Aleksei Systevich (Earth-21399)

"Come on out, Pauk-suka, and I promise not to break your face!"

- The Rhino

Early Life
Aleksei Systevich (Cyrillic: Алексей Систевич) was born in Saratov, Russia, into the life of a gopnik (the Russian equivalent of the American gang-banger). As befits the stereotype, Aleksei was never particularly smart (his IQ is estimated to be around 86) and usually went around committing petty crimes - that is, until he was arrested and tossed into a gulag for trafficking desomorphine, better known on the streets as Krokodil.

After receiving one too many beatings from the prison guards, Aleksei decided that the gopnik lifestyle was ultimately not worth it. After getting out of prison, he found work as a short-order cook at a local restaurant, where he met and fell in love with waitress Oksana Popova. The two bonded over their shared frustrations with life in their home country, and Aleksei promised to Oksana that he could help her escape when he found the chance.

After the two got married, Aleksei made good on his promise and bought the two of them a flight to New York City, where they opted to settle down and start their own Russian restaurant. They named it Miriam's after Aleksei's mother, who overdosed on desomorphine while Aleksei was in prison.

Becoming the Rhino
Unfortunately, Aleksei's criminal past did not escape the attention of the Russian mobsters operating in New York. They were being beset on all sides by the up-and-coming vigilante known as Spider-Man, and needed someone to eliminate the troublesome webhead - Aleksei was exactly the expendable dullard they needed.

Under orders from their boss, a pair of bratoks ambushed Oksana while she was out performing her errands and kidnapped her. Then, the boss contacted Aleksei himself and forced him into working for him, using Oksana as leverage. With no other choice, Aleksei agreed to help take down Spider-Man, and was provided a mechanized battlesuit that had been supplied to the Russians by the Kingpin.

Trivia

 * Aleksei planned to have most of his prison tattoos covered when he got to America. One of the new designs he planned on was a matching flower with Oksana.