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| “ | Oh, man, you can have your suit back. | „ |
| ~ War Machine to Iron Man in Iron Man 2. |
| “ | Congratulations, Cap. You're a criminal. | „ |
| ~ War Machine to Captain America in Civil War. |
Colonel James Rupert Rhodes, commonly known as Rhodey, is the tritagonist of the Iron Man trilogy, one of the titular deuteragonists of Avengers: Age of Ultron, one of the tritagonists of Captain America: Civil War, a mid-credits scene character in Captain Marvel, and one of the titular protagonists of both Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. He is a U.S. military officer and jet pilot in the U.S. Air Force. He is known as War Machine when wearing his heavily-armed battlesuit from Hammer Industries, but his alias was temporarily changed to Iron Patriot during Aldrich Killian's War. He is the best friend of Tony Stark/Iron Man and the liaison between Stark Industries and the military in the Department of Acquisitions.
He is portrayed by Terrence Howard in the original Iron Man film from 2008 and Don Cheadle for the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Howard also portrays Lucious Lyon on Empire.
Biography
Early life
James Rhodes on October 6, 1968, and would become a student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Rhodes would meet and befriended Anthony "Tony" Stark, and shared a close bond and rivalry at a young age.
He would join the United States Air Force, and earn the rank of Lieutenant Colonel years on. Due to his long friendship with Tony, he became his liaison between Stark Industries, and the U.S. Armed Forces.
Iron Man
| “ | Next time, baby. | „ |
| ~ Rhodey on the Mark II armor. |
Rhodey attended the ceremony for Tony in Las Vegas, but had to accept the reward alongside Obadiah Stane (since Stark was busy playing a poker game). After confronting Tony, who stated that he didn't know of the ceremony, and promised his friend that he would meet him first thing in the morning. Rhodey had to wait three hours for his friend to come to the jet, as the latter had a interaction with Christine Everhart the previous night. On the jet, Stark made his friend relax, and had a couple of drinks as they flew into Afghanistan.
Rhodes witnessed Tony's speech on the Jericho missiles, and was jokingly told to wait for the next one for the Humvee. Unbeknownst to Rhodey, Stark was attacked and captured by the Ten Rings, and he couldn't find him with his save team. Eventually, Rhodes and the military were able to find Stark in the desert, and he told him to ride with him next time. Once Stark was back into America, Rhodes witnessed Tony speak to interviewers on shutting down his company. When asked by Stane to join part of a private project, he was originally overjoyed that Tony was reopening the company. However, Stark revealed that he was doing his own private project, and Rhodes believed that his friend was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
After Iron Man destroyed the base in Gulmira, Afghanistan, Rhodes saw unidentified aircraft as two F-22 Raptor were attacking it. Rhodes called Tony if he knew of the situation, but denied until he revealed himself to be the unidentified thing. Stark convinced Rhodes to pass the event off as a training exercise, and did so in front of the press. Rhodey would later help Tony in getting back on his feet after Stane's betrayal, and finally saw the Iron Man armors, notably the Mark II. After seeing Tony fly off to fight Stane, Rhodey looked at the armor, but replied "next time, baby", and went off the U.S. Air Force to call off their attack. The following day, he talked to the press on another training exercise.
Afterward, Rhodey and Stark would encounter S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Phil Coulson, and would witness his friend reveal himself to be Iron Man.
Iron Man 2
| “ | This lone gunslinger act is unnecessary. You don't have to do this alone. | „ |
| ~ Rhodey to Tony. |
Months after Stark revealed himself to be Iron Man, and Rhodey was called in to analyze the hero in court, but was actually used by the government to hand over his armors. Instead, Rhdoey spoke in Tony's favor, and the two realized that Justin Hammer was trying to duplicate the armors. Rhodes would become frustrated with Tony, stating that the lone wolf approach was unnecessary, and wanted to help his friend against the odds. He went to great lengths to protect his friend, having to talk to the government once Stark was attacked by Ivan Vanko at a race.
Rhodey had enough of Tony's behavior, seeing his act arrogantly at his birthday party with Pepper Potts. He donned the Iron Man Mark II armor, and ordered the guest to leave and Tony to get out of his armor. The two battled across his mansion, and it ended with the two using their repulsors, causing a blast that destroyed the front of his home. Rhodey left with the mark two armor, and gave it to the United States to learn how to create it. They gave it to Justin Hammer, and Rhodey was told by General Meade to become the new test pilot for the Threat Response Suit armors.
Rhodey donned the War Machine armor at the Stark Expo, but Ivan Vanko took control of the Hammer Drones, alongside Rhodes. He could still communicate to Tony, and eventually was able to gain control of his armor by Black Widow unlocking it at the Hammer Industries headquarters. War Machine aided Iron Man in defeating the Hammer Drones, and destroyed Vanko's armor before he revealed that the armors had bombs on them. Rhodes would see Tony and Pepper kiss, and told the hero that he was keeping the armor, despite Stark's protest. Stark and Rhodes would be awarded by Senator Stern for their bravery, and the latter would become Iron Man's partner.
Stark would remove Hammer's upgrades from Rhodes' armor, and made him the War Machine mark II. Rhodey don the armor to take down Ten Rings group across the globe, and was busy doing so during Loki's invasion of Earth. After dealing with terrorists in Hong Kong, he returned to New York to find the Avengers eating Shawarma after defeating the trickster God.
Iron Man 3
The war machine armor would be re-branded as the Iron Patriot, and was done so by the government to appease the public. Rhodes would still hunt Ten Rings terrorist groups, and stopping a new threat called The Mandarin, who had tormenting U.S. President Matthew Ellis. While hunting down the Mandarin, Tony had supposedly been killed after his mansion was attacked by the group. Despite the loss, Rhodes continued his mission, and successfully learned of Stark's whereabouts while in Pakistan.
There, Iron Patriot was ambushed and captured by Extremis, and was taken to Aldrich Killian's mansion while his armor was used by Eric Savin. However, Rhodes escaped alongside Tony in his new armor, and the duo confronted Trevor Slattery (who was paid by Killian to pose as the Mandarin). Rhodes contacted Vice President Rodriguez to warn him that Savin was in the suit, but the vice was in league with A.I.M. Iron Man defeated Savin, but he sent Matthew Ellis to the Norco in the Iron Patriot suit.
Rhodes accompanied Stark on saving both President Ellis and Pepper Potts, and were aided by the Iron Legion. Rhodes successfully rescued Ellis, and don the armor once again to protect the president. After Tony and Pepper defeated Killian, Rhodey revealed to the government that Rodriguez was in league with Killian, and went back to the mantle War Machine.
Avengers: Age of Ultron
| “ | War Machine, comin at you! | „ |
| ~ War Machine aiding the Avengers in Sokovia. |
Rhodes would be invited to the Avengers' party after they defeated HYDRA, and asked where Pepper Potts and Jane Foster where, but left after Thor and Stark started to argue. He would be part of the event to claim Thor's hammer, aiding Stark by wearing his armor gauntlet, but to no anvil. The group were confronted by Stark's program, Ultron, who accused them of being nothing but strings, and made other sentries attack the Avengers.
Rhodes was part of the group who confronted Stark on creating Ultron behind their backs, and refused to follow Tony on him sending a missile into space. War Machine would suit up when Nick Fury called for former S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to aid the Avengers in Sokovia, and witnessed Vison destroy a sentinel. War Machine was able to scare away many of the sentries, and his efforts allowed the team to defeat Ultron once and for all. After Iron Man, Thor, Hawkeye, and Hulk left the team, War Machine was recruited alongside Falcon, Scarlet Witch, and Vision to become members of the New Avengers. Captain America and Black Widow stayed to lead, and train the team for upcoming threats, but War Machine did not participate against Crossbones in Lagos.
Captain America: Civil War
| “ | Sorry, Cap. This won't kill you, but it ain't gonna tickle either. | „ |
| ~ War Machine to Captain America. |
The Avengers were held by the government to sign the Sokovia Accords, which would put them in check due their destruction when assembled, and also due to the disastrous mission in Lagos, Nigeria. Rhodes agreed to sign alongside Stark, Romanoff, and Vison, and told Rogers that his view was dangerously arrogant. War Machine was called in to capture Winter Soldier, but instead had to arrest Rogers after he was protecting his friend from T'Challa (who revealed himself to be Black Panther).
War Machine was called by Tony to help him stop Rogers and his allies, and to bring Bucky Barnes back into custody. The clash began as War Machine cave support in the battle, and latter captured by Ant-Man, who was part of Rogers' team. Despite their efforts to capture them, Captain American and Winter Soldier were able to escape, but Rhodes decided to fly after them. He was then hit with Vision's beam in the arc reactor, causing him to fall hundreds of feet in the air, and crash land. Iron Man was able to call in medical service, but Rhodey was paralyzed from the waist down.
Despite being paralyzed, Stark was able to create a device that would help him walk again. While recovering with Tony, they were interrupted by a delivery man, who asked for "Tony Stank". Rhodey responded that he was with "Stank", and claimed that he would never forget that nickname.
Avengers: Infinity War
Rhodey would spend the next two years recovering from his injuries, and adapting with the harness to walk. He became embittered towards the Sokovia Accords and Thaddeus Ross, with him feeling the damage done was unnecessary, and hating Ross' attitude on Rogers. One day, Rhodey learned that Tony Stark and Vision had disappeared, and argued with Ross over Rogers' criminal status, as he and the group came to the compound. When Ross ordered to have them arrested, Rhodes instead disconnected the call, and welcomed his comrades to help them. The Avengers went to Wakanda to help Black Panther stop Thanos, and get rid of the Mind Stone in Vision.
War Machine participated in the battle of Wakanda, and fought many outriders alongside Falcon as the others battled the Black Order. When Thanos traveled to Wakanda, Rhodes and the team tried to stop him from getting to Vision. War Machine was easily defeated by Thanos and the infinity gauntlet, and failed to stop him from collecting the Mind Stone. The Mad Titan snapped his fingers when nearly defeated by Thor, and left as the decimation had started. Rhodey was confused on what was going on, he asked what of happened, but eventually came to realize that Thanos succeeded in his goals.
Captain Marvel
The Avengers collected Nick Fury's transmitter, and wanted to know whom he called to help them. While monitoring the pager, Rhodey told the others that it had stopped, and the group witness Captain Marvel enter the facility.
Avengers: Endgame
TBA
Personality
| “ | 138 combat missions. That's how many I've flown, Tony. Every one of them could've been my last, but I flew 'em. Because the fight needed to be fought. | „ |
| ~ Rhodes to Stark. |
James Rhodes is a proud and highly distinguished officer of the United States Armed Forces, though he is supportive of his best friend, Tony Stark and generally enjoys being involved in his revelries. He is sometimes annoyed by Stark's flippant and reckless behavior, often straining their long friendship. Tony's disrespect of government officials and refusal to relinquish his Iron Man suits to them often puts Rhodes in a difficult position since he has to balance his responsibilities to his superiors and respect his friendship with Tony Stark. As liaison to Stark Industries, Rhodes strives to maintain a copacetic relationship between Tony and U.S. government. That being said, Rhodes has seen his government be nearly destroyed by A.I.M., and later became embittered with the Sokovia Accords.
Rhodey showed himself to have a good sense of humor, being amused when he tricked Banner to bow to T'Challa, or referring to Tony as "Tony Stank" after the delivery man. In addition, he has a strong moral compass, and believes in doing what's right, signing the accords and doing 138 combat missions to protect the world.
Powers and Abilities
Abilities
Like his friend, Tony Stark, Rhodes has no superhuman powers. He is a high ranking military soldier who is in athlete physical condition. However, like Stark, Rhodes enhanced abilities comes from using a modified Iron Man armor to become War Machine. The armor allows him to fly, possesses superhuman strength, durability, and contains various weapons for battle.
- Expert Pilot: Rhodes is a highly decorated Colonel Air Force officer. As a skilled fighter pilot, he is able to pilot his War Machine armor without a problem.
- Expert Tactician Rhodey showed himself to be expert strategist, being able to deflect attacks from Extremis soldiers. In addition, he had a huge role in the coordinate attack during the battle of Wakanda.
- Expert Martial Artist War Machine is a capable fighter, being able to deal blows to extremis-empowered Eric Savin. In his armor, he can deal more damage, and was able to fight Tony Stark during their fight in his mansion.
- Expert Marksman Having served in the military, Rhodes is an expert marksman, and was able to shoot down multiple Extremis soldiers.
Equipment
Weapons
- Beretta 92FS Inox: Rhodey took the weapon from one of Killian's guards, and used it to kill extremis soldiers on the Norco, and confront Trevor Slattery.
- Walther P99: Rhodes kept this handgun on him during the Avengers party, and was force to use it when Ultron ordered his sentries to attack.
Other
- Leg Braces: After being paralyzed by Vision during the clash, Stark made him leg braces that allowed him walk.
Armors: War Machine Armor
- War Machine Armor: Mark I
- War Machine Armor: Mark II
- War Machine Armor: Mark III
- War Machine Armor: Mark IV
- War Machine Armor: Mark V
- War Machine Armor: Mark VI
Support Powers
- Flight: Like all of Stark's armor, the War Machine armors allow the wearer to fly at Mach 3 speeds.
- Superhuman Strength: The armor increases Rhodes' physical strength, allowing him to tear drones with ease, and pick up enemies without efforts.
- Superhuman Reflexes: The motors in the armor allow Rhodes to dodge blast, or incoming fire in sheer seconds.
- Armor Systems: The armor has remote assistance, and a holographic HUD with cellphone and computer connections in the helmet. The armor is powered by a miniature arc reactor and has an on-board generator for emergencies. The scanner systems are capable of scanning the environment, weather conditions, and equipment for information. The armors also have variable control surfaces for active flight control. The Hull Pressure Transducers are on board sensors that track external pressure based on altitude, speed, and temperature, and adjust internal settings appropriately.
- Self-Contained Life Support System and Environmental Protection: The armor can be sealed for operations in vacuum or underwater, provided its own life support, and is shielded against radiation.
Defensive Powers
- Superhuman Durability: The War Machine armors protect Rhodes from a great amount of damage, or incoming attacks by empowered beings. It could survive hits from Captain America's virbranium shield, falcon's guns, and Ant-Man's fist during Civil War.
Offensive Powers
- Repulsors: A particle beam that repel physical energy, and was capable of causing massive shockwaves (as shown when firing with Iron Man's own repulsors).
- Unibeam: Mounted on the chest, the beam is more powerful than his repulsors, and can great damage.
- Mini-Gun Attached to the back of the suit, the mini-gun can go through scrap metal, notably destroying Hammer Drones in seconds.
- Gauntlets: Underslung machine guns are embedded into the gauntlets.
- Rocket Launcher: Mounted on the left shoulder, Rhodey referred to his as the "Ex-Wife".
- Miniature Stark Sonic Canon: Can emit a sound waves that can stun the target, notably using it on Scarlet Witch.
- Stun Staff:
Relationships
Allies
- Tony Stark/Iron Man - Best Friend †
- Stark Industries
- Matthew Ellis - Commander-in-Chief
- S.H.I.E.L.D.
- Avengers
- Helen Cho
- T'Challa/Black Panther
- Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier/White Wolf - Former Enemy
- CIA
- Dora Milaje
- Okoye
- Ayo
- Jabari Tribe
- Guardians of the Galaxy
- Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel
- Hope van Dyne/Wasp
- Gamora (2014 timeline)
Enemies
- Obadiah Stane/Iron Monger †
- Ivan Vanko/Whiplash †
- Justin Hammer
- Hammer Drones
- Senator Stern - Former Ally
- Aldrich Killian †
- Trevor Slattery/The Mandarin
- Extremis Soldiers
- Eric Savin †
- Vice President Rodriguez
- Ultron †
- Ultron Sentries †
- Thaddeus Ross - Former Ally
- Thanos
- Outriders
- Black Order
Trivia
- A War Machine movie was green lit, but was scrapped and instead Iron Man 3 was made.
- He was originally suppose to appear in Spider-Man: Homecoming alongside Vision, as some concept art showed him saving the ferry.
 Heroes
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Stark Industries United States Armed Forces S.H.I.E.L.D. Culver University Asgardians Frost Giants Howling Commandos The Avengers Guardians of the Galaxy Ravagers Nova Corps The Defenders PYM Tech/X-Con Security Consultants Wakandans Midtown School of Science and Technology Masters of the Mystic Arts The Revengers/Sakaaran Rebellion House of Agon Runaways Skrulls S.W.O.R.D. S.A.B.E.R. Time Variance Authority Red Room Ta Lo Armed Forces The Eternals Avatars Freedom Fighters The Marvels Assorted Variants Others (Films/Disney+) Others (Pre-Disney+ TV) | ||