Spider-Man rarely gets a break. New York City is the city that never sleeps, which means the villains are always up and at 'em. In Spider-Man: Brand New Day, the Wall-Crawler faced off against a host of bad guys, including Scorpion, The Hand, and Boomerang. And his next adventure won't be any easier, as Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Season 2 pits him against more than a few formidable foes.
Curt Connors and Otto Octavius, two brilliant scientists, have fallen from grace in the Disney+ series' continuity and have Spider-Man in their crosshairs. But they face fierce competition from Mikhail Sytsevich, aka Rhino, who's getting a new costume to celebrate his promotion to main villain.
Rhino's new look was teased earlier this year at D23 on a poster. However, toy manufacturer Hasbro has knocked the wall down by dropping the first look at a Marvel Legends two-pack featuring the evildoer and his nemesis.
The Rhino action figure comes with its fair share of accessories, including an interchangeable head and hands. But the add-ons aren't the headline; the costume steals the show.
Like his comic book counterpart, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man's Rhino wears an outfit made from material designed to mimic the hide of a rhinoceros, the animal he's named after. Previous versions of the character failed to take cues from the source material and have suffered as a result.
The most famous version of Rhino to appear outside of the comics made his presence known at the end of The Amazing Spider-Man 2, after Peter had lost Gwen Stacy. The villain started rampaging around New York in a mechanical suit, forcing Spider-Man to get back on the horse and save a young boy.
Insomniac's Spider-Man universe went in a similar direction, with Rhino donning a mechanical suit grafted directly to his skin. At one point, the video game company considered having the upgrade let him down and letting Kraven take him out in Spider-Man 2. The powers that be scrapped that idea, though, which is probably what should've happened to Rhino's other live-action appearance.
Rather than taking a page out of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man's book and giving Rhino a semi-realistic costume, Kraven the Hunter decided to allow Aleksei Sytsevich to unleash the beast. In the much-maligned movie, Rhino transformed into a rhinoceros-like creature with the strength of 1,000 men. While he put up a good fight, he ultimately lost to Kraven and died from wounds he suffered in the battle.
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man has high hopes for Rhino, so it probably won't kill him off in Season 2. In fact, the stage is set for a complicated rivalry between him and the titular hero.
Rhino Owes Peter Parker Big Time in Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
Mikhail Sytsevich ran with a tough crowd in Season 1 of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. Mila Masaryk led a New York gang that pulled off heists. Unfortunately, her team, including Mikhail, got busted and went to jail. Using a powerful helmet she received from Otto Octavius, Mila, now going by the moniker Unicorn, broke her friends out, an act that put her on Spider-Man's radar.
Unicorn proved too much for the Wall-Crawler to handle, especially because she didn't care about putting lives in danger. She even went as far as to attack Mikhail because she knew Spider-Man would get in the way and save him. Mikhail didn't appreciate being used as a pawn in Unicorn's scheme, so he removed her helmet, allowing the authorities to nab them both. However, Mikhail made it clear that it wasn't all good between him and Spider-Man and vowed to go after the hero if the oppurtunity arose.
Well, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is going to bring Rhino up to bat. While he won't pose as big a threat as Doc Ock or Lizard, who have serious brains to back up their brawn, Peter Parker can't overlook him either. With the Rhino suit providing him with a boost, Mikhail's power is sure to be off the charts.
Surely, Spider-Man can go toe-to-toe with him; he's not exactly lacking in the strength department. But like in the Unicorn fight, the hero will have to be mindful of his surroundings. Rhino is a wrecking ball and creates collateral damage like there's no tomorrow. Season 1 proved that the villain has a heart somewhere beneath his rough exterior. But he's still a criminal who cares more about getting rich than doing the right thing at the end of the day.
