Rhino has always been a fun villain because he’s essentially a hammer. Even more so than Juggernaut, Rhino is just a blunt weapon that runs into things. You really can’t get less complex than that. He’s every megalomaniac’s dream because if you throw some cash at him, he’ll hit whatever you point him at.
That’s not to say that’s all there is to him, though. Just because a guy spends all of his time running through walls doesn’t mean he’s without depth. I think most people would point to “Flowers for Rhino” by Peter Milligan as a story that raises Rhino’s character a few notches. One of my personal favorites is from Silver Surfer #54, titled “Rage of the Rhino,” which is set right in the heart of the Infinity Gauntlet storyline. The Silver Surfer run across Rhino, who is setting animals free from the local zoo because after spending so much time in jail he can’t stand to see things locked up. With the world ending, the Rhino figures the animals should have a shot at freedom. After a battle and a wounded animal, the Surfer and Rhino work together to return the animals to the zoo for their own safety. Dan Slott’s “Ends of the Earth” storyline used Rhino well also. Hell, it’s hard to find a bad Rhino story.
Rhino has received a number of action figures, but this is his first time as a Build-a-Figure. The previous ML Rhino was the extremely well-received one from the Fearsome Foes box set, so this Rhino had some big three-toed shoes to fill.
The first thing I thought when I saw this wide, stumpy Rhino was that a Hulk needs to be made exactly like this. Having him in hand only reinforces that belief. At a little over 7.5 inches (not counting his horns), this is exactly the size and shape I’d like in a Savage Hulk figure. Just standing there, Rhino is a powerful-looking figure, accentuated by his wide center of balance that makes him look like he could run through a building and shrug it off.
Rhino has a great sculpt, with crags and lumps and bumps that convincingly portray Rhino skin. He’s muscled but not super-ripped, which fits his character. Being a BAF, he has ball hips instead of the newer style hips, which isn’t terrible, but might have made that upper leg portion a bit more streamlined. Thankfully the hips are 90-degree hips and not 45 or, even worse, those balls that peg straight up. Those are horrible.
All the limbs snap in securely and stay in, so he’s not flopping around. His knees and elbows ratchet so he holds a pose well. He has very large, wide feet that allow him to balance on one foot fairly well for running stances.
His head setup is odd as his neck and head are all one piece that plug into a cavity. This ends up working very well for him as it allows him to turn his head both horizontally and vertically, and it still maintains that lunk-shouldered wall-breaker look, allowing him to put his head down for very nice charging positions.
Rhino has fists. This should always be applauded in strong characters. Luckily, Rhino can’t applaud his own fists, because he has fists and not slaphands. That’s just the type of catch-52 that I enjoy.
Rhino has removable shoulder pads so you can go for whichever look you prefer. I don’t mind the armored shoulders, but I’ve always liked the streamlined Rhino, so that’s what I’m going with on mine. I love that you have an option.
The only aspect of this Rhino that I’m not completely on board with is his head choices. I’ve obviously opted for the fully exposed face on mine, but you also have a choice of the more recent half-mask that covers his eyes and leaves only white dots. It’s a decent enough look, but I’m always partial to seeing his entire dumb face. However, the open face has an expression that to me only looks like he’s really constipated and is herniating himself trying to get a poop the size of a pterodactyl egg out of him.
I know he’s supposed to be angry-mid-chargey, but I would have preferred something in a gritted-teeth expression instead of a dental exam. Not that it isn’t a great head sculpt for depicting what it’s depicting, but I’ve never been a fan of the “been caught screaming” look on any toy. Except possibly Hulk, and even with that I prefer gritted teeth to full-on “how’s my breath.”
Other than that mild critique, this Rhino has everything I need in a Rhino, and it is a super-cool toy, so I can forgive the head issue.
Rhino is the BAF of the second Spider-Man series, available here!