Well, following the events of the last film, Mary Jane has been away in Russia for the summer. This film starts with Peter rushing to meet Mary Jane at the airport. He is late, of course, (crime never rests) and she calls him from a cab telling him to meet her at the apartment. Peter is just glad to hear her voice again and Mary Jane is very eager for him to meet someone. When Peter arrives home, Mary Jane introduces him to her agent, Dmitri Smerdyakov. Dmitri seems very interested in what is going on in Peter’s life, but the latter politely asks for the former to leave so that he and Mary Jane can talk about some things. Discussing where their relationship will go from here is the highlight of the conversation.
Back at the airport, a man is getting off of a private jet. The man looks very rough and has a hostile demeanor, not at all looking like he should be stepping off of a private jet. A man in a suit meets him, handing him a cell phone. The phone is already calling someone, so the man puts it to his ear. The audience can hear as an unknown man speaks through the phone. Calling the rough man Kraven, the mystery man informs him that Spider-Man is his target. “He will be dead before the dawn,” Kraven growls in a Russian accent, hanging up the phone.
Meanwhile, Harry Osborn is deep into the research of his father’s work. The biggest issue is trying to recreate the performance enhancer Adrian Toomes formulated, which was lost in an attack by Vulture on Oscorp. Harry seems almost desperate to complete the formula, telling one of his employees that he wants to make his father proud. While out on his nightly patrol, Spider-Man is stalked by the stealthy Kraven until his spider-sense warns him of an attack. Kraven is caught of guard by this sixth sense, but he nonetheless mounts an effective first strike. Spider-Man can do nothing but dodge and block as Kraven comes at him like an animal (looking quite like one too in his furs). Spider-Man eventually gets one good shot in, webbing Kraven in the face and swinging off to save his own life.
When Peter gets home, he makes a comment about Kraven being Russian and now having to compete with two of the like. Mary Jane asks if Peter is referring to Dmitri, which he is. Despite Mary Jane’s defense that her relationship with Smerdyakov is strictly professional, Peter makes the point that her agent seems to be just a little too affectionate with her. Angry with Peter (because he might be right), Mary Jane storms out of the apartment. Not to get too specific about what exactly will happen in the film, I’ll skip right to the climax.
Smerdyakov eventually rips off his own face to reveal that he is not who he seems to be. Confronting Peter in his apartment, Smerdyakov informs him that his job is to kill Spider-Man. Smerdyakov had been keeping a watchful eye on Peter’s activities over the last year or two. Seeing the obvious connection to Mary Jane, Smerdyakov used his mastery of disguise to infiltrate her life in the form of a modeling agent to get back to Peter. “So, who hired you to kill me?” Peter asks. “Who hired us…?” Smerdyakov teases, nodding behind Peter.
Kraven stands behind him and without warning he attacks. Peter is caught in a two-on-one battle with the pair of stepbrothers (the fact of which Smerdyakov also informs Peter). This will be the first fight with villains in the series where Peter is not wearing his Spider-Man duds. I regret to do it this way, but it makes a lot more sense to have the confrontation occur as stated. Eventually, Peter is able to turn Kraven on Smerdyakov by suggesting that only one of them will be paid for killing him, so he throws him out of the window.
The odds now being more even, Peter is able to overcome Kraven. Much to his surprise, though, Smerdyakov climbs back through the window. He is badly cut from smashing through the glass and he puts up little of a fight as Peter interrogates him. Smerdyakov tells Peter “We were hired by a man called Goblin.” Immediately, Peter thinks of Harry and how he has been digging into Norman’s old research. Putting on his Spider-Man tights, Peter rushes to the Oscorp corporate building to confront Harry.
To his surprise, however, it is not Harry that Spider-Man finds there. “Chameleon is a master of disguise, but, like most lizards, he has a devilish tongue,” Roderick Kingsley coos as he turns around at Harry’s desk. Spider-Man clenches his fists, but Kingsley puts up his hands to show that a fight is not the intention. Rolling around the desk in a wheelchair, Kingsley explains it all: “Stacy shot me in the back, remember? Regardless, I’m still as much of an assassin as I ever was and Fisk hired me to kill you. I’m finishing what I started.” Spider-Man: “So you’re just going to keep sending your hired thugs after me?” Kingsley: “I had something different in mind.”
Picking up a beaker from Harry’s desk, Kingsley explains that the contents are Norman Osborn’s original performance enhancing formula. “The young Osborn had quite a breakthrough when he tested this on himself earlier today.” Spider-Man is enraged and, regardless of the fact that Kingsley is in a wheelchair, he charges at his enemy. Kingsley quickly draws a gun and fires a shot into Spider-Man’s leg. Rolling over one of Spider-Man’s arms multiple times, Kingsley finally leans down and growls: “Let’s see if Harry can make his father proud.” Then Kingsley rolls out of the room, leaving Spider-Man down and bleeding quite badly out of his leg.
Moments later, the police arrive, the building’s alarm being triggered by a security guard after the unfamiliar Kingsley rolled out of Harry’s office. By the time the police get into the office, the only trace of Spider-Man is a pool of blood on the floor. The next day, Peter is changing the bandages on his leg when Mary Jane comes back. They resolve their issues and the film pretty much ends with Peter looking forward to what will happen in the near future regarding his friend.
Cast:
Sergei Kravinoff/Kraven the Hunter- Gerard Butler
Dmitri Smerdyakov/Chameleon- Billy Zane
(Note: All previous cast members will return in previous roles.)