*The main sense I got out of Joe Kellys first story is that its a study in contrasts, the obvious, of course, being that of the two Rhinos. Aleksei is getting old, has turned from his criminal ways, has a new job enforcing security, and is now married to a woman who truly loves him. The Robo-Rhino, however, is younger, more hi-tech, but also a solitary, single-minded nutcase who only cares about ascending and being accepted as the legitimate heir to the Rhino--as if thats all that is important. Its pretty clear who is the better Rhino in Kellys view, and the excellent scene with him and Spidey as he contemplates becoming the Rhino again to protect Oksana and Spidey telling him not to because he wants somebody in his life to be happy underscores this. Of course, I have a really bad feeling Sasha or Ana Kravinoff is going to kill Oksana and thus force Aleksei to become the Rhino again to battle the new one.
*The contrast theme continues also with regards to Aleksei having found love and Peter having trouble finding it, which we see in Peters interactions with two of the new potential love interests Brand New Day has provided, who are also sharp contrasts. Michelle Gonzales is still the psycho roommate from hell, what with her brandishing the shotgun and barging in ready to blast away over Peters nightmare. However, Kelly definitely attempts to make her more mellow by the scenes end when she attempts to listen to Peters nightmare. Thats because with her revelation that she has a mysterious new boyfriend, my guess is this will--hopefully--be the beginning of Peter and her no longer being roommates and maybe gradually being phased out of the comics. Then we get Kellys favorite pet female, Norah Winters. Not only is she a much better character, we also get to see that while there is a level of attraction and flirtation between her and Peter, its also pretty clear, even to him, just how reckless and immature Norah really is. I know there have been those who would like to see a Peter and Norah pairing in the future, but Kelly here is pretty much telling us Not so fast, folks.
*There were, however, a couple of things I didnt care for. First, of course, is Max Fiumaras art. Its all right in some places, but there were other times it just felt a little off, although I really did like the inking. Another was, the scene in the beginning showing the testing of the new Rhino, where once again, Kelly feels it necessary to have a character make racist comments in an attempt at edgy humor. In fact, I would have to say all the attempts Kelly did at making humor were, once again, incredibly forced, despite the fact that the dialogue was actually pretty decent.
*Also, thanks in part to the DB! being gone, Frontline has now had a surge in revenue, which also results in Peter being offered a full-time job by Ben Urich. Oddly enough, this pretty much undercuts the entire purpose of the Daily Bugle being destroyed in the first place, not just because Peter is essentially doing the same job at Frontline as he would at the Bugle, but also because it goes against the argument the comics made about how newspapers were in trouble, which I thought was the rationale behind getting rid of the Daily Bugle in the first place.
*Then theres the new Rhino himself. Im wondering if he was intentionally made to be a ridicule of darker and edgier replacement villains because he certainly comes across not only two-dimensional but rather silly, what with his robotic armor and using a giant axe/scythe of all things. Although, it was pretty twisted when he tried to club the original Rhino with a horse (although that seemed more appropriate for something like that to happen in Deadpool than in Spider-Man if you ask me.)
*Finally, with regards to the back-up story showing us how the Rhino reformed and first met his future wife, I thought it was kind of sweet, actually. Granted, the Rhino deciding to go straight and live a normal life due to the Registration Act does seem a little too convenient, but it was just part of establishing the main story anyway, which was a story about an ex-con who finds the courage to walk the straight and narrow after meeting that special someone hes been missing all of his life and didnt know he was until he saw her. And with Javier Pulidos art, it helps to underscore the gentle nature of the tale itself.
