Rhino (BW)

Rhino is a Maximal from the Beast Wars portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.

I may have to crap my own legs to transform, but at least I'm not Rally's Rhinox.

In the age of the Pax Cybertronia, most dismiss the religions and rituals of the ancient Transformers as mere superstition... but Rhino thinks otherwise. A deeply spiritual ground soldier, Rhino is a firm believer in both Primus and Unicron, believing the universe to be controlled by mystical forces far beyond the purview of any Transformer. He's well-versed in Ancient Cybertronian and regularly researches mystical texts from ages past. Rhino's comrades might just dismiss his interests as an odd hobby, but those who have seen him on the battlefield know that he's capable of performing seemingly-impossible feats beyond his body's technical specifications.

In combat, Rhino can deploy his chest-mounted missile launcher, but relies on nigh-supernatural feats of power, which include super-speed, precognition, and electrokinesis. When he defeats a foe, he believes that his opponent's Spark joins his own.^[1]

And he turns into a rhino.

No, he's not Rhinox.

Fiction

Beast Wars Perfect Book

Rhino was a Maximal ground soldier and his main attack was a body-ramming slam. Prairie fighting was his specialty, but he was not good in confined spaces. Beast Wars Perfect Book

2006 IDW Beast Wars continuity

Unlike what one would expect from a member of a technological race, Rhino was not too preoccupied with cold science. He was a mystical being who found power in Ancient Cybertronian incantations and spells. Seemingly impossible feats he had performed, such as amazing physical prowess beyond his body's technical specifications, seemed to indicate there was some truth behind his beliefs. Deeply spiritual, he was well-read about the legends of Primus and his arch-enemy Unicron, and convinced that whenever he destroyed an opponent, the inner strength found within that enemy's spark joined his own. Beast Wars Sourcebook #3

Beast Wars: Uprising

Rhino was on Optimus Minor's Maximal team in a fateful match of the Games, which was interrupted by Lio Convoy's assassination of Supersonic and call for an uprising against the Builders. Broken Windshields Along with the rest of his teammates, Rhino chose to flee rather than stick around. Head Games

2005 IDW continuity

When Onyx Prime's Maximals invaded Cybertron, Rhino was one of the many warriors who wound up battling Arcee. Unforgivable

2021 Beast Wars comic

Manta Ray, Rhino, and Panther were visiting Iacon's Sculpture Garden where they mocked the Preadcon Skold for trying to indulge in Maximal activities, lowering her self-esteem enough for Megatron to recruit her. Thicker Skin

Toys

Beast Wars

All hail President Rhino! All hail rhinoceros commander-in-chief!

• Rhino (McDonald's Happy Meal toy, 1996)

Part of the first McDonald's Beast Wars promotion, Rhino transforms into a rhinoceros.

His head bears a striking resemblance to the "mutant head" of the original Rhinox toy.

• More information on Rhino at TFU.info

Notes

• Following the conceptual origins of Manta Ray (as Optimus Prime/Optimus Primal) and Panther (as Prowl/Cheetor), Rhino was likely meant to be Rhinox and his design and identity diverged in development to the final product.

Foreign names

• French: Rhinocéros (McDonald's punch-out card, "Rhinoceros")
• Japanese: Rhino (ライノ Raino)^[2]

References