The brutish Rhino possesses superhuman strength, speed, endurance and a high degree of resistance to physical harm.

The actual Rhino was killed by Death, the most dreaded Horseman of the High Lord Apocalypse. This Rhino was concieved and bred on the genetic template of the dead Inhuman royal family using the Terrigen Mists. While En Sabah Nur was recovering from severe wounds suffered during an encounter with the X-Men, Death plotted to take the throne from En Sabah Nur. When he turned over the Terrigen Mists to Apocalypse, Death claimed control of the Horseman while Apocalypse was still at rest. While on his perch on Apocalypse's Celestial Ship, he encountered the very same X-Men who En Sabah Nur was unable to defeat and, along with his army of Inhumans, Rhino included, was able to emerge victorious.

During the battle, the Rhino stood his ground and traded punches with Rogue. However, he was such a slow moving target that Rogue easily overtook him. Death's plans to usurp Apocalypse's power were thwarted when Cyclops aided Blink in the rescue of the X-Men and the destruction of Ship. Rhino, Death, and the rest of the Inhumans were killed when Sunfire's powers flared out of control and incinerated Ship.

In our reality, the Rhino was not an Inhuman, but a human known as Alex O'Hirn. Lured by delusions of grandeur, small-time enforcer Alex O'Hirn accepted a lucrative offer extended by a pair of foreign operatives. Believing the brute's muscular physique and low intelligence would ensure his loyalty, the spies hired him as the subject of an experiment they hoped would produce a superhumanly powerful assassin. O'Hirn submitted to several months of chemical and radiation treatments that ultimately granted him extraordinary strength. A team of specialists developed a material of incredible toughness and coarseness, akin to the hide of a rhinoceros, from which they fabricated a skin-tight suit of armor. It is possible, but not probably, that the two Rhinos are one in the same.