Of the many heroes of the Marvel Universe, Spider-Man arguably has the most iconic rogues gallery. While most of his enemies are almost as iconic as he is, that doesn't mean they can't be replaced, as the Rhino discovered firsthand in 'The Gauntlet" during 2010's Amazing Spider-Man #617 by Joe Kelly and Max Fiumara.
From the shadows, Kraven the Hunter and his children had been manipulating Spider-Man's other foes, putting the hero through the titular Gauntlet of the storyline. This time, it was the Rhino's turn to wreak havoc. However, Aleksei Sytsevich had retired from the supervillain lifestyle at the time, though he wasn't the Rhino that Kraven had in mind.
In order to feel like he had truly earned his title, a new, unnamed Rhino with a more devastating suit was unleashed on New York City to hunt down and kill his predecessor. With Aleksei now in Witness Protection, that didn't make things easy, nor did the interference of Spider-Man. The new Rhino refused to give up, and with the information provided by Kraven's daughter, he was able to draw Aleksei out of hiding. The former Rhino did promise his apparent successor a duel, but quickly admitted to Spider-Man that he instead wanted to return to Witness Protection with his wife Oksana.
Unfortunately, the new Rhino was able to track down the convoy that was carrying them back into their simple life, and Oksana was killed in the attack. With his hand finally forced, Aleksei returned to the city to recover his old skin and show the new breed of Rhino just how big of a mistake they had made. The rage that burned inside of Aleksei was unlike anything he had ever felt before, and it imbued him with a strength that even Spider-Man admitted should have been impossible to achieve. When the Rhinos finally met one another on the battlefield, the cybernetically enhanced newcomer was left in pieces after crashing into the original. One final blow later and the new Rhino was left in pieces across the pavement.
The loss of a loved one is never easy to live through, but the loss of his wife quickly turned Aleksei from a reformed man into a darker, more malevolent version of the villain that he had been for decades. In the aftermath of this event, the Rhino went from being a formidable physical fighter into the cruel figure who seemingly killed Silver Sable to punisher her ally Spider-Man.
In the years since then, the Rhino has overcome at least some of the pain that was inflicted on him by Kraven's machinations, though his scars still run deep beneath his impossibly thick skin. The Rhino was never going to be the last challenge for Spider-Man in Kraven's Gauntlet, but there was no rung that could come after him and leave anywhere near as deep of an impact.