War Machine

"I got something special for this guy. I'm gonna bust his bunker with the Ex-Wife."

- War Machine James Rhodes, commonly called Rhodey, is a colonel in the U.S. Airforce a jet pilot, and Aerospace engineer. He is a good friend of Tony Stark, and is the liaison between Stark Industries and the military in the department of acquisitions. His power comes from his high-tech battle suit known as the Iron Patriot armor, which grants him extraordinary strength, durability, flight capabilities and various on-board weaponry.

The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes
War Machine will join in the New Avengers when Kang destroyed the original team.

Iron Man 3
"Iron Patriot is on the job!"

- James Rhodes

Rhodey is the Liaison between Stark Industries and the U.S. Air Force. He is one of Tony Stark’s few trusted friends and, most of the time, has the patience to deal with the impulsive genius. Rhodey has a new suit of War Machine armor in a red, silver and blue patriotic design. When suited up, Rhodey becomes Iron Patriot.

Character Traits
Rhodes is a "Soldier with a concience". He doesn't lnherrantly want to kill, however if he is attacked, or has no other option he will. Though the toll of which will weigh on his mind.

Rhodes is depicted in the film wearing a "Brass Rat", the MIT school ring, indicating that in the film, he and Stark were graduates of the same college, and on his other hand he wears an Air Force Academy ring, suggesting that he received his masters degree from MIT after earning a "grad school slot" for high academic achievement while at USAFA.

Skills

 * Skilled Aviator : Rhodey is a skilled combat pilot and is capable of maneuvering most if not all Tony's Iron Man armors.
 * Skilled Engineer : Rhodey studied in the U.S. Air Force service him to become an aviation engineer. He helped redesigned the Mark II with Justin Hammer tranforming it into War Machine.
 * Skilled Combatant : Rhodey is an experienced soldier trained in unarmed combat and military weaponry such as small arms. Rhodey was more than able to handle himself against Killian's Extremis Soldiers, even punching Eric Savin to the ground with a single punch. After escaping the Mandarin's mansion, Rhodey was able to take down the guards with ease, while searching for Tony.
 * Skilled Marksman : Aside from the Iron Patriot weaponry, Rhodey is a very skilled marksman.

Equipment

 * Arc Reactor: Utilizing the arc reactor Stark was using just before his upgrade to the new and more improved arc reactor. It is unknown if it is just as powerful or slightly less powerful than the one Stark uses now. Nonetheless, it is still effectively powerful enough to power his armor. Chest battery is capable of generating at least eight gigajoules of energy. Only a fraction of this energy is required to power the Mark II exoskeletal structure.
 * Armor: Rhodes uses a modified Iron Man armor to become War Machine. The armor allows him to fly and contains various weapons for battle. The armor is more heavily armored and equipped than Stark's.

Armor Capabilities
The War Machine armor (also the Mark II Iron Man armor/the Variable Threat Response Battlesuit) is the only other powerful suit next to the Iron Man armor. Before weaponization of the suit, it was sufficient enough to battle an more updated and powerful generation armor (the Mark IV). Upon weaponization of the armor, it was sufficient enough to nearly overpowered the Mark VI (while under Vanko's control), battle hordes of Hammer drones and Vanko with his own armor. In addition to the physical capabilities and various weaponry it already possesses, it also utilizes laser guided munitions. The armor's heavy weapons arsenal of ballistic weaponry was provided by defense contractor Justin Hammer of Stark Industries' rival company Hammer Industries. On the right shoulder, there is an M134 7.62mm minigun that can extend or retract in or out of its "cup". On the left shoulder, there is a bunker buster Sidewinder missile. Each wrist supports twin 9mm Claridge Hi-Tec semi-automatic pistols. The 5.56x45mm FN F2000 was ideal for mounting inside of the gauntlets due to the unique way it discharges spent casings out the front. Custom feeds send the rounds directly into the gun, eliminating the standard 30-round magazine.
 * Flight: The 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 able 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 Orcale building.
 * Strength: Rhodes in the armor is capable of lifting 30 tons or more due to the fact that it is more heavily armored than Stark's.
 * Armor Systems: The armor have remote assistance (it is unknown at this time if JARVIS provides support or another computer A.I.-like support system), and the armor also have a holographic HUD, with cellphone and computer connections in the helmet. The armor is powered by a miniature arc reactor and has an on-board generator for emergencies. The scanner systems are capable of scanning the environment, weather conditions and equipment for information. The armors also have variable control surfaces for active flight control. The Hull Pressure Transducers are onboard sensors that track external pressure based on altitude, speed, and temperature, and adjust internal settings appropriately.
 * Durability: The armor is made of a solar charged carbon-composite-based external plating armor, and has a chestplate protecting the arc reactor. It is shown that it can withstand tremendous amounts of punishment. It had withstood an full-on fight with the Mark IV in 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 also able to withstand damage done on it by Vanko in his own suit. It also protects the wearer from the effects of extreme g-forces.
 * Self-Contained Life-Support System & Environmental Protection: The armor can be completely sealed for operations in vacuum or underwater, providing its own life support, and is shielded against radiation.
 * Repulsors: A particle beam weapon in the palm gauntlets. Can repel physical and energy-based attacks.
 * Unibeam: A powerful Repulsor Beams.
 * Reflexes: The armors have motors for movement. It is shown to be extremely fast and responsive in flight, and during the fights.

Relationships

 * Tony Stark/Iron Man - Friend and ally.
 * Pepper Potts - Friend.
 * Happy Hogan - Friend.
 * Maya Hansen - ally
 * Ivan Vanko/Whiplash - Enemy.
 * Justin Hammer - Enemy.
 * Mandarin - Enemy
 * Eric Savin - Enemy
 * Aldrich Killian - Enemy

Appearances/Actors

 * Marvel Cinematic Universe (1 Disney film)


 * Iron Man 3 - Don Cheadle
 * Marvel Cinematic Universe (5 comics)


 * Iron Man: Fast Friends
 * Iron Man 2: Public Identity
 * Fury's Big Week
 * Iron Man 3 Prelude
 * Iron Man: The Coming of the Melter

Behind the scenes

 * Cheadle was the first choice for Rhodes in Iron Man.

Trivia

 * In order to play the part of Rhodes, Marvel made Terrence Howard go through extensive military flight training, which Howard enjoyed. However, he never appears flying a jet in the finished film, making all of his training a waste.
 * Terrence Howard did not reprise his role in the second film because negotiations had broke down with Marvel. Howard, because he was the first person cast in Iron Man, had received the highest pay out of all the actors in the film, and Marvel had wanted to decrease his pay for the sequel. Howard, however, disagreed, and left the role. Cheadle was quickly contacted to replace Howard, and had only hours to accept or decline the role.
 * Before he became War Machine in the comics, Rhodes served as Iron Man for a while when Tony had to step down due to his drinking problems.
 * Both Terrence Howard and Don Cheadle were in the film Crash.
 * The original draft of The Avengers explained away Rhodey's absence as War Machine by stating that he and Pepper were at a Stark Industries conference overseas. Rhodes would have been S.H.I.E.L.D.'s first choice to pilot the Iron Man armor, as Tony was found 'unsuitable' at the end of Iron Man 2. His absence was going to have S.H.I.E.L.D. begrudgingly accept Tony into the Initiative; where he would evidently prove himself. However, once Gwyneth Paltrow signed on for her extended cameo (she was not originally going to appear in the film); all mention of Rhodes was removed from the film as Pepper's role was modified, however it was confirmed his absense will be explained in a comic book prequel to Iron Man 3.
 * His rank changes from Lt. Col. to just Col. in the films, possibly have gotten a promotion between after the events of Iron Man 2 and before the events of Iron Man 3.