| James Rhodes | |
|---|---|
| Marvel Cinematic Universe character | |
 Terrence Howard (left) and Don Cheadle (right) as James Rhodes inIron Man andIron Man 2 (2010), respectively. | |
| First appearance | Iron Man (2008) |
| Based on | |
| Adapted by | |
| Portrayed by |
|
| Voiced by | Don Cheadle (What If...?) |
| In-universe information | |
| Full name | James Rupert Rhodes |
| Aliases |
|
| Nickname | Rhodey |
| Title | Colonel (U.S. Air Force) |
| Occupation | |
| Affiliation |
|
| Weapon | War Machine armor |
| Nationality | American |
James Rupert "Rhodey"Rhodes is a superhero character originally portrayed byTerrence Howard and subsequently byDon Cheadle in theMarvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)media franchise, based on theMarvel Comics characterof the same name. He is initially depicted as aU.S. Air Force officer who is the best friend ofTony Stark. A skilled pilot and tactician, he becomes involved in Stark's heroic efforts, gaining his suit ofIron Man armor in the process while taking on thealiasWar Machine, and later theIron Patriot.
Rhodes is recruited into theAvengers, joining them during the battle againstUltron. When the Avengers face internal conflict over theSokovia Accords, Rhodes sides with Stark. In the ensuing struggle, he is accidentally injured byVision and temporarilyparalyzed from the waist down. WhenThanos invades, Rhodes joins his former team to defend Earth and ultimately survivesthe Blip. Rhodes continues to serve as an Avenger, participating in thetime travel mission to undo Thanos's actions. With trillions of lives successfully restored, Rhodes participates in the final and victorious battle against Thanos; a conflict that costs Stark his life. At some point, ashape-shiftingSkrull called Raava hijacks Rhodes' likeness and holds him prisoner. Raava uses Rhodes to gain influence with the president of the United States untilNick Fury kills her and Rhodes is then freed.
Rhodes is a central MCU character, having appeared in seven films as of 2024[update]. He also appears in the miniseriesThe Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021) andSecret Invasion (2023), and is expected to be the primary protagonist inArmor Wars, currently in production.
Analternate version of Rhodes appears in the animated seriesWhat If...? (2021), with Cheadle reprising the role. Cheadle also portrays the Skrull Raava impersonating Rhodes inSecret Invasion.
James Rhodes served as a pilot and officer in theUnited States Air Force, flying 138 combat missions before becoming aliaison between the military's Department of Acquisitions andStark Industries, where he became close friends withTony Stark.
In 2009, when Stark is kidnapped by theTen Rings, Rhodes personally leads the mission to rescue him. When the then-unidentified Iron Man armor encounters U.S. military aircraft, Rhodes deduces that it is Stark, and described the resulting damage to the media as the result of a training exercise. After Stark reveals his identity as Iron Man, Rhodes faces pressure from theUnited States Congress and the military to take possession of the armor. In 2010, as Stark descends into reckless behavior, Rhodes feels he had no choice but to take the armor. After a physical confrontation with Stark, Rhodes takes possession of an Iron Man suit and relinquishes it to the military.Justin Hammer modifies it with new weapons to rebrand Rhodes as War Machine. Rhodes then helps Stark fend off an attack fromIvan Vanko and an army of drones.
In 2012, Rhodes is rebranded as theIron Patriot. He works directly for the President of the United States and is tasked with tracking down a terrorist called theMandarin. Rhodes discovers that the Mandarin is a ruse created byAldrich Killian by hiring actorTrevor Slattery to portray the role. Killian captures Rhodes and steals the Iron Patriot armor, using it to kidnap the president. Rhodes escapes, aiding Stark in fighting Killian's army ofExtremis soldiers, and rescues the president.
In 2015, Rhodes attends theAvengers' party atAvengers Tower. Later, he is brought byNick Fury andMaria Hill to assist in their fight againstUltron inSokovia. Afterwards, he is recruited to become a new member of the Avengers, alongsideWanda Maximoff,Vision, andSam Wilson at the newAvengers Compound led bySteve Rogers andNatasha Romanoff.
In 2016, Rhodes is present at the Avengers Compound whenU.S. Secretary of StateThaddeus Ross arrives and talks to the team about theSokovia Accords. Rhodes agrees with Stark regarding theUnited Nations overseeing the team and signs the Accords. InBucharest, he assists in the apprehension of Rogers, Wilson,Bucky Barnes, andT'Challa. Later, he joins Stark, Romanoff,Peter Parker, T'Challa, and Vision to intercept Rogers, Barnes, Wilson,Clint Barton,Scott Lang, and Maximoff atLeipzig/Halle airport inGermany, where a fight ensues. After Rogers and Barnes escape on a Quinjet, Rhodes is accidentally hit by Vision whose blast incapacitates his suit, causing him to fall. Stark and Wilson are unable to catch him and he lands on the ground, fracturing his spinal column and leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. He is taken to the Columbia University medical center. Afterwards, he is brought to the Compound and is able to move slowly after Stark designed bionic supports for his legs as he underwent physical therapy.
In 2018, Rhodes is met byBruce Banner at the Compound. Having become disillusioned with the Accords, Rhodes disobeys orders from Ross to arrest Rogers, Romanoff, Wilson, and Maximoff after they return with Vision to the Compound. He then joins them in the Quinjet toWakanda, where he helps fight in the battle against theOutriders. He witnesses Thor,Rocket Raccoon, andGroot's arrival. Rhodes regroups with the team in the forest near Vision where he witnessesThanos arrive and tries to fight him, but is incapacitated by Thanos' use of theInfinity Gauntlet. Rhodes survivesthe Blip and is left confused of what happened.
Shortly after returning to the Compound, Rhodes reports to Rogers and Romanoff that Fury's pager stopped transmitting a signal. They are then met byCarol Danvers.[a]
Twenty-three days later, Rhodes witnesses Danvers return with Stark andNebula. The next day, Rhodes joins Rogers, Romanoff, Banner, Thor, Rocket, Danvers, and Nebula on the spaceship, theBenatar, to travel to theGarden, where they confront Thanos. They learn that he destroyed the Infinity Stones, and Rhodes witnesses Thor kill Thanos.
In 2023, Rhodes continues missions as an Avenger, keeping track of Barton's whereabouts and reporting back to Romanoff. After Stark and Lang devise a plan to time travel via theQuantum Realm, Rhodes returns to the Avengers Compound and goes with Nebula, Romanoff, and Barton to an alternate 2014 timeline. They go to the planet Morag, say goodbye to Barton and Romanoff, and watch as an alternate version ofPeter Quill arrives. Rhodes knocks him out and they retrieve the Power Stone. After Banner reverses the Blip, the Compound gets bombed and Rhodes, Rocket, and Banner get trapped under rubble. Lang rescues them and Rhodes, now in a new armor, is able to participate inthe battle against an alternate Thanos and his army. After Stark sacrifices himself to win the battle, Rhodes is at Stark's side during his final moments, and a week later, attends Stark's funeral.[1]
In 2024, Rhodes attends a ceremony at theSmithsonian Institution where Wilson donates Rogers'shield to the museum, and the two catch up in the Captain America exhibit.
By 2026, Rhodes is kidnapped by theSkrull general Gravik, who has him replaced with one of his agents, Raava. Rhodes is rescued byG'iah, who helps him, along withEverett Ross and others, from fracking pods within New Skrullos inRussia.
Analternate version of Rhodes appears in the animated seriesWhat If...?, with Cheadle reprising his role.
In an alternate 2009, Rhodes is sent to purchasevibranium from Stark's contact,Ulysses Klaue, for an army of combat drones that Stark andErik "Killmonger" Stevens are designing.T'Challa ambushes the transaction, having been tipped off by Klaue at Killmonger's behest, but is killed by the latter. Killmonger then kills Rhodes as well, and frames both him and T'Challa for killing each other in order to spark conflict between the United States and Wakanda.
The character of James "Rhodey" Rhodes first appeared inIron Man #118, in January 1979. InIron Man #170, in May 1983, Rhodes became Iron Man for a time. Other variations of the character debuted later, with an up-armored Rhodes becoming known as War Machine inIron Man #282, in July 1992, and as Iron Patriot inGambit #13, in May 2013. In the mid-2000s, with a number of movies having been made from other Marvel properties licensed to other studios,Kevin Feige realized that Marvel still owned the rights to the core members of theAvengers, which included those from Iron Man's supporting characters. Feige, a self-professed "fanboy", envisioned creating a shared universe just as creatorsStan Lee andJack Kirby had done with their comic books in the early 1960s.[2]
Terrence Howard was contracted to play Rhodes in the 2008 filmIron Man. Howard was signed on before any of the other major actors and was the highest paid actor in the film. Favreau cast Howard because he felt he could play War Machine in a sequel.[3] Howard prepared for the role by visitingNellis Air Force Base on March 16, 2007, where he ate with the pilots and observedHH-60 Pave Hawk rescue helicopters andF-22 Raptors.[4]
Howard and his father are Iron Man fans, partly because Rhodes was one of the few black superheroes when he was a child.[5] He was a Downey fan since he saw him inWeird Science, and the two competed physically on set.[6]
Entertainment Weekly reported that Howard was offered a 50 to 80 percent pay cut forIron Man 2, though it said that it was unclear whether Howard turned down the role or whether Marvel withdrew their offer.[7][8] Following the contract dispute between Howard andMarvel Studios,Don Cheadle was cast to portray War Machine, and Cheadle has portrayed the character for the rest of his MCU appearances.[9][10][11]Isaac Perlmutter, who had previously overseen the development ofMarvel Studios, was alleged to have been removed from that position in part due to replacing Howard with Cheadle on the grounds that black people "look the same".[12] A person with knowledge of his creative approach said, however, that Perlmutter "neither discriminates nor cares about diversity, he just cares about what he thinks will make money".[13]
Cheadle only had a few hours to accept the role and did not even know what storyline Rhodes would undergo.[14] He commented that he is a comic book fan, but had not previously participated in comics-themed films due to the scarcity of black superheroes.[15] Cheadle said he thought Iron Man was a robot before the first film came out.[16]
A friend of Stark's and the liaison between Stark Industries and theUnited States Air Force in the department of acquisitions, specifically weapons development. He holds the rank oflieutenant colonel in the United States Air Force and acts as the military's chief liaison toStark Industries' weapons division, and is initially oblivious toObadiah Stane's actions. While Rhodes is roguish in the comics after he met Stark, his earlier disciplinarian character forms a dynamic with Stark, and he is unsure whether or not Stark's actions are acceptable. "Rhodey is completely disgusted with the way Tony has lived his life, but at a certain point he realizes that perhaps there is a different way", Howard said. "Whose life is the right way; is it the strict military life, or the life of an independent?"[17]
On how he approached his character inIron Man 2, Cheadle stated "I go, what's the common denominator here? And the common denominator was really his friendship with Tony, and that's what we really tried to track in this one. How is their friendship impacted once Tony comes out and owns 'I am Iron Man'?".[18] Cheadle said his suit was 23 kilograms (50 lb) of metal, and that he could not touch his face while wearing it.[19]
InIron Man 3, Rhodes operates the redesigned/upgraded War Machine armor, taking on anAmerican flag-inspired color scheme similar to theIron Patriot armor from the comics.[20] Feige said of Rhodes and the armor, "The notion in the movie is that a red, white and blue suit is a bold statement, and it's meant to be. With Rhodey, he's very much the foil to Tony's eccentricities, and in this one you get to see this and be reminded of the trust and friendship between them in that greatShane Blackbuddy-cop fashion."[21] In the film, the president asks Rhodey to take up the moniker "Iron Patriot," and don the red, white, and blue suit, in order to be the government's "American hero" in response to the events inThe Avengers.[22]
Cheadle called Rhodes' appearance inCaptain America: Civil War a "bit more intense and pivotal" compared to his previous appearances.[23] Following his paralysis during the events ofCivil War, Rhodes is given an apparatus by Stark to walk again, although according to Cheadle, inAvengers: Infinity War, Rhodes is reluctant to don his War Machine armor and rejoin the Avengers due to his injury. Cheadle believed that Rhodes is "negotiating this reunion and his rejoining this team". He also explained that Rhodes's relationship with Stark "deepened" from his accident, saying, "I think Tony feels somewhat responsible and culpable in a way. But again, he's always had my back in a way that only he could really have".[24]
InAvengers: Endgame, Cheadle described Rhodes's newfound belonging as an Avenger as "not so much straddling one foot in the military. He's much more on the side of The Avengers than he was prior."[25] This is reflected on Rhodes's more instinctive and realist worldview in the midst of encountering the fantastic, with Cheadle explaining, "He's definitely got some 'what-the-eff-is-happening' [attitude,] more than maybe the rest of them do, given his background. But it's a trial by fire, and he's quickly adapted to what [the threat] is, rather than what he wishes it were."[25]
Early screenplay drafts written byAlfred Gough,Miles Millar, andDavid Hayter forNew Line Cinema, pitted Iron Man against his father Howard Stark, who becomes War Machine instead of Rhodes.[26][better source needed] Artist Phil Saunders had created concept art for an unused "hall of armor" scene in the film which included the War Machine armor.[27][28]
Jacob Stalworthy ofThe Independent was negative of the character, opining that the character was "Iron Man without backstory or humour".[43] However, Jeremy Schneider ofNJ.com was more positive of the character and Cheadle's portrayal while highlighting the character being paralyzed inCaptain America: Civil War as "one of the most poignant moments in the entire MCU".[44]
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