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 originally as "War Machine," and currently as the Iron Patriot armor, which grants him extraordinary strength, durability, flight capabilities and various on-board weaponry.

Iron Man
Rhodey attended an awards ceremony to present an award to Tony for his work, but Stark did not come. Then Rhodes gives the award to Tony's business partner, Obadiah Stane. He later finds Tony playing in a casino. The next day, Tony and Rhodes travel to Afghanistan to present the Jericho missile. After the presentation he congratulates Tony for the great job he did, Rhodey asks him to accompany him but Tony decides to travel alone.

Months later, Rhodey together a group of soldiers found Tony wandering in the desert, he is happy to have found his friend alive. Shortly after, Rhodes was present when Tony in a press conference decided to close the Stark Industries' weapons manufacturing division. Later, Tony visits Rhodey, he asks to join him on a new project but Rhodey is not happy last attitudes of Stark. After a mysterious object attack a terrorist group, Rhodes contacts Tony to ask him if he was not involved in that. Despite deny at first, Tony admits that he is the mysterious object.

The next day, Rhodes gives a press conference explaining what happened yesterday. He later finds Tony dying. Tony gets his old Arc Reactor with Rhodey's help. When Tony puts his suit to fight Obadiah, he sees the Mark II and turns his head saying "Next time, baby". Days later, Rhodes was present when Tony declared himself as Iron Man.

Iron Man 2
Six months after declaring himself as Iron Man, Tony was summoned to a hearing with the Senate. The Colonel James Rhodes is also summoned to the hearing. He is used by the Senate to get Tony hand over the Iron Man armor to US Government.

Later, Tony gets drunk on his birthday because he knew he was dying because of Palladium. Annoyed by his behavior, Rhodes puts the Mark II to stop Tony, who was wearing the Mark IV. After the battle, Rhodey flies back to the airbase.

He was present when Justin Hammer weaponizes the Mark II converting it into War Machine. During the presentation of the Hammer Drones, Vanko takes control of War Machine in an attempt to kill Tony. Rhodey regain control over his armor with the help of Agent Romanoff. As regained control over War Machine, Rhodey uses it to help Iron Man to fight against the Drones.

After defeating the Drones, he and Tony had to confront Vanko, who had improved his armor. The friends defeat Whiplash and Rhodey decides to keep the suit. Days later, Tony and Rhodey are awarded with medals for their bravery.

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

- James Rhodes

Shortly after the Chitauri invasion of New York, Rhodes's War Machine suit was re branded into the Iron Patriot by A.I.M.. Rhodes and Tony were having drinks at a bar whilst discussing the new paint job of the War Machine and the threat of the Mandarin. However this discussion was cut short when Tony had an anxiety attack and left in his suit.

Much later after Tony went missing after another Mandarin attack and a third Mandarin broadcast, Rhodes was ordered to a possible broadcast source, only to find villagers. Whilst there, Rhodey was contacted by Tony who asked for his log in details, his log in which Rhodey hesitantly gave to Tony. Later Rhodey followed another possible Mandarin broadcast source only to find another false lead. As the villagers thanked Rhodey, one women crippled the suit using Extremis.

Rhodey later woke up in the Mandarin's lair as numerous engineers attempted to cut Rhodey out of the suit to no avail. Eventually Aldrich Killian came and used his Extremis powers to break Rhodey out. Once out Rhodey punched Eric Savin and tried to run only to be stopped by Killian's fire breath and Savin rendering him unconscious. Rhodey later woke up to find Tony running through the facility with his newest suit and that Savin had stolen the Iron Patriot suit. Tony then lead Rhodey upstairs to the Mandarin whom turned out to be a drunken British actor named Trevor Slattery just posing as Mandarin for Killian so he could get rich from the supply of the Extremis product. Also that the vice president was involved.

Later Rhodey and Tony using Trevor's speed boat contacted Vice President Rodriguez and warned him about the threat and the danger to the president whom Rodriguez promised to have Ellis alerted (but was really also working with Killian too). Later Rhodey witnessed Tony saving the Presient's assistants ejected from the plane by Savin saved by Tony's remote controlled suit. After this Rhodey and Tony using just pistols lead an attack on a dock area where Killian was. After being discovered early, Tony called for his Iron Legion to appear. Rhodey requested one but the suits were only encoded to Tony, forcing Rhodey to go after the president without a suit. Rhodey eventually discovered Ellis trapped in the Patriot suit above an oil tanker and freed him. After recovering his suit Rhodey flew Ellis out of the area.

Later after Killian was defeated Rhodey returned to his original duties and witnessed the arrest of Rodriguez. Much later he also witnessed Dr. Wu remove the shrapnel from Tony's chest in surgery, making Tony free to never again worry about heart trouble.

Avengers: Age of Ultron
Rhodey attended to the party of the Avengers at Avengers Tower. During the party, he told a funny anecdote to Thor and Tony, though the two of them did not amused. Later at the party, Rhodey told the same story to other guests, who found funny the anecdote. When the party ended, Rhodes unsuccessfully tried to lift Mjølnir with Tony Stark using a gauntlet of the War Machine Armor. When a scrapped robot known as Ultron awakened from Tony's lab and starts to attack the Avengers, Rhodey helps his allies and got knock out of window, but safe thanks to the bridge on the floored part of the tower. The next day, Rhodes and others discussed the events of the night before, as Stark revealed that he created Ultron to save the world.

When Nick Fury calls most of the former S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel to help the Avengers against Ultron, Rhodes is summoned and utilizes the War Machine Armor to assist the team in evacuatating the civilians from the battle area within the half of Sokovia that Ultron's been set and use it to destroy humanity. During the battle, Rhodey said that if he survived would have a new story to tell.

After Ultron's defeat, Rhodes was recruited along with Falcon, Vision and Scarlet Witch as new members of the Avengers.

The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes
In "Iron Man is Born", Tony goes to his house, Rhodey accompanies him and tells him that SHIELD are the only who should fight giant robots. Arriving Pepper informs Tony that HYDRA are attacking the United Nations, Rhodey says Tony to be careful. While Iron Man fought against HYDRA Robots, Pepper was concerned about Tony but Rhodey tells Tony's armor is indestructible but Pepper is not concerned about the armor but for Tony. After the battle, Tony informs Rhodey that S.H.I.E.L.D. stole his technology.

In "Alone Against AIM", Rhodey meets Black Panther and Captain America (Skrull), who went to Stark Industries to take the Iron Man armors and carry them to the Avengers Mansion. Suddenly they were attacked by AIM scientists. Captain America (Skrull) asks him to puts the War Machine armor because they were outnumbered. Rhodey puts his armor and easily defeat the AIM scientists.

In "New Avengers", As the Avengers were erased from the timeline by Kang ; War Machine alongside Spider-Man, Wolverine , The Thing , Iron Fist and Luke Cage were recruited by Iron Man to be the New Avengers. They try to stop Kang but they fail in their attempt. Spider-Man then suggests that everyone should work together; others agree with the idea. Eventually the Avengers return to their timeline after Spider-Man stop the time machine of Kang.

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
 * Captain America - Ally and Teammate
 * Hawkeye - Ally
 * Black Widow - Ally and Teammate
 * Hulk - Ally
 * Thor -Ally
 * Vision - Teammate
 * Scarlet Witch - Teammate
 * Falcon - Temmate
 * Nick Fury - Ally
 * Ivan Vanko/Whiplash - Enemy.
 * Justin Hammer - Enemy.
 * Trevor Slattery - Enemy
 * Eric Savin - Enemy
 * Aldrich Killian - Enemy
 * Ultron - Enemy
 * Ultron Sentries - Enemies

Appearances/Actors

 * Marvel Cinematic Universe (1 Disney film)


 * Iron Man 3 - Don Cheadle
 * Avengers: Age of Ultron
 * 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.