Hello everyone, and welcome back to another installment of Marvel Snapshot. This week, I’ll be spotlighting one of my favorite characters in War Machine! Yes, Jim “Rhodey” Rhodes is going to be under the bright lights today, so let’s get going!
Alright, so for anybody that thinks Rhodey is just an Iron Man rip-off, think again. He didn’t grow up a pampered rich kid, for one. He grew up in South Philly (a far cry from Tony’s upbringing), and didn’t have any of the luxuries that Stark did. He’s a product of the United States Marine Corps, too. He earned his stripes in Viet Nam, fighting off enemy troops and helping Iron Man out as well. Once his military career ended, he soon took up Tony’s offer to work for Stark Enterprises. He was chief of the aviation department due to his extensive knowledge of flight, but not even he could imagine what was next. Tony ended up relapsing into alcoholism due to the fact that his company wasn’t doing well, thanks to Obadiah Stane. Rhodey had no other choice than to put on the armor and get it done the only way he knew how – kickin’ butt and takin’ names!
After a few rounds of being Iron Man, Tony ended up resuming his identity and Rhodey was left out in the cold. However, he had to take up the role of Iron Man on a couple of occasions. After a fight with some Japanese dudes that used magic to render Tony’s repulsors ineffective, Tony created the War Machine armor. After Tony is thought to be dead, Rhodey not only takes up the mantle of War Machine, but also as CEO of Stark International! Upon Tony’s return, though, the relationship between the two had deteriorated, and Rhodey left. After that, Rhodey spent time on the West Coast Avengers team, but that saw an end because of an argument with Iron Man as well. War Machine and Iron Man did settle their differences and fought against the Mandarin to save the world. They have also fought each other a couple of times as well. Typically it’s over something ridiculous or when one of them is being set-up. For me personally, I hope that Marvel starts to use War Machine/Jim Rhodes more often, because he’s like Iron Man, but has a better attitude for taking down the enemy by whatever means necessary. War Machine can currently be seen in the pages of Secret Avengers, and in Iron Man 2.0.
Checkout my recommended reading list plus some cool covers below, and then check back next week for another great spotlight!
Recommended Reading
The Invincible Iron Man: War Machine – Tpb
Iron Man: Armor Wars Prologue – Tpb
Iron Man: Armor Wars – Tpb
West Coast Avengers: Assemble – HC (Marvel Premiere Classic)
Secret Invasion: War Machine – Tpb
War Machine: Volume #1 Iron Heart – Tpb
War Machine: Volume #2 Dark Reign – Tpb
Iron Man 2.0 (current series)
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Billy Dunleavy
billy@comicattack.net
I used to think their fights were silly as well Billy. I really wished that Marvel would have tapped into the whole “best friend” thing and used that to tap into something deeper if they were going to argue. The whole “framing” thing was always a really weak plot when you think about it. These know each other very well so why would they just go in with guns blazing instead of making a phone call first:
Rhodey: “Hey Tony, did you break into some secret Russian base and steal armor plans last night and destroy some small village?”
Tony: “Last night?” “Rhodey, last night I had the best time of my life with She-Hulk, Emma Frost, and Wanda!” “Why would I leave that to possibly throw down with Crimson Dynamo?” “And when the hell did I just randomly kill innocent people?”
Rhodey: “All 3 Tony?!” “Ha, ha!” “Well look, I’m gonna put the call out to the other Avengers that it looks like you’re being framed so armor up so we can find out what the hell is goin’ on!”
Tony: “Thanks for the heads up Rhodey!” “You’re my best friend!”
Rhodey: “And you’re mine Tony!”
@Speech- lol, yeah kind of foolish the way things went down between them. My favorite moments are defintiely in X-Force vol. 1 (20-22?) when War Machine fought agaisnt X-Force on the SHIELD Helicarrier, and also his fight with Exodus during Bloodties.
That fight with Exodus was a nice one though Exodus could easily wipe him out hands down.
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@Speech- Oh, absolutely. It was cool to see War Machine hold his own for a while though.
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