Character Spotlight: Stalker (Prime Earth)

I was all set to talk about how much I've mentioned Stalker in the past and how that's because there are like three different versions of the Batman Beyond universe, but when I went to get the links, I discovered that I've only mentioned him once! And he didn't even appear, he was just mentioned in dialogue!

But that was New Earth, pre-New 52/Rebirth Batman Beyond. This is about Prime Earth, post-New 52/Rebirth Batman Beyond.

Stalker first appeared in the Batman Beyond episode "Bloodsport" (1999). Let's get this out of the way: Stalker is just Kraven the Hunter. Most of the new villains in Batman Beyond are basically just Spider-Man villains, but Stalker is probably the closest to his inspiration. Even the plot of the episode - Stalker decides to hunt Batman because he doesn't feel any other prey is worthy anymore - is pretty much any Kraven story.

He recently made his comics debut in Batman Beyond #15 (December 2017). He was hired by a mysterious benefactor to capture Batman. In this appearance he's a cyborg, but that's related to some rather unfortunate backstory involving Brother Eye from the event Future's End that I wish didn't exist but whatever, this is where we are.