Although he is one of the oldest consistent enemies in Spider-Man‘s rogue’s gallery, the Rhino has never been one of the brightest. But in the “Flowers for Rhino”, Rhino was given the chance to become a super genius which allows him to achieve great success as a person and criminal than he could have ever imagined although he eventually learns that smarter doesn’t always mean better.
Created by Stan Lee and John Romita Sr. in Amazing Spider-Man #41 (1966), the imposing yet dim-witted thug Aleksei Sytsevich allowed himself to be a guinea pig for an experiment that bonded a synthetic grey skin to his body, granting him superhuman strength wrapped around the costumed motif of a rhinoceros. Over the years, Aleksei would work alongside other Spider-Man villains as super-powered muscle or on his own where he fought the web-head, the Incredible Hulk, and a few other Marvel heroes or vigilantes. He has occasionally attempted to go straight and leave behind his life of crime but it is only a matter of time before the Rhino charges back into battle.
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In this story by writer Peter Milligan and artist Duncan Fegredo, Rhino suffers an existential crisis when he attempts to rescue the beautiful daughter of a mob boss. His reward is defeat by his old foe Spider-Man and the usual imprisonment until the stress and perceived mockery from others is too much for him to bear. He breaks out and upon learning that even his beloved Stella doesn’t consider him important, as a threat, protector, or romantic interest, he finally decides to make a change. He undergoes an experimental procedure that grants him super intelligence which allows him to finally defeat Spider-Man on his own but also win Stella’s love and affection.
In a short amount of time, Rhino becomes an intellectual crime lord capable of writing engaging literature, balancing a citywide crime syndicate along with a loving relationship with Stella. Although his achievements and intellect continue to grow, Rhino dismisses warnings that his intelligence levels would become so great that he’d lose his ability to enjoy anything until it happens. With Stella gone, Rhino realizes that his super-genius status isn’t all he thought and he gives Spider-Man, whose secret identity he’s deducted along with other Marvel heroes, the keys to dismantling his entire criminal empire. The last piece of the puzzle is Rhino undergoing one last procedure to reverse the procedure so he could return to his stupid yet blissful status as the Rhino.
Often a punching bag whose stupidity was well-known in the super-powered communities, this well-paced story took Rhino in a different direction than we had seen him. Milligan and Fegredo peeled back his hide and showed a side of Rhino that hadn’t been elaborated on before. We see a man tired of the routine of his life, lonely in the company he keeps, feeling unfilled and annoyed that he is considered an imbecile and nothing more than a living battering ram. Once given the chance to change everything, he makes a scientific deal with the devil and defeats the bad guy, gets the girl, and appears to be on the up and up.