James Rhodes

Colonel **James Rupert "Rhodey" Rhodes** is an 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, 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 one of his suits before handing it over to the military to rebrand Rhodes as **War Machine.** However, just when War Machine was being presented to the world, M.O.D.O.K. 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.

## Biography

### Early Life

After graduating high school, Rhodes joined the United States Air Force. He later went on to meet Tony Stark at M.I.T., where the two of them became best friends, with a close bond and rivalry that would last their entire lives. 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 their Armed Forces.

### 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 Sin-Cong 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 terrorists 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

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 Asia 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 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 Asia, 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 Wong-Chu'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 terrorists, Rhodes had then personally brought Tony Stark back home from Asia 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 terrorists against American soldiers.

As the speech went on, Stark was asked about what had happened to him during his time in the 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.

#### 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 Sin-Cong, Asia, terrorists 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 Asia without ever being spotted on their radar, being informed that it was not stealth but did appear to be tiny. While 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.

#### 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. 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 the police 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 officers 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.

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.

#### 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 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.

### 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.

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.

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.

#### 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]
#### 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]
### War Machine

#### 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]
#### Honored by Byrd

*"Thank you, Lieutenant Colonel, for such an exceptional distinguished performance. You deserve this.""Thank you, sir."*
―Byrd 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.

## Personality

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 one of his friend's suits.

For the most part, Rhodes maintains a sense of professionalism 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.

## Powers and Abilities

### Powers

* **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 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.
	+ **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.
	+ **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.
	+ **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 George Tarleton. However, due to how bulky and heavy Rhodes' armor is, it soon became slower than Stark's counterpart.
	+ **Superhuman Stamina**: With the War Machine armor, Rhodes is able to fight for a very long time without tiring.
	+ **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.
	+ **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.

### Abilities

* **Expert Combatant**: Rhodes' military training made him a very skilled fighter.
* **Expert Marksman**: Rhodes' military training gave him a large knowledge of firearms and how to use them.
* **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.

## Relationships

### Allies

* United States Air Force
	+ Allen - Major
	+ William Gabriel - General
* Stark Industries
	+ Pepper Potts - Friend
	+ Happy Hogan - Friend
	+ Tony Stark/Iron Man - Best Friend
* Christine Everhart
* Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow - Former Leader

### Enemies

* Obadiah Stane/Iron Monger

†

{\displaystyle \dagger }
* Hammer Industries
	+ Justin Hammer
	+ Hammer Drones
* A.I.M.
	+ George Tarleton/M.O.D.O.K.

## Appearances

In chronological order:

* *Iron Man*
* Iron Man 2

## 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.