Join this channel to get access to perks: / @spidermania RHINO one of my all time favorite villains in Spider-Man history. If only we got to see why he was so cool in other media outside of the comic books. :(
The problem with interpreting the rhino (from a casuals POV) is that he lends himself to dumb fun. Kingpin is nearly identical with how he loves his wife and hates spidey, but he’s got a whole crime syndicate where they can flesh him out. Unfortunately all these iterations make him go full rhino. And as RDJ put it in tropic thunder, never go full rhino
@@ColeDoesWhat Scorpion is the ultimate "should be cool, but lame AF" villain. The animal motif is great until you realize that his suit just turns him into a green monkey and a Doctor Octopus that can maybe take a punch or two from Spidey (hilarious subverted in Superior Spiderman) at the cost of being no where interesting or smart.
Not every villain needs to be a deep, thought-provoking character. It's okay for some bad guys to just enjoy being a bad guy and Rhino fits that role well.
@@Torchflare Too bad for you he IS a shallow, thought-provoking character, but make good use of those floaties if you must. "Fits a role" man, why do so many villain archetypes read comics about heroes? It's not a soviet army uniform, it's a big honking Rhino costume.
"What job would you hire him for?" At the lower levels, Construction and/or Demolition, Emergency Services like Firefighting, rescuing people trapped under rubble, maybe some intensive law enforcement work like SWAT, etc. At the higher end, well-paid bodyguard, or maybe something in military work like a specialized one-man heavy armament unit with mounted rocket launchers and whatnot, etc. There ARE options, they're just limited.
I can tell you exactly what would happen in those scenarios. They're either not going to pay him his worth and when he makes a fuss about it the police are called or someone hits him up for a "special" job off that books that turns out to be criminal, leading him back to a life of crime.
@@d.whillmar1740yeah but the thing has the fantastic 4 to be with.A girlfriend.Also is basically rich and has no financial problems because he lives with reed as a member of the fantastic 4.While rino has literally nothing besides crime.
Like that time he pointed out to the goddess Bast that, as he is also a VERY skilled Sorcerer, he's looked into the future of Mankind and saw only one where they remained. The one where he ruled. And she stepped aside after hearing that.
@@kiden3112 Seems like that might have a bit of confirmation bias. The main issue with prophecy outside of the obvious is that most of the time you are only going to interpret things the way you want. It's unreasonable to assume that Doom looked at EVERY possible future for humankind. He just saw a good one where he happened to be in charge and then called it a day because that was convenient for him. Dr. Doom has an ego and a savior complex which makes it really easy for him to latch onto that potential future and ignore other options.
@kylepessell1350 True, yet the example there involved Bast agreeing with him. Word for word, "I too, have looked into the million pathways of the future. I, too, have seen the one path that leads to a world without evil, without hurt, without want. And though my own soul cries out in denial, I MUST act according to the truth." And that's why Black Panther's goddess stepped aside to let Doom take some Vibranium she was guarding thanks to magic, which Doom had stripped down completely in order to be judged while laid bare (literally and metaphorically). Now, Bast at least never says Doomworld is that path (in the portion I've seen at least, I would expect that got explicitly denied later on unless the writers were Doom fans, but Marvel Writers' Quality is as steady as stock market prices), but she does say that while his methods are vile, his intent is pure, as everything he does is all for the sake of the one goal of saving Mankind.
I mean if an adaptation is him wanting total global ruling then I think LEGO Marvel Superheroes miraculously manages to at least get that part down in a very LEGO way.
Live-action adaptations are the reason why modern Dr. Doom is such a poorly written OP Mary Sue. Fanboys who are familiar with the comics feel the need to exaggerate how powerful, nuanced, and interesting Doom is to sell normies on how horribly unjust it is that their character has never appeared on the silver screen as a techno-mage dictator. They write him like his own stereotypical dictator "I am Invincible and infallible" propaganda is real. He used to be powerful, but also kind of an egregious idiot who constantly overrated himself and underestimated everyone else. It made him a good threat for an upper-mid level team like the F4. Now he's casually destroying universes because they displease him and he's practically a God of science and magic. And also it's Marvel canon that the only truly peaceful and prosperous timelines are the ones where he rules the world as a global dictator.
Yep and I understand why he'll never forgive Spider-Man but should have been getting plane tickets I know that would lead to other people dying but f*** them I want rhino to have a happy ending
I can't really buy someone dedicating their life to be the next _Rhino_ of all villains; I also didn't see why he couldn't have used his super intelligence to at least try to undo the Rhino suit, but still, such a good story for such a minor character.
Rhino being stuck in the suit for money is like how Spider-Man used his powers for money when he first started out. Only later to find out the consequences of their actions have sent them down a path they cannot escape. Also, I kinda wished that you brought up that the Rhino is the villain Spider-Man is afraid to fight the most and it makes sense. Even in the game, he's invulnerable to whatever Spider-Man can do to him without an outside factor (Or Miles' Venom but that feels like it's just something he wasn't prepared for).
Yes. Remember that Spider-Man doesn't have anything on hand that can hurt him. He has to rely luring him somewhere with something to incapacitate him. If he can't find that...well, look at what happened to Pete fighting Rhino in the beginning of Spider-Man Miles Morales@@camerondalton1495
Alexis didn’t have a choice tho. He physically could not escape his fate. Peter chose to be Spider-Man based off recognizing his decisions. Nobody was forced into that life
@camerondalton1495 Rhino is the one villain that matches Spiderman in strength. He's dumber, but he can really hurt Spidey if he's got a lucky punch. Normally Spidey had to outsmart him, since Rhino had a lot of endurance and stamina. That's what was in the comics, the classic ones.
I think insomniac did great with rhino. Through audio tapes we find out he just wants the suit off and after the sinister 6 fail his hatred for Spiderman grows. Also it isn’t confirmed he’s dead
5:38 i think the closest a cartoon has gotten to that might be Ultimate Spider-Man actually, where after continuosly exposing himself to a serum that turns him into the Rhino, his transformation becomes permanent sadly it's not really explored all too much besides him blaming Flash for it and going on a rampage, which he eventually gets talked down from
If I remember correctly, the ultimate spider-man show while having a pretty different story in a lot of ways, showed Rhino as a kid who made a dumb choice because he was bullied and now has to deal with the permanent consequences, and the rest of his character arch was about him coming to terms with his Rhinoceros body and eventually becoming a hero.
You know, I don’t think all Rhino adaptations were bad. My favorite one was Ultimate Spider-Man. The guy wasn’t even a robber, he was a nerd bullied by Flash who got a hold on a Rhino serum from Oscorp. After he transformed and tried to kill Flash, he was locked away by S.H.E.I.L.D. Later in the series, Peter and Flash (now Agent Venom) try to reason with him into turning good again but Rhino denies them, saying that what is done is done and he can’t be turnt. This Rhino adaptation shows how bullying can really affect someone. Because we don’t know what they’ve been through… or what they could become.
Im a little surprised that you didnt mentioned the "Ulitimate Spider-Man"-series Rhino. In this he was a child bullied by Flash until he created a serum which should give him strength to take revenge but in the end it turned him forever into the Rhino. He tried multiple times than to kill Flash but Spider-man intervenes and so he became a Spider-Man villian. Later Spide-Man and Hulk convinced him to use his power for good and he joined Shield for the "New Warriors" Program to teach young heroes how to be a superhero. But, a Season or two later, in the end it turns out he was was spy for Doc Ock who promise him so help him getting his normal body back.
Yeah I probably could’ve went more in-depth into seeing as how he’s like the most different rhino story by far. I more so wanted to focus on a lack of showing other sides or depth to rhino whereas ultimate cartoon kinda just did their own thing with the character. Which I definitely appreciated Thanks for watching and I appreciate the comment
Republican in name only? But no, it's pretty much a metaphor for being tatted up, nobody wants a construction worker to become a public spectacle and Karens calling in "how dare you have the Rhino working for you!" So, a sailor? As a story telling device, the point is that whatever the necessity for unifromity might be, Rhino would always be a step too far from that. So even if it's PLAUSIBLE a good story would still have him being the exacption to the rule there's always a place SOMEWHERE, for anybody. He's like that little goblin dude in 300.
I really wish rhino had more to do and kinda sucks that he always the same but I think he’s a decent villain I think it would be better to have appear as a scary and menacing villain.
Rhino isn’t actually confirmed to be dead in the Insomniac universe. We didn’t get solid confirmation that Phin killed him since Miles did yank her away but like right after she stabbed him. The image of Rhino on Kraven’s wall was in the game’s files but never made it into the finished version meaning Kraven didn’t kill him. With this in mind it’s entirely possible that Rhino can be in the third game and given the second game’s big emphasis on second chances and rehabilitation I think Rhino is ripe for that kind of story.
Spider-Man has one of the best rogue's gallery in comics. Even goofy villains like the Spot turn into real menaces with the proper writing and there's always some depth to them. And yes, part of what I like in Rhino is how goofy he is at principle, just a big guy in a super rhino onesie, but when you look deeper, there's a lot to be explored
I’m gonna get so much shit for saying this but I think the Ultimate show and to a lesser extent Marvel 2017 did him a bit more unique. In Ultimate he was bullied just like Peter was thanks to Rhino, took the serum to become Rhino, and hated it so much that he desperately wanted a cure. Peter convinced him to join the New Warriors and he actually managed to be a solid hero but Ock brainwashed him after tricking him with the promises of a cure, and Spidey only managed to give him that chance by the end of the series Hell in 2017 he’s not even a bad person though they did have to alter his entire personality character, but at least becoming a dumb route was an accident.
Rhino isnt dead in spider man 2 i dont understand why people still say that if they decided to put his head out of bound it means that they dont want him dead otherwise they would have left a tape of kraven like he did to the other villains beside with doc ock being involved again in spiderman 3 its most likely he will try to use rhino again since insomniac spidrman dosent want to be rhino anymore:"No more suit, No more Rhino" so maybe they could free him from the suit in that 3rd game
i like the commentary of his character being somebody whos only ever known a life of crime and is physically unable to change anything about it. it reflects a lot of real world felons who do actually want to do better but the world has already branded them a certain way. they get turned down job opportunities or avoided by people which leaves them going back to the only way theyve known how to live.
The way all of these shows, movies, and video games show the rhino just completely brainwashes our thoughts on the rhino’s personality. The more in-depth videos I’ve seen on rhino has made me change my initial opinions on the character and actually make me respect him for what he actually is.
I would love a marvel 10 minute skit of The Wall vs the Rhino, where he just tries to run through The Wall. “The one wall he can’t crawl” nah “the one wall he can’t get a concussion from”
The problem with rhino is that nobody understands what the f to do with the character after the arc with him ends Think about it, no one it's really sure about what to do with his storyline once he gets beaten, since he's just portrayed as a big tough guy to beat, but that's about it, he doesn't really has a consistent story among the multiple universes that have depicted him in the past, so we can't even say we like the character, just the idea of the character itself We could say he's just an unlucky guy who has a good heart deep down, and just wants to do the best for his family or his loved ones right?.... Yeah that's sandman We could say that he's a victim of an experiment that went wrong, and now is trapped by his own powers, and now is a criminal to survive right??.... That's doc ock too We could just say he's a mercenary right? One dangerous foe who wants to eliminate Spider-Man once and for all.... That's Scorpion as well (and Kraven beyond being a mercenary) That's the problem with rhino, nobody is sure what the hell is the character supposed to be besides being big and strong, since whatever the story is, there is another character who shares basically the same story but without the rhinoceros gimmick All of those rhino versions are valid, yeah, but we cannot say we love the character, because of how inconsistent he is among his various versions, since nobody is sure what to do with his character once Spidey beats him up
Flowers for Algernon actually made me cry DURING the group reading at school. When it was MY turn to read. Got choked up and couldn't keep going bc I was still a kid
Actually in Ultimate Spider-Man the Rhino of that show did have the desire to no longer be the rhino, I can remember any specifics other then he gets a happy ending by the end of the show Plus we don’t know if it’s confirmed if Insomiac Rhino is dead or not
Rhino and Bane (from Batman) have the same problem with the brute force while being stupid (even know that Bane introducion in the comics shows that he have muscle and intelligence knowing even Bruce secret identity)
In contrast too the comics, Spectacular Spidermans Rhino actually seems to really like the suit, to the point of trying to stop the creation of other Rhino's.
Tbf, the main reason why Rhino agrees to work with Doc Ock is because he promised to have his suit removed and made significant progess. Idk if its addressed in Spidermab 2, but i like to assume Roxxon did something similar.
While I think it works for Rhino as a character, what I hate about most of these Flowers for Algernon adaptations is that in the original text, the main character never chooses to relinquish his intelligence. A lot of the pathos of the story comes from the fear and grief of losing the parts of their intelligence that made their life better, not just looking forward to being essentially mentally disabled for the sake of relatability as the SpongeBob and Simpsons adaptations opt for. Probably because the actually story is far more depressing, and the general public is just not ready to hear that higher intelligence is really more of a blessing than a curse 😂
I love Spectacular Spider-Man Rhino. There isn't really anything there in the show, but he has some great potential. He also doesn't have the IQ of a koala, so that's great.
Brother, props to you for getting this so right. The Rhino II storyline was a revelation to me. I liked the Rhino from the 90s cartoon for the aesthetic and the big dumb strong guy shtick, and after that storyline I was had new layers to appreciate a character I loved from my childhood.
I never really cared for Rhino until I plucked the latest Spider-Man comic off a grocery-store rack in the mid 90s. It was entitled "Revenge of the Rhino!" I didn't really care about Rhino but Spider-Man was my comic at the time so I checked it out. The entire story wasn't that Rhino was out for vengeance, but that his rampage was prompted by a single thing: his suit toughened his skin so much that he has no real sense of touch. He can't feel anything. Even SWAT shooting at him does nothing. It takes Spidey electrocuting Rhino with enough voltage to brown-out an entire city block that he finally drops, thanking Spider-Man for helping him feel anything.
Preach!! Finally someone understands me!!! No but seriously, Rhino is a very complicated and unique character, and he has 2 incredible, emotional stories (those being Flowers for Rhino and the story with new Rhino and Aleksei's wife) and they're both some of the best things I've seen, Rhino is a very tragic and complicated character and with good enough righters he can be one of the greatest foils to Spider-man
I remember reading TASM 625 a long time ago and remember thinking this would make such a good movie. Especially in these times where everybody loves to have a villain that they can really understand and see some kind of redemption arc. It would have a very tragic end. A more tragic end imo than a lot of Spidey adaptations and villains, but no one would ever look at rhino the same way as he has been seen for last 30 years or so.
Well it’s not confirmed that rhino is dead in this insomniac the deleted room doesn’t really conform anything because it’s deleted ,so he could still be alive
2017's Spider-Man show had a smart Alexsei who repeatedly is transformed against his will into Rhino and hates it. He also has poor eyesight when transformed.
If I were to put Aleksei in a feature length adaptation, I'd focus on his status as an immigrant from Russia, much like Niko from Grand Theft Auto IV. When Aleksei comes to America, its to escape prosecution for his knowledge and experience, his former comrades thinking he is too dangerous to let leave the country, but when he arrives in New York, he discovers no one treats him with any form of respect because of his accent and lack of credentials: while at home he was a respected agent, in this new place, Aleksei is a nobody and cannot find work, all of his achievements mean nothing to people that only see him for what he is, not who he is. So, Aleksei turns to crime to find a place for himself, unknowing becoming entangled in a series of experiments that prey on New York's most vulnerable populations to create super suited monsters like Scorpion and Vulture as pawns in a grand scheme by Justin Hammer.
Check out "Deadly Foes of Spiderman" In that series he is raising money to remove the suit. He prevents the sinister 6 from killing spiderman because he doesn't want to get wanted for murder. He ends up fleeing to Mexico with his illgotten gains.
“The guy gets grafted and stuck to a rhino suit and his first thought is, where’s spiderman I wanna beat him up”. That right there is what we call a smoke demon folks.
To be fair to Spectacular, the show itself is literally unfinished. It's entirely possible they planned to go into Rhino's story more, like they started to with Sandman. *Unfortunately,* Disney canceled the show after its second season.
Late 90's had some great Rhino stories I read when I collected comics. Even an extra at the end of a Spider-Man or Venom comic, can't remember, that had a happy ending for the character and fleshed him out in a touching and heart warming story. I have to go find the story can't remember the issue. But the character was always more interesting to me since then. Thanks for making a video on this topic. There was way more you could've added but this will do for now.
Hot take to anyone who hasn’t seen this video, but I think Rhino has potential to be the main antagonist of a Spider-Man film if given this much depth.
The portrayal of Rhino in my universe has him being mutated into a giant rhinoceros man, but slowly, his intelligence and humanity get stripped away. Eventually turning him into an animal and he's trying to get himself back to being human before that happens.
@@takagaloreCroc was born with his condition. Aleksei was just a hood who kept getting caught by Spider-Man so he hopped at the chance to get back without knowing the repercussions.
This was failed to mention but later in spectacular Spider-Man and in insomniacs version you do hear that each version of there rhino is suffering and Spider-Man is there to hear that.
He’s a villain, that rams his head into things. Yeah he’s going to only that in adaptations they’re called adaptations not “the history of the character portrayed accurately in 30 minutes”
2 questions 1. What do you at least think of Clancy Brown’s performance as Rhino ? 2. How would you feel if Rhino reformed after he teamed up with Spider-Man to stop Silver Sable and Hammerhead in Spectacular Spider-Man just like Sandman ?
There was a novelization of rhino and spiderman teaming up to fight a morbius like guy. They actually become sort of friends in the story and even unintentionally roasts Peter for not adding a pocket into spider suit. Rhino even meets mj
i seen Rhino as a big dumb brute in the games , and always seen him as "A big strong tanky guy" , and i always thought he diserved better. and I love the idea he HATES his life as Rhino , and wants to go back to being a normal guy , its tragic as hell .and i didn't even know about the smart rino arch , that would be a amazing idea for a Rino spin off show! forget the Kraven the hunter movie Lets get a Rino series , starting when he becomes rhino , and follow him in his every day life ...realising this life is hell and follow rhino in his daily life and eventually turning to crime to solve his problems losing his wife and kids in the prosses
he liked flyfishing, liked running through walls, honestly he just wanted out of the suit and took any opportunity to get it, and honestly, i would too
I never really cared for Rhino, and part of that might have had to do with how he's been portrayed. The Insomniac games actually won me over, though. He's scary in those games, and while they don't give a lot of detail, they do hint that he has layers. They mention that his suit can't be removed, but don't get into how that happened. In Miles' spinoff game, the character returns, and he and Miles have a little banter while he's tearing through the mall. It's both funny and humanizes the character a little. But by Spider-Man 2, the third game in the series, I figure Insomniac must have been like, "He's already been prominently featured in two games, and we have lots of other villains to explore. Might as well have Kraven kill him." But it doesn't even happen on screen. The only indication we have that he's dead is some unused asset. So maybe he's not even dead?
Dude in Spider-Man PS4 and Miles Morales this is actually a thing that they kind of focus on for rhino sure he is still a villain but he's honestly trying to get out of the suit he just wants to fish on the Volga!
"I am so scared I can't even finish my lame joke" that shit gets me to this day I always love when Peter KNOWS his qips are shit and is only doing them to annoy
My dad REALLY likes rhinos, it was his nickname growing up and it went on to him collect rhino toys (the animal & marvel character) his collection is massive
Instead they're making him a villain for the Kraven the Hunter movie, and he can transform into Rhino Hulk style, a little bit like the Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon Rhino.
Dude you're so right. I don't think I even knew that he was stuck in the suit until I was an adult. The 90s cartoon had a few origin story episodes for villains but Rhino was just there
I always used to view rhino as a guy who is uncomfortable in his suit and wishes to be free from his suit and have a normal life. And i always wished they would do that in an adaptation. I feel like the kraven movie is still not going to do him justice
This feels like a screentime issue. The "Big dumb brute" characterisation seems like an unavoidable introduction when they first show up, but most of this depth that doesn't get explored really needs more time to breathe than what Rhino's often given to work with, they seem to skip over him a lot in favour of putting other villains in the spotlight for arcs.
Insomniac's Spider-Man Miles Morales touches on the issue that his suit can't be removed, his newer motivation is beating Miles so that Krieger will find a way to remove his suit.
Genuinely didn't know that Rhino had this much complexity to him. I agree, he's been done dirty in his adaptations. I didn't even know the dude was supposed to be Russian.
As someone who hasn't played Spider-Man 2 yet but has been spoiled of it in certain ways such as how Kraven dies, this is how I found out Rhino is most likely dead in it, although the location where his head is is out of bounds. If Kraven really did kill him, then I congratulate Venom immensely cuz Rhino was my favorite Insomniac villain besides Doc Ock and Martin Li.
Didn't insomniac spiderman have a similar story for Rino? I mean Octavius was working on an acid to free Runi from his suit it's the reason Rino worked for Octavius. Hell if I remember some of the thug conversation in Spiderman and Miles Morales have them talking about how the suit brings Alexi pain. So in truth insomniac had a story for Rino but they couldn't push it far because they wanted other stories to tell. Sure they could have done a DLC side quest to explain Rino further but I think Insomniac did what they could with Rino.
i actually feel like rhino had depth in spectacular actually, his dynamic with sandman was actually really interesting & could've gone somewhere if the show was still on.
