, 1967, at Her Majesty's Theatre and played for 2,030 performances. It starred Topol as Tevye, a role he had previously played in Tel Aviv, and Miriam Karlin as Golde. Alfie Bass, Lex Goudsmit and Barry Martin eventually took over as Tevye. Topol later played Tevye in the 1971 film adaptation, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award, and in several revivals over the next four decades. The show was revived in London for short seasons in 1983 at the Apollo Victoria Theatre and in 1994 at the London Palladium.


title: Fiddler on the Roof

text: The first Broadway revival opened on December 28, 1976, and ran for 176 performances at the Winter Garden Theatre. Zero Mostel starred as Tevye. Robbins directed and choreographed. A second Broadway revival opened on July 9, 1981, and played for a limited run (53 performances) at Lincoln Center's New York State Theater. It starred Herschel Bernardi as Tevye and Karnilova as Golde. Other cast members included Liz Larsen, Fyvush Finkel, Lawrence Leritz and Paul Lipson. Robbins directed and choreographed. The third Broadway revival opened on November 18, 1990, and ran for 241 performances at the George Gershwin Theatre. Topol starred as Tevye, and Marcia Lewis was Golde. Robbins' production was reproduced by Ruth Mitchell and choreographer Sammy Dallas Bayes. The production won the Tony Award for Best Revival.


title: Fiddler on the Roof

text: A fourth Broadway revival opened on February 26, 2004, and ran for 36 previews and 781 performances at the Minskoff Theatre. Alfred Molina, and later Harvey Fierstein, starred as Tevye, and Randy Graff, and later Andrea Martin and Rosie O'Donnell, was Golde. Barbara Barrie and later Nancy Opel played Yente, Laura Michelle Kelly played Hodel and Lea Michele played Sprintze. It was directed by David Leveaux. This production replaced Yente's song "The Rumor" with a song for Yente and two other women called "Topsy-Turvy". The production was nominated for six Tonys but did not win any. In June 2014, to celebrate the show's 50th anniversary, a gala celebration and reunion was held at the Town Hall in New York City to benefit National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene, with appearances by many of the cast members of the various Broadway productions and the 1971 film, as well as Sheldon Harnick, Chita Rivera, Karen Ziemba, Joshua Bell, Jerry Zaks and others.


title: Fiddler on the Roof

text: The fifth Broadway revival began previews on November 20 and opened on December 20, 2015, at the Broadway Theatre, with concept and choreography based on the original by Robbins. Bartlett Sher directed, and Hofesh Shechter choreographed. The cast starred Danny Burstein as Tevye, with Jessica Hecht as Golde, Alexandra Silber as Tzeitel, Adam Kantor as Motel, Ben Rappaport as Perchik, Samantha Massell as Hodel and Melanie Moore as Chava. Judy Kuhn replaced Hecht as Golde on November 22, 2016, for the last five weeks of the run. Designers include Michael Yeargan (sets), Catherine Zuber (costumes) and Donald Holder (lighting). Initial reviews were mostly positive, finding Burstein and the show touching. The production was nominated for three Tony Awards but won none. It closed on December 31, 2016, after 463 performances.


title: Fiddler on the Roof

text: "Fiddler" was first revived in London in 1983 at the Apollo Victoria Theatre (a four-month season starring Topol) and again in 1994 at the London Palladium for two months and then on tour, again starring Topol, and directed and choreographed by Sammy Dallas Bayes, recreating the Robbins production.


title: Fiddler on the Roof

text: After a two-month tryout at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England, a London revival opened on May 19, 2007, at the Savoy Theatre starring Henry Goodman as Tevye, Beverley Klein as Golde, Alexandra Silber as Hodel, Damian Humbley as Perchik and Victor McGuire as Lazar Wolf. The production was directed by Lindsay Posner. Robbins' choreography was recreated by Sammy Dallas Bayes (who did the same for the 1990 Broadway revival), with additional choreography by Kate Flatt.


title: Fiddler on the Roof

text: A revival played at the Menier Chocolate Factory from November 23, 2018, until March 9, 2019, directed by Trevor Nunn and starring Andy Nyman as Tevye and Judy Kuhn as Golde. The production transferred to the Playhouse Theatre in the West End on March 21, 2019, with an official opening on March 27. Replacement players included Maria Friedman as Golde and Anita Dobson as Yente. The run closed on November 2, 2019.


title: Fiddler on the Roof

text: A 2003 national tour played for seven months, with a radical design, directed by Julian Woolford and choreographed by Chris Hocking. The production's minimalist set and costumes were monochromatic, and Fruma-Sarah was represented by a 12-foot puppet. This production was revived in 2008 starring Joe McGann.


title: Fiddler on the Roof

text: The show toured the UK again in 2013 and 2014 starring Paul Michael Glaser as Tevye with direction and choreography by Craig Revel Horwood.


title: Fiddler on the Roof

text: A revival played at Chichester Festival Theatre from July 10 to September 2, 2017, directed by Daniel Evans and starring Omid Djalili as Tevye and Tracy-Ann Oberman as Golde.


title: Fiddler on the Roof

text: The original Australian production opened on June 16, 1967, at Her Majesty's Theatre in Sydney. It starred Hayes Gordon as Tevye and Brigid Lenihan as Golde. The production ran for two years. The first professional revival tour was staged by the Australian Opera in 1984 with Gordon again playing Tevye. A young Anthony Warlow played Fyedka.


title: Fiddler on the Roof

text: In 1998, 2005, 2006 and 2007, Topol recreated his role as Tevye in Australian productions, with seasons in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Wellington and Auckland. The musical was again revived in Melbourne and Sydney in 2015–2016 with Anthony Warlow as Tevye, Sigrid Thornton as Golde and Lior as Motel.


title: Fiddler on the Roof

text: "Topol in 'Fiddler on the Roof': The Farewell Tour" opened on January 20, 2009, in Wilmington, Delaware. Topol left the tour in November 2009 due to torn muscles. He was replaced by Harvey Fierstein and Theodore Bikel. The cast included Mary Stout, Susan Cella, Bill Nolte, Erik Liberman, Rena Strober, and Stephen Lee Anderson.


title: Fiddler on the Roof

text: National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene mounted a Yiddish adaptation, "Fidler Afn Dakh", at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York City, under the direction of Joel Grey, with a translation by Shraga Friedman that was first used in a 1965 Israeli production. The cast included Jackie Hoffman as Yente, Steven Skybell as Tevye, Daniel Kahn as Pertshik, Stephanie Lynne Mason as Hodel and Raquel Nobile as Shprintze. Previews began on July 4, and opening night was July 15, 2018. The production played through the end of that year. It then transferred to Stage 42, an off-Broadway theatre, with Skybell, Hoffman, Mason and Nobile reprising their roles. Previews began February 11, with opening night on February 21, 2019. Musical staging was by Staś Kmieć (based on the original choreography by Robbins), with set design by Beowulf Boritt, costumes by Ann Hould-Ward, sound by Dan Moses Schreier and lighting by Peter Kaczorowski. The production closed on January 5, 2020. It won the 2019 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revival of a Musical.


title: Fiddler on the Roof

text: The musical was an international hit, with early productions playing throughout Europe, in South America, Africa and Australia; 100 different productions were mounted in the former West Germany in the first three decades after the musical's premiere, and within five years after the collapse of the Berlin Wall, 23 productions were staged in the former East Germany; and it was the longest-running musical ever seen in Tokyo. According to BroadwayWorld, the musical has been staged "in every metropolitan city in the world from Paris to Beijing."


title: Fiddler on the Roof

text: A Hebrew language staging was produced in Tel Aviv by the Israeli impresario Giora Godik in the 1960s. This version was so successful that in 1965 Godik produced a Yiddish version translated by Shraga Friedman. A 2008 Hebrew-language production ran at the Cameri Theatre in Tel Aviv for more than six years. It was directed by Moshe Kepten, choreographed by Dennis Courtney and starred Natan Datner.


title: Fiddler on the Roof

text: "Un violon sur le toît" was produced in French at Paris's théâtre Marigny from November 1969 to May 1970, resuming from September to January 1971 (a total of 292 performances) with Ivan Rebroff as Tevye and Maria Murano as Golde. Another adaptation was produced in 2005 at the théâtre Comédia in Paris with Franck Vincent as Tevye and Isabelle Ferron as Golde. The Stratford Shakespeare Festival produced the musical from April to October 2013 at the Festival Theatre directed and choreographed by Donna Feore. It starred Scott Wentworth as Tevye. An Italian version, "Il violinista sul tetto", with lyrics sung in Yiddish and the orchestra on stage also serving as chorus, was given a touring production in 2004, with Moni Ovadia as Tevye and director; it opened at Teatro Municipale Valli in Reggio Emilia.


title: Fiddler on the Roof

text: A film version was released by United Artists in 1971, directed and produced by Norman Jewison, and Stein adapted his own book for the screenplay. Chaim Topol starred. The film received mostly positive reviews from film critics and became the highest-grossing film of 1971. "Fiddler" received eight Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director for Jewison, Best Actor in a Leading Role for Topol, and Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Leonard Frey (as Motel; in the original Broadway production, Frey was the rabbi's son). It won three, including best score/adaptation for arranger-conductor John Williams.


title: Fiddler on the Roof

text: In the film version, the character of Yente is reduced, and Perchik's song to Hodel "Now I Have Everything" is cut and replaced by a scene in Kyiv. The "Chagall color palette" of the original Broadway production was exchanged for a grittier, more realistic depiction of the village of Anatevka.


title: Fiddler on the Roof

text: Theatre historian John Kenrick wrote that the original Broadway cast album released by RCA Victor in 1964, "shimmers – an essential recording in any show lover's collection", praising the cast. The remastered CD includes two recordings not on the original album, the bottle dance from the wedding scene and "Rumor" performed by Beatrice Arthur. In 2020, the recording was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Kenrick writes that while the original Broadway cast version is the clear first choice among recordings of this musical, he also likes the Columbia Records studio cast album with Bernardi as Tevye; the film soundtrack, although he feels that the pace drags a bit; and some of the numerous foreign versions, including the Israeli, German and Japanese casts.


title: Fiddler on the Roof

text: MGM and producers Dan Jinks and Aaron Harnick are planning a new film adaptation of the musical, with Thomas Kail directing and co-producing, and Steven Levenson penning the screenplay.


title: Fiddler on the Roof

text: The musical's popularity has led to numerous references in popular media and elsewhere. A documentary film about the musical's history and legacy, "", was released in 2019.


title: Fiddler on the Roof

text: Parodies relating to the show have included "Antenna on the Roof" ("Mad" magazine #156, January 1973), which speculated about the lives of Tevye's descendants living in an assimilated 1970s suburban America. In the film "Mrs. Doubtfire" (1993), Robin Williams parodies "Matchmaker". In a 1994 "Animaniacs" parody, "Pigeon on the Roof", the Goodfeathers decide to marry their girlfriends; song parodies include "Scorsese" ("Tradition"), "Egg Hatcher" ("Matchmaker") and others. In 2001, the H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society published a musical theatre and album parody called "A Shoggoth on the Roof", which sets music from "Fiddler" to a story based on the works of H. P. Lovecraft. Spanish comedian and TV-host Jose Mota parodied "If I Were a Rich Man" with the song "Si no fuera rico" ("If I weren't a rich man") during his 2008 New Year's Eve special.


title: Fiddler on the Roof

text: References to the musical on television have included a 2005 episode of "Gilmore Girls" titled "Jews and Chinese Food", involving a production of the musical. A skit by "The Electric Company" about a village fiddler with a fear of heights, so he is deemed "Fiddler on the Chair". In the "Family Guy" episode "When You Wish Upon a Weinstein" (2003), William Shatner is depicted as playing Tevye in a scene from "Fiddler". The second episode of "Muppets Tonight", in 1996, featured Garth Brooks doing a piece of "If I were a Rich Man" in which he kicks several chickens off the roof. "The Rosie Show", a 1996 episode of "The Nanny", parodied the dream scene, when Mr. Sheffield fakes a dream to convince Fran not to be a regular on a TV show. A 2011 episode of NBC's "Community", entitled "Competitive Wine Tasting", included a parody titled "Fiddla, Please!" with an all-black cast dressed in "Fiddler on the Roof" costumes, singing "It's Hard to Be Jewish in Russia, Yo". Chabad.org kicked off their 2008 "To Life" telethon with a pastiche of the fiddle solo and bottle dance from the musical.


title: Fiddler on the Roof

text: Broadway references have included "Spamalot", where a "Grail dance" sends up the "bottle dance" in "Fiddler"s wedding scene. In 2001, Chicago's Improv Olympic produced a well-received parody, "The Roof Is on Fiddler", that used most of the original book of the musical but replaced the songs with 1980s pop songs. The original Broadway cast of the musical "Avenue Q" and the Broadway 2004 revival cast of "Fiddler on the Roof" collaborated for a Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS benefit and produced an approximately 10-minute-long show, "Avenue Jew", that incorporated characters from both shows, including puppets.


title: Fiddler on the Roof

text: Songs from the musical have been covered by notable artists. For example, in 1964, jazz saxophonist Cannonball Adderley recorded the album "Fiddler on the Roof", which featured jazz arrangements of eight songs from the musical. "AllMusic" awarded the album 4 stars and states "Cannonball plays near his peak; this is certainly the finest album by this particular sextet". That same year, Eydie Gormé released a single of "Matchmaker", and jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery recorded the same tune for his album "Movin' Wes". In 1999, Knitting Factory Records released "Knitting on the Roof", a compilation CD featuring covers of "Fiddler" songs by alternative bands such as the Residents, Negativland, and the Magnetic Fields. Indie rock band Bright Eyes recorded an adaptation of "Sunrise, Sunset" on their 2000 album "Fevers and Mirrors". "Allmusic" gave the album a favorable review, and the online music magazine "Pitchfork Media" ranked it at number 170 on their list of top 200 albums of the 2000s. In 2005, Melbourne punk band Yidcore released a reworking of the entire show called "Fiddling on Ya Roof".


title: Fiddler on the Roof

text: Gwen Stefani and Eve covered "If I Were a Rich Man" as "Rich Girl" for Stefani's 2004 debut solo album "Love. Angel. Music. Baby." in 2004. The song was inspired by the 1993 British Louchie Lou & Michie One ragga version of the same name. Stefani's version reached #7 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 chart, where it remained for over six months. It was certified gold by the RIAA and nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. It was also covered in 2008 and 2009 by the Capitol Steps, poking fun at Illinois politics, especially then-Governor Rod Blagojevich. The Santa Clara Vanguard Drum and Bugle Corps performs the "Bottle Dance" from "Fiddler" as a "recurring trademark", including at the Drum Corps International World Championships.


title: Fiddler on the Roof

text: The song "Sunrise, Sunset" is often played at weddings, and in 2011 Sheldon Harnick wrote two versions of the song, suitable for same-sex weddings, with minor word changes. For example, for male couples, changes include "When did they grow to be so handsome".


title: Fiddler on the Roof

text: In 2015 a displaced persons camp southwest of Kyiv named was built by Chabad Rabbi Moshe Azman to house the Jews fleeing the Russian invasion of Ukraine.


title: Fiddler on the Roof

text: "Fiddler"s original Broadway production in 1964 was nominated for ten Tony Awards, winning nine, including Best Musical, score, and book, and Robbins won for best direction and choreography. Mostel and Karnilova won as best leading actor and best featured actress. In 1972, the show won a special Tony on becoming the longest-running musical in Broadway history.


title: Fiddler on the Roof

text: Its revivals have also been honored. At the 1981 Tony Awards, Bernardi was nominated as best actor. Ten years later, the 1991 revival won for best revival, and Topol was nominated as best actor. The 2004 revival was nominated for six Tony Awards and three Drama Desk Awards but won none. The 2007 West End revival was nominated for Olivier Awards for best revival, and Goodman was nominated as best actor. The 2019 West End revival won the Olivier Award for best revival, and it received a further 7 nominations.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: Kraven the Hunter (Sergei Kravinoff; Russian: Сергей Кравинов) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Debuting in "The Amazing Spider-Man" issue #15 (August 1964) as an adversary to the superhero Spider-Man, he has since endured as one of the web-slinger's most formidable foes, and is part of the collective of adversaries that make up Spider-Man's rogues' gallery. Kraven has also come into conflict with other heroes, such as Black Panther and Tigra. He is the half-brother of the Chameleon and one of the founding members of the Sinister Six.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: In Kraven's first appearance, he refers to Spider-Man as "the most dangerous game" which is a direct reference to the 1924 short story of the same name The Most Dangerous Game, in which General Zaroff, a Russian big game hunter, hunts people as sport.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: Kraven is typically portrayed as a renowned big-game hunter whose goal in life is to best Spider-Man in order to prove himself as the world's greatest hunter. Though he is often overconfident in his own abilities, which he likes to boast about, he possesses a great sense of honor, and treats his adversaries as equals until proven otherwise. Because of this, Kraven has sometimes been depicted as an antihero and has teamed up with other heroes, including Spider-Man and Squirrel Girl, in "The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl" (2015–2019).


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: The character is widely regarded as one of Spider-Man's most formidable enemies, and has gained considerable attention from storylines such as 1987's "Fearful Symmetry: Kraven's Last Hunt," 2010's "Grim Hunt", 2015–2019's "The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl’s Friend Kraven", and 2019's "Hunted". In 2009, Kraven was ranked as IGN's 53rd greatest comic book villain of all time. The character has appeared in numerous Spider-Man media adaptations over the years including animated series and video games. Aaron Taylor-Johnson will portray Kraven in the Sony's Spider-Man Universe film "Kraven the Hunter" (2023).


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: The character first appeared in "The Amazing Spider-Man" issue #15 (August 1964), and was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko. Though he would occasionally appear in other characters' titles, he was most frequently used as a Spider-Man foe. He is killed off in the acclaimed 1987 storyline by J. M. DeMatteis, Mike Zeck, and Bob McLeod, "Kraven's Last Hunt". Although generally considered to be the definitive Kraven the Hunter story, the story originally had a completely different character in Kraven's role. Writer DeMatteis recounted:


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: Despite Kraven the Hunter being one of Spider-Man's most long-standing archenemies, DeMatteis claims that none of Marvel's editorial staff objected to the proposal to have him killed in the story. Kraven later returns as a ghost in the graphic novel "The Amazing Spider-Man: Soul of the Hunter", also by DeMatteis, Zeck, and McLeod. DeMatteis also wrote "Kraven's First Hunt" for "The Sensational Spider-Man" Annual '96, a retelling of "The Amazing Spider-Man" #15 which incorporated several DeMatteis retcons, such as that Kraven was abusive towards the Chameleon.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: Sergei Kravinoff (Сергей Кравинов) is a Russian immigrant, the son of an aristocrat who fled to the United States with his family in 1917 after the Russian nobility was decimated by the February Revolution and subsequent collapse of the reign of Tsar Nicholas II.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: Kraven is a maniacal big game hunter who seeks to defeat Spider-Man to prove that he is the greatest hunter in the world. Unlike other hunters, he typically disdains the use of guns or bow and arrows, preferring to take down large dangerous animals with his bare hands. He also lives by a code of honour of sorts, choosing to hunt his game fairly. He consumes a mystical serum to give himself enhanced strength and dramatically slow the aging process. Kraven was trained as a hunter largely by a mysterious man named Gregor, a mercenary who once battled Ka-Zar. Kraven was, at one point, the lover of the voodoo priestess Calypso.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: He is contacted by his half-brother the Chameleon to defeat Spider-Man. He leads Spider-Man to Central Park with the help of the Chameleon, who disguises himself as Kraven to use himself as a decoy while the real Kraven ambushes the hero. However, despite Kraven having weakened Spider-Man with a poisonous dart, Spider-Man prevails in the end. Spider-Man proves a frustrating quarry because Kraven continually underestimates the superhero's resourcefulness.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: Kraven becomes a founding member of the Sinister Six when he accepts Doctor Octopus's offer to form a team to fight Spider-Man where they capture Aunt May and Betty Brant. He attacks Spider-Man in Central Park with three tigers. Spider-Man easily fights off the attackers and secures the next clue to where Aunt May and Betty Brant are being held. After Aunt May and Betty Brant are rescued, Kraven the Hunter and the rest of the Sinister Six are arrested by the police.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: While in the Savage Land, Kraven the Hunter found Gog in a spaceship that he stumbles upon. Realizing how useful Gog can be, Kraven the Hunter decides to use him in a plot to conquer the Savage Land. After kidnapping the visiting Gwen Stacy from a camp in the Savage Land, Kraven and Gog battle the heroes Ka-Zar and Spider-Man. While Ka-Zar deals with Kraven, Spider-Man defeats Gog by luring him into a patch of quicksand, which he sinks to the bottom of.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: Determined to end his life as he becomes older, frustrated with his failing health and continuing failure to defeat Spider-Man, Kraven sets out a final hunt for Spider-Man. After capturing Spider-Man, he shoots him with a coma-inducing drug and buries him alive on his estate. To complete his victory, he attempts to become Spider-Man's clear superior by impersonating him in a brutal vigilante campaign and capturing Vermin, the one foe Spider-Man had never been able to defeat on his own (Spider-Man's last battle with Vermin required Captain America's assistance).


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: After Spider-Man emerges from his grave two weeks later, Kraven explains his actions to him and sets Vermin free, reaffirming to Kraven that his foe is an honorable man. Spider-Man goes after Vermin to prevent his killing again, giving Kraven the opportunity to leave a final confession of his crimes against Spider-Man and then commit suicide. Because of his suicide, his soul is unable to find rest until Spider-Man confronts his risen corpse on Kraven's behalf.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: Across "The Gauntlet" and "Grim Hunt", Kraven is resurrected from the dead by Sasha Kravinoff and the Kravinoff family with a ritual using the blood of Spider-Man. He is shown to now be explosively psychopathic and cold towards his family, beating his son Vladimir and daughter Ana and expressing little attention towards his wife. After being stabbed by his daughter Ana, Sergei recovers, stating that Sasha restored him with corrupted blood which he calls "unlife". They pull off the mask of the corpse of Spider-Man hung in their mantel and discover that Kaine is in Spider-Man's costume. Spider-Man, in his black costume, confronts Kraven and the rest of the Kravinoff Family. Spider-Man is tempted to kill Kraven, but he refuses to do so when he is reminded by Julia Carpenter (who has inherited the powers of Madame Web after her death) that committing murder is not in his moral code. Following their defeat by Spider-Man, Kraven and his family escape to the Savage Land. While there, Kraven brutally kills Sasha (who complained that Kraven would have to hunt them to prove their place in the Kravinoff family) and euthanizes Vladimir. Alyosha flees in disgust of what his dad did to his stepmom and half-brother afterwards. Kraven and Ana discuss rebuilding the Kravinoff family, which leads to Ana running off to hunt Alyosha to prove herself worthy to Kraven and rebuild the Kravinoff family.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: It was later revealed that back in the 1950s, Kraven the Hunter was a member of Nick Fury's version of the Avengers alongside Dominic Fortune I, Dum Dum Dugan, Namora, Silver Sable, Sabretooth, and Ulysses Bloodstone, tracking a stolen version of the Super-Soldier Serum combined with the Infinity Formula that had been stolen by a group of Nazis attempting to create their own Captain America.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: While he is in the Savage Land, Agent Venom lands in the area on an unrelated mission from the federal government. Mistaking him to be Spider-Man, Kraven attacks him and gains the upper hand before Venom escapes.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: At one point, Kraven is contacted by a doctor who once treated him when a past hunt went wrong, the doctor requesting that Kraven track down a recent patient of hers - who had been used as a test subject to duplicate another man's electrical abilities — as well as asking that he capture the Black Panther — currently acting as a 'local' vigilante to regain his sense of self after the destruction of Wakanda's vibranium - in return for her help finding a way for him to die. With the aid of Storm, T'Challa is able to stay ahead of Kraven long enough to convince him that the doctor had lied about being able to kill him, Kraven agreeing to leave T'Challa alone and take the doctor's mutated animal subjects back with him into the wild.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: When their identities became fractured after a temporary separation, the Hulk discovers that Bruce Banner had hired Kraven to find the lost city of the Sasquatches. Although the Hulk was uninterested with helping the Sasquatches deal with Kraven, he changes his mind and beats up Kraven.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: Kaine, in the alias of the Scarlet Spider, later encountered Kraven the Hunter, who was dressed as the Scarlet Spider in order to torment him. With the help of Ana, Kraven kidnapped Kaine's friends in order to motivate the Scarlet Spider to fight him. In the end, Kaine delivered Kraven a fatal blow in the chest, which paralyzed his heart. But using the same attack, Kaine brought him back to life supposedly still breaking the curse. Following the fight, both Kravens disappeared.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: Kraven, still claiming to be cursed, next battles Squirrel Girl at Empire State University, having earned her ire by lashing out at the local squirrels, including Tippy-Toe. Kraven departs when Squirrel Girl informs him of the existence of sea monsters like Giganto and challenges him to hunt them, instead of limiting himself to going after the same prey he did prior to his resurrection. He later returns to abduct Howard the Duck, but gets trapped with Howard and Squirrel Girl in a manhunt as the hunted. After surviving, he vows to only "hunt the hunters".


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: During the "" storyline, Kraven the Hunter was an inmate of Pleasant Hill, a gated community established by S.H.I.E.L.D. who used Kobik's abilities to turn Kraven the Hunter into a zookeeper. He rallied some of his fellow inmates to help him find Kobik and bring her to Baron Helmut Zemo.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: During the "Opening Salvo" part of the "Secret Empire" storyline, Kraven the Hunter is recruited by Baron Helmut Zemo to join the Army of Evil. At the time when Manhattan was surrounded by a Darkforce Dome, Kraven the Hunter raided the "Daily Bugle" in order to find information to the identity of Spider-Man. Knowing that J. Jonah Jameson would be in danger, Phil Sheldon's daughter Jennie headed to J. Jonah Jameson's house to warn him. After Kraven the Hunter attacked J. Jonah Jameson, Jennie Sheldon fired a signal flare into the sky. This attracted the attention of Spider-Woman, who defeated Kraven the Hunter. Jennie Sheldon even took pictures of the fight.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: At the time when Venom encountered some Dinosaur People in the sewers, Kraven the Hunter followed Venom and killed an "Ankylosaurus"-type Dinosaur Person before engaging Venom in battle. He was fended off by Venom, who vowed to fight Kraven again. Upon the news of Dinosaur People being found beneath the streets of New York City, Mayor Wilson Fisk and NYPD Commissioner Chris Rafferty appointed Kraven the Hunter to lead a SWAT Team into the sewers and eliminate them. When Venom deactivated each trap and confronted Kraven, Venom was caught off-guard when Kraven the Hunter revealed his secret ally Shriek, who used her attacks on Venom and then collapsed the ceiling over him. Shriek then tells Kraven the Hunter that she can have Eddie Brock's head after the mission is done. As the Dinosaur People feed on the rats that enter their lair, Kraven the Hunter sneaks up on some Dinosaur People and kills them. Venom catches up to Kraven the Hunter and fights him and Shriek. With help from Tana, Venom stated that the Dinosaur People were not killing anybody and that they are only surviving underground. Kraven the Hunter and Shriek are arrested by the NYPD, as the captain stated that he never liked Kraven the Hunter anyway.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: Kraven the Hunter was hired by the evil organization Rampart to lure Captain America to them. After a brief struggle with Kraven the Hunter, Captain America was frozen in ice by Rampart's freeze cannon.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: Squirrel Girl has helped Kraven reform, teaming up with him to fight other villains, even establishing a friendship with him. She helps Kraven realize that Spider-Man is not even "close" to being the most dangerous prey in the Marvel Universe.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: In a prelude to "Hunted", Kraven the Hunter reminisces about how Sasha, Vladimir, and Alyosha were killed by him and Ana for not living up to his legacy. After cutting a deal with the High Evolutionary, Kraven the Hunter has 87 clones of him created, trained as the Sons of Kraven, and sent out to prove themselves by being hunted by each other. This motif caused Ana to leave him. The one that hunted and killed the other Sons of Kraven was labeled as the Last Son of Kraven. With help from the Taskmaster, the Black Ant, and Arcade, Kraven the Hunter starts hunting various animal-themed characters, like the Beetle, the Kangaroo, the Owl, the Puma, the Serpent Society, the Squid, and the White Rabbit. In the case of the King Cobra, the Rhino, the Scorpion, Stegron the Dinosaur Man, the Tarantula, and the Vulture, they were grouped together as the Savage Six. While making the final preparations for the "Great Hunt," Kraven the Hunter recaps on his own immortality when it was revealed that the Kraven the Hunter that was stabbed by the Scarlet Spider was actually a clone. Kraven the Hunter sends the Last Son of Kraven to capture Spider-Man for the Great Hunt. After a Hunter-Bot created by Arcade Industries is demonstrated on the Iguana, Kraven the Hunter and Arcade begin the Great Hunt, where Central Park is surrounded by a dome that is from the same technology as the Planetary Defense System. It is revealed that the moment the individual connects to the Hunter-Bot and if it is destroyed, then the individual is killed, which is what happens when the Vulture destroys Bob's Hunter-Bot. Kraven the Hunter plans this from the beginning to punish the hunters for killing animals for sport. Kraven the Hunter has Arcade tell the Vulture that there is a chance to break the force field by killing more Hunter-Bots. During a fight between the Hunter-Bots and the animal-themed characters, Kraven the Hunter's secret motive is to force Spider-Man into killing him again so that he can be free from his dreadful curse. He does this by trapping Curt Connors when he tries to rescue his son, Billy. Spider-Man was forced to "kill" Curt by tearing out the implant chip that prevented Curt hurting humans as the Lizard, despite the risk that taking out the chip would kill Curt. After Spider-Man found the dead bodies of the guards that were killed when the Lizard escaped, he was confronted by Kraven the Hunter. During their fight, Spider-Man figured out that Kraven the Hunter was the one who killed the guards to frame the Lizard, as the wounds are too precise for the Lizard's feral claws. In order to guilt Spider-Man into becoming a hunter, Kraven the Hunter attempts to force Spider-Man to watch the Lizard save Billy and the Black Cat from the Last Son of Kraven, but Spider-Man rejects the idea that this can only be accomplished through violence. Upon realizing that he was the beast that he was wanting to kill all along, Kraven the Hunter released all the surviving animal-themed characters and sends Spider-Man to protect Mary Jane. Kraven the Hunter then dons a copy of Spider-Man's black costume to act like him once more. When the Last Son of Kraven was conned into strangling Kraven the Hunter to death, he soon realized that he was fooled when he sees Spider-Man swinging away. His funeral is later attended by the Last Son of Kraven. The Chameleon is revealed to be one of the attendees as he is pleased that Kraven the Hunter spared him from the Great Hunt. As he walks away, the Chameleon quotes to his dead half-brother to sleep well and states "You needn't worry. The world is no longer your burden. Besides, there won't be much of it left soon...not by the time I've finished".


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: Sometime later, Kraven is pulled through time from moments before his death by Galactus to help their shared friend Squirrel Girl defeat Melissa Morbeck and her own coterie of time-displaced supervillains and former villains. Telling her not to blame herself for his ultimate fate. After reuniting with Doreen and thanking her for all she had done for him Kraven, bids Doreen a final goodbye before being returned to his death.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: Kraven: Excuse the interruption, but I believe we are being sent back too, Doreen.Squirrel Girl: Kraven, I--Kraven: "Nyet." You are alive, and we did good when we had the chance. That is all anyone can ask from life. I do not know what happens now, and my memories of this will be erased. But there is something that I would like you to recall whenever you think of me, my dear friend. It is a saying from Russia... ""Govoryat, shto kur doyat."" Belka... "Wink!" ...don't believe everything you hear.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: By regularly ingesting the potion made from various unnamed jungle herbs, Kraven grants himself superhuman physical abilities, making him a physical threat to Spider-Man, although these powers are not as developed as those possessed by Spider-Man. Kraven's body is also more durable and more resistant to certain forms of injury than the body of a normal human. He can withstand great impact forces, such as falling from several stories or being repeatedly struck by a superhumanly strong opponent, that would severely injure or kill a normal human, with little to no injury to himself. The effects of the potion have dramatically altered Kraven's aging process to the point that he has aged little, if at all, over several decades. Despite being over 70 years of age, he has the physical appearance of a 30-year-old man.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: The potion enhances Kraven's sight, hearing, and smell to superhuman levels, adding to his already impressive tracking skills. He can see farther, and with much greater clarity, than a normal human. His hearing is similarly enhanced, enabling him to detect sounds which an ordinary human cannot, or sounds that a normal human could detect, but at much greater distances. Kraven can use his sense of smell to track a target by scent, much as some animals do, even if the scent has been somewhat eroded by natural factors.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: Even without his superhuman powers, Kraven is an Olympic-level athlete, and a gifted tactician, hunter and hand-to-hand combatant. He also has great knowledge of pressure points, both in the anatomy of humans and in many animals. He can strike at these nerve clusters with pinpoint accuracy, allowing him to incapacitate more powerful opponents or animals. He is familiar with many exotic poisons and tranquilizers, which he often uses during his hunts.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: Due to a flaw in the ceremony that resurrected him, Kraven was given "the "unlife"... the eternal curse", as he discovered when his daughter stabbed him through the heart. According to Kraven, he can now only die by Spider-Man's hand. However, this curse was apparently broken when Kaine temporarily killed Kraven by stopping his heart and then restarting it with the same move.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: Kraven the Hunter had different family members and clones. He even fathered several children who have followed in his footsteps:


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: Vladimir Kravinoff was a son of Sergei Kravinoff, the infamous adversary of Spider-Man known as Kraven the Hunter. Unlike his illegitimate half-brother Alyosha Kravinoff who was raised in shame in Africa, Vladimir grew up in Russia benefiting from his father's wealth and luxuries. However, their father often neglected both sons while he pursued his various international quarries. Unaware of his siblings, Vladimir was raised by Sergei's servant Gregor who acted as a surrogate father teaching him Sergei's hunting techniques. When Vlad was still a boy, Sergei put his son through a rite of passage, hunting Vladimir while disguised as the fabled "Grim Hunter." Impressed by his son's abilities learned under Gregor, Sergei began to train Vlad personally. Vladimir Kravinoff took up the name "Grim Hunter" and decided to hunt down Spider-Man and several of his foes. He only had one battle with Spider-Man, and his methods were nearly the same as his father's. He was briefly involved with the Hobgoblin, even giving his identity of Jason Macendale his father's super-strength formula which reacted to the anomalies in his bloodstream which gave him greater power. This is perhaps the reason why Vladimir became more powerful than his father when he took the treatment. When he got out of jail, he decided to track Spider-Man down again only to fight the Scarlet Spider instead. Kaine (a clone of Spider-Man) arrived and after a confrontation, Vladimir was killed by the insane duplicate. On death's door, he staggered to Gregor falling in his arms and died shortly after that.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: During "The Gauntlet and Grim Hunt" storyline, Sasha Kravinoff sacrifices Mattie Franklin as part of a revival ritual that resurrects Vladimir as a humanoid lion creature. Vladimir being revived as a humanoid lion was the result of Mattie not being a "pure spider." Vladimir later assists Ana Kravinoff and Alyosha Kravinoff with capturing Anya Corazon as well as a second attempt to capture Arachne. Following Kraven the Hunter's resurrection, Vladimir was shown attempting to attack Arachne and Araña while they are bound. Sergei fends off Vladimir rather brutally. Sasha mentioned to Sergei that Vladimir's sub-human state was the result of a test resurrection to see if she can revive Sergei. After Spider-Man defeated the Kravinoff family, they escaped to the Savage Land where Sergei killed Sasha (because she complained about being hunted in order to become a true Kravinoff) and euthanizes Vladimir (which Kraven does due "to respect for the dead").


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: Alyosha Kravinoff is a mutant who is the second Kraven the Hunter some time after the death of Vladmir.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: Unlike Vladimir, Alyosha was separated from his family and raised in an African jungle. After Kraven the Hunter's suicide, Alyosha came to New York City to investigate the father he barely knew. Dressed as Kraven, Alyosha confronted his uncle Dmitri Smerdyakov (AKA Chameleon). Believing his abusive half-brother had returned from the dead, Chameleon revealed to Alyosha much about the dysfunctional Kravinoff family. Kraven's former lover Calypso Ezili did actually return from the dead and she mistook Alyosha for Kraven the Hunter. She seduced Alyosha, but afterwards he spurned her affections. Later, riding a bull elephant atop Manhattan's rooftops, Alyosha attacked Spider-Man. He poisoned him with a hallucinogenic dart, but then set him free. While at the Kravinoff estate, Alyosha was learning about his father from Spider-Man when Calypso returned with Kraven's tribesmen. She set the home ablaze and killed all but Gulyadkin the Lion. Calypso poisoned Alyosha and Spider-Man and used her hypnotic powers to force the two to fight to the death. Spider-Man resisted and injured Calypso, while Alyosha subdued her with his lion. Despite asking for her forgiveness, Alyosha savagely killed Calypso and all the tribesmen with her.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: He was later hired by the city of New York to help capture the Fantastic Four's enigmatic enormous canid Puppy. Next, he was hired by White Wolf, head of the deposed Wakandan secret police, to capture Black Panther. Black Panther turned the battle around, nearly killing Alyosha. Sandman later invited Alyosha to join Sandman's Sinister Six to hunt Doctor Octopus and Senator Ward (the host body for the alien Z'nox). Venom, slighted at his rejection by the Six, hunted each of the team members. Refusing to be "the hunted," Alyosha trapped Venom with fire, but Venom seriously injured him and escaped.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: Alyosha then adopted a more relaxed personality as a suave, witty ladies' man. As "Al," he began dating Timber Hughes, an aspiring actress who worked as a waitress at an all-villain bar. Al sought to help Timber's career in Hollywood by becoming a director. Despite celebrity connections, Al's efforts were stonewalled by arrogance, greed, and corruption within the Hollywood elite. Forced out of Hollywood by the powerful Rothstein brothers, Al is beaten while Timber was brutally raped. Both Al and Timber exacted vengeance which involved defeating another half-brother Ned Tannengarden (who was later killed by Chameleon) and left Hollywood to pursue heroics in New York City.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: Alyosha is one of few mutants that retained their superhuman powers after the M-Day. He is one of the superpowered beings recruited within the "Beyond!" miniseries by Stranger posing as the Beyonder.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: Alyosha Kraven later eventually becomes fully deranged from experimenting with his father's potions, and in his madness began collecting a zoo of animal-themed superhumans, including Bushmaster II, Gargoyle II, Tiger Shark, Kangaroo II, Aragorn (the version that was owned by the Vatican Black Knight), Vulture, Mongoose, Man-Bull, Dragon Man, Swarm, Mandrill, Grizzly III, Frog-Man, and Rhino. In the end, the Punisher (whom Kraven referred to as "Tiny Monkey") managed to sabotage this zoo. Kraven himself escapes to the Savage Land.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: During "The Gauntlet" storyline, Alyosha returned to New York to help his half-sister Ana and stepmother Sasha in the Grim Hunt by hunting Kaine. They then witness Spider-Man's fight with the Lizard. He was present at the ritual where Sasha sacrificed Mattie Franklin as part of a revival ritual that resurrects his half-brother Vladimir as a humanoid lion-like creature. After the Kravinoff Family was defeated, Alyosha alongside the other Kravinoff Family members escaped to the Savage Land. Alyosha soon abandoned his family after Kraven killed Sasha and Vladimir. In an attempt to impress Kraven, Ana pursued Alyosha with the intent of killing him in exchange that he trains her in order to rebuild the Kravinoff Family.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: Alyosha was later confirmed to have been killed in the Savage Land by his sister Ana when she and their father returned from the Savage Land to hunt down Kaine in Houston, Texas.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: There was a third son named Nedrocci "Ned" Tannengarden who tried to kill Alyosha, but he was murdered by the Chameleon (who, during that time, believed himself to be the original Kraven the Hunter).


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: It was revealed during 2009's "X-Men/Spider-Man" crossover miniseries that years earlier, Kraven made a deal with Mister Sinister. He and the Blob tracked down the X-Men, and they fought the united forces of Spider-Man and the original X-Men. Kraven fled after a short battle, but not before wounding each member of the X-Men. Kraven returned to Sinister, with genetic samples from Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Iceman, Angel, and Beast. Furthermore, Sinister requested from Kraven a sample of his DNA. Mister Sinister later cut a deal with Carnage in order to obtain a sample of the Carnage symbiote. After removing the sentience from the Carnage symbiote sample, Mister Sinister combined it with the DNA of the original X-Men and Kraven the Hunter, where he would use this creation at a later date. Years later after the death of Kraven, an ex-Morlock who had kept his powers post M-Day named Joe Buggs was murdered by a mysterious mutant hunter. His friend Ed (who had lost his powers) went to the X-Men for help. He claimed that the man who killed Buggs was Kraven the Hunter. Although they were skeptical about Kraven's apparent resurrection, the X-Men called on the help of Spider-Man, who had battled Kraven many times over the years. After discussing the battle that they had with Kraven years ago and the fact that he had given samples of the X-Men's DNA to Sinister for cloning, the lights went out on the wing where they were located. The hunter attacked and quickly dispatched Colossus, but was held at bay by Spider-Man's webbing. He broke free, claiming his name is Xraven. The X-Men quickly realize that Xraven has all of the powers of the original X-Men, while also sporting retractable claws, big hands and feet, fangs, and wings that have a very flexible skeletal structure enough for him to press them to the back of his torso and legs with only the slightest bulge visible under his clothing (Carnage's DNA allowed the wings to be flexible). He was able to defeat Cyclops and Shadowcat, holding her hostage, giving the ultimatum that he would kill her if they did not surrender. Spider-Man insulted Xraven, claiming that Kraven would never threaten a helpless girl. Xraven was momentarily fazed by his comment, but attacked again, claiming that he is the "favored one". Cyclops realizes Xraven's weakness and tells him that Mister Sinister sees him as nothing but a pawn. He tells Xraven to read his mind, in order for him to see the kind of a man Sinister really is. After Xraven sees Cyclops's memories, he flees, but the X-Men become aware of the fact that he was able to get DNA samples from Shadowcat, Colossus, Nightcrawler, and Wolverine. Returning to Mister Sinister with the samples, Mister Sinister tells him that he planned to clone a new generation of mutants, and that he would unite all mutantkind. After seeing what Sinister's real intentions were in Cyclops's memories, Xraven destroys the samples, claiming that Mister Sinister would breed slaves as opposed to warriors, and Xraven attacks him. Although it is clear that Mister Sinister survived his confrontation with Xraven, it is currently unknown whether Xraven survived.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: Upon researching Xraven, Captain America does not consider him evil. He states that Xraven must be brought in, partly because of the murder he committed and partly to prevent the Kravinoff family from obtaining him.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: The daughter of Kraven the Hunter, Ana Kravinoff becomes the first female to take on the name of Kraven the Hunter. She first appears tracking Spider-Man to his apartment, but mistakenly believes Peter Parker's roommate Vin Gonzales was him. She then methodically ruins Vin's life, and captures him. Despite Vin's claims that he was not Spider-Man, Kraven prepared to hunt him, but was stopped by the real Spider-Man, who was wearing Daredevil's costume (which had eyelids for him to be able to see). At the end, it is revealed that she is Kraven's daughter by a woman called Sasha Aleksandra Nikolaevich (also the mother of the deceased Vladimir Kravinoff). She and her mother have recently set about forming an alliance of Spider-Man villains to get revenge on the wall-crawler and kidnap Madame Web. They also hired Deadpool to keep him distracted while they kidnapped Mattie Franklin. Ana and Sasha later meet up with Alyosha Kravinoff, who assists them in preparing for the "Grim Hunt", where they start going after Kaine.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: Ana assists her half-brother Alyosha Kravinoff into attempting to abduct Arachne, only to run afoul of Spider-Man, who repels them. Ana alongside Alyosha, Electro, and Diablo are present when Sasha sacrifices Mattie Franklin as part of a ritual that resurrects Vladimir Kravinoff as a humanoid lion creature. Ana alongside Vladimir and Alyosha attacks Anya Corazon, only to end up fighting Spider-Man, Arachne, Kaine, and Ezekiel (who was really Ana's half-uncle Chameleon in disguise). The Kravinoffs manage to overpower them and make off with Anya and Arachne. After Chameleon sheds his disguise and Spider-Man partially succumbs to the drugs the Kravinoffs have given him, Ana is present when Kaine (dressed as Spider-Man) is killed as a sacrifice as part of a ritual that revives her father Sergei Kravinoff. Following the resurrection, Sergei gets acquainted with his family. When Kraven returns after preventing Vladimir from attacking the captives, he is shown to lack a sense of control, attacking Ana until he is stabbed in the heart by Ana in self-defense. Sergei recovers, stating that Sasha restored him with corrupted blood or the "unlife" as he puts it. When the Kravinoff Family is defeated, Ana alongside the other Kravinoffs escapes to the Savage Land. After Sasha and Vladimir are killed by Kraven and Alyosha flees, she runs off to hunt Alyosha to prove herself to Kraven. She tells Kraven that if she can take down Alyosha, Kraven should train her and help rebuild the Kravinoff family. Otherwise, he will forget about family.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: Ana later attacks Anya Corazon (who is now operating as Spider-Girl) in an attempt to finish the hunt she started during The Grim Hunt. Although obviously the stronger fighter, Ana is eventually defeated thanks to Spider-Girl's experience at fighting in New York City. She is thereafter incarcerated.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: Ana later escapes incarceration and heads to Houston to hunt Kaine (the current Scarlet Spider). Ana and her brother Alyosha deliver the killing blows to Kaine that lead to his blood resurrecting her father Kraven the Hunter. However, since Kaine himself was resurrected shortly afterwards so that there could be balance between Hunters and Spiders, it remains to be seen what other motives Ana has for Kaine as there are visions of a dark future ahead for the Scarlet Spider.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: With the help of Ana, Kraven kidnaps Kaine's friends in order to motivate the Scarlet Spider to fight him. In the end, Kaine delivers a fatal blow to Kraven, which paralyzes his heart. But using the same attack, Kaine brings him back to life, supposedly breaking the curse. Following the fight, both Kravens disappear.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: Ana Kravinoff later serves as the guide to the Inhumans Gorgon and Flint, taking them to the Chimanimani Mountains of Mozambique, Africa, where they found the hidden Inhuman city of Utolan. During this time, Ana reveals that she has Inhuman ancestry on her mother's side, something she discovered while hunting down her mother's family members (and for which her father tried to kill her when she told him). She came to Utolan looking for a cure, but was sedated by order of the councilwoman Sanara, who took some of her genetic material for use in the city's Eugenics-based practices. Ana managed to escape and hunted down Sanara. She was exposed to the Terrigen Mist cloud during her hunt, which awakened her Inhuman genes. As she prepares to kill Sanara, Ana notes that it is time to "embrace [her] nature".


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: In a prelude to the "Hunted" storyline, Ana accompanies her father in hunting the New Men in order to draw out the High Evolutionary. When Ana learned that her father had the High Evolutionary make 87 clones of himself, Ana considers this a disgrace to the Kravinoff family and declares herself a "Kravinoff no more" which Kraven shrugs off.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: During the "Sinister War" storyline, Ana Kravinoff is discussed as a new recruit for the Sinister Syndicate. Kindred's giant centipedes bring the Sinister Syndicate and Ana to Kindred where Foreigner's group and the Superior Foes are, as Kindred holds a contest for someone to take down Spider-Man so that he can be punished for his sins. Ana is with the Sinister Syndicate when they intercept Overdrive, who was carrying Spider-Man away from Foreigner's group.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: Kraven's wife and Ana's mother Sasha Kravinoff was part of a Gauntlet on Spider-Man's life, causing chaos and weakening the web-slinger prior to the events that led to resurrecting Kraven from the grave.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: The Last Son of Kraven was one of the many "Sons of Kraven" that was cloned from Kraven the Hunter's DNA by the High Evolutionary. He hunted his fellow clones and returned to Kraven the Hunter, where he proved himself by presenting him with the skulls of his fellow clones. Kraven the Hunter sent the Last Son of Kraven to subdue and capture Spider-Man for the upcoming Great Hunt that is sponsored by Arcade's company, Arcade Industries. The Last Son of Kraven later chased after the Black Cat. Kraven the Hunter donned the black Spider-Man suit, where he tricked the Last Son of Kraven into killing him. After attending his funeral of his "father," the Last Son of Kraven went to the Kravinoff estate, ripped off his clothes, and trashed it out of frustration. After calming down and drinking some wine, the Last Son of Kraven found a letter written to him by his "father" behind Kraven the Hunter's rifle on the wall. The letter from Kraven the Hunter stated that the Last Son of Kraven was to finally inherit his legacy not as Kraven's son, but as the man himself, since he was cloned from his DNA. The Last Son of Kraven read in the letter "You were forged in fire, born in blood. My spirit made flesh. More than my child—you are me, and I am you. One and the same now." This led to the Last Son of Kraven taking on the aliases of both Sergei Kravinoff and Kraven the Hunter, where he cuts his hair, wipes off his tiger stripes, and dons a copy of Kraven the Hunter's costume.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: Doctor Octopus and Electro find Kraven the Hunter in the Savage Land hunting a dinosaur. Electro shocks the dinosaur and Doctor Octopus recruits Kraven the Hunter into the Sinister Six by promising him to hunt down the Lizard. Kraven the Hunter joins the Sinister Six into fighting the Savage Six at the time when the Savage Six were attacking the debut of the movie that Mysterio was involved in.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: In his first hunt, Kraven the Hunter hunted Deadpool where he started by killing some monsters. Deadpool was able to defeat Kraven the Hunter by having a Soul-Eater transport him to Alaska.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: During the "Sinister War" storyline, Kraven the Hunter accompanies the Sinister Six in fighting the Savage Six.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: During the "Devil's Reign" storyline, Kraven the Hunter appears as a member of Mayor Wilson Fisk's incarnation of the Thunderbolts at the time when Mayor Fisk passes a law that forbids superhero activities. He was seen in the woods pursuing Elektra in her Daredevil attire. After evading on of his traps, Elektra is confronted by Kraven who was looking for a challenge in his hunts. Despite giving Elektra a hard time and being assisted by the Thunderbolts agents, Kraven the Hunter was defeated by Elektra.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: During the "Beyond" storyline, Kraven the Hunter stalked Ben Reilly's Spider-Man appearance at the time when Ben was working for the Beyond Corporation. After hitting Spider-Man with his special darts in order to cleanse him for the hunt, Kraven the Hunter triggered an explosion to get away leaving Ben too weak to go after him.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: During the "" storyline, Kraven the Hunter was seen at the North Pole where he hunts a seal. Then he uses its corpse to draw out a polar bear and hunt it. Though Kraven the Hunter did find something on the removed body part of the polar bear. Sometime later, Kraven the Hunter arrived at a Siberian bar wearing the pelt of the dead polar bear and carrying a bag containing a ripped-up Deadpool. A patron speaks in Russian about the mutants becoming apex predators in light of recent events. Kraven the Hunter asks in question "What did you say?" After seeing the Progenitor and showing it an X that he carved into the palm of his left hand, Kraven the Hunter prepared to hunt mutants when Deadpool pulled himself back together. Upon learning that Deadpool was "given the keys" to Krakoa, Kraven the Hunter beheaded him in order to access a Krakoan gate. Once on Krakoa, he started desecrating the mutant eggs. Then he hunted Maggott, an unidentified blue-skinned mutant, an unidentified mutant with antlers, and a mutant family with tusks. Before slaying Icarus, Kraven the Hunter learned from him that Wolverine was the best among them. This led to Kraven the Hunter abducting Beast and used him to get the knowledge he needed for the Shadow Room which he started to use on Wolverine when he returned. When Wolverine caught up to Kraven the Hunter at the time when the Progenitor's attack on Krakoa caused the Shadow Room to have a structural failure that will cause it collapse, he fought Kraven the Hunter and defeated him as Kraven the Hunter is attacked by a Tyrannosaurus. Sometime after the Progenitor was defeated, an injured Kraven the Hunter finds its remains once again occupied by the Avengers and claims that he will return to Krakoa and butcher the mutants when its end is near and taste the iron in their hearts.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: In this rendition, Kraven is a hunter from a TV show and claims he will kill Spider-Man when paid by the Chameleon. He defeated Spider-Man once and injured his arm, but Spider-Man barely escapes. When he and the Chameleon fight Spider-Man, he defeats both of them and calls the police.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: During the "Secret Wars" storyline in the pages of "The ", Kraven the Hunter appears as a member of the Regent's Sinister Six, who are tasked to hunt down Spider-Man.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: On Earth-001 during the "Spider-Verse" storyline, Kravinoff (a man that resembles Kraven the Hunter) is a member of the Hounds who are servants of Verna of the Inheritors. He accompanies Verna and the other Hounds when they head to Earth-1610 to hunt Miles Morales. He is killed by the Superior Spider-Man, and his allies Spider-Punk and Assassin Spider-Man.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: On Earth-803, set as well during the "Spider-Verse" storyline, he appears as member of the "Six Men of Sinestry" battling Lady Spider.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: This dimension's Kraven, known as Karnov, is a member of the Sinister Sextet, the dimension's Sinister Six. In addition to being a hunter, Karnov is also a butcher. The Web Warriors (alternate versions of Spider-Man) visited the 1602 Universe to deal with the Sinister Sextet and apprehended the villains.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: In "Marvel Noir", Kraven is depicted as a former animal trainer in a circus that was taken by Norman Osborn, a mob boss known as "the Goblin", as one of his hitmen and collectors. He was killed when a mass of man-eating spiders covered his body and started eating him during Spider-Man's fight with Osborn. His final act was to kill Osborn when his mangled spider-ridden corpse lands on him, thus spreading the miniature man-eaters.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: Kraven is seen on "Marvel Zombies: Evil Evolution" attacking the Marvel Apes along with other zombies, often hungry for human (or in this case, ape) flesh. He also makes a brief cameo appearance on "Marvel Zombies: Dead Days", when the zombie Sinister Six attack Wolverine and Magneto. It is later revealed that he was actually infected by the Earth-Z zombie Sentry, thereby spreading the infection all over the dimension.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: In the first issue, he is seen with his Sinister Six teammates terrorizing Empire State University after the Kingpin hires them to distract a heist. When a zombified Spider-Man next comes to the dimension, he was zombified by the Zombie Spider-Man after he violently rips out his throat, as Spider-Man's efforts to resist his hunger were overwhelmed by the unique scent of Kraven's various jungle potions. As he next devours Peter's friends alongside the undead Sinister Six, the very-angry Zombie Spider-Man kills him.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: In the pages of "Old Man Logan" that took place on Earth-21923, Kraven the Hunter was among the villains that took part in the elimination of the superheroes. During the fight in Manhattan, Kraven the Hunter emerged from the alley after the Punisher killed Electro. He sneaked up on the Punisher and stabbed him in the chest.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: In the pages of "Old Man Hawkeye", which took place on Earth-807128 before the original "Old Man Logan" arc, there was a hunting group called the Killer Kravinoffs that use the hunting methods of Kraven the Hunter. They consist of Vladlena Kravinoff and her unnamed brothers who seek to live up to the legacy of their grandfather. The Killer Kravinoffs catch up to Marshal Bullseye who trailed Hawkeye to Kree Haven where Abner Jenkins was hiding out in a Doombot factory. They reveal to Bullseye that the President Red Skull has placed a bounty on his head and that they have taken advantage of it due to them being hunters. Bullseye manages to slay the Killer Kravinoffs, though he was too wounded to continue his next attack on Hawkeye.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: In Warp World, where the universe was folded in half during the "Infinity Wars" storyline, Kraven was fused with the Bushman. He is a villain of the superhero Aracknight (a fusion between Spider-Man and the Moon Knight) and he is seen fighting the Ghost Panther (a fusion between the Black Panther and the Ghost Rider).


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: In the "Spider-Gwen" universe, Kraven the Hunter is a known hunter. In order to catch Spider-Woman, police captain Frank Castle hired him.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: In a continuity where characters naturally aged after Peter Parker became Spider-Man in 1962, an aged Kraven hunts down Spider-Man as he dismisses the events of the Cold War. When Kraven tries burying Peter alive, the Venom symbiote that was bonded to Spider-Man helps him escape the grave and nearly causes him to kill Kraven before Mary Jane helped separate it from him. After that, Kraven feels he had accomplished his goal and gets ready to commit suicide as he's also suffering from cancer. However, the symbiote bonds with Kraven before the hunter commits suicide with his rifle.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: In 2019, the Venom-possessed Kraven attacks Peter and Miles Morales in Doctor Doom's space station as the two heroes attempt to shut down Doom's technology across the planet. When he attempts to let the symbiote possess Miles, he discovers that Otto Octavius is possessing Miles's body, allowing Peter the chance to attack him with a sonic blast from his suit. When the symbiote separates from him, he is nothing more than a skeleton.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: In the "Ultimate Marvel" series, Sergei Kravinoff is a Russian-Australian and the host of his own TV reality show. In the TV show, he hunts down dangerous animals and intends to hunt and kill Spider-Man on live television in order to boost his ratings (after his first fight with Doctor Octopus attacking Justin Hammer's NY facility). He is arrested after being knocked out with a single punch by the superhero (who was trying to help two people out of an overturned car) and his show is cancelled.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: In the "Ultimate Six" story arc, Kraven the Hunter was interviewed on a talk show where its host questioned him about the "enhancements" he took where he denied any knowledge of it. While exiting the TV studio, Kraven is confronted by the Ultimates for tampering with his genetic structire despite his lawyer's attempt to defuse the situation as Wasp disables the camera that was filming them. He flees before being taken down by Hawkeye. When being taken to his cell by Sharon Carter, Kraven briefly assumed a gruesome animalistic appearance with long messy hair, large hands and feet with claws on them, larger muscles, enlarged red veins, darker skin, fang-like teeth, cat-like eyes, and berserk-like feral behavior before being shocked by the inhibitor collar on him. Kraven eventually escapes from the Triskelion with other Spider-Man villains Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, Electro, and Sandman. They capture Spider-Man, tie him up, unmask him, humiliate him, and blackmail him into joining their group as its sixth member. On Kraven's part, he blamed Spider-Man for the cancellation of his show, his arrest, his deportation, and his wife leaving him as Norman Osborn keeps Kraven from killing Spider-Man as they need him alive. Kraven in his animalistic form helps with the attack on the White House, though he is electrocuted by a lightning bolt from Thor when he tries to attack Peter in the Oval Office. He is last seen in another S.H.I.E.L.D. containment facility strapped to a bed and surrounded by armed soldiers. Kraven claimed to them that he was under mind control and that he wasn't sure if Green Goblin or Doctor Octopus was responsible.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: Kraven the Hunter was among the Triskelion inmates that broke out when Green Goblin broke free from his prison cell.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: Alongside the rest of the Ultimate Six, Kraven (who no longer sports his animalistic enhancements) plays a role in "The Death of Spider-Man" storyline. Norman Osborn breaks him and the rest of the Ultimate Six out of the Triskelion and, after their escape, Osborn informs them that God wishes for them to kill Peter Parker as they reform the group, with Vulture as a replacement for Spider-Man. When the Ultimate Six went to Tinkerer for some weapons, Kraven claims a set of blasters and knives while stating to Tinkerer that he is starting a tab. When Electro is shot by Aunt May, an electric surge knocks out Kraven, Sandman, and Vulture.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: Marc Webb confirmed that Kraven the Hunter's spear appears in the end credits of the live-action Sony Pictures film "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" (2014), with the intent being that Kraven would have appeared in "The Sinister Six" and in "The Amazing Spider-Man 3" before the franchise was cancelled.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: In 2018, Sony Pictures announced the development of a "Kraven the Hunter" film as part of the Sony's Spider-Man Universe with Richard Wenk writing and eyeing Antoine Fuqua to direct. In 2020, the studio hired J. C. Chandor to direct and Art Marcum and Matt Holloway to rewrite the script. In May 2021, it was confirmed that Aaron Taylor-Johnson will portray the character and the film is scheduled to be released on October 6, 2023.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: Kraven the Hunter appears in multiple storylines in the newspaper edition of "The Amazing Spider-Man". In the most recent story, Kraven had been paroled from prison for helping medical science by locating a rare plant. He also appears at the Jungle World Casino as part of a large animal show.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: Kraven the Hunter appears in the musical "", portrayed by Christopher Tierney. In some productions, this version was a scientist who was experimented on by the Green Goblin while in others, he was the comics' portrayal of Kraven. In all productions, he becomes a member of the Sinister Six.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: A future version of Kraven from a variation of Old Man Logan's timeline appears in the Marvel New Media/Sirius XM podcast "Marvel's Wastelanders: Old Man Star-Lord", voiced by Patrick Page.


title: Kraven the Hunter

text: Kraven the Hunter appears as the opponent defeated by Spider-Man in the 1966 Aurora plastic model kit.


title: Yoel Romero

text: Yoel Romero Palacio (born April 30, 1977) is a Cuban professional mixed martial artist and former freestyle wrestler. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division for Bellator MMA. Romero formerly competed in the Middleweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), and he was a four-time challenger for the UFC Middleweight Championship. As a freestyle wrestler, Romero competed at 85 kilograms, and he was the '99 World Champion (five-time medalist at the World Championships), the '00 Olympic Silver medalist, a three-time World Cup winner (six-time medalist), the '03 Pan American Games Gold medalist (bronze medalist in '99) and a five-time Pan American Champion.


title: Yoel Romero

text: Romero started training in wrestling in the 1990s, and eventually representing Cuba at senior level in the FILA Wrestling World Championships, which is held in non-Olympic years, from 1997–2005. At the 1999 World Wrestling Championships Romero became world champion by defeating the 1996 Olympic gold medalist, Khadzhimurad Magomedov of Russia. He missed out on becoming world champion again in 2002. After landing a three-point throw against Adam Saitiev to take a 3–2 lead, Romero was penalized a point for passivity with 20 seconds remaining. In overtime, after a scramble that saw Romero end on top, it was judged Saitiev had scored in the interim.


title: Yoel Romero

text: Romero competed in the 2000 Summer Olympics and the 2004 Summer Olympics, representing his home nation of Cuba. He won the silver medal in the 2000 freestyle competition, losing to Adam Saitiev in the finals. He finished in fourth place in 2004. While competing in freestyle wrestling, Romero has defeated three Olympic gold medal winners, and five different world champions. Among them were Americans Cael Sanderson and Les Gutches, both of whom Romero has multiple victories over.


title: Yoel Romero

text: Romero medaled in five world championships, only missing out with his fifth-place finish in 1997, and a sixth-place finish in 2003, when he was battling injuries. Other notable achievements include a gold medal at the 2003 Pan American Games, a quadrennial competition held the year before the Olympics, as well as multiple medal-winning finishes at the FILA Wrestling World Cup. Romero competed infrequently after 2005: he was suspended for all of 2006 by the Cuban Wrestling Federation for allegedly throwing his match against Mindorashvili at the 2005 World Championships. After winning the Grand Prix of Germany in the summer of 2007, he did not return to Cuba, choosing instead to remain in Germany.


title: Yoel Romero

text: Romero then joined the Ringer-Bundesliga, a professional wrestling league in Germany, in which teams compete for team titles. Romero competed as a starting member of SV Johannis Nuremberg, as well as helping coach and train the team. Eventually he began to transition into MMA.


title: Yoel Romero

text: After defecting to Germany in 2007, Romero made his professional mixed martial arts debut in December 2009. From 2008 to 2011, Romero was trained by Sergej Kuftin (combat sambo & MMA coach) and Zike Simic (kickboxing coach), both of whom were from Peter Althof's "Martial Arts Gym Nürnberg". Over the three years, Romero amassed a record of 5–0 in various promotions in Germany and Poland.


title: Yoel Romero

text: Romero won his debut via TKO against Sascha Weinpolter. In his second bout, he scored a 62-second finish via TKO against Ricky Pulu. He then took on Polish standout Michał Fijałka in his third bout. Romero won in the third round via TKO, which was at first ruled a controversial disqualification, due to a knee on the ground thrown by Romero. In 2011, he won his next three fights via TKO in the first round.


title: Yoel Romero

text: Romero signed with Strikeforce in July 2011 and made his promotional debut against Rafael Cavalcante on September 10, 2011 at Strikeforce 36. He lost the fight via KO in the second round. A neck injury kept him out of action until 2013.


title: Yoel Romero

text: After Strikeforce was purchased and absorbed by the UFC, Romero made his promotional and middleweight debut against Clifford Starks on April 20, 2013, at UFC on Fox 7. He won the fight via flying knee knockout in the first round. This win earned him "Knockout of the Night" honors.


title: Yoel Romero

text: Romero was expected to face Derek Brunson on August 31, 2013, at UFC 164. However, Brunson suffered an injury and pulled out of the bout. Promotional newcomer Brian Houston was briefly linked as a replacement, however Houston was not medically cleared to compete at the event and the bout was canceled. In his second UFC bout, Romero faced Ronny Markes on November 6, 2013, at UFC Fight Night 31. He won the fight via knockout in the third round.


title: Yoel Romero

text: For his third fight, Romero was again set to face Derek Brunson on January 15, 2014, at UFC Fight Night 35. After trailing for two rounds, Romero won the fight in the third via TKO due to punches and elbows to Brunson's body. Both fighters earned a $50,000 a "Fight of the Night" bonus award.


title: Yoel Romero

text: In his fourth fight, Romero faced Brad Tavares at UFC on Fox 11. He won the fight via unanimous decision.


title: Yoel Romero

text: Romero faced Tim Kennedy on September 27, 2014, at UFC 178. He won the fight via TKO in the third round, giving Kennedy his first stoppage loss in thirteen years. This fight generated much controversy: Romero was hurt badly at the end of round 2, and received extra time to recover between rounds. UFC color commentator Joe Rogan mistakenly blamed this on Romero's cornermen for failing to leave the Octagon on time, when the blame was actually on a UFC Cutman who applied too much Vaseline to a cut and referee John McCarthy for allowing Romero to stay sitting while trying to get the cutman to return to the octagon to wipe the excess off. Later it was also noticed that Kennedy was illegally holding Romero's glove while striking him at end of round 2.


title: Yoel Romero

text: Romero was expected to face Ronaldo Souza on February 28, 2015, at UFC 184. However, Souza pulled out of the fight on January 15, 2015, due to pneumonia. The bout was rescheduled for April 18, 2015, at UFC on Fox 15. However, Romero was forced out of the fight by a ligament and meniscus tear in his knee. He was replaced by Chris Camozzi.


title: Yoel Romero

text: Romero faced former light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida on June 27, 2015, at UFC Fight Night 70. This was the first UFC event, headlining Romero in the main event. He knocked out Machida at 1:38 of the third round with a series of elbows from top position. Romero was awarded a ""Performance of the Night"" bonus.


title: Yoel Romero

text: The bout with Ronaldo Souza was scheduled for a third time, eventually taking place on December 12, 2015, at UFC 194. Romero won the fight via split decision. 2 of 17 media outlets scored the bout in favor of Romero.


title: Yoel Romero

text: Romero faced former middleweight champion Chris Weidman on November 12, 2016, at UFC 205. He won the fight via knockout in the third round and was awarded a "Performance of the Night" bonus. It was announced that Romero was next-in-line for a title shot, after owning an 8-match winning streak.


title: Yoel Romero

text: With middleweight champion Michael Bisping sidelined due to injury, Romero fought Robert Whittaker on July 8, 2017 at UFC 213 for the interim UFC Middleweight Championship. Romero lost the fight by unanimous decision.


title: Yoel Romero

text: Romero was scheduled to face David Branch on February 24, 2018 at UFC on Fox 28. However, on January 13, 2018, it was reported that Whittaker had pulled out of his bout against Luke Rockhold, which was scheduled to take place at UFC 221, due to an undisclosed injury. It was announced he would be replaced by Romero in what was to be a fight for the interim UFC Middleweight Championship. The winner of this bout would then face Whittaker in a unification bout. At the weigh-ins, Romero came in at 188.3 lbs in his first attempt. He was given another two hours to make 185 lbs but failed to make weight, ending up 2.7 pounds over the middleweight limit of 185 lbs. As a result, Romero would not have been eligible for the interim championship had he won the fight. Romero was fined 30% of his purse, which was awarded to Rockhold. If Rockhold were to win, he would still be awarded the championship. Romero won the fight via KO in the third round. Romero knocked Rockhold down with a heavy overhand followed up with a punch on the ground that rendered Rockhold unconscious.


title: Yoel Romero

text: A rematch with Whittaker took place on June 9, 2018 at UFC 225. At the weight-ins, Romero missed weight, coming in at 186 pounds, 1 pound over the middleweight limit for a title fight. Romero was given additional time to make weight but was pulled by the commission, weighing in at 185.2 lbs, 0.2 pounds over. Romero was fined 20% of his fight purse and the fight proceeded as a non-title catchweight bout. Romero lost the back-and-forth fight by a close split decision. The fight was awarded as "Fight of the Night", but due to Romero missing weight, Whittaker received both $50,000 bonuses for a total of $100,000.


title: Yoel Romero

text: Romero was scheduled to face Paulo Costa on November 3, 2018 at UFC 230. However, Romero indicated in mid-August that while he has been cleared to fight, his doctors have recommended that he wait another four to five months (early 2019) to allow facial injuries incurred during his most recent fight to fully heal.


title: Yoel Romero

text: Romero was scheduled to face Ronaldo Souza on April 27, 2019 at UFC Fight Night 150. However, it was reported that Romero pulled out of the bout in early in April 2019 due to illness and was replaced by Jack Hermansson.


title: Yoel Romero

text: Romero faced Paulo Costa on August 17, 2019 at UFC 241. After trailing for the first two rounds, he dominated the third round in one of the greatest 3-round fights in the history of the UFC. As he fell back in the numbers, he lost the fight via unanimous decision. This fight earned him the" Fight of the Night" award.


title: Yoel Romero

text: Romero next faced Israel Adesanya on March 7, 2020 UFC 248 for the UFC middleweight title. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Many fans and pundits felt disappointed due to the low activity by both fighters, which resulted in a largely uneventful fight in which neither fighter was able to deliver any significant offense.


title: Yoel Romero

text: Romero was scheduled to face Uriah Hall on August 22, 2020 at UFC on ESPN 15. However, Romero pulled out of the fight on August 11 for undisclosed reasons. The bout was subsequently cancelled.


title: Yoel Romero

text: On December 14, 2020, it was announced that Romero had agreed to a multi-fight deal with Bellator MMA and is expected to compete in its light heavyweight division beginning in 2021.


title: Yoel Romero

text: On February 9, 2021, it was announced that Romero would be participating in the Bellator Light Heavyweight World Grand Prix Tournament. He was scheduled to face Anthony Johnson in the quarterfinal round at Bellator 257 on April 16. On March 26, it was announced that the bout would be moved to Bellator 258 on May 7. On April 29, it was announced that Yoel had failed his medicals due to an eye issue and the bout was pulled from the card, and the Grand Prix Tournament, being replaced by Jose Augusto.


title: Yoel Romero

text: Romero made his Bellator debut on September 18, 2021 at Bellator 266 against Phil Davis. He lost the bout via split decision.


title: Yoel Romero

text: Romero was scheduled to fight Melvin Manhoef on May 6, 2022 at Bellator 280. However, Manhoef withdrew from the bout due to a hand injury while stopping burglars and was replaced by Alex Polizzi. Yoel won the bout via TKO in the final seconds of the third round.


title: Yoel Romero

text: The bout against Melvin Manhoef was rescheduled this time for September 23, 2022 at Bellator 285. He won the bout via knockout on the ground via elbows in the third round.


title: Yoel Romero

text: Romero is scheduled to face Vadim Nemkov for the Bellator Light Heavyweight World Championship on February 4, 2023 at Bellator 290.


title: Yoel Romero

text: Romero trains in Coconut Creek, Florida with the American Top Team, with fellow-UFC fighters including Robbie Lawler, Thiago Alves, Thiago Silva and Glover Teixeira.


title: Yoel Romero

text: Romero is left-handed and primarily fights out of the southpaw stance, although he sometimes switches to an orthodox stance during fights. In spite of his amateur wrestling pedigree, Romero rarely uses his wrestling offensively inside the Octagon. Instead, Romero's boxing is typically considered his best skill, with the majority of his victories coming by way of knockout or technical knockout via punches. Many pundits cite Romero's pull-back left-handed counter as his most dangerous strike.


title: Yoel Romero

text: Romero was informed of a potential doping violation stemming from an out-of-competition test conducted by USADA on January 13, 2016 after his bout with Ronaldo Souza on December 12, 2015, at UFC 194, which Romero won via split decision. On February 8, Romero and his manager explained that he had taken a supplement after his fight that turned out to be contaminated. His team and USADA both sent out the supplement for testing and it was confirmed that it contained a banned substance. That substance was not listed on the label, his manager said. They did not want to reveal the name of the supplement or the substance as USADA was investigating the issue. On March 23, it was announced that Romero would appeal his suspension. His team and USADA discussed a deal for a nine-month suspension for the fighter, but Romero preferred to go to arbitration. The typical USADA anti-doping violation suspension is two years. Eventually, on April 4, both parties reached an agreement for a six-month suspension. USADA revealed that Romero had tested positive for ibutamoren, a growth hormone release stimulator. An unopened version of the supplement was independently tested and the banned substance did indeed come up, even though it was not listed on the label. The result of the Souza fight was not overturned, as it was an out-of-competition test that occurred after the fight; Romero passed both his pre-fight and fight night tests for the Souza fight.


title: Yoel Romero

text: Romero pursued legal action against the supplement company, but they never interposed an answer. After being awarded default judgment, Romero was awarded $27 million in damages: $3 million for lost wages, $3 million for reputable harm, and $3 million for emotional damage, all of which were tripled as allowed by the New Jersey “Consumer Fraud Act” when a company is “found out to have committed consumer fraud”. However, in mid-2021 it was reported that New Jersey Superior Court reduced the damage awards for lost wages and emotional stress to total of $12.45 million. The reputational damages will be decided in another trial meeting.


title: Yoel Romero

text: Romero describes himself as a Christian and "a man of God" whose hero is Jesus Christ. His younger brother, Yoan Pablo Hernández, was the IBF Cruiserweight Champion in professional boxing.


title: Yoel Romero

text: In a controversial post-fight interview after his victory over Lyoto Machida at UFC Fight Night 70, it was assumed by many that Romero was expressing disagreement with the Obergefell v. Hodges supreme court ruling. However, during the post fight press conference and subsequent interviews the following day, Romero denied referring to gay marriage and apologized for his comments while maintaining that they were misunderstood. Many thought Romero said "No for gay Jesus" while he actually said "No forget Jesus" as he is not fluent in English.


title: Olivia DeJonge

text: Olivia DeJonge (; born 30 April 1998) is an Australian actress, known for playing Tara Swift / Shaneen Quigg in ABC1's "Hiding", Becca in the film "The Visit" (2015), Elle in Netflix's "The Society" (2019), and Priscilla Presley in the film "Elvis" (2022).


title: Olivia DeJonge

text: DeJonge was born in 1998 in Melbourne, Victoria, the daughter of Robyn and Rob DeJonge, a businessman. She moved to Perth, Western Australia with her parents at the age of five, where she grew up in Peppermint Grove. She has studied at the Presbyterian Ladies' College, Perth.


title: Olivia DeJonge

text: In 2014, DeJonge made her feature film debut in the film "The Sisterhood of Night"; she starred along with Georgie Henley, Kara Hayward, and Kal Penn. Caryn Waechter directed the film, which was released on 10 April 2015, after getting a premiere in October 2014.


title: Olivia DeJonge

text: In 2015, DeJonge appeared in the Australian ABC's television drama series "Hiding", on which she played one of the lead roles as Tara Swift / Shaneen Quigg. She played the co-lead role of Becca in the horror film "The Visit", along with Ed Oxenbould. M. Night Shyamalan directed the film, which had its premiere on 31 August 2015, and was released on 11 September 2015 by Universal Pictures. In 2017, DeJonge starred as Alice Burbage in the TNT series, "Will".


title: Olivia DeJonge

text: DeJonge played Priscilla Presley in Baz Luhrmann's 2022 Elvis Presley biopic "Elvis". She drew praise from critics, who applauded her ability to match co-star Austin Butler's charisma.


title: Billy Milligan

text: William Stanley Milligan (February 14, 1955 – December 12, 2014) also known as The Campus Rapist, was an American who was the subject of a highly publicized court case in Ohio in the late 1970s. After having committed several felonies including armed robbery, he was arrested for three rapes on the campus of Ohio State University. In the course of preparing his defense, psychologists diagnosed Milligan with dissociative identity disorder. His lawyers pleaded insanity, claiming that two of his alternate personalities committed the crimes without Milligan being aware of it. He was the first person diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder to raise such a defense, and the first acquitted of a major crime for this reason, instead spending a decade in psychiatric hospitals.


title: Billy Milligan

text: Milligan's life story was popularized by Daniel Keyes's award-winning non-fiction novel "The Minds of Billy Milligan".


title: Billy Milligan

text: Milligan was born on February 14, 1955, in Miami Beach, to Dorothy Pauline Sands and Johnny Morrison.


title: Billy Milligan

text: Dorothy grew up in Ohio farm country and lived in Lancaster with her first husband. They divorced, and Dorothy eventually moved to the Miami area, where she worked as a singer. There she began living with Johnny Morrison. Dorothy and Morrison had two other children: a son, Jim, born in October 1953, and a daughter, Kathy Jo, born in December 1956.