Aleksei Sytsevich

Biographical information
Alias	Rhino
Age	43
Home country	Russia
Residence	New York City (The Raft)
Occupation	Professional criminal Russian Mob Enforcer (formerly) Roxxon Mercenary (formerly)
Membership	Sinister Six (formerly)
Physical information
Height	7"5
Weight	710 lbs
Gender	Male
Abilities	Strength, speed, durability (armor)
Behind the scenes
Portrayed by	Fred Tatasciore

Aleksei Mikhailovich Sytsevich, also known by his alias the Rhino, is an antagonist in Marvel's Spider-Man and Miles Morales, mentioned in Marvel's Spider-Man 2.

After spending years incarcerated in the Raft, the armored brute is released by Doctor Octopus, who makes him part of his supervillain group the Sinister Six. After being locked up and sent to the Raft, he escaped again during a prison transfer, becoming an enforcer for Roxxon.

History

Early history

Aleksei Sytsevich was born around 1977 in Irkutsk, Russia. He was at some point fitted with an experiment combat suit. During one of his battles with Spider-Man, Rhino demolished six city blocks before Spider-Man took him down; even with Spider-Man's accelerated healing, it took him weeks to recover. Rhino was imprisoned in the Raft. During this time, a government agency tried for years and failed to develop a corrosive that could free Rhino from his suit without harming him.

Marvel's Spider-Man

Early on, Rhino almost escaped from his cell in the Raft, before being relocated to a more secure cell. J. Jonah Jameson covered the story with concern, wondering why he wasn't in the most secure possible cell in the first place.

Doctor Octopus, while formulating his plan, at some point approached Rhino with an offer to free him from his suit in exchange for him joining the Sinister Six and bringing down Norman Osborn. Octopus described Rhino was a "warrior with a poet's heart", and despite government agencies being unable to free Rhino from his suit after years, Octopus could after a few days.

In "Out of the Frying Pan...", Rhino was freed from the Raft and fought Spider-Man, and on Octopus' orders, gave Spider-Man a warning rather than kill him.

Rhino was then tasked with disrupting the supply routes of Oscorp's relief centers, alongside Scorpion. In "Supply Run", Miles Morales narrowly avoided Rhino while looking for antibiotics to take back to F.E.A.S.T. The close calls frustrated Rhino, who threw a tantrum after Miles barely managed to escape.

In "Heavy Hitter", Spider-Man tracked Rhino to a shipping yard in Upper West Side, where they fought, with Scorpion helping Rhino. The two were defeated, with Scorpion blaming and mocking Rhino. Enraged, Rhino charged at Scorpion and tackled him into a nearby shipping container, Spider-Man taking advantage and sealing the container shut. Because the Raft was still under repairs, Rhino was thereafter transferred temporarily to a lower-security prison, where he broke several cells wide open.

Miles Morales

In "Hold Onto Your Web-Shooters", Rhino was transported by prison convoy but was able to escape when Miles Morales, Peter Parker's new protege and a new Spider-Man, accidentally disrupted the weight balance of the helicopter carrying Rhino. Rhino violently rampaged through New York City, and after wreaking havoc through a shopping mall, made a last ditch effort to lose them into a large Roxxon gas tank, causing an explosion and power outage. The explosion mostly knocked Peter out, who pleaded with Miles to leave and save himself, before Miles learned of his Venom Shock power and used it to take Rhino down. After the battle, Simon Krieger arrived, suggested he was holding Rhino from the police.

Rhino was held by Roxxon who upgraded his suit, making it immune to Miles' powers. Krieger mused that, despite Rhino claiming to want to leave the suit, it was the only reason anyone would care about him, justifying giving it an upgrade instead. He claimed he was having Rhino transferred to a "more secure, privatized form of work-release". Both J. Jonah Jameson and Danika Hart raised concerns about his ability to escape, though Roxxon kept him under wraps until sending him to capture Phin Mason and Miles Morales' Spider-Man, operating on the Prowler's information.

In "Tinker Tailor Spider Spy", as the Phin and Spider-Man both escaped Krieger's personal lab, Rhino confronted them, with the help of many Roxxon agents. The two discovered a flaw in Rhino's armor, allowing them to chip away at it until he was no longer immune to Miles' Venom Strike, defeating him. A defeated Rhino confessed to Phin Mason that he knew about her brother Rick's death, mocking her about it. Phin responded by plunging her programmable matter sword into his chest, which caused Miles to intervene and stop her.

Marvel's Spider-Man 2

Kraven the Hunter mentions Rhino as one of the targets for his "Great Hunt".

Rhino appeared as a hallucination in Peter Parker's mind when Miles Morales and Martin Li explore it to free him from the symbiote's influence.

Characteristics

Appearance

Concept art

Rhino is extremely tall (towering over most people) and incredibly muscular. Much of his body is covered in a gray armor suit designed after a rhino, which includes two metallic horns on his helmet that light blue optic lenses.

Personality

Rhino is short-tempered and impulsive. Though he presents as unintelligent due to his rage and his imperfect English, Otto Octavius described him as a "warrior with a poet's heart" beneath that. Rhino is cruel and sadistic to his foes, though he can just as easily turn on allies if angered.

Rhino has expressed a desire for freedom from his suit and identity as Rhino, hating how it turned him into a target for mockery. Octavius' promise of this was enough to motivate him to join forces. Simon Krieger however mused that Rhino secretly loved his suit for the attention and value it gave him and would forget this desire after he killed Spider-Man, though this may have been a callous dismissal of Rhino's needs due to wishing to use him.

Abilities

Rhino's suit grants him superhuman strength and makes him near-impervious to harm. The suit also grants him resistance to extreme temperatures, acid solutions, shock, and explosive damage. It has been suggested that he would be immensely strong even without the suit.

Rhino's suit is extremely difficult to remove without harming or killing him. Government agencies spent years trying to develop an acid to remove Rhino from his suit safely (though Otto Octavius was able to accomplish this after a few days).

Original appearance

For more background of Aleksei Sytsevich throughout comic book history, see all appearances of Rhino and the original appearance of Aleksei Sytsevich on the Marvel Database

In the comics, Rhino was a member of the Sinister Six, although not of the original lineup. He first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #41 (October 1966).

Behind the scenes

Fred Tatasciore is the voice of Sytsevich, who reprises his role as the Rhino from Spider-Man: Web of Shadows and the 2012 video game The Amazing Spider-Man.

On October 25, 2023, a player discovered a trophy room outside of the overworld with 4 heads mounted on a wall belonging to Rhino, Scorpion, Shocker and Vulture. This suggests that Rhino was originally meant to be one of Kraven's victims in the story but Insomniac later changed it to be Electro instead as there is no evidence of his death at the hands of Kraven in the finished game other than this.

References

• Insomniac Games (2018). Marvel's Spider-Man [Game]. Sony Interactive Entertainment. PlayStation 4.
• Insomniac Games (2020). Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales [Game]. Sony Interactive Entertainment. PlayStation 5.
• Insomniac Games (2023). Marvel's Spider-Man 2 [Game]. Sony Interactive Entertainment. PlayStation 5.