Sometimes all you need to be a villain is a costume, a name, and some experimental procedures performed by dubious researchers. That’s how Aleksei Sytsevich got to being the Rhino, but how does one even meet those scientists or even qualify for the job? Let’s find out!
Aleksei Sytsevich was a strong man seeking to take care of his family but he wasn’t the brightest. He knew that in America, he could have more opportunities so he left his family to seek out the money to aide them. There he would find all manner of organized crime that was all too willing to have someone of Aleksei’s size and strength. He knew this wasn’t going to be the fastest route so when some enterprising scientists with some special treatments and a durable armor came to him with chances for big cash fast, he took it.
Undergoing strength and durability enhancements along with bonding an armor that made him look like a rhino that further enhanced his toughness and gave him a destructive horn on his head. The plan was simple, kidnap John Jameson, famed astronaut, and extract government secrets out of him. Aleksei saw the opportunity to go rogue and decided to sell Jameson to the highest bidder for himself instead. Things would have gone well had Spider-Man not shown up and discovered Aleksei’s armor had a weakness to acid.
Sent to prison, Aleksei would have to be sedated due to his immense strength. While he would eventually escape, Spider-Man was able to subdue him once again, this time, damaging the suit permanently. Let out for good behavior, Aleksei would be visited by the same people he had betrayed but they liked his initiative and offered him a new suit without the old weaknesses and more power through experimentation, of course he took it.
Now, Aleksei was a foe able to go toe to toe with the Hulk, consider that a monkey’s paw wish because it would happen, repeatedly for a while. The two would fight in all manner of places, even other Earths, it just kept going. He would find his way home but his family was long done with him, they had learned of his life of crime and wanted nothing to do with him anymore. Now all Aleksei craved was more power and money for himself.
Taking jobs working with other villains, Aleksei would wonder from gig to gig, experiencing failure over and over again. Eventually he was able to get the suit disconnected from his body so he could attempt something of a normal life. Then he met Oksana, she was a waitress who didn’t care for him at first but soon they were in love and married. Life was good for them, until the Rhino came calling. A new scientist had come up with improvements on the suit and power ups, Aleksei turned him down. So a new Rhino was made and would kill Oksana. Aleksei would take up the Rhino suit again and kill those responsible.
The Jackal offered Aleksei a lot, be his head of security and he would have money and Oksana back thanks to cloning technology. This was sort of a return to normal for them but there was a flaw in the cloning process and Oksana would die in front of Aleksei again. It would take Spider-Man to calm him down, the two having made their peace with one another during Aleksei’s retirement.
No longer wishing to be a criminal, Aleksei knew he had to do the right thing when his niece went missing. He would run around the new Spider-Man and the two would team up and eventually be joined by Captain America to deal with Tombstone’s powered up child soldier trafficking. When all was said and done, both Spider-Man and Captain America thanked him for his help and told him to keep it up.
There you have it! The Rhino has been in cartoons and even been in a live action cameo on the big screen. While he’s often been on the side of the devils he might be making a bid for heroism, but we’ll see how long that lasts. See you next time!
Suggested Reading
Amazing Spider-Man #41
Deadly Foes of Spider-Man
Miles Morales: Spider-Man
Dr. Bustos
drbustos@comicattack.net
