Rhino (comics) - Fictional Character Biography

Fictional Character Biography

After being empowered, Aleksei Sytsevich is directed by the agents who gave him his powers to kidnap Colonel John Jameson for his knowledge of military secrets. The Rhino, however, betrays the scientists who empowered him and goes on a rampage, eventually being defeated by the superhero Spider-Man. He is imprisoned and kept there with sedation, but breaks out soon after and continues to try to kidnap Jameson. Spider-Man uses a web developed by Conner that melts his hide off, then knocks him out. Eventually approached by the same scientists with another more powerful suit, the Rhino agrees to find and kidnap Bruce Banner (the alter ego of the Hulk), for his knowledge of gamma radiation. The villain encounters the Hulk but is apparently killed by severe wounds from an exploding truck before a significant battle can occur. The Hulk manages to survive the Rhino's attempt to take his foe down with him, using his last bit of strength for an attack from behind, and the villain passes out in the Hulk's grip, defiantly claiming that he would have defeated the Hulk in a fair fight.

The character is revived and healed by another Hulk foe, the Leader. Augmenting the Rhino's strength using gamma rays, the Leader directs the villain to prevent the wedding of Bruce Banner to Betty Ross. Banner becomes the Hulk and battles the Rhino, who escapes and pursues the Leader once realizing that he has been used. The Rhino is caught in an explosion while attacking the Leader's ship, and is left in a coma. The Rhino makes a brief reappearance as an illusion when the Leader tries to unsuccessfully torture the Hulk with images of past foes. The Leader, paralyzed after a previous encounter with the Hulk, finds and takes mental control of the still comatose body and attacks the Hulk. The battle eventually leads to an alien world, where the Leader abandons control of the Rhino and flees. Bruce Banner and an unconscious but now recovered Rhino travel back to Earth via a rocket.

The Rhino reappears with fellow Hulk foe the Abomination, and the pair activate a gamma bomb at the Hulkbuster base in an attempt to destroy the Hulk. The Hulk's companion of the time, Jim Wilson, deactivates the bomb and the Hulk tricks the villains during combat, forcing them to collide and knock each other unconscious. The character reappears as a member of the supervillain team the Emissaries of Evil (consisting of leader Egghead; the Cobalt Man; Solarr and the Rhino), who search for a rare jewel. Opposed by superhero team the Defenders, the Rhino and Solarr initially hold their own until defeated by Doctor Strange. Whilst in hiding, the Rhino is found by scientist Doc Samson, being outwitted and defeated.

The character reappears as a memory in the mind of the Hulk; battles Doc Samson and Spider-Man; and again as an illusion by the entity Glorian. The Rhino teams with the villains (including Moonstone; Blackout and Electro) in an unsuccessful attempt to escape the research complex Project: Pegasus. The Rhino also battles Fantastic Four member the Thing during an attempt to remove his body suit; makes a brief appearance with many other Marvel supervillains when summoned to battle the cosmic entity the Beyonder.

The Rhino joins criminal group the Sinister Syndicate to battle Spider-Man and features in a sequence imagined by Peter Parker concerning his imminent wedding and battles the hero Iron Man in the city of Los Angeles. The Rhino and accomplice Blacklash - in the employ of criminal mastermind Justin Hammer - also hunt and capture fellow Spider-Man villain the Scorpion who has absconded with advanced weaponry.

The Rhino teams with other villains in two unsuccessful attempts to kill Spider-Man, and stars in a storyline called Flowers for Rhino. Based on the Daniel Keyes novel Flowers for Algernon, the comic story mirrors the original when the Rhino receives an intelligence boost via surgery and becomes a genius, eventually undergoing surgery again to reverse the process when life becomes dull.

The Rhino has a comical encounter with the mercenary Deadpool ending with the Rhino's defeat by a diminutive (courtesy of the Pym Particles discovered by Henry Pym) Deadpool; Rhino appears during the Civil War storyline where he assists Chameleon into attacking Spider-Man.

The character also has a significant encounter with the vigilante the Punisher. When the Rhino robs a bank and a Security Guard is accidentally killed, he is humiliated by the Punisher and saved by Spider-Man before being killed. The Rhino is then captured by Alyosha Kravinoff, the son of another former Spider-Man foe, Kraven the Hunter. Kravinoff, who is collecting a zoo of animal-themed superhumans, is defeated by the Punisher, with a despondent Rhino and other villains being freed. Rhino, feeling remorse from the accidental killing, does send a letter and money to the security guard's widow.

The Rhino reappears and decides to make amends and repay the Punisher for the previous rescue by aiding him on a case. At the conclusion of the story the Rhino is allowed to leave and told to "be good", eventually returning to aid the vigilante. Rhino later persuaded Punisher to not kill Michael Watts who became the third Stilt-Man.