oHOTmu or NOT Ep.61: Kraven the Hunter to Lava Men

A poacher who eats spiders for breakfast. Another blue race. A Deviant monarch. A Dark Elf babysitter. People who live deep in the Earth. Which are hot, which are not? The Hot Squad's coverage of issue 7 continues!

Featuring permanent panelists Elyse, Isabel, Nathalie, Josée, Amélie and Shotgun.

Listen to Episode 61 below (the usual mature language warnings apply), or subscribe to oHOTmu OR NOT? on iTunes!

Relevant images and further credits at: oHOTmu or NOT ep.61 Supplemental

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24 responses to “oHOTmu or NOT Ep.61: Kraven the Hunter to Lava Men

  1. Kraven to Lava Men. Nope, nothing Norse there … Aw, man. I forgot about Kurse.

    Well, the character of Kurse, or Algrim the Strong, isn’t really a Norse personage, but he is a member of a Norse race, the Svartálfar (pronounces Ss-Vart-Al-Far) or “Dark Elves” (as opposed to the Alfar, or “Light Elves”, who are ruled over by Frey). They really only appear in the Prose Edda, so a lot of people combine them with the Dwarves, but Marvel treats them as their own race, and you can thank Walt Simonson for that. I, also, think of the Dark Elves and Dwarves as separate races, but I can see the argument that they are one and the same.

    Kurse, as a character, goes through a pretty interesting arc. The ultimate use of him as a babysitter was a nice twist. Going from destroyer to protector gives him a happy ending. The kids he watched didn’t need him until there was a sickness going around that effected them, but didn’t effect Kurse. Then he came into his own.

    The look, on the other hand, is what happens when Walt is allowed to go nuts. He’s right up there with Kirby as far as wild ideas go.

    Siskoid was right that Thor was wearing a mask. He was scarred by Hela a little while before this. Eventually he grew a beard to cover it, but until then he used the piece of his cape to hide his face.

    “Pink is not hot.” George Hamilton is pleased. 😀

    Time to ride off on my reindeer.

  2. As always, an entertaining episode.

    Kraven – he *does* look like an evil Freddy Mercury! I never quite understood the need to equip the lion head vest with gadgets. It seems like too much for the character. Would he use nerve gas against an elephant or rhino? I always thought he was more a traditional combatant. And I agree there is just a bit to much animal prints all there for the outfit to be cohesive.

    Kro – Usually I see a guy like Kro and I’m thinking ‘yeah yeah another bad guy’. Then I listen to a long talk about the tragedy of being immortal and his space sex and suddenly the crew has made him way more interesting. Have the girls seen the first Highlander which does explore this?

    Kurse – maybe they called him curse because he has no penis? Or because his costume emphasizes the fact he has no bulge? Poor guy.

    Lava Men – thought for sure someone would have said how much they ‘lava’ the look of them. They do look more like skinned humans than rocky humanoids. My guess is that a look more akin to Blok from the Legion, especially in the later Baxter series when he had tiny volcanoes on his body, would drive the point home.

    Lastly, absolutely thrilled at all the MLP and cutie mark discussion. The show was brilliant when first on but once Lauren Faust left (or was shown the door), it sort of lost its way. My guess is Kofi’s mark would be a scale to represent justice, balancing out the evil of the empire and his father’s betrayal.

    Maybe the butt tattoo/cutie mark of ’21’ means that person is going to be a dealer in Vegas?

  3. Well done on another fantastic episode, everyone! The ladies and Siskoid were on point with all the entries.

    Kraven – Once again, the ladies shatter my perception of how bad-ass a character is. I always thought Kraven was an amazing villain BECAUSE he has no powers. It’s all will, skill, and strength. Now all I can see is his mis-matched outfit and think, “Why did he leave the house like that?” It’s like when a child decides to dress themselves for the first time.
    Now I’m a huge fan of the Kraven’s Last Hunt storyline. I bought those comics on the spinner racks and it made me want to go from reading comics to collecting comics. I had no idea about JMDM’s origin for using Kraven so thanks the background origin info, Siskoid! Do you know why he used Vermin, as well? I assuming because he created the character?
    Lastly, I highly recommend Kraven’s run in the Unbeatable Squirrel Girl where he becomes more of a hero and his mode of transportation is the Kra-Van. Please show the ladies the Kra-Van……..

    Kree – “If they are going to murder me, they better be hot.” “They don’t look like they would make me a slave.” I don’t believe I have to say this, but I think you can have higher standards for a date.

    Kro – Like Anj, the gang made this character much more interesting for me. I don’t really know too much about the Eternals/Deviants but your discussion makes me want to hunt down (not like Kraven) some of their stories.

    Kurse – All I can see is that he has bags under eyes. He looks very tired. But maybe that’s because of the children he has to look after?

    Lava Men – That face and that pose? He’s constipated!

    “Rump design” seems really close to “tramp stamp”. So now I picture My Little Ponies with tramp stamps. This is now canon! Thanks, oHOTmu! Keep up the great work!

    P.S. – as an update for Jack of Hearts (not that anyone asked), I read an old Marvel Premiere issue with him. As much as was made fun of the arrow pointing to his crotchular region, he also has an arrow pointing to his butt on the backside. I can’t remember if this was a burning question or not, but there you go.

    1. If people don’t know the whole rump design thing, I would recommend watching the My Little Pony episode of The Toys That Made Us, essentially the best and funniest episode of the entire series.

      1. I’ve watched the first couple episodes of the show and really enjoyed it, but didn’t notice they had done a My Little Pony episode. Thanks for the heads up!

    2. I second Mike’s recommendation of Kraven’s appearances in Unbeatable Squirrel Girl. The Kra-Van. Now, that was pure genius.

      1. Thirded, because Kraven’s friendship with Squirrel Girl was fantastic, and when they finally acknowledged “he’s still a bad guy”, and Doreen’s heart breaks, all the feels!!

  4. During the Raimi cycle of Spider-Man films, I fan-wrote (in my head) a story outline for Spider-Man 3 where Dr. Curt Connors (who had appeared in the series) finally became the Lizard. News of this strange “Lizard Man” stalking the streets and sewers of New York attracts the attention of reality TV star Kraven, who is basically a deadly version of the Crocodile Hunter. He starts chasing after the Lizard, and Spidey has to try and save his friend and professor Curt Connors. You get two villains, but no forced team-ups. But Kraven would work out great now as well, chasing the exposed Tom Holland/Peter Parker version.

    I know the Eternals are coming out in their own film…eventually, when the world resembles SOME semblance of order (maybe), but I kind of fee like that series has now become like Who’s Who’s the Omega Men or Forever People for this show. There’s nothing you can do about it, they just seem to be cropping up everywhere.

    Has anyone at Marvel ever connected the blue-skinned Kree to the blue-skinned Atlanteans? If not, I’d be very surprised.

    Kurse…hmm. Those colors. Candy Corn of evil.

    Fun show as always ladies and gent.

    Chris

    1. Chris, I love your idea for Spider-Man 3. That would have made such an interesting story, with the potential for some great character moments.

  5. I am about to listen with my old GM- he tells me he stated with black and white xerox of just the art side- actually, cutting and redrawing then color xerox. ((I am told but don’t remember that I suggested any number of “print shops” on the PC wold have been easier-)).

    The Lava Men were yellow and called “The Grimms”

  6. Kraven – Those shoes would not be my first choice to wear when hunting elusive prey in the wild, but, then again, I have flat feet and require a little more structure in my footwear.

    Kree – From Sro-Himm’s monocle to Bun-Dall’s headscarf to Mac-Ronn’s cool specs, the Kree men appear to be masters of fashionable head accessories. We Terran males could probably learn a thing or two from them. I’m thinking we need a “Kree Eye for the Earth Guy” TV series.

    Kro – Speaking of cool head accessories, Kro’s slick goggles make him an automatic win in my book.

    Kurse – Here’s a character who showed up early to the 90s superhero fashion party. All he needs are a couple of pouches to complete the look. That being said, I love the idea of all those little Asgardian children competing for their beloved Uncle Kurse’s attention. “Hey, Uncle Kurse, look at me! I’m slaying a frost giant with my bare hands!”

    Lava Men – I think these people have been misnamed. Lava is molten rock, but their entry states that their skin has a “rock-like consistency.” Therefore, I make a motion that their name be changed to Igneous Men. As an aside, if the Lava Men were truly made of molten rock, then they would, by definition, be hot. (I don’t know if that one counts as a scientist joke or a dad joke?)

    Thank you for another amazing and laugh-out-loud episode.

    1. Brian, I Kompletely KonKur with your Komments regarding these Karacters, and Igneous Men is a more dignified name. I think “hot lave men” would have to be a dad joke, however, since only layman-level scientific prowess is required.

  7. Kraven: Now that Disney+ has Marvel shows, when we will get “That’s so Kraven”? #ThrowTheLion

    And amazingly, after he died, Kraven’s story turned into a Superman family deal with *tons* of related characters! If you don’t want spoilers, skip the next paragraph.

    Ready? A witch doctor mistress, Calypso. A son, the Grim Hunter. Grim Hunter killed by Kaine. Chameleon revealed as Kraven’s half-brother. Another son, Kraven 2. Kraven 2 kills Calypso. A daughter, Ana, Kraven 3. Legit wife, Sasha. Whole Kra-clan wipes each other out resurrecting Kraven 1. Kraven created a bunch of clones, and one kills all the rest. Clone tricked into killing Kraven 1, leaving just Kloven.

    Kree: What a … great … set of head shots. Bald guy. Bald guy with mustache and monocle. Bald guy with pirate mustache and bandana. Bald guy with science glasses. And Shatterstar. Wow, he changed a lot when he joined X-Force! (I know the girls won’t get that.)

    Kro-o-o-o-o-o: I wonder how he eats and breathes, and other science facts. Just repeat to yourself, “it’s just comics, I really should relax.” It’s OHOTMU or NOT, Three Thousaaaaaaaand!

    Kurse: Did you downplay that the first heroes he fought in this form were Power Pack, a team of children? So when he becomes Nanny for the Asgard Pack, that’s some iron-y.

    Lava Men: If they can’t find Lava Women, they must be looking for lava in all the wrong places. Probably still carrying a torch for them.

    Kofi and his rump cutie mark design: I can only think of one thing, because he did it to start TWO big storylines. Stealing a space ship. Space carjacking. So his mark is something like hot wiring.

    1. I had no idea there were so many Kravens! I remember Calypso was big during during the Todd McFarlane era and I think he drew a zombie Kraven during that story line. It was eye-opening….. sorry, too soon?

      And for Kro….. just push the button, Frank.

  8. Dear Mike,

    Another all-villains (sort of) instalment of OHOTMU? Let’s do this!

    Kraven: Perhaps the mixed animal prints are intentionally designed to give Kraven a unique combat advantage. “Prepare, web-slinger, to suffer extreme eyestrain by the uncanny outfit of Kraven the Hunter!” Kraven is the last of the classic Spider-Man villains I am waiting to appear in a live action film. Here’s hoping your proposal of Kraven as an extreme reality-TV star makes the final draft!

    Kree: The Kree obsession with military might reminds me of the fascist culture of Starship Troopers. What really fascinates me about the Kree (and to a somewhat lesser degree, the Atlanteans) is the racial tension between the pink and blue skins. With the blue skins claiming racial purity, do you suppose the racism exibited by these fictional blue-skinned races was a way for Stan Lee to adress the racial tension of civil rights era America, ironically making caucasian-appearing characters like Mar-Vell and Namor the oppressed minority?

    Kro: Speaking of racial tension, I’m wondering if Deviants and Eternals hooking up is a taboo in their respective societies. I’ve not read The Eternals, but reading about Kro and Khoryphos leaves me wondering. The only thing more undying than The Eternals are tragic stories of star-crossed lovers.

    Kurse: It says volumes about Asgardian culture that Kurse essentially became a nanny. “Former unstoppable rage monster, slightly used? Let’s have him watch our children!”

    Lava Men: The idea of lava men as burning golems is an interesting one. Extending and abstracting the notion further, one could say Klaw vould be a sound golem. The concept fascinates. I’m looking forward to when the Hot Squad gets around to reviewing The Living Laser…

    1. Thanks for the comments as usual, Jonathon. Just a quick note to say we taped this morning, so don’t feel slighted when you listen and we don’t mention your reactions!

  9. As usual, a little behind. But a fun show, as always.

    I don’t know of a day-care comic, but if the ladies want to look at kid heroes, PS238 and JL8 are worth a look (both online).

    Until next time!

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