War Machine #24
Time Will Tell
After a recent trip into the past, Sheva Joseph has been stricken by a form of “time fatigue” that has caused her to start rapidly aging.[1] With her life coming to an abrupt end, Jim Rhodes has been called in to be there for her final moments. Sheva is disorientated because she keeps on sliding backwards and forwards in time but is happy to see that Jim has come to visit her. He tells her to rest while he goes to talk to SHIELD agent Kirby Martell about what’s going on.
Once they are out of ear shot, Kirby warns Jim that Sheva doesn’t have much time left and will not likely survive to see tomorrow. As Martell goes to get some coffee, Jim thinks about how he saved the Earth just the day before but is now powerless to save someone he cares about.[2]
In the next room, Shiva experiences another time jump into the past. This time she shifts back to one of her first encounters with War Machine back in Imaya when she was still a SHIELD agent. She pleads with her past self and past War Machine to let her stay in this time but she is shunted back to the present day all the same, only a little weaker than she was before.[3]
Meanwhile, fearing that Jim Rhodes might succumb to the same type of “time fatigue”, Kirby Martell runs a battery of tests. They find no trace of the same illness affecting Sheva, but Kirby worries that it might be too soon to make a conclusive diagnosis. However, she wonders if the anomalous bio-readings and strange markings on Jim’s skin might have something to do with it. Not wanting to reveal the truth about the Eidolon Warware bonded to him, Jim keeps quiet.[4]
That’s when Jim’s estranged girlfriend Rae LaCoste arrives to check on Sheva. Since the pair have spent a long time apart, they decide to talk about what has been going on with them recently. Jim had lost touch with Rae since they were supposed to visit his parents for the holidays. Although Jim arrived there before her, he was called away on War Machine business, leving LaCoste to deal with Jim’s parents alone.[5] Rae tells Jim how he did end up meeting his parents and that they weren’t very welcome. She then becomes deeply upset and Jim asks what’s wrong. Rae then asks Jim how he could have kept the fact that he has a son secret from her.[6] This comes as a shock to Jim, but before he can get more answers, Kirby Martell rushes into the room and tells them to come with her quickly. When they head into Sheva’s hospital room they are delighted to see that she has reverted back to her natural age. However, despite this apparent miracle, Martell pulls Jim aside and tells her that this is only a temporary remission.
At dawn, Jim takes Sheva out for some fresh air on the hospital property. As he pushes her in a wheelchair he tells her about the situation with Rae, the allegations that he has an illegitimate son, he also tells her about how he is bonded with the Eidolon Warwear, and his recent battle against Iron Man alongside Force Works and the Avengers.[7] As they walk, one of the other doctors has reported to one of his superiors, Agent Groom, about the alien technology inside Jim Rhodes’ body. He went over Kirby Martell to do so and she is not happy that Groom is there. At the same time, Sheva begins to rapidly age again and Jim rushes her back inside for medical help. As they race Sheva to isolation, Kirby reveals that they detected alien technology inside Jim’s body and that it is the reason why he hasn’t suffered any ill effects from “time fatigue” and pleads with him to reveal any of its secrets as it could save Sheva’s life. Unfortunately, Jim doesn’t know much about the Warwear he is bonded with but agrees to let them run some tests. That’s when Ranald Jeffries arrives to offer any aid he can.
Before they can run the tests on Jim that they need, Agent Groom and his agents come to take Jim into custody so they can determine if the alien tech in his body poses a security risk. With Sheva dying in the next room, Jim refuses to surrender and wills his Warwear to come up. He then fights past Groom and his men to get into Sheva’s room. He then stays by her bedside and promises to stay until the very end. Sheva is touched that Jim is willing to do whatever it takes to save her life. However, she tells him that it’s too late for a last minute rescue but that’s not his fault. Moments later, Sheva Joseph dies.
Recurring Characters
War Machine, SHIELD (Agent Groom, Kirby Martell), Ranald Jeffries, Sheva Joseph, Rae LaCoste
Continuity Notes
Sheva and War Machine went back in time to World War II in War Machine #15-17. At the time Kirby Martell warned them that they may experience “time fatigue” as a result. Sheva started showing symptoms in issue #19 that will continue to plague her until death in this issue.
Jim is referring to how he stopped a temporal doomsday machine set up by Tony Stark and someone posing as Kang the Conqueror, as seen in Force Works #20 and War Machine #23. In reality, this was all a grand manipulation by Immortus so how much any of these threats were unknown. See Avengers Forever #8.
Sheva jumps back in time specifically to the events of War Machine #1-4. At the time, Sheva was a SHIELD agent and was sent to the nation of Imaya to prevent War Machine and Deathlok from helping a rebellion overthrow the nation’s then ruler Eda Arul. The scene she revisits is from the end of War Machine #2 specifically.
On his return trip from World War II, Jim lost his original War Machine armor in War Machine #15-17 in the time stream. 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.
Jim arranged for Rae to meet his family in War Machine #11. Jim was then sucked into a battle with the Rush Club in issues #12-14 and wasn’t there when Rae arrived to meet his parents. At the time, Jim’s parents didn’t like the idea of him dating Rae for some unknown reason. They told Rae something that had her deeply upset because Jim never mentioned anything about it previously. This is issue is the first time the two have been together since that incident.
Rae explains that Jim’s parents told her that he has a son and the reason why they didn’t approve of him dating Rae is because they had hoped he would raise the boy with his biological mother. However, as of this writing (November, 2022) this revelation has never been explored or explained any further. War Machine’s most recent profile in Iron Manual Mark 3 #1 states that he has an alleged son. Since we have seen War Machine’s parents again since then (notably in War Machine (vol. 2) and Iron Patriot) and the subject of this illegitimate child has not been brought up again, I think it’s safe to assume that it was all bullshit.
This is a reference to The Crossing that took place over Avengers #390-395, Iron Man #319-324, Avengers: The Crossing #1, Force Works #16-20, War Machine #20-23, Avengers: Timeslide #1, and Age of Innocence: The Rebirth of Iron Man #1
