Flowers for Rhino
Encyclopedia
"Flowers for Rhino" is a critically acclaimed Spider-Man
story by Peter Milligan
and Duncan Fegredo
. Published in 2001, it is a pastiche
of the classic Science Fiction
story Flowers for Algernon
. "Flowers for Rhino" appeared in Spider-Man's Tangled Web
#5–6.
, a brutish and dimwitted enemy of Spider-Man, suffers a mid-life crisis after he attempts to rescue Stella, the beautiful daughter of a mob boss, who coldly informs him after he is hired as a full-time bodyguard on the grounds that he's too stupid to be a serious romantic or business threat. Recalling a recent meeting with the doctors who created his latest suit, he undergoes a brain operation that turns him into a super genius.
With his new intellect, he quickly demonstrates a change in his usual methods, allowing him to defeat Spider-Man, subsequently running away with Stella to start his own crime organization. With his new intellect, he writes a novel, gets a restraining order that prevents Spider-Man from attacking him, sets up a crime syndicate (with the aid of such other criminals as the Mad Thinker
, after breaking them out of prison), and even rewrites Hamlet
. Unfortunately, it has the side effect of making the subject so intelligent that he is no longer able to fully enjoy life, with Rhino driving Stella away because he finds her too dimwitted to attract his attention. Finally reaching a point where he finds no real meaning in life, Rhino hands Spider-Man, having deduced his identity via an equation he developed that allows him to calculate the secret identities of superheroes, information with which he can bring down Rhino's crime empire. He nearly commits suicide, but at the last minute he comes up with a means of reversing the original operation and restoring his original intellect, even requesting that he be made "a bit stupider than before". He is soon restored to his former stupid but happy self, delightedly crashing through walls.
:
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
story by Peter Milligan
Peter Milligan
Peter Milligan born in London, a British writer, best known for his comic book, film and television work.-Early career:Milligan started his comic career with short stories for 2000 AD in the early 1980s. By 1986, Milligan had his first ongoing strip in 2000AD called Bad Company, with artists Brett...
and Duncan Fegredo
Duncan Fegredo
Duncan Fegredo is a British comic book artist born in Leicester in 1964.-Career:Fegredo first managed to get into comics after showing his portfolio around UKCAC in 1987 and meeting Dave Thorpe. Together they worked on a strip for a short lived British magazine called Heartbreak Hotel...
. Published in 2001, it is a pastiche
Pastiche
A pastiche is a literary or other artistic genre or technique that is a "hodge-podge" or imitation. The word is also a linguistic term used to describe an early stage in the development of a pidgin language.-Hodge-podge:...
of the classic Science Fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
story Flowers for Algernon
Flowers for Algernon
Flowers for Algernon is a science fiction short story and subsequent novel written by Daniel Keyes. The short story, written in 1958 and first published in the April 1959 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, won the Hugo Award for Best Short Story in 1960...
. "Flowers for Rhino" appeared in Spider-Man's Tangled Web
Spider-Man's Tangled Web
Spider-Man's Tangled Web is a comic book series starring Spider-Man and his supporting cast published by Marvel Comics for 22 issues from June 2001 to March 2003....
#5–6.
Plot summary
RhinoRhino (comics)
The Rhino is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist John Romita, Sr., the character first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #41 The Rhino (Aleksei Mikhailovich Sytsevich) is a fictional character that appears in comic...
, a brutish and dimwitted enemy of Spider-Man, suffers a mid-life crisis after he attempts to rescue Stella, the beautiful daughter of a mob boss, who coldly informs him after he is hired as a full-time bodyguard on the grounds that he's too stupid to be a serious romantic or business threat. Recalling a recent meeting with the doctors who created his latest suit, he undergoes a brain operation that turns him into a super genius.
With his new intellect, he quickly demonstrates a change in his usual methods, allowing him to defeat Spider-Man, subsequently running away with Stella to start his own crime organization. With his new intellect, he writes a novel, gets a restraining order that prevents Spider-Man from attacking him, sets up a crime syndicate (with the aid of such other criminals as the Mad Thinker
Mad Thinker
The Mad Thinker is a fictional character, a supervillain in the . He is a genius specializing in evil robotics and usually comes up with very elaborate infallible devious plans that unfold like clockwork....
, after breaking them out of prison), and even rewrites Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
. Unfortunately, it has the side effect of making the subject so intelligent that he is no longer able to fully enjoy life, with Rhino driving Stella away because he finds her too dimwitted to attract his attention. Finally reaching a point where he finds no real meaning in life, Rhino hands Spider-Man, having deduced his identity via an equation he developed that allows him to calculate the secret identities of superheroes, information with which he can bring down Rhino's crime empire. He nearly commits suicide, but at the last minute he comes up with a means of reversing the original operation and restoring his original intellect, even requesting that he be made "a bit stupider than before". He is soon restored to his former stupid but happy self, delightedly crashing through walls.
Reception
Randy Lander from the fourthrail.com stated the mix of the classic "Flowers for Algernon" was "funny and clever". Fegredo's artwork was praised although he said Buccellato's heavy colouring detracted from the story.Collected editions
The story has been collected in a number of individual volumesTrade paperback (comics)
In comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or more titles...
:
- Spider-Man's Tangled Web, Volume 1 (collects Spider-Man's Tangled Web #1-6, 144 pages, Marvel, November 2001, ISBN 0-7851-0803-3)
- The Best of Spider-Man, Volume 1 (collects The Amazing Spider-ManThe Amazing Spider-ManThe Amazing Spider-Man is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics, featuring the adventures of the fictional superhero Spider-Man. Being the mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a monthly periodical and was published continuously until it was...
#30-36, Peter Parker: Spider-ManPeter Parker: Spider-ManPeter Parker: Spider-Man is the name of two comic book series published by Marvel Comics, both of which feature the character Spider-Man.-Volume One :...
#36, Spider-Man's Tangled Web #4-6 and Ultimate Marvel Team-UpUltimate Marvel Team-UpUltimate Marvel Team-Up is a comic book series, published by Marvel Comics which ran for 16 issues, including a concluding Ultimate Spider-Man Super Special. It is set in one of Marvel's shared universes, the Ultimate Universe. The whole series starred Spider-Man teaming up with another superhero...
#6-8, 336 pages, Marvel, 2003, ISBN 0-7851-0900-5)