After being empowered, Aleksei Sytsevich rebels against the agents who gave him his powers and destroys their laboratory. He is subsequently hired to kidnap Colonel John Jameson in order to obtain extraterrestrial spores to which Jameson has been exposed during a space mission. Jameson is rescued and Rhino defeated by the superhero Spider-Man. Rhino is imprisoned and kept there with sedation but soon breaks out and continues to try to kidnap Jameson. Spider-Man uses a web imbued with a chemical developed by Curt Connors to melt off his Rhino hide and then knocks him unconscious. After serving his entire prison term, Rhino is approached by the same scientists, who bombard him with gamma radiation (exposure to which granted the character The Incredible Hulk his super-powers) to increase the Rhino's strength. The scientists also equip him with a more durable, acid-proof suit that "complements" the gamma ray procedure, granting the Rhino even more strength while he wears it. Rhino agrees to find and kidnap Bruce Banner (the Hulk's alter-ego) for his knowledge of gamma radiation; the Rhino then trains to fight the Hulk. However, the Rhino finds himself hopelessly overpowered in the ensuing battle, as the Hulk shrugs off his strongest blows, pummels him to the brink of death, and leaves him in a coma. The character is brought out of his coma by the Leader months later. The Leader plans to interrupt Banner's wedding to Betty Ross using a ray to transform him into the Hulk and make him kill Ross; he revived Rhino to protect him from the Hulk's inevitable desire for revenge. However, Rhino betrays the Leader by attacking Banner the moment he transforms. Rhino is still unable to harm the seemingly invulnerable Hulk, and he turns on the Leader after the Leader accidentally shoots him. Rhino is caught in the explosion of the Leader's ship and again left in a coma. Leader, who was paralyzed after a previous encounter with Hulk, finds and takes mental control of the still-comatose body of Rhino and attacks Hulk. The battle eventually leads to an alien world, where Leader abandons control of Rhino and flees. Bruce and an unconscious-but-now-recovered Rhino travel back to Earth via a rocket. Rhino reappears with Abomination, and the pair activate a gamma bomb at the Hulkbuster base in an attempt to destroy Hulk. Jim Wilson deactivates the bomb, and Hulk tricks the villains during combat, forcing them to collide and knock each other unconscious.