War Machine:

The birth of War Machine

The Masters Of Silence, three Japanese warriors tricked by Justin Hammer into attacking Iron Man, defeated Stark using their technology enabling them to not be affected by repulsors or unibeams.^[25] To combat the threat, Stark designed the “Variable Threat Response Battle Suit, Model XVI, Mark I” (nicknamed “War Machine”), a more heavily armed version of the Iron Man armor designed for all out warfare. After Stark’s apparent death, he left Rhodes in control of Stark Enterprises as its new CEO along with a modified version of the Variable Threat Response Battle Suit designed especially for Rhodes, model JRXL-1000, to continue the Iron Man legacy.^[26] As Iron Man once again, Rhodes used the armor and faced off against threats such as the Living Laser, the second Spymaster, Blacklash, the Beetle, and Atom Smasher. When Greymalkin, the space station headquarters of the mutant Cable, was found near Earth orbit by a Stark Enterprises shuttle, Rhodes was involved in a battle to claim the station involving agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Cable’s team of young mutants known as X-Force.^[27] Upon the revelation that Stark is alive and Rhodes was kept in the dark about it, Rhodes quits Stark Enterprises and the friendship between the two is fractured.^[28] After teaming with Iron Man against battledroids programmed to kill Rhodes, Stark wanted Rhodes to keep the Variable Threat Response Battle Suit stating that the armor always belonged to Rhodes.^[29] Rhodes eventually kept the armor and later adopted the name of War Machine.^[30] When the robot Ultimo went on a rampage, Rhodes called together Harold “Happy” Hogan, Bethany Cabe, Eddie March, “Carl Walker” (a.k.a. Clayton Wilson) and Michael O’Brien to pilot various Iron Man armors to take down Ultimo as the Iron Legion.^[31] He rejoined the West Coast Avengers as War Machine and served with the team until he resigned after an argument with Stark as Iron Man during an Avengers team meeting to immediately shut down the West Coast branch.^[32]

After his departure from Stark Enterprises and his move to California, Rhodes was approached by Vincent Cetewayo, noted activist from the small African country of Imaya and founder of the human rights organization Worldwatch Incorporated.^[33] Cetewayo offered Rhodes the position of Worldwatch’s new Executive Director, but the offer was declined. Cetewayo was kidnapped by Imayan forces led by the murderous dictator President Eda Arul, who viewed Cetewayo as a traitor and deserving of death. After learning what happened to Cetewayo and receiving no aid from S.H.I.E.L.D. or the Avengers due to their reluctance to interfere in a hot international situation, Rhodes traveled to Imaya as War Machine in order to free Cetewayo. Joined by Deathlok, who also came to Imaya to save Cetewayo, the two managed to fight their way through the Imayan capital and evaded capture from a S.H.I.E.L.D. unit lead by Major Bathsheva “Sheva” Joseph.^[34] After finding out that Cetewayo was saved by Cable and was teleported to an Imayan rebel camp, Rhodes joined the fight to liberate Imaya from Arul’s grasp. Rhodes successfully lead Imayan rebels into combat against Arul’s forces and the dictator was overthrown. However, Rhodes failed to save Cetewayo from being killed by the Advisor, the apparent mastermind of Arul’s rise to power. Shaken by the death of Cetewayo and finding something worth fighting for, Rhodes takes the position of Worldwatch’s Executive Director and hired Sheva Joseph, who left S.H.I.E.L.D. after her assignment in Imaya.^[35]

The actions of War Machine in Imaya were controversial and Stark felt that Rhodes was misusing the armor. With his armor in need of maintenance, Rhodes returned to Stark Enterprises to get the blueprints and specifications so he could make his own repairs.^[36] Stark refused and demanded that Rhodes return the armor to him.^[37] The two men battled each other in their respective armor. When Stark tried to shut down the War Machine armor to end the fight, Rhodes countered by changing the armor’s codes. The fight was stopped via an EMP cannon blast by Bethany Cabe, the new Head Of Security for Stark Enterprises.^[38] While their armor was frozen and rebooting, the Mandarin captured Rhodes and Stark and discovered their identities. Century of the superhero team Force Works rescued Rhodes, but his armor was useless thanks to the Mandarin’s anti-technology field. During this adventure, Rhodes and Stark finally reconciled and the two joined forces with Force Works to stop the Mandarin and his Avatars from using the Heart Of Darkness for their plans of conquest.^[39] After the Mandarin was defeated, Stark gave Rhodes the blueprints to the War Machine armor and a fully upgraded armor with new armaments was made.^[40] Rhodes continued to use the War Machine armor in a solo superhero career, occasionally fighting alongside Stark and Force Works.