War Machine

This article is about the superhero. For other uses, see War Machine (disambiguation).

War Machine is a hotty!
Promotional art for Iron Man: Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. #33 Art by Adi Granov.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	(as Rhodes) Iron Man #118 (January 1979) (as Iron Man) Iron Man #170 (May 1983) (as War Machine) Iron Man #284 (September 1992)
Created by	David Michelinie Bob Layton
In-story information
Alter ego	James Rupert Rhodes
Team affiliations	United States Marine Corps Stark Enterprises Avengers West Coast Avengers Iron Legion Worldwatch Incorporated Secret Defenders Force Works The Crew Office of National Emergency Sentinel Squad O*N*E The Initiative Team War Machine Secret Avengers
Notable aliases	Rhodey, Jim, Jimmy, Iron Man
Abilities	Experienced soldier trained in armed and unarmed combat Pilot and aviation engineer Powered suit of armor grants: Super-strength Supersonic flight at Mach 3 Energy repulsors Variety of offensive and defensive weapons including missiles and laser blasters

War Machine (James Rupert Rhodes) is a fictional character, a comic book superhero from the Marvel Comics universe. The character of James Rhodes first appeared in Iron Man #118 (January 1979) by David Michelinie, John Byrne and Bob Layton. The War Machine armor, which became Rhodes' signature armored battlesuit, was designed by Len Kaminski and Kevin Hopgood.

Rhodes, also known by his nickname "Rhodey", has been a featured character in the Iron Man animated series, Iron Man: Armored Adventures and The Invincible Iron Man animated film. He was played by actor Terrence Howard in the 2008 film Iron Man and by Don Cheadle in the sequel Iron Man 2.

Publication history

Initially a supporting character in volume one of Iron Man, Rhodes later assumed the mantle of Iron Man after Tony Stark's relapse into alcoholism in issue #170 (May 1983). The character would continue in a supporting role and later resume the role of Iron Man following Stark's purported death in issue #284 (September 1992). After Stark's return to the role of Iron Man, Rhodes continued as the superhero War Machine and later made his solo series debut in his own eponymous title after being featured as a supporting character in Avengers West Coast. In addition to Iron Man and his own title War Machine, Rhodes has been featured in ensemble titles: West Coast Avengers, Force Works by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, Sentinel Squad O*N*E, The Crew by Christopher Priest, and Avengers: The Initiative by Dan Slott and Christos Gage. Rhodes was also featured in the Marvel MAX series U.S. War Machine by Chuck Austen and book two of the series, U.S. War Machine 2.0, by Austen and Christian Moore.

In the series Iron Man: Director Of S.H.I.E.L.D., Rhodes was featured in the storyline "War Machine: Weapon of S.H.I.E.L.D." written by Christos Gage with art by Sean Chen. A Secret Invasion tie-in, Rhodes was featured as the main character of the book instead of Tony Stark for the remainder of the series. This led into a second War Machine ongoing series written by Greg Pak with art by Leonardo Manco. which was one of the titles launching as part of the Dark Reign storyline and lasted twelve issues.

Fictional character biography

Origins

James Rupert Rhodes is a African American who was born in the South Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps, he served tours of duty in Southeast Asia as a combat pilot. During one mission, Rhodes' helicopter is shot down by Viet Cong rocket fire and he is stranded in the jungle behind enemy lines. While trying to get the aircraft airborne again, he encounters Iron Man for the first time. Although Rhodes believed him to be an enemy at first, Iron Man proved that he was on the same side as Rhodes when he helped defeat the Viet Cong soldiers that ambushed them. Iron Man, who has just escaped from Wong Chu's prison camp in his prototype suit of powered armor, told Rhodes that he needed the batteries from Rhodes' helicopter to sustain his life support and that he helped billionaire industrialist Tony Stark (who is secretly Iron Man) escape the prison camp. Making their way to the American defense perimeter on foot, Rhodes and Iron Man discovered a camouflaged enemy rocket base that was the origin of the rocket fire that grounded Rhodes in the first place. After stealing a Viet Cong helicopter, Rhodes and Iron Man destroyed the enemy base and flew the helicopter back to the American lines.

At the base hospital in Saigon, Stark arrives in person to thank Rhodes for helping Iron Man to safety and to offer Rhodes a job as his personal pilot. After the Vietnam War was over and after taking several career paths, Rhodes finally took Stark's offer and became Stark's personal pilot, chief aviation engineer for Stark International, and one of Stark's closest friends and confidants.

The all new Iron Man

Due to the machinations of Obadiah Stane, Stark International was going through major problems with the company losing foreign contracts and going into heavy debt. With Stark's company in disarray and the betrayal of Indries Moomji, the woman Stark loved who was working for Stane, Stark's world came crashing down on him and he relapsed into alcoholism. As Iron Man, his alcoholism impaired him to the point of erratic actions, incoherence, and recklessness. During a fight with the supervillain Magma, an intoxicated Stark was defeated by Magma’s machine. After flying away from the battle, he finds Rhodes at Stark International. Stark revealed his true identity to Rhodes and tries to recharge his armor resulting in a power outage. With Stark passed out and in no condition to battle, Rhodes donned the Iron Man armor for the first time and defeated Magma. After the battle, Rhodes tried to give the armor back, but Stark asked him to become Iron Man while Stark continued his life of alcoholism.

After the takeover of Stark International by Stane, Rhodes was one of the many employees that quit along with scientist Morley Erwin. To protect Stark’s technology from Stane and S.H.I.E.L.D., who monitored the Stane takeover, Rhodes sent the remaining armors into the ocean and destroyed them. With Stark not being available, Morley Erwin maintained the Iron Man armor and served as Rhodes’ technical support while Rhodes continued to operate as Iron Man and learn the armor’s functions. Though a novice despite combat experience, Rhodes embraced the role of Iron Man and fought against villains such as the Mandarin, Thunderball, the Zodiac, and the Radioactive Man. He became a charter member of the West Coast Avengers and fought in the Beyonder's "Secret Wars" as a member of Captain America's team that consisted of The Avengers (Captain Marvel, Wasp, Hawkeye, She-Hulk, and Thor), Spider-Man, Spider-Woman, The Hulk, and three members of The Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, The Human Torch, and The Thing). He returned from the Beyonder's Battleworld with alien adjustments to his armor made by Reed Richards, but he ultimately removed them when they proved to be too powerful.

Rhodes, Morley Erwin, and his sister Dr. Clytemnestra Erwin planned to create a new electronics firm that would be based in California. Rhodes took on mercenary jobs as Iron Man to provide money for the armor's upkeep and to fund the company. Tony Stark, recovering from his alcoholism, joined the three despite Rhodes’ hesitation and they formed the company Circuits Maximus.

Due to the armor’s cybernetic helmet being calibrated to Stark’s brainwaves, Rhodes developed intense headaches while using the armor and grew more erratic and aggressive. Stark helped Rhodes maintain the armor, but Rhodes' increasing paranoia triggered by the armor's cybernetic interface caused him to believe that Stark wanted to retake the armor. His feelings towards Stark went from resentment to full-blown hatred. When he discovered that Stark created a new armor out of spare parts, his hatred towards Stark hit a fever pitch. During a battle with Vibro, Rhodes went on a rampage to capture the villain, and Stark was forced to wear his new armor to stop Rhodes. The two fought until Stark shut down Rhodes’ superior armor with a magnetic lock and tried to talk with Rhodes to snap him out of his rage.

After the battle, the two men reconciled. While Stark delivered Rhodes’ resignation to the Avengers and revealed his identity to Hawkeye and Mockingbird, Rhodes sought help from Dr. Henry Pym via Stark’s recommendation to cure his headaches that continued to affect Rhodes even after the armor was recalibrated to his brainwaves. While Pym could not help, he sent Rhodes to Dr. Michael Twoyoungmen (Shaman of Alpha Flight) and Rhodes managed to cure himself of his headaches via a journey through a mystic dimension called "The Gorge" that revealed Rhodes’ guilt of feeling like he didn’t deserve the armor. While Rhodes was finally at peace with himself, he left his Iron Man armor behind in the mystic dimension. The Omnos, a being of extra-dimensional energy from "The Gorge", empowered the armor and sought out Rhodes with the intent of returning it to him. Rhodes resumed operating as Iron Man with Stark using his armor to assist Rhodes. Due to a bomb sent by Stane to Circuits Maximus that broke the leg of Rhodes and killed Morley Erwin, Stark became active as Iron Man again and defeated Stane.

Stark Enterprises and the Armor Wars

In order to launch his new company, Stark Enterprises, with a bang, Stark had constructed a space station designed for scientific research. To complete construction, Stark (as Iron Man) and Rhodes flew a private shuttle to the station. Unknown to them, Advanced Idea Mechanics had smuggled agents aboard the shuttle to sabotage the station with a biological agent, the Omega Bacillus. Iron Man and Rhodes defeated the AIM soldiers, but their shuttle was destroyed in the process, and the station was successfully contaminated. Rhodes had packed the red and gold Iron Man armor in the shuttle as an insurance policy, and now had to don the armor in order to return to Earth. However, the armor's systems were damaged in the explosion, resulting in a loss of control, and opening of the faceplate's eye and mouth slits in the midst of reentry. Stark had to use his armor as a heat shield to save Rhodes, who suffered significant burns from the reentry, but survived..

Rhodes soon returned to duty, and played a key role in freeing the reformed villain Force from Justin Hammer's control, with Iron Man helping to fake Force's death. Rhodes then assisted Stark in the Armor Wars, helping Stark protect his identity from S.H.I.E.L.D. and even posing as Electro to help Stark infiltrate the Vault to destroy the Stane-produced copies of his Guardsman armor. However, Stark left Rhodes behind when he traveled to the Soviet Union to destroy the Crimson Dynamo and Titanium Man armors. Finally, Rhodes helped Stark fake Iron Man's death, after Stark had been badly beaten by Firepower.

Stark was initially willing to leave Iron Man dead, but Edwin Cord used Firepower to attack Stark Enterprises, resulting in Stark creating a new Iron Man armor. Months later, after Stark was shot and paralyzed by ex-girlfriend Kathy Dare, Stark offered the armor to Rhodes. However, Rhodes refused, alluding to his history with the suit, and the trauma he'd been through. As a result, Stark turned to "Carl Walker" (Clayton Wilson, the former Force, working for a Stark subsidiary under a new identity), and gave him a modified version of Iron Man's stealth armor to use, until Stark was able to modify his own armor to compensate for his paralysis.

Iron Man once again and the birth of War Machine

As Stark's health deteriorated, the result of his attempts to "cure" his paralysis, he continued to seek any alternative to keep him alive. He was given permission to see the People's Republic of China's top neurosurgeon only after the Mandarin had seized control of one-third of China along with the Makulan dragons, as the PRC government needed Iron Man's help to defeat the Mandarin. As a result, Rhodes reluctantly stood in as Iron Man, but ultimately Stark needed to use a remote-controlled set of armor to defeat the dragons and save China. These events, and the subsequent events of Operation: Galactic Storm, only hastened the eventual collapse of Stark's central nervous system.

The Masters Of Silence, three Japanese warriors tricked by Justin Hammer into attacking Iron Man, defeated Stark using their technology enabling them to not be affected by repulsors or unibeams. To combat the threat, Stark designed the "Variable Threat Response Battle Suit, Model XVI, Mark I" (nicknamed "War Machine"), a more heavily armed version of the Iron Man armor designed for all-out warfare. After Stark's apparent death, he left Rhodes in control of Stark Enterprises as its new CEO, along with a modified version of the Variable Threat Response Battle Suit designed especially for Rhodes, model JRXL-1000, to continue the Iron Man legacy.

As Iron Man once again, Rhodes used the armor and faced off against threats such as the Living Laser, the second Spymaster, Blacklash, the Beetle, and Atom Smasher. When Greymalkin, the space station headquarters of the mutant Cable, was found near Earth orbit by a Stark Enterprises shuttle, Rhodes was involved in a battle to claim the station involving agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Cable's team of young mutants known as X-Force.

Upon the revelation that Stark is alive and Rhodes was kept in the dark about it, Rhodes quits Stark Enterprises and the friendship between the two is fractured. After teaming with Iron Man against battledroids programmed to kill Rhodes, Stark wanted Rhodes to keep the Variable Threat Response Battle Suit stating that the armor always belonged to Rhodes. Rhodes eventually kept the armor and later adopted the name of War Machine. When the robot Ultimo went on a rampage, Rhodes called together Harold "Happy" Hogan, Bethany Cabe, Eddie March, Clayton Wilson (still using the "Carl Walker" identity) and Michael O'Brien to pilot various Iron Man armors to take down Ultimo as the Iron Legion. He rejoined the West Coast Avengers as War Machine and served with the team until he resigned after an argument with Stark as Iron Man during an Avengers team meeting to immediately shut down the West Coast branch.

After his departure from Stark Enterprises and his move to California, Rhodes was approached by Vincent Cetewayo, noted activist from the small African country of Imaya and founder of the human rights organization Worldwatch Incorporated. Cetewayo offered Rhodes the position of Worldwatch's new Executive Director, but the offer was declined. Cetewayo was kidnapped by Imayan forces led by the murderous dictator President Eda Arul, who viewed Cetewayo as a traitor and deserving of death. After learning what happened to Cetewayo and receiving no aid from S.H.I.E.L.D. or the Avengers due to their reluctance to interfere in a hot international situation, Rhodes traveled to Imaya as War Machine in order to free Cetewayo. Joined by Deathlok, who also came to Imaya to save Cetewayo, the two managed to fight their way through the Imayan capital and evaded capture from a S.H.I.E.L.D. unit lead by Major Bathsheva "Sheva" Joseph. After finding out that Cetewayo was saved by Cable and was teleported to an Imayan rebel camp, Rhodes joined the fight to liberate Imaya from Arul's grasp. Rhodes successfully lead Imayan rebels into combat against Arul's forces and the dictator was overthrown. However, Rhodes failed to save Cetewayo from being killed by the Advisor, the apparent mastermind of Arul's rise to power. Shaken by the death of Cetewayo and finding something worth fighting for, Rhodes takes the position of Worldwatch's Executive Director and hired Sheva Joseph, who left S.H.I.E.L.D. after her assignment in Imaya.

The actions of War Machine in Imaya were controversial and Stark felt that Rhodes was misusing the armor. With his armor in need of maintenance, Rhodes returned to Stark Enterprises to get the blueprints and specifications so he could make his own repairs. Stark refused and demanded that Rhodes return the armor to him. The two men battled each other in their respective armor. When Stark tried to shut down the War Machine armor to end the fight, Rhodes countered by changing the armor’s codes. The fight was stopped via an EMP cannon blast by Bethany Cabe, the new Head Of Security for Stark Enterprises. While their armor was frozen and rebooting, the Mandarin captured Rhodes and Stark and discovered their identities. Century of the superhero team Force Works rescued Rhodes, but his armor was useless thanks to the Mandarin’s anti-technology field. During this adventure, Rhodes and Stark finally reconciled and the two joined forces with Force Works to stop the Mandarin and his Avatars from using the Heart Of Darkness for their plans of conquest. After the Mandarin was defeated, Stark gave Rhodes the blueprints to the War Machine armor and a fully upgraded armor with new armaments was made. Rhodes continued to use the War Machine armor in a solo superhero career, occasionally fighting alongside Stark and Force Works.

The Warwear

After the events of Time War, in which Rhodes went back in time and teamed up with Captain America, Bucky and Sgt. Nick Fury & his Howling Commandos to stop Neo-Nazis from sending modern weaponry to Nazi Germany, the War Machine armor was lost in the time stream as Rhodes returned to the present. Rhodes returned to civilian life after the loss of his armor, but he ended up acquiring a brand new alien armor known as the Eidolon Warwear after meeting a mysterious woman named Skye and fighting an alien known as a Lictor. Skye was sent to teach Rhodes to use the Warwear and revealed that Rhodes was chosen to don the Warwear against Stark (who was under the control of Immortus disguised as Kang the Conqueror). Skye was fatally wounded by Dirge, another Eidolon Warrior sent by Immortus, and Rhodes defeated him in combat. Stark breaks free of Immortus' control and sacrificed his life while Rhodes foiled Immortus' plot by using Dirge's Warwear to destroy the Starcore satellite armed with a chronographic weapon. S.H.I.E.L.D. was made aware of Rhodes' alien armor and hunted him down, but Rhodes evaded capture by S.H.I.E.L.D. and defeated their Mandroids. To protect Worldwatch, he resigns as Executive Director.

With Stark gone, Rhodes rejoined Stark Enterprises to protect his friend's legacy. The Japanese company Fujikawa Industries bought out Stark Enterprises and Rhodes was kept around to help with the transition to Stark-Fujikawa. He was offered the job of President Of Corporate Liaison Operations at Fujikawa headquarters, but Rhodes was being kept away from the "Gauntlet" project that was Fujikawa's attempt to discover the secrets to Stark's Iron Man armor technology contained in a single gauntlet. Knowing what Fujikawa was planning, Rhodes infiltrated the security system at Stark Fujikawa's Research and Development facility, recovered the gauntlet, and purged the Fujikawa database of all Iron Man armor technology data by using the alien technology in the Eidolon Warwear to download the Warwear directly into the Fujikawa computers and attack the system. Losing the Eidolon Warwear as a result of the sabotage mission, Rhodes turns down the Fujikawa job offer and quits Stark-Fujikawa. After serving as one of Stark's trustees during the time that Iron Man was presumed dead after the final battle with Onslaught, Rhodes starts his own marine salvage business called "Rhodes Recovery" and retires from superheroics.

Post War Machine

When Stark returns from the reality formed by Franklin Richards after Onslaught's defeat, he takes up the Iron Man identity once more. Instead of trying to reclaim Stark Enterprises from Fujikawa Industries, he forms a new company, Stark Solutions. Despite staying in retirement and focusing on his salvaging company, Rhodes assisted Stark on occasion. He helped Stark defeat freelance mercenary and arms dealer Parnell Jacobs, who was masquerading as a villainous War Machine. A former US Army Lieutenant whose life Rhodes saved in the Sin-Congolese War when his chopper crashed, Jacobs became a close friend and mercenary partner of Rhodes. The mercenary partnership as well as the friendship ended when Rhodes quits due to the missions becoming unethical (such as running guns to President Luis Augustine, criminal dictator of Santo Marco) and Jacobs' becoming more corrupt, but Rhodes did not turn in Jacobs. Jacobs was under the employ of Sunset Bain and piloted a revised version of the War Machine armor using armor parts that Jacobs found from the discarded original and reverse engineering by Stuart Clarke.

Due to mismanagement by his accountant and an extravagant lifestyle, Rhodes is left with depleted funds and files for bankruptcy. He receives a call from the New York Police Department that his sister Jeanette "Star" Rhodes was killed in a notorious section of Brooklyn overridden with crime and drugs known as "Little Mogadishu". During a fight with some local thugs, he is helped by Josiah el Hajj Saddiq (formerly Josiah Bradley) a.k.a. Josiah X, a local minister who is the son of the black Captain America Isaiah Bradley. Josiah X helped Rhodes access government satellite footage of the criminals who murdered Jeanette. With Officer Marcy Howard and NYPD unable to help him take down the ones responsible for Jeanette's death despite the photographic evidence, Rhodes decides to take matters into his own hands and captured his sister's murderers by himself with NYPD narcotics officer Kevin "Kasper" Cole finding the captured criminals and making the arrests. He discovers that the criminals that killed Jeanette were drug dealers working for the 66 Bridges, a powerful street gang that has control of a big percentage of East Coast criminal operations. Rhodes unknowingly invested in the 66’s front company Grace & Tumbalt, a black-owned corporation that created Little Mogadishu due to their gentrification efforts. During his campaign against the 66 Bridges and his sabotage of the money train that contained the payoff for the corrupt police and politicians under the 66's employ, Rhodes crosses paths with Cole, who secretly fights crime as The White Tiger in order to gain big arrests for a potential promotion to detective, and Danny Vincent (Manuel Vincente), an ex-spy known as Junta with allegiance only to himself and is trying to get back into the spy game. Joining forces with these two men along with Josiah X as Justice, Rhodes and The Crew took on the 66 Bridges gang and their CEO Nigel "Triage" Blacque.

Arranged by Stark, Rhodes later becomes the head combat instructor for Sentinel Squad O*N*E and a key member of the Office of National Emergency (O*N*E). While he led Sentinel Squad O*N*E pilots in missions such as helping the X-Men fight against Apocalypse and fighting Mutates in the Savage Land, Rhodes had doubts about working with Sentinel Squad O*N*E and the nature of his job. During the Civil War, King T'Challa and Queen Ororo of Wakanda, the Black Panther and Storm, refused to sign SHRA registration forms during a diplomatic visit to the White House. When Storm summoned lightning and rain after the Black Panther dove into a crowd of angry protesters outside the White House to save a child from the mob, Rhodes was ordered to arrest both Black Panther and Storm and he reluctantly complied despite protest. The Black Panther's bodyguards, the Dora Milaje, damaged his War Machine Sentinel during his arrest attempt and it crashed near the mob. After the Black Panther protected Rhodes from the angry mob, Rhodes stopped Iron Man from arresting The Black Panther and Storm and convinced him to let the two go.

Return of War Machine

Rhodes once again becomes War Machine with a new suit of armor and was made field commander and camp director of Camp Hammond to help train the new SHRA registered recruits of the Fifty State Initiative program. He fights alongside new superhero Komodo to depower Spider-Man. During World War Hulk, before Stark's confrontation with an enraged Hulk, Rhodes is thrown off by Stark's talk of the Hulk's threat reuniting the splintered hero community. It is shown that Rhodes has been severely injured and part of his face is now covered in cybernetic implants. It was revealed that when Rhodes served as a military consultant at a base in Dubai and test piloted a combat plane, the base was bombed by terrorists and the attack left Rhodes severely injured and without limbs. Stark arrived in Dubai to see Rhodes' condition and rebuilt him with new limbs and cybernetic upgrades. When the Skrulls invade earth, they unleash a virus that disables all Starktech systems. Rhodes' life-support systems are disabled, and he is forced to rely on Baron Von Blitzschlag's electrical powers to keep him alive. With Blitzschlag's energy to keep his armor powered, Rhodes manages to activate a cluster of emergency generators in his armor that incorporated obsolete Stanetech parts in its design.

Weapon of S.H.I.E.L.D.

At the exact moment that Stark's armor was shut down by the Skrull virus in the Savage Land, Rhodes received a secret holographic recorded message from Stark that only Rhodes could see and hear. Triggered by global Starktech failure and in the event that Stark is probably dead from it, the message stated that Rhodes is facing an omega level threat and could be Earth's last hope. He must follow a beacon to an undisclosed location and trust no one. Despite Yellowjacket's standing orders, Rhodes leaves Camp Hammond to follow the coordinates of the beacon. Rhodes battled an intercepting Skrull fleet flying over New York City and fought a "cosmic" Super-Skrull with the powers of Moondragon, Drax The Destroyer, Comet Man, and Nova. After single-handedly defeating the Skrulls while losing power, Rhodes reached the beacon's destination and found a secret cloaked satellite in space that Stark constructed months in advance after becoming Director Of S.H.I.E.L.D. Suzanne "Suzi" Endo, head of the research and development department at Stark Industries’ Asian division and also known as the Chinese superheroine Cybermancer, received a similar message from Stark and was at the satellite ahead of Rhodes via shuttle. Endo revealed that she was there to help because of her background in cybernetics. Rhodes viewed another message from Stark revealing that Rhodes' armor, as well as the operational satellite, was independent from all systems on Earth and Rhodes himself was a part of Stark's contingency plan. Believing her to be a Skrull because of a misunderstanding involving Endo being arrested for operating without SHRA registration, Rhodes did not trust her and the two argued until a Skrull fleet that followed Rhodes' energy trail was detected. Endo revealed to Rhodes that the satellite is a functional weapon and Rhodes, the only one who can use it, was the key to the weapon's activation. With the entire satellite linked cybernetically to Rhodes himself, the satellite transformed into a giant "War Machine" humanoid robotic form.

Rhodes used the satellite's weapons to destroy the Skrull fleet and left the satellite to follow a Skrull ship that escaped his attack. After flying into Russian airspace and destroying the ship with a unibeam, he made his way to a Russian weapons depot in Tatischevo where the Winter Guard (Crimson Dynamo, Red Guardian, Darkstar, and Ursa Major) was protecting the nuclear weapons from the Skrulls. Rhodes defeated a Super-Skrull and tried to help with the attack, but the Winter Guard, under the orders of the Russian military, refused his help and ordered him to leave. Rhodes left the battle, but came back to help fight the Skrulls while the Winter Guard gave him no aid despite the protests of Ursa Major. Fighting the Skrulls by himself proved to be too much, and Rhodes was captured by the Skrulls after passing out fighting two Super-Skrulls. He awoke on an operating table on a Skrull warship and the Skrulls learned the extent of Rhodes' injuries: all four of his limbs, as well as his spine and half of his face are cybernetic. Rhodes broke free of the table and dispatched the Skrulls trying to dissect him. With Endo's help, Rhodes used the warship to take out the other ships in the fleet. The Winter Guard watched the attack and disobeyed orders so that they could aid Rhodes. The tide of the battle turned and the team of Rhodes and the Winter Guard took on the Super-Skrulls. Refusing defeat, the last remaining Super-Skrull attempted to detonate the nuclear warheads by turning himself into energy. Rhodes used his armor's capabilities to absorb the energy and defeat the Super-Skrull. A trio of Russian planes tried to arrest Rhodes for violating Russian airspace, but the Crimson Dynamo ordered them to stand down.

Dark Reign

Despite protest from Endo, Rhodes leaves the satellite to face Anton Aubuisson, a corrupt former French Special Forces soldier who now represented the Roxxon Energy Corporation in negotiations with the Anunquit tribe in western Canada. While his presence was legally sanctioned, Aubuisson killed the Anunquit representatives that refused Roxxon's construction of an oil pipeline on their land using polar bears enhanced with Sakaarian control disks and exoskeleton upgrades via Ultimo technology from Eaglestar International, a corrupt paramilitary defense contracting firm. Rhodes destroys the pipeline and the bears kill Aubuisson after Rhodes destroyed his Sakaarian control staff. After the mission was complete, Endo leaves the satellite.

In Santo Marco, Rhodes destroys a retrofitted Sentinel used by Eaglestar mercenaries in an attempt to exterminate Santo Marcan people who are of the same tribe as the rebel leaders that oppose Santo Marco's dictator President Augustine. After the battle, Rhodes finds Parnell Jacobs, who was believed to be killed by Stuart Clarke, among the group of Santo Marcans and forcibly recruits him to be his "one-man pit crew" at the satellite and to help reconfigure Rhodes' bionics to reduce the stress on his system. Jacobs accepts after finding out from Rhodes that Dr. Glenda Sandoval, a medic with Eaglestar, was raped and tortured while in forced imprisonment at Eaglestar. In the secret War Machine R&D facilities in the Colorado mountains, a team under the direction of Bethany Cabe developed a clone body, labeled "J. Rhodes, Repro Bod 2.0", for him to take over because the cybernetics in Rhodes are not meant to be a permanent fix. The facility was attacked and the clone body was taken by Norman Osborn. Rhodes, along with support from Jacobs and Cabe, invades the Eaglestar regional headquarters in the occupied nation of Aqiria. Rhodes attacked Eaglestar mercenaries, but chose not to kill. With help from former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Jake Oh, he found Sandoval locked in an a box rigged with explosives at an Eaglestar quarantine unit. Blinding the mercenaries with a flash pulse while Oh's men tended to Sandoval, Rhodes pursued Eaglestar CEO Davis Harmon. Harmon used his code to release Sandoval, but Rhodes was ready to kill him after learning that the CEO was personally responsible for the rape of Sandoval along with the order to experiment on her with something unknown. Before he could act, the Dark Avenger Ares, who was sent to Aqiria by Norman Osborn to take care of Harmon, disobeyed Osborn's orders to hold position and intervenes by fighting Rhodes.

Rhodes manages to hold his own against the god of war and followed Harmon to another Eaglestar quarantine unit. Harmon tells Rhodes that he cannot be prosecuted since Eaglestar is a private multinational agency free of government jurisdiction, but Sandoval kills him. Ares opens the unit and it is revealed that the experiments conducted at Eaglestar created test subjects infected with a virus laced with the same Ultimo technology found in the enhanced bears that Rhodes faced in Canada. Sandoval is infected with the virus and attacks Rhodes and Ares. Suzi Endo, who stated that she would never work with Rhodes again after what happened in Santo Marco, assisted Rhodes and suggested that he attack the infected before they reach Makazan, the capital of Aqiria. The infected survived Rhodes' attack with Ares now among the infected. Despite being ten minutes from organ failure, Rhodes refused Cabe's offer to put him in stasis for a new body and integrated the EVAC shuttle sent for him into his armor. Rhodes was infected with the virus via a kiss from Sandoval and used the armor's technology to absorb the virus from all of the infected. With the virus rebuilding his organs and being suppressed, Rhodes took control of the satellite and had it knock him down before he could infect the city's infrastructure while the satellite's EMP blast with Endo's code destroyed the virus. Norman Osborn offered pardons to Endo, Cabe, and Jacobs while he offered Rhodes the clone body, but Rhodes refused Osborn's offer. He deduced that the Ultimo technology was developed at an Army base in the United States where Ultimo was last seen.

Rhodes heads to the U.S. with Sandoval as medic, Cabe and Oh handling security, Jacobs handling hardware, and Endo as the technology expert. After Rhodes and his team visited Rhodes' mother Roberta at the Navajo Nation and was confronted by American Eagle, Rhodes tricked Eagle into fighting Oh in a copy of the War Machine armor while he attacked Mackelroy Army Base. There he searches for evidence of Ultimo technology to use against Norman Osborn only to find the head of Ultimo that begins attacking the base as well. With help from American Eagle, Rhodes is able to take it down. Rhodes learned that Ultimo's brain was split into three components and sent to three private companies for research and development. While Cabe and Oh tracked down two components at Roxxon and Transcore facilities in their new War Machine support armor, Rhodes went after Ultimo's neural net that was held in a liquid state by who he believed to be Tony Stark. Rhodes' old Avengers teammates Ronin, Mockingbird, Tigra and Wonder Man tried to stop him from hijacking Stark's jet, but Stark drank the liquid neural net and merged with Ultimo as its new host. During the battle between Rhodes and Ultimo, it was revealed that the "Tony Stark" that Rhodes was after was really Tony's cousin Morgan Stark impersonating Tony. When Rhodes used his armor's power to absorb Ultimo's technology in an attempt to stop it, Ultimo breached his armor and tapped into his neural net to give Ultimo the capability to kill. With Ultimo out in the open and destroying parts of the American Midwest, Norman Osborn arrived in his Iron Patriot armor and attacked Rhodes while he was trying to communicate with Ultimo. Rhodes incorporated Osborn's Iron Patriot armor and used it to blast the liquid metal form of Ultimo enough to reconnect with it. He tried to reason with Ultimo by showing it the lives he saved and also used Osborn to show Osborn's human side to Ultimo: the birth of his son Harry. After interfacing with Rhodes and Osborn, Morgan Stark was separated from Ultimo and the Ultimo system itself purged its extermination programming to become a clean slate. But Osborn let Rhodes tap into his neural net so he could take the clean slate Ultimo orb as his new weapon.

Rhodes and Sandoval tricked Osborn into thinking that his health was failing from the Ultimo battle and Rhodes merged with the H.A.M.M.E.R. transport vehicle. He freed the Ultimo orb and asked Endo to take the orb off-planet to keep it away from Osborn and to tap into its code to teach it right from wrong. After Endo escaped with the orb, Rhodes asked Tigra, Ronin, Mockingbird, and Wonder Man to evacuate the civilians and informed them of his plan being set in motion. Rhodes fought Osborn and denied Sandoval's transmission to the other Team War Machine members to help Rhodes when Osborn found a way to jam his assimilation technology. The other heroes along with Endo and Oh formed strike teams to confront certain criminal targets and upload proof of their targets' crimes. While Rhodes was defeated by Osborn and his H.A.M.M.E.R, agents, Rhodes plan was carried out during the battle: a security breach of a H.A.M.M.E.R. satellite exposing the deeds of the "Bainesville Ten", a group of high ranking government officials and industry captains responsible for worldwide crimes such as torture and assassinations. To distract from the indictment of the group, Osborn arranged to have Rhodes put on trial at The Hague for war crimes and crimes against humanity while he attempted to thwart the prosecution of the Bainesville Ten. Rhodes was intent on foiling Osborn's scheme by quickly getting himself convicted. On the side, he had his team retrieve his clone body and have his mind transferred wirelessly. Unfortunately, Osborn had anticipated their move and give the order to kill Rhodes. He fabricates a story to the public that Rhodes' cyborg body was manufactured by Tony Stark and that H.A.M.M.E.R. recovered the "real" one, absolved of all charges. However, Rhodes was transferred to his new body before his cyborg one. He revealed to Osborn that he also had Endo use liquid drops of Ultimo to infect the Bainesville Ten, causing them to forever see the people who were killed, tortured and raped on their orders. Rhodes then leaves to embrace his second chance at life.

Stark Disassembled

Rhodes went to Broxton, Oklahoma, where Tony Stark was left in a persistent vegetative state, in order to reboot his brain. Following recorded instructions from Stark, Rhodes extracted wires from Pepper Potts' Rescue suit to use to connect the Captain America's shield to the implant on Stark's chest, which would be started by Thor's lightning.

Heroic Age

After the Siege storyline, War Machine will be joining the new Secret Avengers team, alongside Beast, Nova, Steve Rogers, Valkyrie, and Moon Knight.

Powers and abilities

Skills

Rhodes was trained as an aircraft pilot and studied aviation engineering while in service with the United States Marine Corps. He is exceptionally skilled in both fixed wing and rotary wing aircraft operation/maintenance and has piloted various aircraft at Stark Enterprises. Due to his Marine Corps training, Rhodes is an experienced soldier and formidable fighter skilled in the use of military weaponry such as small arms and a variety of unarmed combat techniques. In addition to being an accomplished pilot, engineer, soldier, and businessman, Rhodes derives multiple abilities from various hi-tech armors, either designed by Stark Industries or extraterrestrial in nature. With his years of experience with both the Iron Man and War Machine powered armors, Rhodes is skilled in armored combat and uses a more physical fighting style compared to Stark.

Armors

War Machine Armor (Variable Threat Response Battle Suit Mark II, Model JRXL-1000)

Main article: Iron Man's armor § War Machine

The original "Variable Threat Response Battle Suit, Mark I" is a solar charged carbon-composite-based steel mesh armor which provided its user with superhuman-level strength and durability as well as utilizing laser guided munitions. Stark gave Rhodes a modified version of the armor, Mark II Model JRXL-1000, created just for him with the inclusion of repulsors in each palm of the armor's gauntlets and a multifunctional unibeam projector in the chest. The armor could be modified in the field with various modular weapons and has an improved tactical computer system with automatic targeting. Additional weapons included pulse bolt generators, retractable shoulder minigun, variable-configured double-barrel cannons on each gauntlet, gauntlet mounted flamethrower, plasma blade on the left gauntlet, missile box launcher, micro-rocket launcher, particle beam discharger, and an electromagnetic pulse generator in the unibeam projector that could shut down any electronic device in a 50 mile radius. The battlesuit also includes a photon emitter that created a force shield, forcefield-based stealth technology, boot-jet propulsion, and a self-contained breathing system.

The second version of the armor, reconfigured by Stark, contained upgraded improvements such as heat seeking missile launchers, pulse cannon, and retractable weapon pods located on its back. Rhodes utilized different types of specialty ammunition as well as non-lethal weapons such as rubber bullets. Though Rhodes lost the original armor, he still possessed a functional prototype helmet and gauntlet.

Eidolon Warwear

The armor is a symbiotic bio-armor system of alien origin and provides the user with enhanced superhuman strength, durability, and speed. The armor responds to the user's thoughts and creates weapons based on the user's thoughts and needs. When inactive, it can be concealed inside a "mandala" or tattoo-like mark on Rhodes' chest. The left arm is capable of firing destructive energy blasts, while the right arm is able to morph into a blade. The armor can "unskin" remote drones that are capable of discharging various types of energy, infiltrating various electronic/computer systems, creating energy fields, and completing basic tasks. If the drone remotes are destroyed, the user feels pain due to the symbiotic connection. The armor can morph into a "full battle mode," which provides unspecified enhancement to both the armor and user. It was also capable of space travel with an unlimited life support system. During battle, the armor would have the strange ability to "sing" alien war songs.

Sentinel Armor

When Rhodes led Sentinel Squad O*N*E, he utilized an armor that was similar to the design of previous Iron Man powered armors and was based on the primary Sentinel piloted armors that the squad used in combat. The armor was derived of S.H.I.E.L.D. technology and Stark technology design upgrades. Rhodes also piloted a larger advanced Sentinel model codenamed "War Machine". The armors were constructed of a unique mix of steel and fiberglass based on a formula developed by Reed Richards and contained many offensive and defensive improvements in weaponry and enhancements.

Stanetech Based War Machine Armor

This version of the War Machine armor shows all the abilities of the previous Starktech iterations with repulsor technology, customizable cannons, personal force field, and bleeding edge military ballistics and weaponry. Unlike the previous War Machine armors, the unibeam projector is retractable and located in the abdomen instead of the chest as shown in Avengers: The Initiative. Rhodes sustained several fatal injuries requiring an added life support system with cybernetic implants in place of his limbs and parts of his face. The War Machine armor's design incorporates advanced cyberware and several components derived from Obadiah Stane's reverse engineering of older Iron Man armor that makes him immune to any Starktech based systems attack. The armor's computer displays can be projected due to holographic generators and the armor's systems are operated via a cybernetic link to Rhodes himself. The armor is composed of alloys such as titanium and Wakandan vibranium, coated for stealth capabilities, and can be sealed for space and underwater travel. Armaments include sonic generators, pulse bolts, and miniguns. Besides being independent of all outside systems, the armor can interface with any system and has cybernetic interlocking capabilities that can integrate mechanical constructs to repair and upgrade the armor. During the second War Machine series, Rhodes has used this last ability to merge with jet fighters and tanks deliberately to gain their technology and weapons.

Personal life

James Rhodes is the son of David and Roberta Rhodes of South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His known relatives include an uncle, Josh, and deceased sister Jeanette. Dr. Glenda Sandoval, also from South Philadelphia, is one of Rhodes' oldest childhood friends and was originally introduced to estranged husband Parnell Jacobs by Rhodes. Rhodes and Tony Stark have been best friends for a very long time, though the relationship has been strained sometimes due to Stark's actions. Besides his longtime friendship with Stark, Rhodes is a good friend of Happy Hogan and Virginia "Pepper" Potts.

A consummate ladies man, Rhodes has had romantic involvements with women but his ways did not always work as he unsuccessfully flirted with Monica Rambeau as Iron Man. Besides being Rhodes' close friend, Glenda Sandoval was also a former girlfriend. Rhodes was in a long-term relationship with Marcia Jessica "Marcy" Pearson, a former financial reporter for the Independent News Service who Stark hired as a public relations manager at Stark Enterprises. Pearson was outraged when Rhodes became CEO of Stark Enterprises because she was almost given that position only for Stark to change his mind about handing the company over to her. Pearson gave Rhodes an ultimatum: step down as CEO or the relationship was over. Rhodes fired Pearson and she worked with Morgan Stark in a failed attempt to frame Rhodes for murdering Stark and bring down Stark Enterprises. The aftermath of Rhodes' relationship with Pearson affected him deeply. After being appointed CEO, Rhodes began a relationship with Rae LaCoste, a former girlfriend of Stark's who owned a salon in Los Angeles. Rhodes' parents disapproved of the relationship and told LaCoste when she visited them that Rhodes allegedly had a son out of wedlock in order to break up the two. Rhodes' last noted involvement was with NYPD Officer Marcy Howard, who investigated his sister's death.

Other versions

1602

In Marvel 1602: New World, there is a character named Rhodes, a Moor who is the engineer of the armor worn by the Spanish nobleman Lord Iron. Rhodes accompanies Lord Iron to the New World and assists in Lord Iron's mission to hunt down David Banner, former advisor to King James I of England and the man who tortured Lord Iron when he was captured by the British.

Amalgam Comics

In the Amalgam Comics Universe created by Marvel Comics and DC Comics, there is a character named Stewart Rhodes that appears in the comic Iron Lantern. A pilot and engineer employed at Stark Aircraft, he knows the secret of Hal Stark's double life as Iron Lantern. Stewart Rhodes is the amalgam of James Rhodes and John Stewart.

Marvel Zombies

In Marvel Zombies: Dead Days, War Machine is seen amongst the crowd of heroes who have survived the Zombie plague so far. His fate is not depicted.

In Marvel Zombies Return, Zombie Giant Man finds a way to enter parallel universes and invades a universe that resembles the time period in which Tony Stark was an alcoholic. Giant Man infects that universe's Happy Hogan, Pepper Potts and a number of people at Stark Industries. The James Rhodes from that universe finds the Iron Man armor located in a bathroom and puts it on to reach Stark. After Stark sacrifices himself to kill as many zombies as possible, Rhodes takes the name Iron Man and announces he will help the police fend off the zombies. He also becomes a member of this reality's Illuminati. Years later, Rhodes joins the New Avengers in a heavily armed suit reminiscent of the War Machine armor but in the Iron Man color scheme. The team consists of Iron Man and the zombified Spider-Man, Hulk and Wolverine and defeats the zombie Avengers, eradicating the zombie menace.

MC2

In the MC2 alternate future, Rhodes gained superhuman powers after exposing himself to experimental microscopic robots. While Tony Stark had intended to test them on himself, Rhodes did not feel it would be right for Stark to unnecessarily risk his life. Although now blessed with exponentially-increasing invulnerability and an impressive array of energy-based attacks, the nanites slowly corrupt Rhodes' mind, eventually destroying his personality and leaving him as little more than a very powerful, humanoid robot. He eventually works as a personal bodyguard for Tony Stark, and although he adopts a superhero uniform (vaguely reminiscent of Superman, though with a different color scheme and no chest insignia) neither he nor Stark bother to come up with a moniker for him. Spider-Girl refers to him as "Fred" for most of her series, for simple lack of anything else to call him.

U.S. War Machine

In the non-canon MAX miniseries U.S. War Machine, Tony Stark holds a press conference in Los Angeles stating that he was not developing weapons for the government anymore after he and his bodyguard James Rhodes, who piloted the MPI-2100 Mobile Infantry Suit a.k.a. the "War Machine" armor, used lethal force in the defeat of foreign tyrant Doctor Doom's armies in Latveria. He stated that the War Machine armor was to be never seen again and presented the SI1-211 "Iron Man" as his new bodyguard. Rhodes uses the War Machine armor to fight against rogue terrorist agents of Advanced Idea Mechanics (A.I.M.) holding a hostage on the Los Angeles Freeway. Rhodes is fired by Stark after Rhodes kills two A.I.M. hostage takers on national TV with one killed in cold blood. After his dismissal, Rhodes is attacked at his home by former War Machine pilot Parnell Jacobs in an attempt to steal the current War Machine armor. After Rhodes took down Jacobs, Colonel Nick Fury sent a S.H.I.E.L.D. unit to Rhodes' home and both Rhodes and Jacobs are taken to the S.H.I.E.L.D. Skycarrier.

It is revealed that Jacobs' wife Glenda Sandoval (who was unknowingly working for an AIM front company) was taken by A.I.M., led by a white supremacist, as a hostage and would be released if Jacobs delivered his stolen War Machine armor (the original prototype made by Rhodes, Stark, and Victor Von Doom). But Jacobs had sold the armor to HYDRA after he was previously defeated by Rhodes and Happy Hogan in order to gain more money when he learned that his wife was pregnant. S.H.I.E.L.D. took the armor from HYDRA and by reverse engineering the Stark technology, they were able to create their own version of the War Machine armor thanks to "Scotch", a 12 year old genius armament designer under the employ of S.H.I.E.L.D. Fury planned on creating a new S.H.I.E.L.D. Special Operations armored division, dubbed "U.S. War Machine", with Rhodes, now with the rank of Captain, leading a six-man squad of operators in S.H.I.E.L.D. developed War Machine armor to rescue Sandoval and take down AIM's plot of racial genocide. His team included Jacobs, Dum Dum Dugan, and Sheva Josephs. In the sequel series U.S. War Machine 2.0., Stark is furious that S.H.I.E.L.D.'s "U.S. War Machine" unit exists with Rhodes in command and decided to combat them with the Iron Man armor as well as train his own armored forces (Happy Hogan, Bethany Cabe, and Eddie March) in MPI-2100 Mobile Infantry Suits. Meanwhile Major Rhodes and the "U.S. War Machine" unit, with the help of Captain America (James "Bucky" Barnes) and his team of Sam Wilson and Clint Barton, try to recover some stolen nuclear weapons that are in the possession of Doctor Doom. Both teams join forces to stop the nuclear weapon planted on the Millennium Wheel in London as well as fight against Doctor Doom and his own group of soldiers in War Machine armor based on the designs of the original prototype.

Ultimate Marvel

Main article: Ultimate Iron Man

James Rhodes first appears as a prep school student and the victim of frequent bullying at the school due to his ethnicity. He finds an unlikely friend in a young Tony Stark who is seemingly indestructible and defends him against the bullies much to his dismay. Stark allows Rhodes a chance to wear some of the armor he and his father have innovated. Rhodes is seen making another armor named "War Machine" and is going to trade with Stark's "Iron Man" armor when both are fully developed. Stark and Rhodes in their respective armor team up as "Robots" to take out a terrorist group for the government. Rhodes is seen sporting an upgraded War Machine armor created by Tony Stark's older brother, Gregory, which he uses to save two abducted U.S. army officers from the hands of the Taliban and later to try to capture Captain America as part of the reactivated "Project Avengers". His new armor is larger, more sophisticated and can evidently transform into a German sports car.

In other media

Television

File:The Hands Of The Mandarin, Part One - Iron Man & War Machine.jpg

Iron Man and War Machine in a 1995 episode (entitled "The Hands of the Mandarin, Part 1") of the Iron Man animated series.

• War Machine has appeared in the Iron Man animated series voiced by James Avery in Season 1, Jim Cummings in a few episodes of Season 1, and Dorian Harewood in Season 2. When Force Works was disbanded due to the aftermath of Stark's actions in the Season 2 episode "The Beast Within", Rhodes and Julia Carpenter chose to stay with Stark. While Rhodes was active as War Machine in Season 1, he remained out of armor for the majority of Season 2 due to reliving a tragic drowning experience while being trapped underwater in the War Machine armor in the Season 2 episode "Fire And Rain". Rhodes eventually overcame his fear and donned the War Machine armor once again in the episode "Distant Boundaries".

• In the X-Men Season 2 episode "Time Fugitives Part 1", War Machine is aboard the SHIELD Helicarrier with Nick Fury and G. W. Bridge. They are seen watching a U.S. Senate committee hearing on mutants being blamed for infecting non-mutants with a "mutant plague" (genetically engineered by Apocalypse masquerading as a member of the Friends of Humanity). He is also seen in the Season 3 episode "Child of Light" in another brief cameo.

• James Avery reprises his role of War Machine in the Spider-Man Season 3 "Sins Of The Fathers" episodes "Venom Returns" and "Carnage". Rhodes was supervising the security of the interdimensional travel experiment presentation at Stark Enterprises before he and his men were attacked by Venom and later by Carnage. He dons the War Machine armor and helps Spider-Man fight Venom and Carnage, who were sent by Baron Mordo to steal the interdimensional transporter device. When the two made their escape with the device, War Machine prevented J. Jonah Jameson from unmasking Spider-Man but is injured from the fight. Tony Stark asks Spider-Man to get War Machine to a doctor and later dons the Iron Man armor to help Spider-Man stop Baron Mordo, Venom, and Carnage from releasing Dormammu from his dimension.

• Dorian Harewood reprises his role of War Machine in The Incredible Hulk Season 1 episode "Helping Hand, Iron Fist". He originally stops Rick Jones from seeing Tony Stark at Stark Enterprises, but takes him to Stark after Jones explained that he needed Stark's help to find Bruce Banner. He later alerts Stark of the arrival of General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross, S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Gabriel Jones, and a squad of Hulkbusters. War Machine fights some of the Hulkbusters alongside Jones and Iron Man.

• The War Machine armor makes a cameo in the Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes episode "Shell Games".

File:Rhodey.jpg

James "Rhodey" Rhodes in Iron Man: Armored Adventures.

• A teenage James Rhodes is featured as one of the main characters in the animated series Iron Man: Armored Adventures and is voiced by Daniel Bacon. After losing his father Howard Stark, teenage Tony Stark is sent to live with the Rhodes family and attends the same science-intensive high school as Rhodes, the Tomorrow Academy. Rhodes knew about the Stark Exo-Suit a.k.a. the "Iron Man" armor since the beginning, and often shows concern when Stark does something dangerous, such as siding with Blizzard in the episode "Cold War" or adding reverse engineered supervillain tech to the Iron Man armor in the episode "Seeing Red". As Iron Man's systems operator, he assists Stark via computer and can use a remote system to assume control of the Iron Man armor when Stark is unable to do so. In the episode "Field Trip", Rhodes states he knows everything there is to know about the armor and can replace the suit batteries, and in "Man and Iron Man", Rhodes was capable of breaking down the systems. Though he is not a prodigy like Stark, Rhodes did ace his test on fusion and is a history buff. It is hinted in the episode "Pepper, Interrupted" that he has a crush on Whitney Stane, the daughter of Obidiah Stane and the true identity of Madame Masque. In the two-part episode "Tales Of Suspense," Rhodes pilots the War Machine armor to deliver the Iron Man suit to Tony and help him fight Fin Fang Foom and Zhang, the current Mandarin. It may also seem that he is the only one who is aware of the unrevealed love between Stark and Pepper Potts, often commenting the other is "jealous" when Stark is spending time with Whitney Stane or when Potts was spending time with Gene Khan, the stepson of Zhang and descendant of the original Mandarin.

• War Machine appears in The Super Hero Squad Show episode "Tales of Suspense" voiced by LeVar Burton. He has been watching over Stark Industries while Iron Man was with the Super Hero Squad. When Iron Man returns to Stark Industries following Doctor Doom's first part of discrediting Iron Man, he encounters James Rhodes in his War Machine armor first thinking that War Machine was the one discrediting Iron Man until Iron Man recognizes James' voice. Iron Man and War Machine team up to fight Doctor Doom, Melter, and Crimson Dynamo. The first fight doesn't go well and they both end up captured. They managed to break free and are assisted by the other Super Hero Squad members into defeating the villains. Also, it should be noted that throughout the episode, Rhodes is never referred to as "War Machine", nor is his armor shown to have advanced weaponry.

Film

• In the animated Marvel film Ultimate Avengers 2, Tony Stark's Iron Man armor is damaged, so he replaces it with the War Machine armor. Stark's butler Edwin Jarvis disapproves of the choice, as the War Machine armor is slow and cumbersome by Iron Man standards, but its durability and heavy firepower prove useful.
• James Rhodes appears in the 2007 animated movie The Invincible Iron Man voiced by Rodney Saulsberry. In this film, Rhodes is an engineer and former army medic who accompanies Tony Stark to an excavation site in China to unearth a lost city, but having brought weapons to provide security for the site (on the insistence of Stark's father), they are captured by a group called the Jade Dragons, who seek to sink the city again as its rise is part of a prophecy regarding the resurrection of the Mandarin (here a long-dead Chinese warlord). He only partly builds the weapon his captors ask him to construct to sabotage their efforts. When elemental spirits are released from the temple to find the rings the Mandarin needs to be reborn, Stark and Rhodes escape using a suit of armor developed to keep Stark's heart beating after it was impaled by shrapnel. Rhodes' experience as an army medic aids in its creation. Rhodes subsequently helps Stark coordinate his attempts to track down the remaining rings before the elementals get them. Towards the conclusion of the film, Rhodes allows himself to be arrested to give Stark time to stop the Mandarin, subsequently being appointed head of the Special Engineering branch after all charges against Stark are dropped. A black suit of armor with many guns, similar to the War Machine armor, is seen in the pan of Stark's arsenal.

File:War Machine.jpg

Terrence Howard as James "Rhodey" Rhodes in Iron Man

• Terrence Howard portrays James Rhodes in the 2008 Iron Man film. In the film, Rhodes has the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and serves with the U.S. Air Force as the United States military's chief liaison to Stark Industries and their weapons division. Like his portrayal in the Iron Man comic book, he is also Tony Stark's best friend and one of his most trusted allies along with Virginia "Pepper" Potts. Rhodes is depicted in the film wearing a "Brass Rat", the MIT school ring, indicating that in the film, he and Stark were graduates of the same college, and on his other hand he wears an Air Force Academy ring. Though the War Machine armor makes no appearance in the film, two nods to Rhodes being War Machine were made. During a scene when Rhodes looks at the Iron Man Mark II armor, he says, "Next time, baby!". The second nod comes when animation of War Machine's shoulder cannon appears during the film's end credits. Director Jon Favreau told Ain't It Cool News that War Machine would appear in the sequels and Howard was cast with this in mind.

File:Warmy.jpg

Poster for Iron Man 2 featuring the War Machine armor

• Don Cheadle portrays James Rhodes in the 2010 sequel Iron Man 2. After a contract dispute involving Terrence Howard, the part of Rhodes was recast and Cheadle was selected for the role. The War Machine armor is featured in the film and was revealed in footage shown at the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con. Rhodes is seen wearing the armor near the end of the film's first trailer and in other trailers for the movie. In a departure from the comic book portrayal of the armor's creation and origin story, the movie version of the War Machine armor is the former Iron Man Mark II armor retrofitted with heavier external armor plating and upgraded with new technology by the United States military. The armor's heavy weapons arsenal of ballistic weaponry was provided by defense contractor Justin Hammer of Stark Industries' rival company Hammer Industries. It is equipped with multiple external weapons, dual arm-mounted 9mm submachine guns, a shoulder mounted minigun, a sternum deployed bunker buster missile launcher (nicknamed 'the Ex-Wife'), and energy repulsors located in the palms of the armor's hands.

File:Don Cheadle as James Rhodes.jpg

Don Cheadle as James "Rhodey" Rhodes in Iron Man 2

Under pressure by the United States Government to convince Tony Stark to hand over his Iron Man armor, Rhodes stayed loyal to Stark while taking the heat from his superiors. At Tony Stark's birthday party, an intoxicated Stark in the Iron Man suit proceeds to target & shoot various objects endangering the lives of all his guests. Rhodes was forced to don the Iron Man Mark II armor to fight Stark, wrecking Stark's home in the process, and took the Mark II armor. The Mark II is upgraded into the heavily armed War Machine armor and is taken by Rhodes for a demonstration at the Stark Expo. However his armor was under the control of Ivan Vanko and Rhodes was forced to fight Stark. After a brief fight, he managed to regain control over his armor again thanks to S.H.I.E.L.D agent Black Widow and he teamed with Stark to defeat Hammer's drones and Vanko himself.

Video games

• War Machine is a playable character in Capcom's Marvel vs. Capcom series of video games. In Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes, his in-game design was a palette swap of Iron Man in Modular Armor as depicted in Marvel Super Heroes with the addition of new animations such as a shoulder cannon instead of a chest unibeam, new spiked smart bombs, and a new super move, the "War Destroyer", which retracts from his back and launches missiles & rockets to hit foes from above. There is also a hidden character known as "Mega Armor War Machine"; a gold armored version of War Machine that could not block or fly, but was never stunned by any hits. The "Mega Armor War Machine" switched the shoulder cannon and "Proton Cannon" super move's projectiles to missiles instead of a beam and changed his crouching punch missile cannon into a beam cannon. In Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes, War Machine had the switched weapons of the "Mega Armor" variant to further differentiate him from Iron Man. He was voiced by Wayne Ward in both games.
• The War Machine armor is an alternate costume for Iron Man in the games X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse and Marvel: Ultimate Alliance by Activision. In the former, it is his "Age of Apocalypse" costume, which, when worn alongside three other party members who are in their AoA appearances, will grant a special bonus to all the characters. In the latter, if it is worn along with three other member's "Alternate Identity" costumes, it grants a special bonus to all characters.
• James Rhodes appeared in the video game Iron Man by Sega and was voiced by Terrence Howard.
• War Machine appears in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 voiced by Nolan North for the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions. Based on his Stanetech Based Armor design, Rhodes is a member of Iron Man's Pro-Registration forces and is a boss character for the Anti-Registration storyline. In the Anti-Registration Campaign, he assists Bishop into attacking the old HYDRA base where the Anti-Registration group is hiding in New Jersey. The Anti-Registration heroes later fight him alongside Iron Man at Geffen-Meyer Chemicals. In the Jailbreak cutscene, he is knocked down by Hercules.
• War Machine appears in the Marvel Super Hero Squad video game voiced again by Nolan North.
• War Machine is a playable character in the video game Iron Man 2 voiced by Don Cheadle with additional dialogue provided by Phil LaMarr.

Toys

• The first action figure of James Rhodes was the Secret Wars Iron Man action figure produced by Mattel in 1984.

• Toy Biz produced two figures of War Machine with removable armor for the Iron Man animated series action figure line.

• In 1997, Toy Biz produced an "unmasked" War Machine figure with removable helmet for the Marvel - Hall Of Fame line of action figures.

• In 1999, Toy Biz produced a War Machine figure that was packaged with Mega Man for the Marvel Vs. Capcom line of action figures.

• Toy Biz has made two versions of War Machine in the Marvel Legends line of figures. The first version of War Machine was based on his appearance in the comic U.S. War Machine and was released for Series 9. The second War Machine figure was a chase variant of Modular Armor Iron Man (mirroring his design from Marvel Vs. Capcom) with Rhodes' face sculpted behind the faceplate and different colors. The figure was packaged with a red repaint of the Mandarin for Series 2 of the Faceoff Series. When the Marvel Legends line was continued by Hasbro, a figure of Ultimate War Machine based on his appearance in Ultimate Iron Man was produced for the Ares Series.

• In the Iron Man movie tie-in toyline by Hasbro, War Machine makes an appearance as a Wal-Mart exclusive figure. Though the figure is referred to as the "Stealth Operations Suit" armor, the figure has War Machine's black & silver paint job, War Machine's weapons, and the toy description lists Jim Rhodes as the pilot of the armor. Hasbro later released the War Machine mold repainted in Iron Man colors as the "Hot Zone" armor.

• For the 3 3/4 inch Marvel Universe toyline, Hasbro produced a Secret Wars 25th Anniversary two pack with James Rhodes as Iron Man packaged with Julia Carpenter as Spider-Woman.

• Diamond Select Toys has created figures of James Rhodes for the Marvel Minimates line of block styled figures. Series 21 included Rhodes as he appeared in the Iron Man film packaged with the Iron Man Mark II armor. For Series 23, Rhodes' Mark II War Machine armor was a chase variant figure packaged with Spymaster, who was usually packaged with the Mark I War Machine armor worn by Tony Stark. Series 35 includes Rhodes' War Machine armor as depicted in the Iron Man 2 film packaged with Iron Man.

• Hasbro is releasing 3 3/4 inch War Machine figures for the Iron Man 2 movie tie-in toyline. Two of the figures are for the line's Movie Series with one featuring Don Cheadle's likeness. A third is the comic book universe's Mark I War Machine armor for the line's Comic Series. The regular movie figure has two variant figures with red or blue eyes and chest piece. Other figures in the toyline include a 8 inch War Machine figure, a 6 inch War Machine figure as a Wal-Mart exclusive, and a 3 3/4 inch "Hall Of Armor" War Machine figure as a Target exclusive.

• Diamond Select Toys is releasing a Marvel Select 7-inch War Machine action figure along with the Iron Man Mark VI armor from the Iron Man 2 film.

Collections

• Iron Man: War Machine (Iron Man vol. 1 #280-291)
• Secret Invasion: War Machine (Iron Man vol. 4 #33-35, and Iron Man vol. 1 #144)
• War Machine: Iron Heart (War Machine vol. 2 #1-5, and Dark Reign: New Nation #1)
• War Machine: Dark Reign (War Machine vol. 2 #6-11)

External links

• War Machine at Marvel.com
• Template:Imdb character