A Little Muscle

The Crossing continues from Avengers #392…

A bodybuilder named Wolfgang has been jacked up by some tainted steroids and is now on a paranoid rampage through the streets of San Diego. The police are trying to keep him contained, but the ‘roided up powerhouse is just too strong for them to handle.

Up the highway, Jim Rhodes is returning from a fishing trip with the mysterious Skye. After being bonded to Eidolon Warwear, she is the only person who can tell him what it is and why it chose him. Skye tells him that the answers aren’t that easy to explain. All she can say is that the Warwear needs an organic partner to function and that it crossed countless galaxies to bond with him specifically.[1]

The conversation is cut short when they get caught in the traffic jam caused by Wolfgang. When the madman tosses a car at a crowd of people, Jim quickly suits up as War Machine and uses his new Warwear to save their lives. Jim flies ahead and confronts Wolfgang directly and with the alien technology of his new suit, quickly incapacitates the villain. When Rhodes returns to his car, Skye has taken off, leaving a note saying that she’ll be in touch.

Jim then returns to WorldWatch and has a meeting with his co-workers Rebecca Bergier and Ranald Jeffries. When he asks them to look into something about designer steroids, Jeffries makes the connection with Wolfgang and remarks how a mysterious new superhero stopped the maniac. Jim denies being that new hero, reminding them that he gave up being a superhero after he lost his War Machine armor.[2] When Jim asks if Sheva Joseph is around, he is informed that she called in sick so he decides to give her a shout and see how she’s feeling.[3] Sheva tells him that she is feeling a little washed out but otherwise fine and after telling Jim that she bumped into his girlfriend Rea LaCoste recently, asks him to meet up with her that evening.[4]

That’s when US Agent stops by WorldWatch on serious business. He tells Jim that the recent Avengers reunion ended with the murders of Yellowjacket and Marilla, the Avengers nanny.[5] Worse, Hawkeye has been accused of being responsible. The Agent decided to come to speak with Jim in person because he doesn’t know who he can trust and Rhodes agrees to come back to Force Works headquarters to talk to Clint. When they arrive, they are given the third degree by Force Work’s newest member Cybermancer who is suspicious of Rhodes but allows him to see Hawkeye in the infirmary. Seeing that Clint is still out of it, Jim asks the Agent to explain everything that went down. He explains that Iron Man was the one who gathered all of the evidence at the murder scenes and his forensic analysis showed that Clint was the killer. To all eyes, the evidence seemed irrefutable. However, US Agent still wanted to believe that Clint was innocent and tried to warn him that the others were coming for him. Unfortunately, the Agent was followed by Iron Man and Cybermancer who knocked Hawkeye out and took him into custody. In the aftermath of the battle, US Agent was furious that Stark exploited his friendship with Hawkeye to track him down. The Scarlet Witch also agreed and Tony quit Force Works in the ensuing argument.

This is all heavy news for Jim who isn’t entirely convinced that Clint is a murderer either. He decides that Barton needs his friends by his side and gets in touch with the Black Widow. When Jim asks if she knows where Iron Man is, she admits that she does not as she has been preoccupied evacuating Avengers Mansion following the murders.[7] She promises that she’ll be in touch if she manages to get ahold of Iron Man.

Jim decides to spend this downtime investigating the evidence that condemned Clint as a murderer. First he goes to Stark Enterprises and meets with Erica Sondheim. She insists that the evidence is genuine and couldn’t have been tampered with. Unconvinced, Jim goes to WorldWatch to show it to Archie Park, a former Stark employee that Jim hired recently.[8] When asked, Archie figures that the evidence could have been doctored but it would take a real genius to do so. He believes that only someone as smart as Reed Richards or Tony Stark himself would have the knowhow to pull it off so flawlessly. When Jim relays this information back to US Agent, they both agree that someone is trying to frame Clint and that they need to do whatever it takes to keep him safe.

Meanwhile, Jim has completely forgotten about his meeting with Sheva Joseph. As she waits for him to show up she is visited by SHIELD agent Kirby Martell. Sheva called Kirby because she was the one who warned her of the possibility of time fatigue after her and War Machine’s recent trip into the past. She is relieved that Martell has come by because her recent experiences have her scared and she is afraid she might either be losing her mind or dying.

Back at the Works, US Agent heads down to the infirmary to relocate Hawkeye to a safe location. Cybermancer catches him in the act and tries to stop him. That’s when War Machine arrives and pits his alien tech against her future tech. The Warwear ends up winning and Cybermancer is incapacitated. War Machine and US Agent then load Hawkeye up into one of the Hex Ships and they make a hasty escape. As they head to a location to lay low, both War Machine and US Agent theorize who might be responsible for the killings. It’s hard to tell, but with the chaos going on between Force Works and the Avengers, it’s clear that someone is trying to take down both teams by ripping them apart from within. However, when it comes to considering who the conspirator is, War Machine doesn’t believe it’s Tony Stark. While Jim knows that Tony can be a devious son of a bitch, he doesn’t believe that his old friend is capable of something this sinister.[9] The pair agree to work together like in the past until they find the true killer.[10] That’s when Hawkeye wakes up and realizes that he’s no longer a prisoner. War Machine and US Agent promise to explain everything to him as soon as they have gone to group.

… This story continues in Iron Man #322.

Recurring Characters

War Machine, WorldWatch (Rebecca Bergier, Ranald Jeffries, Sheva Joseph), US Agent, Hawkeye, Cybermancer, Skye, Kirby Martell, Erica Sondheim, Archie Park

Continuity Notes

1. Skye’s origins, how she knows about the Warwear, even the whole subplot involving the Warwear has, as of this writing in November, 2022, never been clearly explained. I have posited a theory in my summary for issue #18.

2. Jim lost his original War Machine armor in War Machine #15-17 during a trip through time. The suit will be found by Parnell Jacobs and will resurface in Iron Man (vol. 3) #11-12 and 18-20. Since then, Jim obtained the Warwear in War Machine #18-19, but has decided to keep his new identity a secret for the time being.

3. Sheva accompanied Jim on the trip through time and as a result is suffering from “time fatigue” which is causing her to both shift back and forth through time as well as rapidly age. This will eventually cause her death in War Machine #24.

4. Rae LaCoste bumped into Sheva in issue #19. Jim hasn’t seen her since they were supposed to go out and meet Rhodey’s parents in War Machine #12-13. Jim had to bail to stop a group of rogue armor wearers and has been tied up in War Machine business ever since.

5. Yellowjacket and Marilla were both murdered by a traitor within the Avengers, as seen in Avengers: The Crossing #1.

6. Hawkeye was framed for the killings in Force Works #17. As we’ll learn in Iron Man #323, the real killer is actually Iron Man, who is being manipulated by what appeasers to be Kang the Conqueror. In reality, this is later revealed to be Immortus in disguise and part of plot to manipulate the destiny of the Avengers, as explained in Avengers Forever #8.

7. After the murders at the mansion and a number of attacks from “Kang’s” followers, the Black Widow deemed it necessary to quarantine the mansion and relocate the team to Janet Van Dyne’s estate. See Avengers #391.

8. Archie was poached from Stark Enterprises in War Machine #11 so Jim had someone on staff to make repairs and modifications to his War Machine armor. Since Jim lost it, Archie’s continued employment has been somewhat pointless, but whatever.

9. This is a reference to the fact that Tony once manipulated Jim into thinking that he was dead. See Iron Man #284-289.

10. US Agent refers to himself, War Machine, and Hawkeye as “brothers in arms”. The trio formed a bond during a mission in San Rivella in Force Works #12, War Machine #15, and Iron Man #317.

Topical References

• When commenting on Jim’s new Warwear armor, US Agent quips “I’ve seen friendlier looking things chompin’ at Sigourney Weaver.” This is reference to the Alien franchise of films, the first four installments of which stared Weaver in the lead role of Ellen Ripley. Her character frequently encountered and fought deadly alien creatures called xenmorphs that are basically rape and murder personified. US Agent is evoking a popular promotional clip from 1992’s Alien 3, which featured Weaver pinned against a wall as the titular alien creature opens its mouth.

Supplement Material

• This story includes a two page spread showcasing War Machine’s new Warwear armor.

The Crossing Reading Order

Avengers #390, Iron Man #319, Avengers: The Crossing #1, Force Works #16, Iron Man #320, Avengers #391, Iron Man #321, Force Works #17, Avengers #392, War Machine #20, Iron Man #322, Force Works #18, War Machine #21, Iron Man #323, Avengers #393, Force Works #19, War Machine #22, Iron Man #324, Force Works #20, War Machine #23, Avengers #394, Avengers: Timeslide #1, Iron Man #325, Avengers #395, Age of Innocence: The Rebirth of Iron Man #1