As one of the most famous villains in Spider-Man’s rogues’ gallery, the Rhino continues to be inconsistently characterized in the comics, but there is now a canon explanation as to why. Depending on the story, Rhino stands tall among either the smartest people in the room or the dumbest in the room, and sometimes he’s just somewhere in between.
Marvel tries to make sense of it the inconsistency in Savage Avengers #20 by Gerry Duggan, Patrick Zircher, Java Tartaglia, Travis Lanham, Martin Biro, Alanna Smith, and Tom Brevoort. In the story, the anti-hero Conan decides to work with Rhino to collaborate on a big heist in hopes of getting the money he needs to save his favorite bar from going under. It is during this team-up and an ensuing run-in with Spider-Man that Rhino reveals his psychologist thinks he has concussion syndrome. Also known as a persistent post-concussive syndrome, the condition refers to what happens to someone when symptoms of a serious brain injury last longer than expected, long after the initial injury. Such symptoms include memory loss, concentration problems, drowsiness, mood swings, and personality changes. For as often as Rhino, slams his head into things, this should come as no surprise.
Rhino Has Had a Lot of Concussions
To say that the depiction of Rhino in Marvel Comics is complicated would be an understatement. It’s rare to find two consecutive comics that depict the lumbering giant in the same way. Works like Flowers for Rhino showcase him making decisions that can be best summarized as idiotic, often being beaten by being tricked into running into something. Then there are instances like The Gauntlet arc or the Ends of the Earth story, where Rhino is not only incredibly intelligent but also a sophisticated philosopher. There are also instances like in Miles Morales: Spider-Man #2 (and, really, most of Rhino’s interactions with Miles) where Rhino is neither genius nor foolish. Instead, he’s in more of an average middle ground.
Most readers can assume the change boils down to different writers viewing Rhino differently than others and depicting him as such. However, Savage Avengers is the closest that Marvel has ever come to trying to make sense of these inconsistencies. Thankfully, it’s done in a way that makes perfect sense. After all, this is a villain who is best known for running headfirst into things just like a real rhino. Rhino also finds himself getting hit in the head by people like the Hulk on a regular basis.
As it turns out, Rhino isn’t some foolish oaf after all. Instead, he’s a relatively smart person who sporadically finds himself struggling through serious brain injuries. This Spider-Man villain’s fate should not come as a surprise at all, but at the same time, it does read as awfully tragic for the Rhino.
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