War Machine

: "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."
: ―James Rhodes to Tony Stark[src]
Colonel James Rupert "Rhodey" Rhodes is a former officer in the United States Air Force and liaison between the Department of Acquisitions and Stark Industries, where he became close friends with Tony Stark. When Stark had been kidnapped by the Ten Rings, Rhodes personally led a mission to rescue his best friend. However, upon their return, Rhodes saw Stark moving away from developing his weapons for the military and soon discovered that he was instead focusing on becoming a hero known as Iron Man. Despite all of his fears for his friend's safety, Rhodes still joined Iron Man in bringing down Obadiah Stane's schemes, while trying to keep Stark's secrets, only for Stark to reveal them to the media himself.
With Iron Man's identity known, Rhodes found himself under pressure from the United States Congress and the military to take possession of the armor for himself, something that he was against. However, as Stark's reckless behavior got even worse, Rhodes had no choice but to take the Mark II before handing it over to the military, with Justin Hammer upgrading it with his new weapons to rebrand Rhodes as War Machine. However, just when War Machine was being presented to the world, Ivan Vanko returned and attacked the Stark Expo with an army of Hammer Drones, as War Machine teamed up with Iron Man to bring him down, resulting in Rhodes keeping the armor for himself, despite Stark's continued objections.
In response to the Chitauri Invasion, Rhodes took on the identity of the Iron Patriot and worked directly for President Matthew Ellis. When a terrorist called the Mandarin was claiming responsibility for a string of domestic terrorist attacks, Rhodes was dispatched to hunt him down. However, Rhodes discovered that the Mandarin was a ruse created by Aldrich Killian by hiring actor Trevor Slattery to portray the role. Killian managed to capture Rhodes, steal the Iron Patriot Armor and use it to kidnap President Ellis. Rhodes managed to free himself and teamed up with Stark to defeat Killian's army before saving President Ellis.
Reverting back to the War Machine name, Rhodes continued serving his country by assisting the Avengers in the Battle of Sokovia, ensuring that as many Sokovians were evacuated before Ultron could cause mass extinction. Following the battle, Rhodes became an official member of the Avengers. However, Rhodes soon found himself in conflict with the team as the debate over the Sokovia Accords led to Captain America and Iron Man disagreeing, with War Machine siding with the government. As the conflict worsened, War Machine clashed with Captain America's allies, only for War Machine to be disabled as he had been inadvertently shot out of the sky by Vision.
Having been given leg braces by Tony Stark to help him walk again, Rhodes became disillusioned by the government and decided to disobey Thaddeus Ross' orders and instead assisted Steve Rogers as they had learned of the impending Thanos' quest. Once they traveled to Wakanda in order to protect the Mind Stone, War Machine fought alongside his allies in their attempts to hold back the Black Order. However, as Thanos arrived, War Machine and the others were unable to defeat him, resulting in the Snap.
Determined to undo Thanos' actions, War Machine joined the Avengers on a mission to Thanos' Garden, ending in Thor beheading the Mad Titan. Five years later, the Avengers learned to travel through time and initiated a Time Heist, where War Machine joined Nebula on a mission to obtain the Power Stone from Morag in 2014. Succeeding in the mission, the Avengers resurrected the victims of the Snap, before being attacked by an alternate Thanos and his entire army. War Machine then joined his fellow heroes in battling Thanos until Stark sacrificed his life to finally eliminate Thanos, as Rhodes stayed by his best friend's side during his final moments before attending his funeral.
== Biography ==
=== Early Life ===
==== Liaison to Stark Industries ====
: "As liaison to Stark Industries, I've had the unique privilege of serving with a real patriot. He is my friend, and he is my great mentor."
: ―James Rhodes[src]
James Rupert Rhodes was born in October 6, 1968. He grew up in South Philadelphia and after he graduated high school, he joined the United States Air Force. Rhodes went on to meet Tony Stark at MIT, where the two of them became best friends, with a close bond and rivalry that would last their entire lives. In the spring of 1987, according to Stark, Rhodes allegedly slept with someone who was actually a transvestite named Ivan. When he grew older, Rhodes was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Due to his continued friendship with Stark, he also became the liaison between Stark Industries and the United States Armed Forces, purchasing the latest in Stark technology for them.
In 2008, Rhodes witnessed Stark present his newest weapon at the Yuma Proving Ground for a group of military generals. Afterwards while Rhodes attempted to convince Stark not to go to Afghanistan for the Jericho demonstration, they took his private jet to a nightclub. There, Stark got himself and Rhodes a double date with Eloise and Celeste, whom he told about his and Rhodes' argument. When Stark was attacked by a man whose girlfriend he had seduced, Rhodes intervened and fought off the attacker to protect his friend. Stark and the girls then persuaded Rhodes to join them at Stark's Mansion to continue their party.
=== Dispute with Tony Stark ===
==== Presenting Tony Stark's Award ====
: "Nobody roped me into anything, but they told me that if I presented you with an award you would be deeply honored.""Of course I'd be deeply honored, and it's you and that's great."
: ―James Rhodes and Tony Stark[src]
Rhodes was invited to attend an award ceremony at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas in order to present Tony Stark with an award for all of his work. As Rhodes stood on the stage, he told the audience that he felt that it was an honor to be the liaison between Stark Industries and the United States Armed Forces, calling Stark a true patriot and a close friend.
However, as it turned out, Stark was not in attendance as he did not come to the stage when Rhodes called him. As the entire audience applauded for Stark, Obadiah Stane had instead accepted the award from Rhodes in Stark's honor. While Rhodes stood to the back of the room, he listened while Stane claimed that the reason Stark was not at the ceremony to collect the award in person would be because he was still working, which Rhodes knew would be highly unlikely.
Heading back in Las Vegas, Rhodes had eventually found his friend while he was still partying in one of the casinos and scolded him for not attending their award ceremony, although Stark just denied any knowledge that Rhodes was the one who would present the award, sarcastically claiming that he was deeply honored that Rhodes had done it. He continued to show little sign of taking anything seriously as he continued to joke, gamble and flirt with the beautiful women around him, even teasing Rhodes by asking him to blow on his dice; before long, Stark had lost his bet for ten million dollars and decided that it was time to go home, much to the great relief of Rhodes.
As they exited the casino with Happy Hogan and Stark's entire team of personal bodyguards, Stark shook hands with Rhodes while they then agreed upon the time to meet to leave for Afghanistan onboard the Stark Industries Private Jet, while Rhodes had insisted that Stark could not turn up late. Once Rhodes had left, Stark then handed over the award to a member of the casino's staff before leaving to return back to Malibu with Hogan and the rest of his entourage.
==== Private Plane Ride ====
: "I told you I'm not mad, I'm indifferent, okay?""I said I was sorry.""No need to apologize. I'm just indifferent right now. You don't respect yourself, so I know you don't respect me."
: ―James Rhodes and Tony Stark[src]
The next day, Tony Stark had indeed arrived late to his meeting with Rhodes at the Stark Industries Aviation Division, due to spending the night with Christine Everhart. Rhodes attempted to chastise his friend but was simply ignored as Stark claimed that he was caught doing a piece for Vanity Fair while Happy Hogan loaded his bags. Although Rhodes had continued to try and chastise Stark, he was told that he was now the one holding up the plane.
During the flight on Afghanistan onboard the Stark Industries Private Jet, Rhodes talked with Stark and made it clear that he was unhappy about Stark's lax attitude, and Stark tried to get his friend to relax. Rhodes, however, insisted that Stark viewed him as nothing more than his babysitter, to which Stark then responded by requesting that the stewardesses bring them some drinks, although Rhodes insisted that they should not be drinking but should focus on their work.
Although Rhodes insisted he would not be drinking as he had work to do, Stark eventually won him over as they began drinking together. Before long, Rhodes and Stark were drunk as Rhodes ranted about his experiences being with the United States Air Force, while Stark was distracted by leering at the three stewardesses who were dancing provocatively around a stripper pole to club music. While Stark had left with one stewardess, Rhodes was left with the other two who seduced him.
By the next morning, Rhodes had awoken with a serious hangover as even the sound of Stark happily eating all his breakfast hurt Rhodes' head, as Stark showed no sign of a hangover. Just as Rhodes got to his feet and prepared to get into bed in order to get some rest before they arrived, the stewardess returned as she informed them that they were just about to land in Afghanistan and had then advised them to take their seats, much to the considerable annoyance of Rhodes.
=== Tony Stark's Kidnapping ===
==== Weapons Presentation ====
: "Hey Tony!""I'm sorry, this is the fun-vee. The hum-drum-vee is back there.""Nice job.""See you back at base."
: ―James Rhodes and Tony Stark[src]
Once the Stark Industries Private Jet had landed, Rhodes and Tony Stark had arrived at a military outpost in Afghanistan to demonstrate the Jericho. While Stark had gotten out of their plane first and happily greeted all of their military leaders, including Major General William Gabriel, Rhodes took a little longer to get out of their plane due to his hangover, which Stark had still continued to mock.
As their presentation went ahead, Rhodes stood beside Gabriel and the other United States Armed Forces leaders as they watched Stark give his speech about the Jericho, the new super-missile system with terrifying destructive capabilities designed by Stark Industries. As the missile was demonstrated, the shockwave from the blast knocked everyone backwards and had the desired effect as Gabriel and all of the others agreed to buy the weapons from Stark and Rhodes.
Following the successful demonstration, Rhodes greeted Stark while he was speaking to Obadiah Stane and congratulated him. Stark had then gone off with the Humvee convoy, before jokingly telling Rhodes to wait for the next one. However, Stark's Humvee was then attacked by the Ten Rings and Stark had disappeared without a trace. Rhodes took command over the rescue mission to locate his friend, although they were unable to find Stark in the mountains and deserts.
==== Rescuing Tony Stark ====
: "I'm going back there, sir.""It's been three months without a single indication that Stark is even alive, we can't keep risking assets, least of all you.""Are you blocking my transfer now?"
: ―James Rhodes and William Gabriel[src]
Following the disappearance of Tony Stark, Rhodes then personally led missions to try and find him, with no avail. Having returned to the United States of America, Rhodes decided that he would return to Afghanistan in order to continue the search, regardless of how hopeless it seemed. Just as Rhodes prepared to board the plane, Major General William Gabriel requested private word with Rhodes.
Clearly unsure of Rhodes' plan to continue searching for Stark in the desert, Gabriel noted how unlikely it was that they would be able to find the Ten Rings' hideout. Seeing Rhodes' determination, Gabriel noted how the other soldiers in the United States Air Force would do anything for the career that Rhodes was currently risking by going on this futile search mission, however, he still approved Rhodes' right to go and wished him good luck as Rhodes had saluted Gabriel.
Upon returning to Afghanistan, Rhodes led a military unit as they flew across the desert, searching for any indication that Stark was still alive. During their search, they suddenly found Stark, walking alone through the desert, having escaped from Raza Hamidmi al-Wazar's base. Landing the helicopter, Rhodes ran to his friend and teased him about his choice in Humvee, before they embraced on another, with Rhodes amazed that they had actually been able to find Stark alive in the desert.
==== Tony Stark's New Direction ====
: "What's with the love-in?""Don't look at me, I don't know what he's up to."
: ―James Rhodes and Pepper Potts[src]
Having rescued him from the Ten Rings, Rhodes had then personally brought Tony Stark back home from Afghanistan to the United States of America, as Rhodes helped Stark walk off the plane by holding his hand. Once they had arrived at the Edwards Air Force Base, Stark had then told Rhodes to get rid of all medical assistance that was waiting for him and then told Pepper Potts to call a press conference for him immediately.
Once they arrived back at the Stark Industries Headquarters, Rhodes watched on as Stark had appeared before the group of reporters and cameramen alongside Obadiah Stane. Rhodes watched the speech alongside Pepper Potts and listened as Stark asked everyone to sit down on the floor, which Rhodes compared to the hippy movement. Rhodes watched with Potts as Stark then discussed his relationship with Howard Stark and how he wished he could speak with his father about the legacy of Stark Industries in the wake of seeing how all his weapons were used by the Ten Rings against American soldiers.
As the speech went on, Stark was asked about what had happened to him during his time in the Ten Rings Base, to which Stark claimed that he had had his eyes opened. With that, Stark then informed the reporters how he intended to shut down Stark Industries' weapons manufacturing division immediately, much to their surprise and the horror of Rhodes, Potts, and Stane, as Rhodes bowed his head while Stane desperately tried to calm the situation and removed Stark.
==== Visited by Tony Stark ====
: "You 'bout to make a whole lotta people around here real happy, 'cause that little stunt at the press conference, that was a doozy.""This... is not for the military. I'm not... it's different.""What, you... you a humanitarian now or something?"
: ―James Rhodes and Tony Stark[src]
While back at the Edwards Air Force Base, Rhodes was giving a talk to some United States Air Force recruits about the value of manned fighter jets such as the F-22 Raptor, during which Rhodes had also insisted that no unmanned vehicle would ever trump a pilot's instincts during a combat situation. The talk was interrupted by the arrival of Tony Stark who had personally greeted all of the recruits.
While Stark briefly teased Rhodes by hinting at a humiliating story involving a transvestite in the spring of 1987, which made Ronald Coultrap and Ralph Mays laugh. Once Rhodes had dismissed the recruits, he spoke with Stark who had claimed that he was working on a big new project, which initially delighted Rhodes initially was delighted as he believed this meant that Stark Industries had decided to reopen its work with the military following Stark's recent press conference.
However, Stark revealed that this was a private project which he did not intend to involve the United States Armed Forces with. Frustrated upon hearing all this, Rhodes had then made it clear that he did not agree with what Stark was currently doing and he thought Stark was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder because of his capture by the Ten Rings and needed time to recover so that he could return to building weapons for the military as he had done previously.
==== Creation of Iron Man ====
: "No, you see, this is not a game. You do not send civilian equipment into my active war zone. You understand that?""It's not a piece of equipment, I'm in it! It's a suit! It's me!"
: ―James Rhodes and Iron Man[src]
In Gulmira, Afghanistan, terrorists from the Ten Rings were rounding up civilians for capture and execution when they were confronted by a mysterious figure in red and gold armor. Within seconds, Iron Man had easily defeated all of the terrorists and destroyed all the weapons they had obtained, resulting in Rhodes being called in to investigate the situation.
While Iron Man left the area, Rhodes questioned how it was possible that Iron Man had just shown up in Afghanistan without ever being spotted on their radar, being informed that it was not stealth but did appear to be tiny. While Julius Allen had questioned what they were dealing with, Rhodes decided to make a call to Tony Stark, believing that he could be the one responsible for whatever this thing was since it was targeting the terrorists who kidnapped him a few months earlier.
As Stark had made excuses about where he was, Rhodes informed him of their ongoing situation and questioned whether or not he had any Stark Industries technology in the area that could be responsible, which Stark denied. During their conversation, F-22 Raptors spotted Iron Man as Rhodes informed Stark that they intended to destroy the weapon. Rhodes communicated with the pilots as they attempted to destroy the weapon, unable to determine exactly what it was.
Iron Man tried to outrun the jets, going supersonic before one of the jets fired his missile at him, which Iron Man destroyed by deploying flairs. Rhodes and Allen continued watching all this from Edwards Air Force Base before Iron Man suddenly disappeared from their radar. While they tried to understand what happened, Stark called Rhodes again and confessed that he was indeed the one responsible for the unidentified craft they were chasing, which had enraged Rhodes.
Just as Rhodes was furiously confronting Stark for sending in more of his unauthorized equipment in US airspace, he became horrified when Stark explained that the equipment was a suit of armor which he was wearing. At this moment, Iron Man was spotted under one of the jets, resulting in them shaking him off and Iron Man inadvertently destroying one of the wings. Despite the pilot being in grave danger, Rhodes watched as Iron Man came to his rescue just in time.
Although the second pilot got a visual on Iron Man and questioned if he should reengage with the target, Rhodes suggested that because they did not know exactly what this was, they should hold back on destroying it, choosing to keep it secret that Stark was the one who was actually inside the armor. However, Allen insisted that Iron Man should be destroyed for taking down an Air Force jet in a legal no-fly zone, ordering the pilot to shoot when he got a clear shot.
Fortunately, Iron Man was able to get away from the second jet and escaped, as Stark called Rhodes, who insisted that Stark now owed the Air Force a new plane to replace the one he destroyed. Although Stark invited Rhodes to his Mansion in Malibu to see his new project, Rhodes questioned what he should tell the press about this. Rhodes then took Stark's advice and held his press conference, claiming that the incident was due to an accident during a training exercise.
==== Obadiah Stane's Betrayal ====
: "That's the coolest thing I've ever seen.""Not bad, huh? Let's do it.""You need me to do anything else?"Keep the skies clear."
: ―James Rhodes and Iron Man[src]
Rhodes was later called up by Pepper Potts, who informed him that she had discovered Obadiah Stane had in fact been the one responsible for Tony Stark being kidnapped by the Ten Rings. Although Rhodes was highly skeptical that Stane would do something like this to Stark, he did as Potts requested and drove down to Stark's Mansion in order to ensure that Stane had not tried to kill Stark.
As he arrived, Rhodes called out to Stark but got no response, much to his worry. Rhodes proceeded to head downstairs into Stark's basement where he found him lying unconscious on the floor. As Rhodes ran to his friend's aid, he discovered that Stark had saved himself just in time by replacing the Arc Reactor that Stane had just stolen from his chest in order to power his Iron Monger Armor. As Stark awoke, he questioned where Potts was, but Rhodes assured him that things were under control.
However, when Rhodes explained that Potts had teamed up with Phil Coulson and sent a dozen S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to arrest Stane, Stark still insisted that this would not be enough to stop Stane as soon as he was able to power the Iron Monger armor by using Stark's Arc Reactor. With little time left, Rhodes then helped Stark get back onto his feet as they prepared to join the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to fight back against Stane as soon as possible, with Stark knowing that he would have to use his own Mark III armor to combat the Iron Monger. As Rhodes then watched Stark suit up, he was completely awestruck at the Mark III, saying that it was the coolest thing he had ever seen.
When Rhodes asked if he needed him to do anything else to assist him, Stark asked for his assistance in keeping the United States Air Force out of the way while he confronted Iron Monger. As Iron Man flew away in order to protect Potts from Iron Monger, Rhodes looked at the prototype Mark II Stark built earlier and considered taking it, then shook his head and mumbled that he intended to wear it next time before leaving the mansion to do as Stark had requested.
Acting on Stark's orders, Rhodes had soon returned to the Edwards Air Force Base where they were just realizing that Iron Man had just returned and was preparing to take military action against him as he fought Iron Monger over Los Angeles. Rhodes arrived just in time and was able to prevent the military from getting involved with Iron Man's fight with Iron Monger by passing it off as a routine training exercise, which all of the soldiers accepted without any questions.
==== Iron Man's Speech ====
: "All the mistakes I've made, largely public.""Just stick to the cards, man."
: ―Tony Stark and James Rhodes[src]
Following Iron Monger's death, Rhodes and Tony Stark were taken to a secret S.H.I.E.L.D. base and met with Phil Coulson, who reviewed Stark's technique from his fight against the Iron Monger, saying that it was good, but he needed to learn how become a real fighter, and that the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents would teach him how to fight. Rhodes later held a press conference about the incident with the two armored individuals and had tried to pass it off by claiming that Iron Man was Stark's bodyguard. Rhodes had then invited Stark to the stage to go into his detail about the events.
When Stark had seemed to ramble upon being questioned for more details by Christine Everhart, Rhodes simply reminded him to stick to the cards he had been given which gave a clear narrative about the incident between him and Obadiah Stane, without revealing the truth. Instead, Stark had taken just a brief moment to consider what those consequences might be for him before he finally exposed himself as Iron Man to the world's media, much to Rhodes' great dismay.
=== Stark's Publicity ===
==== Uneasy Alliance with Hammer ====
With Tony Stark's new found publicity, even more than before, Rhodes stayed by his side. However, the government began to detest Stark which caused them to form an alliance with Justin Hammer. Despite not agreeing, Rhodes was forced to let Thaddeus Ross oversee Hammer's project to create the Aerodynamic Marvel. They put in a test pilot and set him off. However, Rhodes didn't trust Hammer and went to Stark to ask for assistance without telling him the classified information. Suddenly, Rhodes got a call saying that the Aerodynamic Marvel had crashed and the pilot was taken hostage by the pirates in the area. Rhodes allowed Stark to handle it. Later, Stark held a party and Rhodes attended. Stark greeted him, telling everyone that Rhodes works for him.
=== Questioning Iron Man ===
==== Meeting with Congress ====
: "As he does not operate within any definable branch of government, Iron Man presents a potential threat to the security of both the nation and to her interests. I did, however, go on to summarize that these benefits of Iron Man far outweigh the liabilities."
: ―James Rhodes to Stern[src]
Rhodes was brought into a debate over whether Iron Man should be allowed to stay in Tony Stark's hands when Senator Stern expressed doubts. Stern also then introduced Rhodes to General Thaddeus Ross with the plan to replace Stark with their new weapon, the Aerodynamic Marvel. Six months after Stark told the world he was Iron Man, Rhodes was asked to write his report analyzing Iron Man.
Upon arriving at the United States Congress during their debate over Stark's status as Iron Man, with Stern still wanting the Iron Man Armor to be handed over to the Armed Forces, Rhodes was instructed to read out some specific sections of his analysis of Iron Man. Despite expressing his reluctance to read sections out of context, Rhodes did as requested and read a section where he had claimed that in Stark's hands, Iron Man could present a threat to the United States.
Although Rhodes tried to defend his statements by claiming that the rest of his analysis stated that the benefits of Iron Man outweighed the risks, Stern continued to try and dismiss the claims. As they debated, Sterns ordered Rhodes to reveal footage of countries such as North Korea and Iran where it had appeared that they were attempting to recreate Stark's Arc Reactor technology to reproduce their own versions of the Iron Man weaponry for their military.
Unsure about this, Stark proceeded to use his mobile phone to hack into the screens and show clearer footage of these tests, proving that the technology was not close to being ready. Rhodes attempted to remain professional, yet couldn't help chuckling when some of the footage showed Justin Hammer attempting to create a Hammer Industries suit, only for it to malfunction. Stark then concluded that Iron Man was safest in his hands since he had "privatized" world peace, much to Rhodes' amusement.
==== Plane Ride Home ====
: "I think hanging out with you is bad for our friendship.""What do you call that? Call the shrink, get him on the horn. I gotta find out what just happened, that was criminal."
: ―James Rhodes and Tony Stark[src]
Following the meeting with the United States Congress, Rhodes had joined Tony Stark and Pepper Potts as they then boarded the Stark Industries Private Jet and discussed what happened in the hearing. During their flight, Stark had demanded that Rhodes apologize for ambushing him with his report, although Rhodes insisted that he had indeed given Stark the report two months prior, which Potts confirmed, while Stark ranted about being Iron Man and how that was his main priority.
As their argument went on, Rhodes revealed that he would not be joining the pair when they went to Monaco and had even admitted that he was beginning to feel that hanging out with Stark was damaging their friendship, which greatly offended Stark. Rhodes then awkwardly listened while Stark and Potts discussed what to do for his upcoming birthday, with Stark insisting that he did not like any of Potts' ideas for a relaxing day instead of a party.
==== Helping Tony Stark ====
: "I'm looking at you. You wanna do this whole lone gunslinger act and it's unnecessary. You don't have to do this alone.""I wish I could believe that I really do, but you have got to trust me. Contrary to popular belief, I know exactly what I'm doing."
: ―James Rhodes and Tony Stark[src]
Following an incident in Monaco where Tony Stark was attacked by a terrorist known as Whiplash who used his own Arc Reactor to create a weaponized suit, Rhodes was forced into making calls to the government to keep the peace. Rhodes went to Stark's Mansion intending to confront Stark, demanding Pepper Potts or Natalie Rushman tell him where Stark was, and learned that he was downstairs.
Going downstairs into Stark's basement, Rhodes found him sitting in his car while getting his briefing from J.A.R.V.I.S. about the history of both Ivan Vanko and Anton Vanko, his father. Once Stark turned off the briefing, Rhodes had immediately begun berating him about what happened, demanding that Stark handle the situation, noting how the National Guard aimed to confiscate Stark's Iron Man armors in response to Whiplash's recent public attack against him.
However, as Rhodes continued scolding him, he found that Stark was almost completely unable to look him in the eyes. When Rhodes then questioned how he was feeling, Stark tried to get out of his car but was barely able to stand, collapsing into Rhodes' arms due to poisoning from his own Arc Reactor. Rhodes then helped Stark get to his desk where he proceeded to remove the Arc Reactor from his chest and replace the Palladium inside it, which Rhodes had discovered, to his horror, was now burning out inside Stark's chest. Rhodes also saw that Stark had markings on his neck from the poisoning, which Stark simply dismissed as simply road rash.
Once Stark had then reactivated his next Arc Reactor and began to breathe normally again, a concerned Rhodes insisted that Stark's attempts to live his life as a lone gunslinger were unnecessary since he could go to him for some help with his missions as Iron Man. Stark, however, insisted that this was not the case, claiming that despite what everybody was saying, he knew exactly what he was doing. Rhodes told Stark about Whiplash, who had seemingly died in a prison explosion.
Stark insisted that Whiplash was no longer a threat since his technology was destroyed and he was now dead. However, Rhodes noted that their fight on the tracks had been too close as Stark was almost killed. Taking a deep breath, Stark then asked Rhodes what he should do, to which Rhodes urged him to head back upstairs and convince the world's media that Iron Man was back and ready to be a team player, which Stark agreed to.
Rhodes and Stark greeted Potts and Rushman, who were still trying to sort out the situation. However, rather than focus on dealing with the fallout of Whiplash's attack, Stark instead continued planning his birthday party. Rhodes became annoyed by Stark's attitude, while reminding him of the conversation they had just had. Continuing his irresponsible behavior, Stark went on his balcony and had yelled to the news helicopters that everything was fine, much to Rhodes' frustration.
==== Tony Stark's Birthday Party ====
: "You don't have to do this, Tony.""You wanna be the War Machine? Take your shot.""Put it down!""You gonna take your shot?"
: ―War Machine and Iron Man[src]
Later, Rhodes arrived for Tony Stark's birthday party, hoping that he would still be able to convince Stark to begin taking their current situation following Whiplash's attack seriously. As he pulled up outside Stark's Mansion, Rhodes was still on the phone to his superiors, promising that within twenty-four hours, he would have ensured that Iron Man was back under their watch.
When Rhodes arrived, he was ushered inside by the nervous Pepper Potts and immediately asked to do something as Stark was now wearing his Mark IV Armor in order to get drunk and show off, which had resulted in him being able to barely stand due to all the alcohol he had consumed. Upon seeing this embarrassing display from Iron Man, Rhodes furiously wanted to stop Stark before somebody got hurt, noting how he had just put his career with the United States Air Force on the line for him. He then watched on as Potts tried to calm the situation and end the party, only for Stark to insist that nobody stop drinking, claiming that the after-party was just beginning.
Rhodes then watched on with considerable annoyance as Iron Man had begun to put all of his party guests at serious risk by firing his repulsors at several random objects, like champagne bottles and a watermelon, that were being thrown in the air. Seeing how incredibly irresponsible and foolish Stark was behaving with his technology, Rhodes had decided that Stern was right and enough was enough, as it was time for him to put an end to Stark's antics.
Having become outraged over the situation, Rhodes stormed off from the main party and headed downstairs into Stark's basement. Once he was alone, Rhodes then put on the Mark II Armor and proceeded to return to Stark's party. He then furiously demanded that all of the guests immediately leave the premises, insisting that he would only say this once. The guests then ran away as fast as possible while Rhodes had personally confronted Stark.
Despite Rhodes' stern warnings, Iron Man had shown little regard for the threats and turned to Adam Goldstein, requesting that he put on a good piece of music for their incoming fight. As Goldstein had played Queen, Rhodes tackled Iron Man and demanded that he shut down the Mark IV armor, only for Iron Man to respond by launching himself and Rhodes backward and through a wall into the gym. Iron Man told Rhodes to put the Mark II back where he found it.
However, Rhodes had refused to give up and responded by throwing the weights at Iron Man's helmet. Annoyed by this, Iron Man instead grabbed another nearby weight and proceeded to strike Rhodes with full force, which knocked him backward through the boxing ring as the two best friends began fighting. When Iron Man claimed Rhodes could not be his sidekick, Rhodes grabbed a weight and struck him multiple times before then throwing him through the ceiling.
As their fight escalated, Rhodes had soon mastered how to use the armor and flew up to where Iron Man was lying, questioning if he had enough. However, their fight still continued as Iron Man and Rhodes fell through another ceiling, almost hitting Potts and Natalie Rushman before Happy Hogan ran in to protect them. The pair then brawled all through the kitchen in front of their horrified guests, until Iron Man had smashed Rhodes through the kitchen counter.
While Iron Man bellowed at the guests, causing them to flee in terror, Rhodes had recovered and proceeded to rip out part of the kitchen counter and smashed Iron Man across the face with it, knocking him into the fireplace. Once Iron Man had recovered, the two friends both raised their arms and threatened to shoot the other with the repulsor beams, while Rhodes continued to demand that Iron Man put his hand down and finally surrender in order to end their conflict.
However, Iron Man had still continued to question whether or not Rhodes really had what it took to wear the Mark II armor. Despite Rhodes demanding that Iron Man put his hand down, he had still continued to antagonize Rhodes, calling him the War Machine and telling him to take his shot. Eventually, they fired their repulsors at each other, causing a massive shockwave which knocked them both back and also destroyed a large part of Stark's Mansion.
Rhodes was the first to recover from the shockwave blast and had decided that, due to all of Stark's recent behavior where he had proved himself to be dangerous, he could not allow his friend to be the only one with an Iron Man suit. Stark awoke shortly after Rhodes and, as he was still unable to stand, he was forced to watch on as Rhodes flew away with the Mark II Armor, intending to hand it over to their Armed Forces and use it for all the military's purposes.
=== War Machine ===
==== Return to the Military ====
: "This is an unarmed prototype of the Iron Man suit. Now, in order for it to serve our purposes, it needs to be fully weaponized, and we need to do so per my specifications, given that outside of Tony Stark, I'm the only one who knows how to fly this thing."
: ―War Machine to Julius Allen[src]
Having won his brawl against Iron Man, Rhodes proceeded to fly back to Edwards Air Force Base in order to drop off the Mark II to the military, warning them about his approach. Rhodes flew the Mark II at full speed into the base and then landed safely onto the runway, while more soldiers surrounded him in order to get a better look at the Iron Man armor, utterly amazed by what they were seeing.
Once he had landed, Rhodes was greeted by Major Julius Allen as well as dozens of other soldiers who all seemed awed by the sight of the armor. Once all of the United States Air Force soldiers had their own moment to admire the armor, Rhodes suggested that they take it inside in order to begin getting him out so that they could begin to weaponize the suit for the military's purposes. Allen then cleared the area so that they could bring Rhodes back into the base.
Standing in front of his superiors, Rhodes stated that he was willing to allow the suit to be used by the military as long as he was the sole pilot of it, noting that besides Stark, he was the only one who knew how to operate the armor. Rhodes had discussed with Allen how they would weaponize the armor, as it was still at this time a limited prototype. He warned that the suit would have defense systems, as a man was electrocuted behind him and thrown backwards trying to get Rhodes out of the armor.
Once the Mark II had been removed, Rhodes showed it to Major General Meade, who expressed his amazement and questioned if the armor was functional, which Rhodes confirmed. Meade insisted that he have Justin Hammer come to the base to weaponize the armor, explaining that Hammer Industries would be holding a demonstration at the Stark Expo and they wanted the War Machine Armor to introduce it, despite Rhodes' protests at the concept.
==== Becoming War Machine ====
: "Hammer, I want to know what you're gonna do for us.""What am I going to do for you? Well, the first thing I'm gonna do for you is I'm gonna upgrade your software. And then second...""That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about firepower."
: ―James Rhodes and Justin Hammer[src]
As per Major General Meade's orders, Justin Hammer was brought in to the Edwards Air Force Base in order to upgrade the Mark II so that it was fully weaponized for their purposes. Before Hammer arrived, Rhodes had removed the Arc Reactor from the armor, not wanting Hammer to copy the design. Julius Allen asked him questions, but Rhodes insisted that they just focus on arming the armor.
Once Hammer had arrived, he expressed great enthusiasm at having the opportunity to weaponize the Mark II, while questioning if it was his birthday considering the gift that Rhodes had given him. Rhodes got straight to the point and asked what Hammer would be able to do for them, to which Hammer promised to upgrade their software. After Rhodes made it clear he wanted to know what weapons Hammer would provide, Hammer claimed they came to the right person.
Rhodes and Allen then watched on and listened while Hammer went through all the weaponry that Hammer Industries would be willing to provide to the Mark II. As Hammer showed them increasingly more powerful weapons, Rhodes and Allen continued to remain stoic, which confused Hammer as he provided larger weapons, including a grenade launcher and mini-gun. Finally, Hammer unveiled the Ex-Wife Missile, which he promised was his most powerful weapon. With the presentation over, Hammer noted that he had been unable to tell what Rhodes and Allen wanted since they neither of them had given him any reactions what-so-ever throughout his presentation.
Finally, Rhodes spoke up and confirmed that he would take it, and as Hammer questioned which gun, in particular, he was referring to, Rhodes made it clear that he wanted to take every weapon shown to him, much to Hammer's surprise. Following Rhodes' instructions, Hammer had then upgraded the Mark II armor, before transforming it into the War Machine Armor that would be shown with the Hammer Drones during the upcoming Stark Expo in just a few days' time.
==== Battle at Stark Expo ====
: "Tony, I'm locked on! I have target lock."On what?""On you! Tony, on your six!"
: ―War Machine and Iron Man[src]
During Justin Hammer's display of his Hammer Drones at their Stark Expo, Rhodes had been unveiled to the entire world while wearing a brand new, advanced War Machine Armor. Moments before Rhodes was shown to the world, Hammer had explained that while his Drones were designed to save lives in the United States Armed Forces, he felt that there should always be a human in command of these robotic soldiers, which was why War Machine was created.
However, Hammer's speech was interrupted by Iron Man's arrival as he landed beside War Machine, eliciting a huge cheer from the entire audience. Iron Man immediately informed War Machine that they had trouble, waving to the audience in order not to cause panic, before explaining that he had learned Hammer was working with Ivan Vanko, and had faked Vanko's death in the prison and used him to build the Drones, which would be used against them.
While Iron Man attempted to confront Hammer over all his work with Vanko, War Machine realized that all his systems were being hacked into. With him unable to control the Mark I anymore, Vanko was then able to take over control of all of the drones and the armor, before attempting to use them to destroy Iron Man as he aimed War Machine's mini-gun at him and had begun furiously firing. War Machine urged Iron Man to escape as he then flew up into the air.
War Machine and the Hammer Drones immediately began firing at Iron Man, showering the audience with broken glass, before all their flight systems were enabled by Vanko and they were launched into the air, despite the protests of War Machine inside the armor. While Iron Man continued trying to make J.A.R.V.I.S. hack into War Machine's armor to free him of Vanko's control, War Machine was still able to communicate with Stark and warn him of the incoming attacks.
As they flew over the Stark Expo, War Machine was unable to stop Vanko from using his weapon systems to continue firing at Iron Man, causing mass destruction throughout their Expo. While War Machine and the Air Force drones chased Iron Man through the air, the Marine Corps drones fired from the ground, while dropping mortars onto the terrified civilians. During the chaos, Iron Man saved Peter Parker and several others while War Machine had continued attacking him.
In order to do what they could to protect the civilians, Iron Man then forced War Machine and the Air Force drones to chase him out of the Expo, flying above parked cars. However, War Machine had noticed that Vanko was sending multiple Hammer Drones back into the Expo to target civilians, before warning Iron Man that he had managed to get a target lock on him. Vanko then forced War Machine to fire all of his weapons at Iron Man, causing a massive explosion.
Needing to do something to take out the pursuing Hammer Drones, Iron Man confirmed that War Machine and the Drones were all still locked onto him, before charging full speed towards the globe statue in the center of the Expo. War Machine realized what was about to happen in time as his suit was able to divert and avoid the globe, while the robotic Hammer drones had then all smashed straight into it, causing a fireball that destroyed dozens more of Vanko's drones.
With most of the Hammer Drones now destroyed, War Machine alone was forced to attack Iron Man, knocking him out of the air before the two friends wrestled on the ground. With War Machine unable to stop Vanko's programming, he was then forced to fire his mini-gun at Iron Man's head, who was barely able to avoid the bullets. Fortunately, with the help of Black Widow and Happy Hogan, War Machine was finally freed from Vanko's control and then thrown backward.
: "Tony, don't be jealous.""No, it's subtle, all the bells and whistles.""Yeah, it's called being a badass."
: ―War Machine and Iron Man[src]
Following Black Widow successfully managing to reboot his armor, War Machine was briefly knocked out from the final hit and awoke to find Iron Man tapping on his helmet, asking him to get back. War Machine noted that Stark could have the Mark II Armor back if he wanted it. As Hammer Drones were incoming, Iron Man helped War Machine back onto his feet before they apologized to each other.
The pair then agreed to work together to battle the Hammer Drones and began creating a plan on how to defeat them. However, this soon led to an argument over who was the leader out of them, since War Machine had insisted that his Mark I Armor was superior to Iron Man's Mark IV, thanks to all the weaponry that Justin Hammer designed. They continued to argue about where Iron Man should be based during the fight, struggling to come to a decision on their plan.
Before either War Machine or Iron Man could make a decision about how to prepare for the fight, their argument was interrupted by the arrival of all the Hammer Drones, who completely surrounded the pair and put them into the worst position, with Ivan Vanko's drones blocking all their exits and all their guns trained on them both. However, rather than be intimidated by all the odds being stacked up against them, War Machine and Iron Man put their helmets back on and readied their weapons, before the Hammer Drones had proceeded to charge forward and begun shooting.
As the Drones were attacking, War Machine and Iron Man used every weapon in their arsenals to fight back against them, with War Machine deploying all the guns on his hands and the mini-gun on his back to tear the drones all apart before they could get close. While War Machine's guns dismantled the Drones, Iron Man used wrist-mounted missiles to destroy three in one go, with War Machine complimenting him while they continued fighting side-by-side.
Although War Machine and Iron Man fired every weapon they had at the Drone army, before long they both appeared to be completely overwhelmed by the numbers as they struggled to hold them back. Finally, Iron Man ordered War Machine to drop to the ground before he used a laser to cut them all in half. Getting back onto his feet, War Machine then commented that Iron Man should have used it earlier, to which Iron Man had admitted that it could only be used once.
Despite all of the Hammer Drones being destroyed, War Machine and Iron Man were then warned by Black Widow that another, much larger target was heading straight towards them. The two of them then witnessed the arrival of Ivan Vanko, who was wearing an upgraded Whiplash Armor. Seeing this, War Machine commented that this would not be good, just as Whiplash then demonstrated his upgraded whips, powered by a new version of the Arc Reactor which was considerably more dangerous than anything they had faced.
Seeking to end the fight before it could even begin, War Machine had stepped forward and attempted to use the Ex-Wife Missile to destroy Whiplash. However, as soon as War Machine had fired the missile, it simply bounced off Whiplash's armor and malfunctioned on the floor. Seeing this pathetic attempt, Iron Man then questioned if that missile was built by Hammer Industries, which an embarrassed War Machine had confirmed while Whiplash prepared to begin their fight.
Whiplash then attacked both War Machine and Iron Man, separating them as War Machine unloaded every weapon he had in an attempt to break through Whiplash's armor. However, Whiplash responded by striking at War Machine with one of his electric whips, tearing off his mini-gun, before attacking Iron Man. War Machine continued shooting at Whiplash to protect Iron Man before then being strangled with the electric whip and punched straight across the battlefield.
It soon became clear that they were greatly outmatched by Whiplash as he managed to strangle Iron Man with his electric whip while also pinning War Machine to the ground. Despite Iron Man attempting to free him, Whiplash had still managed to wrap his second electric whip around War Machine's throat and he began slowly strangling the pair, who were unable to break free. However, Iron Man made it clear that he had a plan to defeat Whiplash with the help of War Machine.
Iron Man instructed War Machine to raise his hand up so they could then both fire their repulsor beams at each other as they had done during their last fight at Stark's mansion, which had then caused a massive shockwave. Although War Machine was highly skeptical of this plan, with little time remaining he did as Iron Man suggested. They caused a shockwave directly beside Whiplash, resulting in great damage to his armor as they were freed from his grasp.
With Whiplash defeated, War Machine and Iron Man then got back to their feet and had stood over him, finding that his armor had been damaged beyond repair and he had fatal injuries across his body. As they looked down at Whiplash, he claimed that they had lost, before his armor began flashing red, along with those other broken Hammer Drones. To their horror, War Machine and Iron Man realized they had been set to explode all across the Stark Expo. Iron Man immediately launched into the air to rescue Pepper Potts before the Drones could detonate, with War Machine following close behind.
Iron Man was successful in saving Potts and managed to pull her out of the Expo moments before the Drones exploded, resulting in Whiplash's death. Iron Man had then brought Potts onto the same rooftop that War Machine was waiting on, failing to notice that he was there. Potts tried to resign from Stark Industries due to all of the stress that she was feeling, which Iron Man then responded to by simply kissing her, prompting War Machine to then tease the couple by claiming they were acting like "two seals fighting over a grape".
While War Machine and Iron Man complemented each other in their battle against Whiplash and the Hammer Drones, War Machine then explained that his car had been destroyed in the explosions, meaning that he would have to take the armor with him to get home. Although Iron Man still insisted that he was not okay with that, War Machine replied that it was not a question and simply flew into the air with the armor, leaving Iron Man and Potts alone on the roof.
==== Honored by Stern ====
: "Thank you, Lieutenant Colonel, for such an exceptional distinguished performance. You deserve this.""Thank you, sir."
: ―Stern and James Rhodes[src]
In the wake of their clash with Whiplash at the Stark Expo, Rhodes and Tony Stark were to be awarded medals for their bravery. Having made a deal with Nick Fury, Stark managed to arrange for Senator Stern to award the medals to him and Rhodes, much to Stern's annoyance due to his dislike of Stark, as he was forced to make a speech praising them.
Stern had shown great reluctance to be presenting the pair with their medals for bravery, as he congratulated Rhodes for his exceptionally distinguished performance in defeating Whiplash, telling him that he deserved the medal while struggling to look him in the eyes. Rhodes then watched with amusement while Stern gave Stark his medal before posing for the press photos, with Stark giving a peace symbol to the cameras while Rhodes smiled.
==== Hunting the Ten Rings ====
A month after defeating Whiplash, Tony stripped the War Machine armor of everything that Justin Hammer had "upgraded" it with leaving the suit with only the weaponry that Stark put in it. When Rhodes pointed this out to Stark, Stark revealed that he had made Rhodes his own suit, the Mark II War Machine armor. Rhodes began using his suit to take down Ten Rings terrorists in other countries finding that they had acquired Hammer Industries weaponry. Rhodes took out the terrorists and continued to investigate the mysterious Ten Rings.
==== Battle of Hong Kong ====
By the time of the Chitauri invasion of New York City in 2012, Rhodes was busy fighting terrorists in Hong Kong. Stark contacted him, but Rhodes told him that it would take over an hour for him to return even at supersonic speed, so Stark told him not to bother. After dealing with the terrorists in Hong Kong, Rhodes returned to New York, finding the battle already over he located Stark in a Shawarma Palace where he was introduced to the Avengers. Some time later, Stark invited Rhodes to his workshop. He had realized that not even Iron Man and War Machine would be enough to protect the Earth. Tony Stark revealed to Rhodey that he had developed several Iron Man armors that could be remotely controlled - an Iron Legion.
=== Iron Patriot ===
==== Rebranding ====
After continuing to carry out his duties as the government of United States of America's personal Iron Man, Rhodes' War Machine armour was given a brand new paint job to further please the public. Due to the aggressive name of War Machine, the armor was redubbed as the Iron Patriot and painted in the motif of the American flag. The job was requisitioned by A.I.M.. As Iron Patriot, Rhodes continued his battle against terrorism and hunted down the Ten Rings' leader, the Mandarin, who had been setting off bombs across America and tormenting the President.
==== Lunch with Tony Stark ====
: "Okay, there have been nine bombings.""Nine?""The public only knows about three, but here's the thing, nobody can ID a device, there's no bomb casings."
: ―James Rhodes and Tony Stark[src]
Rhodes met with Tony Stark at Neptune's Net where Stark had teased him over his rebrand to the Iron Patriot, although Rhodes still insisted that the Mark II's name change tested better with the general public. Changing their subject, Stark asked about the Mandarin and what was being done to stop the ongoing terrorist attacks, although Rhodes insisted that this was classified information.
Despite his reluctance, Rhodes explained to Stark about how there had been nine recent bombings across the United States of America linked to the Ten Rings and the Mandarin, although the general public only knew about three of these. As Rhodes revealed how they had been unable to find the cause of the explosions, Stark insisted that he could help, explaining that he had recently created technology which was ideal for this mission to track down the Mandarin.
As Stark discussed his additions to the Iron Legion, Rhodes simply asked when he last got some sleep, expressing his own concern for Stark's wellbeing. As the pair began to argue, they were interrupted by two young children who wanted Stark to sign a drawing they had made depicting Iron Man fighting the Chitauri back in New York City. Rhodes had then gone on to discuss how the Pentagon was reacting to the Mandarin, noting that the Avengers should not get involved.
However, while Rhodes was speaking, Stark had begun to have a panic attack seeing the drawing of him going through the Wormhole during the Chitauri Invasion. As he got up and charged out of the bar, Rhodes quickly followed his friend outside and found Stark had stepped inside his Mark VII, still trying to figure out what was happening. As Rhodes tried to help by noting that this looked bad, Stark claimed he had to go, pushing Rhodes back before launching into the sky.
==== Search for Mandarin ====
: "It's me, pal. Now last time I went missing, if I remember correctly, you went looking for me. What are you doing?""A little knock and talk, making friends in Pakistan. What are you doing?""Your redesign, your big rebrand, that was A.I.M., right?"
: ―Tony Stark and Iron Patriot[src]
While Iron Patriot had continued hunting down the Mandarin, he learned that Tony Stark had seemingly been killed by the Mandarin's soldiers when his Mansion was destroyed. Iron Patriot continued looking for the Ten Rings' leader with intel from President Matthew Ellis in the hopes of finally bringing the Mandarin to justice, although much of this intel he was being provided led to nothing.
During one raid in Pakistan, Iron Patriot burst inside a room filled with the terrorists, catching them all off-guard as he aimed all of the Mark II's weaponry at them and ordered them not to move. However, Iron Patriot's threats were undermined when he received a call which caused him to pause. Answering the call, Iron Patriot realized it was Stark, who told him about an encounter he had just had with Ellen Brandt and her Extremis powers, before noting how the last time he went missing, Rhodes had searched for him.
Once Rhodes had confirmed that the recent Iron Patriot redesign was done by A.I.M., Stark insisted upon getting Rhodes' password so he could hack into the security files and learn more about Aldrich Killian's possible connection with all the Mandarin attacks. Despite being somewhat reluctant, Rhodes confessed that his password was "WARMACHINEROX", much to the amusement of both Stark and several of the terrorists, as Stark left to continue his mission.
==== Captured by A.I.M. ====
: "If you want this suit, you're going to have to pry my cold, dead body out of it.""That's the plan, Colonel."
: ―Iron Patriot and Sweat Shop Agent[src]
While flying high above Pakistan, Iron Patriot had been contacted by President Matthew Ellis with a possible new location of Mandarin, as they believed they had tracked down the broadcasting location from his recent video threats. Iron Patriot proceeded to fly down and charge into the location, with the Mark II's weaponry pointed at everyone.
However, much to Iron Patriot's considerable frustration, he had then discovered that the room only contained women seemingly working in a sweatshop. While Iron Patriot had expressed his own frustration at the United States Armed Forces for sending him more incorrect information, all the female workers then began leaving the sweatshop, before Iron Patriot had then realized he had inadvertently freed them from imprisonment as they all began thanking him.
While Iron Patriot awkwardly accepted the gratitude, he shook hands with one of the women and was ambushed by her Extremis attack, which had caused the Mark II armor to shut down and he fell to the floor, trapped inside. As the Sweat Shop Agent then phoned up Eric Savin with an update on the situation, Iron Patriot proclaimed that he would not allow them to take the armor away from him, but the Extremis agent simply assured they would kill him to do so.
==== Tortured by Aldrich Killian ====
: "You... you breathe fire? Okay..."
: ―James Rhodes to Aldrich Killian[src]
Having been captured by the A.I.M. soldiers, Rhodes was then taken into a Mansion where Aldrich Killian's guards then spent several hours attempting to cut him out from the Mark II armor. However, Rhodes insisted that he would not allow them to get their hands onto the armor, since they planned to then use it to kidnap President Matthew Ellis. He had remained locked inside until Killian became frustrated by all of his soldier's lack of results and decided to get involved himself.
While Eric Savin and the other scientists watched on, Killian stepped up to the Iron Patriot armor and had rested his hand on the stomach plating, as he then used his Extremis powers to begin heating up the suit. While Rhodes felt his armor heating up and slowing boiling him alive, Savin warned that what Killian was doing would likely damage the armor, although neither he nor Killian showed any concern for Rhodes, who still refused to open the armor, despite the pain.
However, in spite of all of Rhodes' attempts to keep the suit locked, its defensive systems forced it to open up in order to save Rhodes from being burnt to death. With no other choice, Rhodes launched out of the suit and then attempted to put up a fight, punching Savin to the ground. When Killian had then used his Extremis powers to breath flames at him though, a stunned Rhodes gave in. Savin then used his superior strength to shove Rhodes into a wall headfirst, knocking him unconscious.
==== Finding Mandarin ====
: "You make a move, and I break your face!""I never thought people had been hurt, they lied to me.""This is the Mandarin?""Hi. Trevor, Trevor Slattery."
: ―James Rhodes and Trevor Slattery[src]
Rhodes eventually awoke and found that Eric Savin managed to take control of the Iron Patriot Armor, as he used it to kidnap President Matthew Ellis while under the guise of Rhodes. Having gotten free, Rhodes took down several nearby guards before calling Tony Stark and confirming he had not left in the suit. Stark then told Rhodes to meet him by the main house to see somebody.
Rhodes and Stark formed a plan to capture Mandarin once and for all. Stark made himself known to the armed guards while he was wearing his Mark XLII, causing them to shoot at him while Rhodes dove through a glass doorway and shot them both dead. With the guards taken care of, Rhodes and Stark then found their supposed Mandarin sitting in an armchair with a beer while watching a football game on the television.
Stark introduced Rhodes to Mandarin, who was actually just a British actor named Trevor Slattery whom Aldrich Killian had paid to be his decoy while he carried out Extremis experiments, much to Rhodes' disbelief. Although Slattery immediately tried to defend his actions, Stark made it clear that he was not playing as Rhodes used his smoking gun to burn Slattery's ear before they interrogated him on a kidnapped Pepper Potts' whereabouts and what Killian was planning, although Slattery clearly did not know much.
While Slattery was completely unaware of what had happened with Rhodes' Mark II suit or anything about Potts, since he was more interested with the ongoing football watch, he did reveal that Vice President Rodriguez might be involved in Killian's orchestrated conspiracy. As Rhodes and Stark tried to formulate a plan, they decided to take control of the speedboat that Slattery had previously mentioned to Stark, which he had been provided by Killian as a payment.
==== Stopping Aldrich Killian ====
: "They are using the Iron Patriot as a Trojan horse. They're gonna take out the President somehow, we have to immediately alert the plane.""Okay, I'm on it. I'll have security lock it down. If need be, they can have F-22s in the air in 30 seconds. Thank you, Colonel."
: ―James Rhodes and Rodriguez[src]
Rhodes and Tony Stark then rode on Trevor Slattery's speedboat as they tried to get control of the situation. As they were traveling, they got in contact with and warned Vice President Rodriguez that Iron Patriot was actually Eric Savin who planned to kidnap President Matthew Ellis. Rodriguez promised that he would send F-22 Raptors to ensure that President Ellis was safe from harm.
As they continued traveling, Rhodes had made it clear to Stark that they could either decide to save President Ellis or Pepper Potts, but not both. However, the decision was made for them as Rodriguez did not pass on the message about Aldrich Killian's attack, being secretly in league with Killian in an attempt from the latter to gain control over the United States of America, and they learned that Savin was now attacking Air Force One.
Stark used his remote-controlled Mark XLII to fly onto the Air Force One Plane, killing Savin and rescuing airborne passengers from death when Savin had destroyed the airplane. However, Savin had placed Ellis inside the Iron Patriot suit and sent him to the Norco. Following this mission, Rhodes had checked on Stark, who was wearing the Telepresence Headset, as Stark confirmed that Iron Legion was ready for deployment, although Ellis was captured by Killian.
==== Battle on the Norco ====
: "Give me a suit!""Oh, I'm sorry, they're only coded to me.""What does that mean?""I got you covered!"
: ―James Rhodes and Iron Man[src]
Rhodes and Tony Stark then infiltrated Roxxon's Norco with the mission to save both Pepper Potts and President Matthew Ellis. As they both made their way onto the docks, avoiding the A.I.M. guards, Rhodes questioned if Stark was going to have another panic attack, although Stark promised that he would not. Eventually, the pair found President Ellis, who had been encased in the Iron Patriot Armor and suspended high above them from a crane, awaiting public live execution. The two charged upstairs to try and free Ellis.
As they continued onwards, Rhodes gave Stark instructions on how to protect himself, until they were spotted by A.I.M. guards, who began shooting down at them. As they took cover, Rhodes proved himself as the superior marksman by shooting out the light bulb, before they argued about who should get more ammunition. Looking around the docks, Stark noted that several Extremis Soldiers were now heading to them. As Rhodes expressed a desire to get his Mark II armor back, Stark pointed to the far off distance and revealed that he had already summoned his Iron Legion as backup, as they surrounded the docks and were directed to attack all the Soldiers as Rhodes watched on.
Rhodes watched as J.A.R.V.I.S. took control of the Legion and began attacking the soldiers, witnessing Stark sending out Igor to go steady the tower they were on. As Stark put on the Silver Centurion, Rhodes excitedly asked if he would get to wear one of these new suits, but Stark revealed that the only armor that would work on him was the Iron Patriot. Rhodes was instead given the Heartbreaker armor to give him a lift towards Ellis, much to Rhodes' annoyance.
However, the Heartbreak armor was soon taken down by an Extremis Soldier and Rhodes was thrown off, landing on a walkway. As more soldiers ran towards him, Rhodes was protected by Striker, who had launched them into the air before Tank blasted them out of the sky, allowing Rhodes to keep moving. With the Iron Legion still protecting him, Rhodes eventually found the captured President Ellis, promising that he was on his way while more soldiers surrounded Rhodes.
Landing onto a hanging container, Rhodes was followed by the two Extremis Soldiers, as he drew his weapon and fired several bullets in their faces and chest. However, Rhodes watched in horror as the soldiers used their Extremis powers to instantly heal before they then continued stepping towards him. When one of the soldiers dislodged the container, Rhodes was thrown off and barely able to hold on, as the two soldiers looked down at him, preparing to kill Rhodes.
However, Rhodes simply shot out the container's other support wire, causing it to swing free and the soldiers to be thrown off. Rhodes then swung through the air and landed onto President Ellis. As the falling container exploded and caused a massive fireball, Rhodes used the Iron Patriot's repulsor to then destroy one of the chains holding him in place, and they swung away from the incoming flames before Rhodes landed and shot off the other wire, finally freeing Ellis.
With Ellis now safe, Rhodes then complimented him on how good he looked in the Iron Patriot Armor, before then insisting that he needed to get it back. Rhodes got his armor back and then used it to fly himself and President Ellis back into Washington, D.C. and out of danger zone. Stark then confirmed that he was staying behind in order to continue his fight with Aldrich Killian, aiming to stop all his schemes and the remaining soldiers while also rescuing Potts.
==== Conflict Aftermath ====
: "You start with something pure, something exciting. Then, come the mistakes. The compromises. We create our own demons."
: ―Tony Stark to Bruce Banner[src]
While Iron Patriot ensured that President Matthew Ellis was safe from any other danger, Tony Stark defeated Aldrich Killian and the rest of his Extremis Soldiers with the aid of Pepper Potts, who had gained powers from Extremis. With their conflict over, Rhodes further aided the American government by outing Vice President Rodriguez as Killian's conspirator and oversaw his arrest by the FBI inside the White House.
Rhodes attended Stark's surgery to have his Arc Reactor taken out, alongside Potts, giving Stark a thumbs up for support before he went under. Doctor Wu then successfully removed the remains of the shrapnel. Rhodes later repainted his armor back to its original color scheme and returned to using the alias War Machine, as he went on missions for the United States Armed Forces. One such adventure had War Machine capturing a tank and delivering it to a General's home.
=== Ultron Offensive ===
==== Party at Avengers Tower ====
: "I'm like, 'Boom. You looking for this?' 'Boom. Are you looking for...?' Why do I even talk to you guys? Everywhere else that story kills.""That's the whole story?""Yeah, it's a War Machine story."
: ―James Rhodes and Thor[src]
Having continued to take part in several missions as War Machine for the United States Armed Forces, Rhodes was later invited to attend a party at the Avengers Tower alongside the Avengers to celebrate the Avengers' recent victories over HYDRA and the capture of Baron Strucker. During the celebration, Rhodes enthusiastically told the story of how he had found and then delivered an entire tank to a general, but he was quickly disappointed when Thor and Tony Stark were both unimpressed by the tale of his heroic adventures, as Rhodes had then complained that other people were always impressed by his recent War Machine stories.
Rhodes had then asked why Pepper Potts and Jane Foster were not also attending the party with them, although Rhodes had then swiftly walked away alongside Maria Hill had then walked away when Stark and Thor began arguing about who has the better girlfriend, as Stark had continued to compare Potts' recent work with Stark Industries to Foster's discoveries with the Convergence. During the party, Rhodes had found Natasha Romanoff and spent some time talking with her.
Frustrated by his friend's lack of interest with his adventures, Rhodes decided to distance himself from the Avengers and spend his time at the party with other non-powered guests in an attempt to feel better after being mocked by Thor and Stark. Rhodes told that same story about wearing his Mark II and flying the tank to a general's office to a group of beautiful women and was then satisfied when they had all seemed to be impressed by the story and laughed at the punchline.
As the party had begun to reach its conclusion and most of the other guests had departed, Rhodes stayed behind with Stark playing cards with Hill and watched as the Avengers challenged each other to try to lift Thor's hammer Mjølnir. After watching Clint Barton be the first to fail to even move Mjølnir, Rhodes had joined in Stark's unsuccessful attempt, despite using the gauntlets from their War Machine and Iron Man armors, as Rhodes had still demanded Stark pull harder.
The other Avengers had also tried, including Steve Rogers and Bruce Banner, but in the end it seemed like everybody had failed. Rhodes smiled with Stark and Barton while they continued to try and come up with their own theories over how the hammer could be lifted, refusing to accept that it was an Asgardian enchantment. However, it still seemed that only Thor was capable of lifting the hammer and claimed they were simply all unworthy, much to Rhodes and the everyone else’s great annoyance.
==== Attack on Avengers Tower ====
: "He's in your files, he's in the internet. What if he decides to access something a little more exciting?""Nuclear codes."
: ―James Rhodes and Maria Hill[src]
As the group had continued their celebrations, they were interrupted when a loud screech was heard throughout the Avengers Tower. As Rhodes and the others turned to see what it was, they found that a scrapped Iron Legion suit had begun calling itself Ultron awakened from Tony Stark's laboratory and began talking about saving their world. Rhodes and the others were immediately suspicious before Ultron claimed that his plan was to cause the Avengers' extinction.
Ultron had then furiously attacked the Avengers by launching several of the Iron Legion robots at them, while Steve Rogers kicked over the table as his defense before then being thrown backward by one of the robots. Reacting immediately, Rhodes helped his allies as he was Stark leaped down into the fight, but before Rhodes could even fire a shot, he was then thrown out of a window, but he was able to survive thanks to the bridge on the floored part of the tower below him.
==== Avengers Argument ====
: "You guys are definitely off the Pentagon's Christmas list, every country with a nuke is fighting a cyber attack. War Machine is being deployed to the Middle East in case certain people start blaming each other instead of you."
: ―James Rhodes to Natasha Romanoff[src]
Following the defeat of Ultron first attack against them, the team had discussed the events and what Ultron's plans could be, with Rhodes also making his disapproval of the situation clear to the Avengers, noting that Ultron could be targeting the nuclear codes. As it was revealed that Ultron had managed to destroy J.A.R.V.I.S., Rhodes then witnessed Thor attack Tony Stark in retaliation for the situation.
While Thor confirmed that Ultron had taken Loki's Scepter, Stark had then revealed that he and Bruce Banner had originally created Ultron as their means to protect the world from an upcoming war that they were doomed to lose. When Stark had commented on his previous experiences during the Battle of New York, Rhodes then sarcastically claimed that all these were not events that Stark had ever mentioned before, as Stark continued defending his and Banner's actions.
As the situation with Ultron continued unfolding, Rhodes was sent to the Pentagon to try and calm things down, as the Armed Forces were aware that other countries were also dealing with Ultron's continued attempts to gain their nuclear codes. Rhodes had contacted Natasha Romanoff and then explained that War Machine was being sent into the Middle East for peace talks, while Stark had promised to upgrade his Mark II armor to ensure that Ultron could not hack into it.
==== Battle of Sokovia ====
: "Yes! Now this is gonna be a good story!""Yep, if you live to tell it.""Oh, you think I can't hold my own?""If we get through this, I'll hold your own."
: ―War Machine and Iron Man[src]
When Nick Fury called together their former S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel to assist the Avengers with the conflict against Ultron, Rhodes was sent in with them, utilizing the Mark II to defend the Helicarrier and assist with evacuating all the civilians from the elevated Novi Grad. Charging in the fight, War Machine began shooting the Ultron Sentries out of the sky, commenting that this would make for a good story.
War Machine was joined in the sky by Iron Man, who questioned if he would be able to hold his own in their battle alongside the Avengers, before making his awkward comments, before War Machine and Iron Man joined forces to continue shooting Ultron's army out of the sky. As Fury's team used their Lifeboats to rescue the civilians, Ultron tried to take them out, as War Machine then tore these Sentries apart while Iron Man had then ensured they did not fall to their deaths.
As Pietro and Wanda Maximoff had joined in the fight alongside the Avengers, they were soon able to push back Ultron's army and even came close to destroying Ultron. With Ultron clearly losing the fight, his remaining Sentries attempted to flee, so War Machine was called to stop them, however, Vision flew by War Machine and assisted him in destroying all these Ultron Sentries with the Mind Stone, while War Machine was surprised to receive help from an unknown ally.
=== New Avengers ===
==== Joining the Team ====
: "We've got some hitters.""They're good. They're not a team.""Let's beat 'em into shape."
: ―Black Widow and Captain America[src]
Once the Ultron Offensive had finally been concluded, War Machine officially joined the Avengers' roster, acting as a liaison between them and the United States government. He arrived at the Avengers Compound and began their training under the leadership of Captain America and Black Widow.
==== Attack of Ultimo ====
While War Machines was practicing for combat with his suit, the Avengers were called to a small town in Europe to deal with Ultimo, a giant robot created by HYDRA out of Ultron parts. Eventually, Scarlet Witch found enough strength in herself to overpower Ultimo by aiming her magic into the robot's mouth and ripping its head clean off.
=== Avengers Civil War ===
==== Sokovia Accords ====
: "This document just shifts the blame.""I'm sorry, Steve, that is... dangerously arrogant. This is the United Nations we're talking about. It's not the World Security Council, it's not S.H.I.E.L.D., it's not HYDRA."
: ―Steve Rogers and James Rhodes[src]
In the aftermath of the Avengers' disastrous mission which had taken place in Lagos, Nigeria, where the Avengers fought against Crossbones, which had ended as Crossbones set off a bomb, causing the deaths of citizens when Wanda Maximoff had redirected the explosion into a building filled with innocent people. Following this, Rhodes and the Avengers were called into a meeting with Secretary of State Thaddeus Ross to discuss this incident.
Sitting with the Avengers, Rhodes listened while Ross had explained that, following the high civilian death tolls connected to the Avengers' missions in New York City and Sokovia while they fought against Loki and Ultron, it had been decided that they needed to be put under a lot closer checks. Ross had then presented Rhodes with their recently created Sokovia Accords, which Ross explained meant that the United Nations would have control over the Avengers.
Once Ross had left the Avengers Compound, Rhodes and the other Avengers began discussing the Accords and whether they should be accepted, while Rhodes spoke with Sam Wilson, arguing that Ross' military record should give him more credibility. While Wilson argued that there was a risk they would be sent to the Raft if they disobeyed the Accords, to which Rhodes then noted that with the support of the hundred and seventeen countries, the Accords should be obeyed.
Their debate was interrupted by Vision who then made the point that following Tony Stark announcing that he was Iron Man, the number of enhanced individuals and world threatening events had skyrocketed, claiming that the Avengers' presence would always invite challenge and conflict. As Rhodes agreed with Vision, Natasha Romanoff then invited Stark to make his own case, as Stark told them about Charlie Spencer, an American civilian who was killed in Sokovia while they had fought Ultron.
Rhodes listened closely while Stark had claimed that his example of Spencer proved why the Avengers needed to be put in check, which Rhodes agreed with. However, Steve Rogers instead claimed that the Accords shifted the blame and they should all take responsibility and continue the fight. Rhodes disagreed, calling Rogers' points arrogant and also noted that the decision was not being made by the World Security Council or HYDRA, although Rogers insisted that the United Nations was run by people with agendas which could change, which could put innocent people in danger if they had ever decided that the Avengers would not be allowed to carry out certain missions.
While Stark and Rogers engaged in their own debate over the morals of the Accords, Rhodes had listened while Stark noted that when he learned what Stark Industries' weaponry was doing in the hands of the Ten Rings, he had shut down that operation, to which Rogers had noted that Stark chose to do that, which the Accords would not have allowed. While the Avengers chose their side with the debate, Rogers learned that Peggy Carter had passed away and left the room.
==== Arresting Captain America ====
: "Congratulations, Cap. You're a criminal."
: ―War Machine to Captain America[src]
When Joint Counter Terrorist Centre successfully managed to locate the Winter Soldier in his hiding place within Bucharest, Rhodes, in his newly upgraded Mark III armor, was then called in to aid GSG 9. Arriving just as the GSG 9 held Captain America, Winter Soldier, Black Panther and Falcon at gunpoint, War Machine landed with his weapons loaded and aimed at his former Avengers allies as they surrendered.
While Captain America had managed to convince the Winter Soldier not to fight back and handed over his Shield to them, War Machine told him that as he had disobeyed the Sokovia Accords, he was now a criminal. While taking them into their custody with his weapons still trained on them, War Machine was also shocked to discover that Black Panther was King T'Challa of Wakanda, as he showed respect to the Wakandan king who had tried to kill the Winter Soldier.
==== Clash of the Avengers ====
: "Rhodey, you want to take Cap?""Got two in the terminal, Wilson and Barnes."
: ―Iron Man and War Machine[src]
However, before long the Winter Soldier had been broken free from the Joint Counter Terrorist Centre Building, having just gotten the assistance of both Captain America and Falcon who helped him go into hiding. Upon hearing of their escape, Iron Man called in War Machine and other allies in order to stop Captain America and his teammates from escaping, as War Machine and Iron Man had blocked Captain America in an airport.
While the two armored heroes blocked Captain America's way, they were also joined by Black Panther and Black Widow, while Captain America attempted to explain that Helmut Zemo was in fact behind everything that was happening. Frustrated by the situation, Iron Man called in Spider-Man, who stole Captain America's Shield to disarm him while Iron Man tried to convince him to surrender now, insisting that if he did not, their situation would become more dangerous.
However, it soon became clear that Captain America did not plan to surrender as Hawkeye freed him from Spider-Man's Webbing before his shield was stolen back by Ant-Man. As War Machine had tried to understand what was happening, they spotted Falcon and the Winter Soldier in one of the terminals, only for Captain America to throw his shield at War Machine before he then tackled Black Panther in order to keep them both from attempting to target the Winter Soldier.
While Captain America was still fighting against Black Panther, War Machine drew a Stun Staff from his Mark III armor, commenting that it would not kill Captain America but would not tickle either, however, Captain America was still able to block the strike with his shield. As War Machine attempted another strike, Captain America was able to knock him out of the air, causing him to crash land which also broke the staff, much to War Machine's annoyance and he discarded it.
As War Machine had prepared to continue his fight against Captain America, he witnessed Ant-Man returning to the fight. War Machine then witnessed Captain America and Ant-Man using one of the Pym Particle Discs to force an entire truck at the group. Although all the others managed to dodge out of the way, War Machine was hit with the full force of the exploding truck, although his War Machine Armor had protected him despite this greatly angering him regardless.
Before Captain America's team could all reach the Quinjet and make their escape, their path was blocked by Vision who fired his beam of energy from the Mind Stone. War Machine had then regrouped with his own team, flying Black Panther to the line up as the two sides of the Avengers faced each other down. When it had become clear that Captain America would not surrender despite the situation, their two teams began to run towards each other to continue their fight.
Once the fight had begun, War Machine targeted Falcon, as they flew above the Leipzig-Halle Airport and tried to knock each other out of the sky. War Machine and Iron Man focused on trying to take out Falcon, while also taking some shots at Hawkeye, as they continued flying over the airport. However, as War Machine also caught Falcon, suddenly Ant-Man transformed into Giant-Man and then caught War Machine in mid-air, much to his complete and utter surprise.
Giant-Man then proceeded to toss War Machine aside, while Spider-Man swung in and had caught him with his webbing, launching War Machine back into the fight, while Giant-Man had continued to cause chaos throughout the battlefield. War Machine and Spider-Man then teamed up to target Giant-Man, as War Machine fired his weaponry which had no effect, before War Machine launched Spider-Man onto his arm, as he used all that momentum to land a heavy kick.
Using whatever weaponry he had, War Machine attempted to take down Giant-Man with his Sonic Cannon, only for Giant-Man to punch him across the airport. Once he recovered, War Machine witnessed Giant-Man grabbing an entire walkway and swinging it towards him, as War Machine unloaded every weapon on his armor to destroy it before it could hit him, before then managing to dodge out of the way of Giant-Man's continued attacks as he then flew all around him.
War Machine's efforts to take down Giant-Man were then interrupted by a series of attacks from Wanda Maximoff, who threw multiple cars at War Machine. During this, their team realized that Captain America and Winter Soldier had almost reached the Quinjet. Vision attempted to block their path, only for Maximoff to keep it clear. Seeing all of this happening, War Machine used his Sonic Cannon to incapacitate Maximoff, causing her to scream in complete agony.
Despite these efforts, they were unable to stop Captain America and Winter Soldier from reaching the Quinjet. War Machine and Iron Man had then continued focusing their own efforts on attempting to bring down Giant-Man, until finally, Spider-Man had an idea to defeat him, taking inspiration from The Empire Strikes Back. Understanding the plan, War Machine watched as Spider-Man tied up Giant-Man's legs before War Machine and Iron Man then punched him on the jaw and caused him to fall down and crash land hard onto the ground.
With little time remaining, War Machine and Iron Man had then begun chasing down the Quinjet as Captain America and the Winter Soldier had attempted to get away. During this chase, War Machine became aware that he was being followed before Falcon had begun firing all of his own weaponry from his EXO-7 Falcon to try and prevent both War Machine and Iron Man from managing to catch up to the Quinjet, as War Machine had called out to his allies for their assistance.
However, when Vision had attempted to assist War Machine by firing a blast of energy from the Mind Stone at Falcon's wing suit, he was too distracted by caring for Maximoff and missed his shot. That blast then completed destroyed War Machine's Arc Reactor, causing his Mark III armor to shut down as he plummeted towards to ground below, while Iron Man and Falcon had both desperately attempted to catch up to War Machine before he crashed land onto the ground.
Despite the efforts of Iron Man and Falcon, they were not fast enough to save War Machine before he crash landed on the ground, causing unrepairable damage to his spine. As he landed beside him, Iron Man tore off War Machine's helmet, before F.R.I.D.A.Y. confirmed he was still alive. With this, the fight concluded as the remaining members of Captain America's team were sent to the Raft by Thaddeus Ross and War Machine was taken to a medical center for medical attention for all his injuries.
==== Spinal Paralysis ====
: "The doctors say he shattered L4 through S1. Extreme laceration in the spinal cord. Probably looking at some form of paralysis."
: ―Tony Stark to Natasha Romanoff[src]
Following his grave impact during the Clash of the Avengers, Rhodes was then taken straight back to New York City where he was treated at the Columbia University Medical Center, under the close watch of both Tony Stark and Vision, who had felt great personal guilt for his part with Rhodes' injuries. Having undergone several tests, Rhodes had then learned that due to the impact, he had been paralyzed from the waist down.
==== Injury Recovery ====
: "It's the same with these Accords. I signed because it was the right thing to do. And, yeah, this sucks. This is... this is a bad beat. But it hasn't change my mind... I don't think."
: ―James Rhodes to Tony Stark[src]
Having been returned to the Avengers Compound, Rhodes had then continued his recovery, with the assistance from Stark who had built him leg braces that could help him walk again, but Rhodes had problems adapting to it. Sitting on the floor, Rhodes then noted how he had done a hundred and thirty eight combat missions while in the United States Air Force because he had thought this was the right thing to do, same as the Sokovia Accords which he had still supported.
While Stark had helped Rhodes get back to his feet so that he could continue practicing to walk again, they were then interrupted by the unexpected arrival of a Delivery Man who mistakenly misread Stark's name as "Tony Stank," much to Rhodes' amusement, who claimed he would never forget that nickname. Rhodes then carefully walked away, while commenting about all the different ways that he planned to use the name Stank to annoy his friend in the years to come.
=== Infinity War ===
==== Reuniting the Avengers ====
: "If it weren't for those Accords, Vision would have been right here.""I remember your signature on those papers, Colonel.""That's right. And I'm pretty sure I paid for that."
: ―James Rhodes and Thaddeus Ross[src]
Rhodes spent the better part of two years recovering from his injuries and adapting to the leg braces that enabled him to walk. During this time, Rhodes gradually became embittered towards the Sokovia Accords, as well as Secretary of State Thaddeus Ross, despite having signed them himself over the damage done to the Avengers and the latter's bullheaded perception of Steve Rogers as a criminal.
Ross contacted Rhodes at their Avengers Compound to discuss the recent disappearance of Vision, who had last been seen when both he and Wanda Maximoff were being attacked in Edinburgh and leaving in the company of the fugitive Avengers. Rhodes had insisted that his former team mates were only being branded as criminals due to the orders of Ross himself, and argued that if it was not for the Accords being created, Vision would have been with them in the Facility.
Although Ross reminded Rhodes of how he had signed the Accords himself, Rhodes claimed that he had paid the price for that decision, indicating to his leg braces. Just as Rhodes had insisted that he no longer had second thoughts about these decisions, they were then interrupted by the arrival of Rogers, who had arrived there onboard the stolen Quinjet along with the wounded Vision, as well as all of the other fugitive Avengers, much to the complete shock of Ross.
While Ross and Rogers discussed the situation following the arrival of the Black Order and the disappearance of Tony Stark, Ross then ordered Rhodes to arrest them all immediately. Instead, Rhodes cut off the call with Ross, accepting that this would be a court marshal offense and would immediately cost him his United States Air Force career. Despite that, Rhodes happily reunited with his friends, jokingly commenting that they looked like crap, to which Sam Wilson noted that they had not been staying in five-star hotels during those previous two years. The group was then greeted by Bruce Banner, who revealed that he had returned, much to Natasha Romanoff's considerable surprise, as Wilson had then jokingly commented on the awkward situation.
Following their reunion, Rhodes and all the other Avengers discussed what was to be done about the Mind Stone, as they had learned from Banner that it was being sought by the Mad Titan Thanos in his quest to gather all the Infinity Stones and then cause the Snap. Looking at the footage of the Black Order, Rhodes commented that clearly they would soon be returning and would then be able to track them down, therefore they needed to get somewhere safe to protect Vision.
To the surprise of Rhodes and everyone else, Vision suggested that they instead destroy the Mind Stone, indicating that Maximoff could do it due to her similar powers. Having agreed to do it if they could ensure Vision survived, Rhodes had pushed the group to find somewhere they could achieve this goal, to which Rogers suggested they visited T'Challa in Wakanda. The group agreed and traveled to destroy the stone before Thanos could ever get his hands on it.
==== Arrival in Wakanda ====
: "God, I love this place.""Yeah, don't start celebrating yet, guys. We got more incoming outside the dome."
: ―Winter Soldier and War Machine[src]
Upon arrival in Wakanda, Rhodes and the Avengers were greeted by King T'Challa and his Dora Milaje. As they got off the Quinjet, Rhodes was asked by Bruce Banner if he should bow in front of T'Challa, to which Rhodes told him that he should as T'Challa was the King. When Banner actually bowed and T'Challa told him not to, Rhodes grinned to himself having tricked his friend before they had followed behind the Avengers.
While Captain America spoke with T'Challa and Shuri about how they intended to remove the Mind Stone from Vision without killing him, Rhodes put on his Mark IV and awaited the battle. Before long, War Machine witnessed the arrival of the Outrider Dropships, which had exploded upon hitting Wakanda's protective shields above them all. Although the Winter Soldier had expressed his joy at seeing this, War Machine notice that more were landing just outside the shield.
==== Battle of Wakanda ====
: "You seen the teeth on those things?""All right, back up, Sam. You're gonna get your wings singed."
: ―Falcon and War Machine[src]
With the Outrider Dropships surrounding Wakanda, War Machine and the Avengers prepared themselves for the battle as War Machine flew alongside his allies and joined the line up of Avengers, Dora Milaje and Border Tribe, who readied themselves for the battle. War Machine stayed back as Captain America and Black Widow had joined Black Panther while they had confronted the Black Order who were stood just outside Wakanda's shields, awaiting the battle to begin.
As Proxima Midnight ordered the battle to begin, War Machine had witnessed thousands of the Outriders charging towards the shields, furiously clawing at the heroes, ripping themselves apart as they all forced their way through all the shields. Needing to keep their battle controlled, Black Panther ordered Shuri to open the shields, allowing the Outriders to charge towards them, while War Machine dropped several bombs onto them, killing dozens with a massive fireball.
With the armies of Outriders pouring into Wakanda and then fighting against all of the Avengers and Wakandan soldiers, War Machine had stayed high above the ground and fired every weapon that he had on his Mark IV, causing massive explosions. However, War Machine was struck out the sky when Cull Obsidian launched his Chain Hammer at him, causing War Machine to crashland. Just as the battle seemed to be lost, Thor returned through the Bifrost Bridge, beside both Rocket Raccoon and Groot, as Thor had then furiously joined the battle.
With Thor fighting alongside them, War Machine and his allies were able to hold back the Outriders, as War Machine and Falcon joined forces to destroy one of the Threshers that Midnight had sent. Before long, the Outriders had seemingly all been destroyed, while Midnight had been killed by Wanda Maximoff and Bruce Banner had destroyed Obsidian. However, Vision was now in harms way once again as yet another threat was looming over the heroes, despite their victory.
==== Thanos' Victory ====
: "What is this? What the hell is happening?"
: ―War Machine to Captain America[src]
While all the Avengers had begun to regroup, they had then suddenly witnessed a Wormhole opening up in the center of Wakanda, as they watched in complete horror as Thanos then personally stepped onto the battlefield. Once he had arrived in order to finally obtain the Mind Stone from Vision, War Machine and his allies then attempted to stop him, determined not to allow him to win as War Machine had then furiously unleashed the full arsenal of his Mark IV's weaponry against the Mad Titan.
However, despite the powerful weapons at his disposal, War Machine still proved to be completely outmatched by Thanos' skill with all the powers of the nearly completed Infinity Gauntlet, with Thanos using the Space Stone to crush his War Machine armor around him before throwing him aside. With Rhodes unable to continue the fight, he witnessed the other Avengers also being defeated before Thanos brutally ripped the Mind Stone from Vision's head.
Once Thanos had obtained the Infinity Stones, he proceeded to snap his fingers and caused the Snap, which then wiped out half of all living organisms in the universe. Once Thanos had escaped, Rhodes called out to Sam Wilson, just as Wilson disintegrated to dust. Shocked by what was happening, Rhodes was just able to ask Steve Rogers what happened, out of disbelief and despair before they began to lament the loss.
==== Meeting Captain Marvel ====
: "So that... thing just stopped doing whatever the hell it was doing."
: ―James Rhodes to Steve Rogers[src]
Following the failure of the Battle of Wakanda, Rhodes, alongside the surviving Avengers, returned into their Avengers Compound. Having discovered the Transmitter Pager in Atlanta that had been reactivated by Nick Fury prior to his death, the Avengers successfully bypassed all of the pager's battery in order for it to continue sending out its signal. Rhodes personally monitored the pager and had informed Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff that the pager had stopped transmitting the signal.
As Rhodes and the others looked it over to try and understand what had happened, Rogers had requested that they attempt to reboot the pager and resend that signal, only for Bruce Banner to respond that they had no idea what the signal was for. As Romanoff explained that Fury knew whom the signal was for, and she wanted to know who it was as well, she came face to face with Captain Marvel herself, who had then demanded the Avengers tell her where Fury was.
==== Rescue of Tony Stark ====
: "We're the Avengers, not the Pre-vengers? Right?""Okay, you made your point, just sit down."
: ―Tony Stark and James Rhodes[src]
After explaining to Captain Marvel that Tony Stark was missing in space, she went in search of him. Captain Marvel soon returned, so they all came out where they saw her land a ship outside the Avengers Compound. Rhodes watched as Stark exited the ship along with Nebula.
As the whole group all went back inside the facility, Rhodes witnessed the three being informed by the affects of the Snap. Rhodes stood by his friend as he recovered, listening to the discussion about stopping Thanos by needing a team to unite together. However, once things started to get heated between Stark and Steve Rogers, Rhodes held back his friend, trying to get him to calm down as he had goes at with Rogers. After Stark gave his Arc Reactor to Rogers, Rhodes witnessed his friend collapse, before telling him that he was fine.
Due to his weak state and rejection of help, Stark fell to the ground and immediately fainted. Helping his friend get back to recovery, Rhodes then moved Stark to a bed where Bruce Banner gave him a sedative. As Rhodes informed the rest that Stark would be out for the rest of the day, Danvers then went to kill Thanos. However, they stopped her, informing her they should work as a team, which Rhodes added if she even knew where to find him.
==== Ambush on Thanos ====
: "Hey, new girl. Everyone here is about that superhero life. And if you don't mind my asking, where the hell have you been all this time?"
: ―War Machine to Captain Marvel[src]
Once Nebula revealed that she knew of Thanos' location, they all then gathered, where they were informed by Nebula of the Garden, the place Thanos planned to go after he succeeded, which Rhodes mocked as Thanos' retirement plan. Rocket Raccoon then updated them on another usage of the Infinity Stones, which they tracked down the planet Nebula was referring to.
After Carol Danvers suggested they just go an steal the stones from Thanos, they all began to discuss the next course of actions, which Rhodes was cautious of, as Thanos still possessed all of the stones. When Danvers reassured the plan by stating that they had her, Rhodes questioned her absence from Earth all this time. Danvers noted that she had a responsibility to a multitude of other planets that did not have the Avengers protection, which Rhodes accepted.
After agreeing upon the mission and suiting up to go face the Mad Titan, the Avengers joined forces with Rocket, Nebula, and Captain Marvel, and boarded on the Benatar. Once they took off to Planet 0259-S, Rocket asked the Avengers who hadn't been to space before, which a confused War Machine put his hand up to, as Rocket stated that nobody should vomit before traveling. They then made their jump through space, arriving at Planet 0259-S where Captain Marvel went to do recon. When she returned, she informed them that it was only Thanos on the planet, which Nebula stated was enough.
Captain Marvel made the first move, bursting into Thanos' hut, placing him in a headlock. Bruce Banner in the Mark XLVIII armor quickly joined her, restraining the Infinity Gauntlet, with War Machine joining him by holding Thanos' other hand. Thor then arrived and sliced off Thanos' left arm with Stormbreaker, severing the Gauntlet. The others then joined them in the hut, where Rocket turned over the Gauntlet, revealing that the stones were gone.
They then demanded Thanos to tell them the location of the stones, but he revealed that he had destroyed them, seeing them with no other purpose but temptation. However, War Machine did not believe him and desperately suggested they tear the hut down to find the stones. But, Nebula assured them that Thanos, albeit many things, was not a liar. In anger, Thor then cut Thanos' head off and left, while everyone else was frozen in the horror of their failure.
==== Searching for Clint Barton ====
: "It's definitely Barton. What he's done here, what he's been doing for the last few years... I mean the scene that he left... I gotta tell you, there's part of me that doesn't even want to find him."
: ―James Rhodes to Natasha Romanoff[src]
After their failure to reverse the Snap, everyone went their own way, with Rhodes staying with the Avengers, now being led by Natasha Romanoff with Carol Danvers, Rocket Raccoon, Nebula and Okoye apart of the team. They set out to help Earth, amongst other planets recover after the galaxy-wide incident.
After learning about what Clint Barton had been doing after his family died, Romanoff assigned Rhodes with tracking him down in hopes to help him. In 2023, Rhodes would find himself in Mexico after learning of a Massacre in Mexico that he concluded Barton was responsible for. Despite everything he had seen while serving, Barton's actions scared Rhodes to the point where he doubted if they should even find him, thinking he had gone too far.
One day, the Avengers gathered for a meeting to update Romanoff on what they had been doing. Rhodes stayed silent as the others talked to Romanoff, waiting to update her on Barton privately. Once the meeting concluded, Danvers, knowing that Romanoff would not like what Rhodes was going to say to her, wished him luck. Rhodes and Romanoff were then left, so she asked where he was, which he told her he was in Mexico.
He told her about the Mexican Cartel that had been brutally murdered, which Romanoff tried to dismiss as just a rival gang, but Rhodes assured her it was Barton. This then led him to try and bring up to Romanoff his thoughts on not finding Barton, but she would not allow it. Romanoff did not want to let her best friend continue to lose himself, so she begged Rhodes to keep searching. Rhodes continued his search, until he was able to track Barton to Tokyo, where he would go after the Yakuza.
=== Time Heist ===
==== Time Travel ====
: "If we can do this, you know, go back in time, why don't we just find baby Thanos, you know, and...""First of all, that's horrible.""It's Thanos."
: ―James Rhodes and Bruce Banner[src]
After Scott Lang returned and presented the idea of travelling through time to steal the Infinity Stones, and Tony Stark achieved the method to do so, the Avengers were all called in to help. Rhodes flew back to the Avengers Compound, where he was notified by Nebula of Lang being in the landing zone, so Rhodes landed very close to him, startling him. He then went inside after teasing Lang about his abilities.
Once all the Avengers were assembled, including Thor and Clint Barton, they began working on the method in order to travel through the Quantum Realm. While they worked on the Quantum Tunnel, Rhodes watched as Bruce Banner and Nebula fitted Lang with the Advanced Tech Suit, which he was impressed by. When Lang started getting unnerved about the scarcity of the Pym Particles, Rhodes told him to calm down. But, Lang was not confident in following through with the test.
Barton then volunteered to test time travel, so they then started to prepare him in the suit. As they did, Rhodes brought up the idea of going back in time and killing Thanos as a baby, much to Banner's shock, which he later explained couldn't work. He explained that changing the past does not change the future, despite the common belief.
However, Lang and Barton supported Rhodes' idea, and when Banner asked where they were told this could work, he and Lang listed an array of films that featured time travel, which Rhodes concluded made it known. Banner strongly objected this, and proceeded to explain to him that if you travel to the past, that past then becomes your future, which could not be changed by the new future.
They all then went to the hangar to watch the test, with Barton being the first to travel through time in a controlled manner. They stood together, as Barton stood on the Quantum Tunnel while Banner prepared to send him through the Quantum Realm, into the past. They then watched as he entered the Quantum Realm, and after some time, witnessed his return, learning that they were successful in achieving time travel.
==== Creating the Plan ====
: "Yeah, I've been meaning to ask... why did you have to crash the plane, anyway?""Bombs on board.""'Bombs on board.' ...And you couldn't have jumped out of the plane before you crashed it?"
: ―James Rhodes and Steve Rogers[src]
With the means of stealing the Infinity Stones accounted for, the Avengers then moved their focus on the when and the where. They all gathered in the common room, where they began their brainstorming. They started with Thor, who they noticed was asleep, which Rhodes quipped as him being dead.
When Thor awoke, he told them about the history of the Aether, explaining its origins and his encounter with it during 2013, as it fused itself with Jane Foster. However, after the mentions of Foster, his mother and his home, Thor began to go off topic, as he was not in a stable state, not being able to deal with loss. Rhodes watched as Thor derailed, sharing concerning looks with Clint Barton.
That night, as they all ate dinner, Rocket Raccoon informed them about the Power Stone, and how Peter Quill stole it from Morag. Afterwards, while everyone did their own thing, Rhodes and Steve Rogers went over the Space Stone's history. As Rogers explained to Rhodes his encounter with the Tesseract during the 1940s, Rhodes then took the chance to ask him why he had to crash with the Valkyrie, which Rogers didn't respond to.
Eventually, they completed the brainstorm and had set out the Time Heist with three teams: Rhodes, Nebula, Natasha Romanoff and Barton going to 2014 to steal the Power and Soul Stone, Tony Stark, Rogers, Bruce Banner and Scott Lang going to 2012 to steal the Space, Mind and Time Stone, and Thor and Rocket going to 2013 to steal the Reality Stone.
==== Theft of the Power Stone ====
: "I wasn't always like this.""Me either. But we work with what we got, right?"
: ―Nebula and War Machine[src]
The Avengers then suited up and put on the Advanced Tech Suits and made their way to the Quantum Tunnel to commence the Time Heist. Steve Rogers gave a speech to motivate them before the mission, as Bruce Banner activated the machine. They all then traveled to their designated times and places, knowing that they only had one chance.
War Machine, Nebula, Black Widow and Hawkeye arrived on Morag in 2014, where they enlarged the Benatar given to them by Rocket Raccoon so the other team could travel to Vormir to steal the Soul Stone. War Machine helped Nebula guide the Benatar's space pod to the ground, while Black Widow and Hawkeye jokingly rushed them, which War Machine stated was not helping. He then said goodbye to the two, telling them to look out for each other as they took off on the Benatar.
Now just he and Nebula, War Machine reconfirmed the plan of just waiting for Peter Quill to show up so he would lead them to the Power Stone, but Nebula advised they take cover, as they weren't the only people looking for the Infinity Stones at that time. War Machine asked who else would be looking for the stones, which she revealed that her father, Thanos, her sister, Gamora, and even herself were, causing him to ask where her past self currently was.
They then hid behind some rocks until Quill arrived, where they watched as he danced around, which War Machine commented on him being an idiot, much to Nebula's agreement. War Machine then punched Quill, knocking him out, allowing Nebula to steal his tool to let them open the doors to the Temple Vault.
However, when Nebula went to enter, War Machine stopped her, using his knowledge of films to be cautious of traps that could kill them. However, being unaware of what he was talking about, Nebula proceeded into the vault, to no harm. They then reached the Orb's shielded display, where Nebula reached through and pull it out, burning her robotic hand.
She handed him the Orb, and still carrying emotional pain from her alterations, told War Machine that she wasn't always a cyborg, which he revealed his similar situation of being paralyzed. He then told that they work with what they have, and the two shared a bonding moment through their differences from others. They then went to return to the present, but instead of syncing up, War Machine ended up leaving alone, unaware to him.
==== Blip ====
: "What do you think is coursing through my veins right now?""Cheez Whiz?"
: ―Thor and War Machine[src]
The Avengers, unbeknownst that Nebula had been replaced by her past self, all returned to the present. They all celebrated in their success of stealing the Infinity Stones, with Rhodes surprised that the mission actually worked. However, it was cut short when they noticed Clint Barton returned alone, realizing that Natasha Romanoff had died.
After mourning the death of their friend, they began working on the Nano Gauntlet, so they could wield all the stones to bring everyone back. Once they completed it, the discussion then became about who should wear the Gauntlet, which Thor immediately volunteered for. However, everyone spoke up against him doing due to his unstable state, with Rhodes joking that he was filled with Cheez Whiz.
However, Bruce Banner told them that it had to be him who snapped his fingers, as he was the only one who could possibly survive it. Everyone then suited up and stood around Banner and watched as he put on the Gauntlet. They watched as the power of the stones affected Banner, but he was able to snap his fingers, causing him to collapse. They all checked on him, unsure if they were successful. Suddenly, the facility was attacked by an airstrike from the Sanctuary II, as Thanos had been brought to the present by past Nebula.
==== Attack on Avengers Facility ====
: "See you on the other side, man."
: ―James Rhodes to Rocket Raccoon[src]
The attack destroyed the facility, causing the Avengers to become separated as they fell under the rubble. Rhodes, Rocket Raccoon, and Bruce Banner fell in the same spot, trapped under the rubble, where Banner was struggling to keep the building from falling on them.
Rhodes' suit then malfunctioned, so he activated the emergency eject, freeing him, but rendering him unable to walk. He saw Rocket trapped under rubble, suffocating him, so he used his weight to lift the rubble off him, as they both attempted to get their breath back. However, despite Banner's cries for them to save themselves, they were unable to go anywhere. Suddenly, a flood of water came through and began to fill up the area.
As the water rose, Rhodes attempted to call out for help, but was not able to get a response. When the water was reaching their necks, Rhodes farewelled Rocket, accepting their fate of drowning. However, Scott Lang rushed to their location and was able to save them all from drowning. Lang then provided Rhodes with another suit allowing him to walk and help fight in the ongoing battle outside.
==== Battle of Earth ====
: "Avengers! Assemble."
: ―Captain America[src]
War Machine, Ant-Man, Rocket Raccoon, and Hulk joined the restored Avengers, the Guardians of the Galaxy, the Masters of the Mystic Arts, Wakandans, Asgardians, and Ravagers to face alternate Thanos and his army. Captain America called on the Avengers to assemble as the two opposing armies then charged at each other and fought.
War Machine, with Rocket riding on him, fought Thanos' army trying to prevent them from obtaining the Infinity Stones. During the battle, when Thanos ordered an airstrike, War Machine protected Hulk from the attack by moving him away from the blasts, until they were all saved by Captain Marvel. As the battle reached its conclusion, Iron Man then stole the stones from Thanos and snapped his fingers, causing Thanos and his army to disintegrate.
War Machine spotted Iron Man, who was resting due to the power of the stones completely overwhelming his body. War Machine landed before him, and comforted him, holding his head, understanding that this was Iron Man's final moments. They then shared a moment in silence together as War Machine stayed with his best friend, as other heroes arrived around them. They were joined by Spider-Man and Pepper Potts, tearfully witnessing Stark dying from his injuries caused by the resulting cosmic blast.
After the battle, a funeral was held for Stark at his home, where Rhodes, along with Potts, Morgan Stark, Happy Hogan and the remaining original Avengers watched a prerecorded message from Stark. When it finished, they went outside and watched as Potts and Morgan put Stark's Arc Reactor in the lake. Rhodes stood next to Hogan, and the two comforted each other over the loss of their best friend, along with everybody else that had survived the battle.
=== Life Goes On ===
==== Captain America Tribute ====
: "We went for seventy years without anybody carryin' it when Steve was on ice. So, I think we'll be all right.""That was a different time, Sam."
: ―Sam Wilson and James Rhodes[src]
In 2024, Rhodes attended a ceremony at the Smithsonian Institution where Sam Wilson handed over Captain America's shield to the U.S. government. Rhodes watched as the shield was placed into the glass case and taken to Captain America's exhibit.
After the ceremony, Rhodes met with Wilson and the two walked into Captain America's exhibit. Rhodes told Wilson that the world was in chaos following the Blip and asked why he gave up the mantle, to which Wilson replied that he felt it was someone else's. Rhodes told Wilson that they would be in touch and left the exhibit.
=== Secret Invasion ===
==== Replaced ====
: "Colonel Rhodes? How long have you been in here?""Whoa! Colonel Rhodes, I've got you. You've been held hostage for a long time."
: ―Everett Ross and G'iah[src]
By 2026, Rhodes was kidnapped by the Skrull Resistance and held in a Fracking Pod at the New Skrullos, while his likeness and memories were stolen by a Skrull impostor.
G'iah defeated Gravik and liberated all humans that were captured by the Resistance, including Rhodes. Rhodes woke up from the stasis and was noticed by Everett Ross, who asked how long he had been held captive. Rhodes tried to get out of the pod, but nearly fell, and G'iah rushed to help him as she explained that he had been held hostage for a long time. Rhodes was then carried out of New Skrullos by two soldiers.
== Personality ==
: "How long are you going to play both sides?"
: ―Sam Wilson to James Rhodes[src]
James Rhodes is a highly distinguished officer of the United States Air Force. 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. Rhodes was upset at Stark's decision to stop weapon manufacturing, although he chose to aid Stark to defeat Obadiah Stane by preventing the Air Force's involvement. However, shortly after Stark officially became Iron Man, his disrespect of government officials and refusal to relinquish his armors to them placed Rhodes in a difficult position since he has to balance his responsibilities to his superiors and respect his friendship with Stark, forcing Rhodes to side with the government and steal the Iron Man Armor: Mark II. As liaison to both Stark Industries and the Avengers, Rhodes strives to maintain a copacetic relationship between United States government and his teammates.
As a military man, he is a firm believer in people being held responsible for their actions and a proper chain of command. This made signing the Sokovia Accords an easy decision for him as it would make the Avengers accountable for their actions, reduce the collateral damage, and have an improved reputation. As a result of this, he fought those who believed their actions to be "right" and would flout the law to accomplish them, shown when he confronted Captain America's faction during the Clash of the Avengers. However, as time progressed, Rhodes became increasingly frustrated with the restrictions imposed on the Avengers, as well as Thaddeus Ross and the United Nations labeling his friends as criminals so much so that he chose to receive a court-martial when Ross demanded Rogers and his team arrested despite there being an imminent threat approaching Earth.
For the most part, Rhodes maintains the professionalism of a soldier and strives to do whatever he feels is the right thing for the American people. This often causes tension between him and Stark, though the two nonetheless maintain strong mutual respect and friendship. Rhodes also takes great personal pride in his work; when attending the party following the retrieval of the Scepter, he enjoys getting laughs from recounting stories of his work as War Machine, and his ego is somewhat deflated when he doesn't get the reaction he's looking for from Stark and Thor. Despite becoming partially paralyzed as a result of siding with Stark against Captain America over the Sokovia Accords, he freely admits having no regrets, as he believes it was the right thing to do. This would in time change, as he later openly admitted his disappointment and frustration that the Accords had ultimately done more harm than good by fragmenting the Avengers, forcing many of them to live in hiding in a time they were needed. After the friendly fire incident that left him paralyzed, he also held no animosity against Captain America and his team.
Despite his sense of professionalism, however, he enjoys wearing the War Machine suit and is largely disappointed when it underperforms, such as when the Ex-Wife Missile installed in his suit did not work when fighting Whiplash. Though he states that being rebranded as Iron Patriot comes across well as it was less aggressive, he secretly prefers being referred to as War Machine and quickly goes back to this persona following the end of Aldrich Killian's War. However, he is often left in awe when faced with more extreme super-powered individuals; the sight of Aldrich Killian breathing fire alone was enough to make him hesitate despite defating his men, and when preventing several Ultron Sentries from fleeing was left wondering what he had just witnessed when Vision did his job for him.
== Powers and Abilities ==
=== Powers ===
: "But, you know, the suit can take the weight, right? So I take the tank, fly it right up to the general's palace, drop it at his feet."
: ―James Rhodes to Tony Stark and Thor[src]
* War Machine Armor Capabilities: Like Tony Stark, Rhodes has no superhuman powers. He is a military man who is in excellent physical condition. However, like Stark, Rhodes' power comes from using a modified Iron Man Armor re-designed by the Hammer Industries to become War Machine. The armor allows him to fly, possess superhuman strength and durability and contains various weapons for battle. Rhodes' armors are more devised for military-oriented purposes; therefore they are more heavily armored and weaponized than Stark's armors. The War Machine armors are the only other powerful suits next to the Iron Man armors. Before weaponization of the Mark II Iron Man armor, it was sufficient enough to battle a more updated Mark IV Armor. When the Mark II Armor was transformed into the War Machine Mark I armor, it was sufficient enough to nearly overpower the Mark VI (while under Ivan Vanko's control), battle hordes of Hammer Drones and Vanko himself with his own armor.
** Superhuman Strength: When utilizing the armor, it increases Rhodes' natural physical abilities to superhuman levels, among them is his strength. Rhodes, inside his armor, is capable of overpowering normal humans and tear unmanned battle drones with ease. It also allows him to go toe-to-toe with Stark in his armor. By his own claim, Rhodes can lift a tank with his armor. He could also knock out the half-Celestial Star-Lord with a single punch, and restrain one of Thanos' arms.
** Superhuman Durability: The armor is made of a solar-charged carbon-composite-based external plating armor and has a chest plate protecting the Arc Reactor. It is shown that it can withstand tremendous amounts of punishment. It had withstood a full-on fight with the Mark IV in Tony Stark's house. It had withstood the full-on fight with the Hammer Drones and withstood the full-on ammo unloaded on both him and Stark while in their respective suits. It was able to withstand the damage done on it by the Whiplash in his own suit. It protects the wearer from the effects of extreme g-forces. During the Clash of the Avengers, his armor resisted being at the epicenter of an explosion, Falcon's weapons, Ant-Man's fists, being thrown into an airplane and Captain America's shield all with no damage. It was vulnerable, however, to the power of the Mind Stone, the blasts shearing off the arc reactor and causing it to plummet several hundred feet. However, the armor was durable enough to remain intact following the crash and allowed Rhodes to survive his fall, despite being severely crippled and nearly killed. In response to this accident, later armors were made even more durable, giving improved protection to both Rhodes and the arc reactor.
** Superhuman Speed: The use of the War Machine armor allows Rhodes to reach immense speeds. From his first suit of armor, he was able to keep up with Tony Stark's armors in terms of speed, as when he chased Iron Man during the Battle at Stark Expo while the armor was remotely controlled by Ivan Vanko. However, due to how bulky and heavy Rhodes' armor is, it soon became slower than Stark's counterpart. Rhodes' subsequent armors were fast enough to outmaneuver the Ultron Sentries deployed in Sokovia and even to attempt to catch the Quinjet used by Captain America and Winter Soldier to escape from Germany until he was shot down. During the Battle of Wakanda, Rhodes' speed allowed him to be the one to scout the Wakandan shields, and clear the front line of Outriders before opening the barrier, and to be one of the leads of the aerial charge at the beginning of the Battle of Earth.
** Superhuman Stamina: With the War Machine armor, Rhodes is able to fight for a very long time without tiring. He had fought in the Battle of Sokovia without tiring. He also fought Giant-Man and chased Falcon without any problems. During the Battle of Earth, when Rhodes was out of his armor, he got tired quickly while crawling on the floor. Upon getting into his suit, he fought his hardest.
** Superhuman Reflexes: The armor, like Stark's, has motors for movement. It is extremely fast and responsive in flight, and during combat, as armor can react faster than naturally possible.
** Flight: The armor, like the Iron Man Armor, can reach speeds as Mach 3 in moments. It is equipped with non-weapons grade repulsor based flight stabilizers that theoretically reach speeds of Mach 8 similar to the Mark IV's flight stabilizers. It was adequate to keep up with the Mark VI during the battle over the Stark Expo and catch Iron Man off-guard and tackled him into the Oracle building.
** Power Suit: Rhodes' armor is equipped with tons of ammunition that is missing from it's predecessor, the Iron Man Armor. Perhaps it's most recognizable feature on his armor is a 7.62-mm minigun, that is attached to the back of the suit on a swivel mount and typically fires over the right shoulder. It is governed by an automated targeting system and can track targets independently of the suit's wearer, including those targets to the rear. The ammunition feed for this weapon is a belt feed from the rear torso. The armor's arm braces each mount an underslung sub-machine gun. 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 onboard 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 onboard sensors that track external pressure based on altitude, speed, and temperature and adjust internal settings appropriately. War Machine has a built in weapon that allows him to emit powerful sound waves. He used these sound waves to briefly incapacitate Wanda Maximoff. The wave was so powerful that she had to cover her ears rather than use her powers. The armor can be sealed for operations in vacuum or underwater, providing its own life support, and is shielded against radiation, even being able to sustain Rhodes in the Quantum Realm. A particle beam weapon in the palm gauntlets that can repel physical and energy-based attacks. When combined with an attack from another repulsor, it can create an energy shockwave that decimates a small area like when he and Iron Man both fired their repulsors at each other and the resulting event destroyed much of Stark's mansion. A more powerful version of the palm repulsors mounted on the chest. In addition to the physical capabilities and various weaponry it already possesses, it also utilizes laser-guided munitions. A box rocket launcher mounted over the left shoulder holds a Hammer Industries rocket bunker-busting Ex-Wife Missile designed by Justin Hammer; however, the particular Ex-Wife loaded at the time of the Battle at Stark Expo was faulty and consequently proved useless against Whiplash. A baton Rhodes used to incapacitate targets by releasing powerful, non-lethal electricity. After being paralyzed in the Clash of the Avengers, all War Machine armors, starting with the Mark IV, have walking aids in them that allow the semi-paralyzed Rhodes to walk.
=== Abilities ===
* Expert Combatant: Rhodes' military training made him a very skilled fighter. He was more than able to handle himself against Extremis Soldiers, even punching Eric Savin to the ground with a single punch, as well as also managing to, while wearing the Mark II Armor, compete against and eventually defeat Stark in their ferocious brawl during Stark's birthday when Stark got drunk while he was wearing his Mark IV Armor.
* Expert Marksman: Rhodes' military training gave him a large knowledge of firearms and how to use them. This enabled to him to shoot multiple Extremis Soldiers with one gun. He was even able to hit a light bulb from hundreds of feet away while the also skilled Tony Stark was only able to hit the glass barrier.
* Gifted Intellect: Rhodes wears a "Brass Rat", the MIT school ring, indicating that he and Tony Stark were graduates of the same college, and on his other hand, he wears a Air Force Academy ring, suggesting that he received his Master's Degree from MIT after earning a "grad school slot" for high academic achievement while at USAF Academy.
: "What's the play?""Well, we want to take the high ground, okay? So let's put the biggest gun up on that ridge."
: ―Iron Man and War Machine[src]
* Expert Tactician: Rhodes can create strategies that help him win in a battle. During his and Tony Stark's attack on Aldrich Killian, Rhodes was able to deflect several attacks from Extremis Soldiers with pure strategy. He also played a key role in fighting and coordinating strategy during the Battle of Wakanda.
: "Well, you should bring 'em out to D.C. sometime. I'll teach 'em how to fly. You know, I mean, the right way."
: ―James Rhodes to Sam Wilson[src]
* Expert Pilot: Rhodes is a highly decorated United States Air Force officer and as such, he is a skilled fighter pilot as he is able to pilot the War Machine armor. He is also highly knowledgeable with planes. He regularly manned missions with F-22 Raptor's.
== Equipment ==
=== War Machine Armors ===
* Iron Man Armor: Mark II
* 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
=== Weapons ===
This section requires expansion
: "If Slovakia rolls its eyes at me one more time, I'm gonna put on the suit and carpet bomb it."
: ―James Rhodes[src]
* Ex-Wife Missile: Rhodes took weapons from Justin Hammer including "Hammers greatest invention"- the EX-Wife Missile. Later, Rhodes attempted to use it while fighting Vanko, but it failed.
* Beretta 92FS Inox: Rhodes took a handgun from one of the guards at Aldrich Killian's Mansion when he managed to escape from capture despite having lost the Iron Patriot Armor. He used it to kill some guards inside the mansion, to threaten Trevor Slattery and to confront many Extremis Soldiers during the Battle on the Norco.
* Walther P99: Rhodes kept one of these handguns beside him during the party at the Avengers Tower, resorting to use it against the Iron Legion drones hijacked by Ultron.
* Stark Sonic Cannon: Based on the first design of the Sonic Cannon from the U.S. military, the War Machine armor contains a miniaturized form designed to inflict non-lethal attacks on enemy armies or for crowd control. The cannons produce a focused field of intense sound waves that immobilize enemies by overloading their sense of hearing as shown during Clash of the Avengers where Rhodes used the weapon to immobilize Wanda Maximoff.
=== Other Equipment ===
* Arc Reactor: The Arc Reactor for the War Machine armor was based on the designs of the Iron Armor's signature energy source, giving it a near limitless supply of energy to operate the weapons and the thrusters of the machine.
* Leg Braces: When both of Rhodes' legs had been completely paralyzed during the Clash of the Avengers, Rhodes was given new Stark Industries leg braces designed by Tony Stark which would enable him to walk again. Although Rhodes initially had trouble using them, over time he had gotten used to them and could walk normally again. Following the Battle of Earth, the braces were redesigned so that they can be worn under his uniform.
* Transmitter Pager: An ordinary pager modified by Carol Danvers using Kree technology for use as an instrument of last resort in extreme emergencies. Nick Fury was eventually forced to use it in response to the Snap before it was found by the Avengers.
* Advanced Tech Suit: This suit was designed in order to time travel through the Quantum Realm safely. It is a white, red and black suit that materialize around the wearer's regular clothes, managing to be summoned when time travel is required again, and disappear when no longer in use. It has size-shifting adaptability down to subatomic levels and a wrist gadget that allows for displacement through time and space.
* Plasma Sphere: In an alternate 2014, Rhodes took Star-Lord's Plasma Sphere on Morag to illuminate the Temple Vault.
* Orb: To be added
=== Vehicles ===
* Stark Industries Private Jet: Tony Stark charted his private jet for him and Rhodes to arrive at Afghanistan where they organized a presentation of Jericho missile for the United States Air Force. During the flight, both Rhodes and Stark drunk too much and get distracted by stewardesses who had danced around a stripper pole.
* Humvee: Following the presentation, Rhodes and Tony Stark were going to leave the place in the Humvee, but Stark told Rhodes to take another one. However, his Humvee was attacked by the Ten Rings who killed all soldiers and kidnapped Stark.
* Benatar: In order to confront Thanos, the Avengers took the Guardians of the Galaxy's spaceship to fly to the Garden. During the Time Heist, the Benatar was used by Rhodes and Nebula to arrive at Morag and acquire the Power Stone.
== Facilities ==
* Edwards Air Force Base: As the officer within the United States Air Force, Rhodes was stationed at the Air Force base in Lancaster, California. During the lesson for the airmen, Rhodes met Tony Stark who asked him for assistance with his new project. However, Rhodes refused. Following his clash with Stark, Rhodes took his Mark II Armor and delivered it to the Edwards Air Force Base where it was remodeled by Justin Hammer into War Machine Armor.
* Tony Stark's Mansion: Stark then revealed to Rhodes his current condition as the truth behind his current series of apparent reckless acts due to the palladium poisoning inside of his first Arc Reactor. When Rhodes arrived, he was infuriated seeing his friend endangering civilians and donned Stark's Mark II Armor to confronted Stark, almost destroying his mansion.
* United States Capitol: Tony and Rhode were summoned to the Capitol to attend a Senate Armed Forces Committee with the intention of obtaining the Iron Man armor for military application, using the development of similar suits over the world in retaliation as an excuse to get Tony to hand over the applications. Rhodes provides some evidence suggesting that other countries are on pace to match the Iron Armor's capabilities, but Tony hacked into the other screens displaying the lack of sophisticated development of his Iron Armor.
* Avengers Tower: Since the Avengers successfully took HYDRA down and acquired the Scepter, they organized a party which was attended by Rhodes as well. Rhodes was telling the stories about his missions to Thor, Steve Rogers, and other guests, as well as attempting to lift the Mjølnir with Tony Stark. However, the Avengers were attacked by Ultron, so Rhodes had to protect non-combatants from Iron Legion while the others were fighting Ultron.
* Avengers Compound: When Rhodes officially joined the Avengers, he was stationed at their new headquarters in Upstate New York, together with Vision, Wanda Maximoff, and Sam Wilson. Following the dissolution of the Avengers, Rhodes stayed at the facility, cooperating with Thaddeus Ross who was concerned about Captain America and his allies, before Rogers recruited him to fight Thanos. After the battle, Rhodes and the Avengers returned to the facility where they planned the operation to acquire the Infinity Stones from an alternate timeline. However, as soon as Hulk resurrected the victims of the Snap, the facility was destroyed by the Sanctuary II.
* Thanos' Farm: Rhodes and the Avengers discovered high levels of a energy burst in a distant planet, believed to be similar to the Infinity Stones and the location of Thanos, so he joins the Avengers to travel there as they ambushed Thanos and learned that he destroyed the stones to prevent anyone from undoing his work and from being corrupted by their powers.
* Temple Vault: During the Time Heist, Rhodes and another Avenger, Nebula, were sent to the planet Morag where the Power Stone is locked and sealed. He and Nebula discovered the past Star-Lord doing his obnoxious dancing routine before Rhodes knocks him out cold and Nebula steals the stone.
== Relationships ==
=== Allies ===
* United States Air Force
** Meade - Superior
** William Gabriel
** Sullivian
** Julius Allen
** Lacy
** Dalton
** Ralph Mays
** Ronald Coultrap
** Harper
** Stoodard
** Kenneth Smith
** Craig
* Matthew Ellis - Former Commander-in-Chief
* Stark Industries
** Pepper Potts/Rescue - Friend
** Happy Hogan
** Trixie
* Christine Everhart
* Celeste - Date
* Avengers - Former Teammates and Friends
** Steve Rogers/Captain America - Former Leader and Temporary Enemy
** Tony Stark/Iron Man † - Best Friend
** Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow † - Former Leader
** Bruce Banner/Hulk
** Clint Barton/Hawkeye - Temporary Enemy
** Vision †
** Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver †
** Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch † - Temporary Enemy
** Sam Wilson/Falcon/Captain America - Temporary Enemy
** Peter Parker/Spider-Man
** Scott Lang/Ant-Man - Former Enemy
** Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel
* S.H.I.E.L.D.
** Phil Coulson †
* United States Congress
** Government Official
** United States Senate Committee on Armed Services
*** Larson
*** Elkin
*** Busard
*** Gibson
*** Clements
*** Goodwin
*** Carlino
*** Beckman
* Erin
* Erin's Brother
* Wu
* Watcher Informant
* Nick Fury's Crew
** Nick Fury
** Maria Hill †
** Cameron Klein
* Helen Cho
* Thaddeus Ross - Temporary Enemy
* Everett Ross
* GSG 9
* Joint Counter Terrorist Centre
* Donald Trump - Former Commander-in-Chief
* Golden Tribe
** T'Challa/Black Panther †
** Shuri
* Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier - Former Enemy
* Dora Milaje
** Okoye
** Ayo
** Nomble
** Yama
* Wakandan Royal Guard
* Jabari Tribe
** M'Baku
* Border Tribe
* Guardians of the Galaxy
** Peter Quill/Star-Lord
** Thor - Former Teammate
** Rocket Raccoon - Former Teammate
** Groot
** Nebula - Former Teammate
** Drax the Destroyer
** Mantis
* Masters of the Mystic Arts
** Stephen Strange/Doctor Strange
** Wong
* Brunnhilde/Valkyrie
* Warsong
* Korg
* Miek
* Einherjar
* Ravagers
** Kraglin Obfonteri
* Howard the Duck
* Hope van Dyne/Wasp
* Gamora
* Morgan Stark
* G'iah - Savior	
=== Enemies ===
* Ten Rings
** Xu Wenwu †
* Obadiah Stane/Iron Monger †
* Hammer Industries
** Justin Hammer - Former Ally
** Hammer Drones
* Ivan Vanko/Whiplash † - Attempted Killer
* A.I.M. - Former Allies
** Aldrich Killian †
** Eric Savin †
** Sweat Shop Agent
** Extremis Soldiers
* Trevor Slattery
* Rodriguez - Former Ally
* Ultron †
** Ultron Sentries
* HYDRA
** Stern - Situational Ally
** Ultimo †
* Black Order
** Cull Obsidian † - Attempted Killer
** Proxima Midnight †
* Outriders
* Thanos †
* Peter Quill/Star-Lord
* Nebula †
* Black Order
** Ebony Maw †
** Cull Obsidian †
** Proxima Midnight †
** Corvus Glaive †
* Chitauri
** Leviathans
** Chitauri Gorillas
* Sakaarans
* Skrull Resistance - Kidnappers
** Raava † - Impersonator
== Trivia ==
* In the comics, James Rhodes is a 1st Lieutenant within the United States Marine Corps who was eventually rebuilt as a cyborg, due to his injuries, though his brain was later transplanted into a healthy cloned body.
* In Iron Man 3, Rhodes is known as the Iron Patriot. In the comics, the identity of Iron Patriot was firstly adopted by Norman Osborn. After the release of Iron Man 3, for a time, the mainstream counterpart of Rhodes has also taken the mantle of Iron Patriot in the comics, before later going back to the War Machine armor.
* Rhodes has to change his password every time Tony Stark hacks into his profile; at least once, his password was WARMACHINEROX.
* War Machine is the only Avengers member that is not an original founding member to remain alive after the Snap.
* War Machine was the longest-serving Avenger, having had an uninterrupted service from when he joined in 2015 to the team disbanding in 2023, due to signing the Sokovia Accords and being a survivor of Thanos' Snap.
== Behind the Scenes ==
* James Rhodes is one of the few characters who is played by different actors in different projects. The others are Howard Stark, Bruce Banner, Bambi Arbogast, Fandral, Thanos, Red Skull, Cassie Lang, Thaddeus Ross and Vanessa Marianna.
* In an unused draft of Iron Man, Howard Stark featured as still alive, a ruthless businessman and the main villain, who adopted the identity of "War Machine".
* A War Machine movie was nearly greenlit at Marvel Studios, with Joe Robert Cole as a writer, but the plan was changed after Iron Man 3.
* Don Cheadle was uncredited for his appearance in Captain Marvel.
* Some of Spider-Man: Homecoming concept arts featured War Machine and Vision taking part at the rescue of the Staten Island Ferry alongside Iron Man, a concept that did not make it to the final version of the movie.
* An initial idea for Avengers: Endgame involved War Machine becoming Vice President of the United States of America in the aftermath of the Snap.
* Clay Donahue Fontenot was a stunt double for Terrence Howard and Kiante Elam, Kevin Arnold, Kevin L. Jackson, Trevor Habberstad, Kierron Quest and Greg Rementer were stunt doubles for Don Cheadle in the role of War Machine.
* Patrick Emery was a stand-in for Terrence Howard and T.J. Hogan and Nev Smith were stand-ins for Don Cheadle in the role of War Machine.
== References ==
The Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki has a collection of images and media related to War Machine.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki has a collection of quotes related to War Machine.
# ↑ Jump up to:1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 Iron Man 2
# ↑ Jump up to:2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 Iron Man 3
# ↑ Jump up to:3.0 3.1 3.2 Iron Man 3 Prelude
# ↑ Jump up to:4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 Iron Man
# ↑ Guidebook to the Marvel Cinematic Universe - Iron Man 2
# ↑ Jump up to:6.0 6.1 James Rhodes' Department of Defense ID
# ↑ Iron Man 2 Blu-Ray
# ↑ Marvel Studios: Character Encyclopedia
# ↑ Jump up to:9.0 9.1 Iron Man: Fast Friends
# ↑ Jump up to:10.0 10.1 10.2 Iron Man - List of Deleted Scenes
# ↑ Jump up to:11.0 11.1 Iron Man 2: Public Identity
# ↑ Jump up to:12.0 12.1 12.2 Iron Man 2 - Deleted Scene
# ↑ Jump up to:13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 Avengers: Age of Ultron
# ↑ Avengers: Age of Ultron - List of Deleted Scenes
# ↑ Captain America: Road to War
# ↑ Jump up to:16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 Captain America: Civil War
# ↑ Jump up to:17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 Avengers: Infinity War
# ↑ Captain Marvel Mid-credits Scenes
# ↑ Jump up to:19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 19.4 19.5 19.6 19.7 19.8 19.9 Avengers: Endgame
# ↑ Avengers: Endgame Deleted Scenes
# ↑ The Falcon and The Winter Soldier: 1.01: New World Order
# ↑ Secret Invasion: 1.01: Resurrection
# ↑ Secret Invasion: 1.06: Home
# ↑ Avengers: Endgame Had Bigger Plans for War Machine, Still a Possibility
== External Links ==
* War Machine on Marvel Database
* Iron Patriot on Marvel Database
* War Machine on Wikipedia
* Iron Patriot on Wikipedia
* James Rhodes on Wikipedia
* War Machine on Marvel Website