The spies who transformed the Rhino assigned him to abduct John Jameson, son of Daily Bugle publisher J. Jonah Jameson and an astronaut in the United States Space Program, for the purpose of “sale” to the highest bidding nation. Feeling cocky, the Rhino turned on his benefactors and destroyed their headquarters. The Rhino then attempted the Jameson kidnapping under his own initiative.

Spider-Man intervened and defeated the Rhino during the attempt. The Rhino was placed in a special state correctional hospital where he was kept under heavy sedation. After a few weeks, between doses of sedative, the Rhino broke out of the hospital and escaped, seeking revenge upon Spider-Man. Spider-Man again defeated him, using a specially formulated version of his web fluid, devised with the aid of Dr. Curt Connors, which contained encapsulated acid pellets whose containers dissolved upon contact with air. The special webbing rendered the Rhino’s costume weak and brittle, depriving him of needed impact resistance. The Rhino was recaptured, tried, and convicted.

The Rhino’s sentence was commuted. Discharged, he was again approached by the spies who had transformed him, apparently bearing no malice over his previous betrayal. They offered to strengthen him using a gamma-ray process. They had also devised an improved, acid-resistant material rhinoceros suit. Having no other prospects of gainful employment, the Rhino accepted the offer. The new series of radiation treatments were successful in doubling the Rhino’s previous strength level. The augmented Rhino’s first mission was to abduct Dr. Bruce Banner, an authority on biochemical gamma-ray experimentation, who was also the Hulk. The spies planned to coerce Banner into developing an army of gamma ray-treated, superhuman assassins. When the Rhino tried to abduct Banner, Banner transformed into the Hulk and overpowered the Rhino. Again, he was sent to a state facility and was kept under heavy sedation and high security.

The Rhino’s battle with the Hulk came to the attention of the Leader, the Hulk’s foremost nemesis, who decided that further gamma-ray treatments would give the Rhino enough power to overcome the Hulk. The Leader freed the Rhino from the state facility and further increased his strength by gamma-ray bombardments. The Rhino was dispatched to crash the wedding of Bruce Banner and Betty Ross. Succeeding in interrupting the wedding, the Rhino was engaged in battle with the Hulk when the Leader shot him with a radiation blast intended for the Hulk. The Rhino turned on the Leader and caused the Leader’s escape module to explode. (Bruce Banner would not succeed in marrying Betty Brant until years later.) The Rhino’s body was eventually found comatose but otherwise unharmed and taken to a state hospital.

The Leader used his mental energies to revive him. He then reoutfitted him and sent him against the Hulk again, this time with the Leader’s mind controlling his every move. When the Leader released the Rhino, he was aboard a space shuttle battling the Hulk. The fight continued until the shuttle crash-landed on the artificial planet called Counter-Earth on the opposite side of the sun. The ship automatically repaired its damage and when the Leader telemetrically signaled for it to return, the Hulk fought his way back on, the Rhino in tow. When the ship crash landed on Earth, the Rhino lay buried in the wreckage for some time until he revived.

He was then recruited by Egghead as part of the criminal scientist’s Emissaries of Evil. The Rhino was paired off with Solarr and sent to Dr. Strange’s sanctum to fetch the Star of Capistan, a jewel of power the Egghead mistakenly had thought Strange possessed. This mission brought the Rhino in conflict with his old nemesis, the Hulk, as well as the Defenders. The Rhino was ultimately defeated by the Red Rajah, a being in possession of Doctor Strange. He later battled and was defeated by Doc Samson. Taken to Project: Pegasus, an upstate energy facility, for study, the Rhino was observed for some months, until he joined in a mass escape attempt, along with fellow prisoners Moonstone, Blackout, and Electro. The escape was thwarted by the Avengers. While being transferred to another facility, the Rhino was freed by the Miracle Man who wanted the Rhino to help him regain his mystical powers. The Rhino did not wish to be freed, however, preferring to seek medical treatment to remove the Rhino costume, which had affixed itself to his skin following the fiery shuttle crash. With the aid of the Thing, the Rhino opposed the Miracle Man and accompanied the Thing back to Pegasus, where they could again attempt to transfer him to the medical facility as arranged.

When the treatments failed to restore him to normal, the Rhino escaped and joined the Beetle’s Sinister Syndicate to earn money to finance further operations.