Right Here, Right Now!

War Machine, Jim Rhodes, has freed Vincent Cetewayo from Imayan tyrant Eda Arul. He has now joined up with rebel forces to liberate the country. With his armor damaged and weapons supplies depleted during the initial skirmish with the Imayan army, War Machine has cannibalized parts from military equipment so he can take part in the battle ahead. Since this is war, Jim is forced to do something that he has seldom had to in the past, even during his time in the Marines: Take human lives. However, he presses on with the rebels as he recognizes that the loss of life is inevitable when it comes to liberating Imaya.

The conflict draws the attention of the international media who send camera crews to cover the rebel attack on Arul’s forces. The footage is watched around the world and by War Machine’s friends and allies alike. As Nick Fury watches the footage he pours himself a drink and muses that this is probably why Tony Stark developed a drinking problem.[1] The fight is also witnessed by the Scarlet Witch, US Agent, and Spider-Woman of Force Works. Also watching is Rae LaCoste who has deduced that Jim Rhodes and War Machine are the same person and prays that he makes it home alive.[2] Tony Stark is also closely following the news and he is not impressed to see that Jim is using his War Machine armor for such purposes.[3] Lastly, at the offices of WorldWatch Rebecca Bergier and Ranald Jeffries watch in horror as the violence unfolds. This is exactly the sort of thing that their organization was formed to prevent. They are also worried as they haven’t received any reports regarding Vincent and fear that if he has been killed that their fledgling organization will come to an abrupt end.

Meanwhile, Nick Fury has gotten in touch with Sheva Joseph, the leader of a SHIELD unit sent to Imaya to stop War Machine’s activities in the country. While Joseph has come to believe that the hero had the right idea, she is bound by her duties as a SHIELD agent. Fury reminds her that she has a job to do as Imaya is a UN member nation. She agrees to follow orders but admits to herself that she is starting to hate her job.

Back on the front lines, War Machine and the rebels continue pressing forward, cutting through Arul’s forces like a scythe through wheat. This also causes the citizens of Imaya to rise up against their oppressors as well. Watching this all from his private office, Eda Arul is furious and demands that the SHIELD agents do something to stop War Machine before it is too late. However, Sheva tells her troops to stand their ground. Eventually, War Machine and their forces fight their way into Arul’s stronghold. There, Sheva orders her agents not to act as War Machine forces Arul to sign documents passing leadership of the country to Cimbuka until Imaya can hold a democratic election. Arul resentfully signs but when everyone’s guard down he pulls a gun and tries to shoot Sheva. Luckily, War Machine responds quickly enough and mows the dictator down before anyone can be harmed. With the country liberated and the press coming to take statements, War Machine figures that Vincent will want to say something to them as well. That’s when he realizes he hasn’t seen Cetewayo since the battle began.

This is because Vincent had been detained back at the rebel camp by a man simply known as the Advisor.[4] The Advisor reveals that his whole plan was to topple Arul’s regime and is pleased that Cimbuka has seized power. However, he will not explain who he is working for or why, only that this is going according to their master plan. As it turns out, the why’s and how’s of the liberation of Imaya are immaterial as this was merely a backdrop to deal with Vincent himself as his humanitarian efforts are a threat to the world that the Advisor and his people have created. Killing Vincent prior to this would have made him a martyr but now his death will only be a portion of a much larger spectacle and easily forgotten. Vincent pleads with the Advisor to spare his life as he has so much work to do any many people who love him. Unfortunately, his pleas fall on deaf ears, while the Advisor admits that he finds Vincent fascinating, he must not be allowed to live.

Moments later, War Machine arrives on the scene and discovers that he is too late to save Vincent’s life. Furious, he opens fire on the Advisor but his bullets don’t do anything more but shred his adversaries clothing. When he confronts the Advisor to get answers, the mystery man gives none and suddenly teleports away. With Vincent now dead, Jim realizes that he has to carry on his work with WorldWatch. While morning his friend, Rhodes is found by Sheva Jospeh. She tells Jim that she has quit SHIELD and offers him a ride back to the States. Jim accepts because he has a lot of work to do and offers Sheva a new job by his side.

Recurring Characters

War Machine, WorldWatch (Vincent Cetewayo, Rebecca Bergier, Ranald Jeffries), Cimbuka, Eda Arul, the Advisor, SHIELD (Nick Fury, Sheva Joseph), Force Works (Scarlet Witch, US Agent, Spider-Woman), Rae LaCoste, Tony Stark

Continuity Notes

1. Tony Stark has had a long history of alcohol abuse as first revealed in Iron Man #120-128. Fury’s comment about why Tony drinks is a sarcastic joke. In reality, Stark’s alcoholism stems from generational trauma passed along to him by his adopted father, Howard Stark, as explained in Iron Man #313.

2. As we’ll learn in War Machine #5, Rae LaCoste has suspected that Jim and War Machine were one and the same since Iron Man #289.

3. Tony is basically calling Jim a hypocrite here due to their recent falling out. Tony had faked his death between Iron Man #284 and 289, keeping this a secret even from Jim. When Tony finally revealed that he was still alive, Jim was so furious he quit. Despite their differences, Tony told him to keep the War Machine armor as he believed that Rhodey could do a lot of good with it.

4. As of this writing in November, 2022, the Advisor’s motivations and plans have remained unexplained.

Topical References

• The TVs in this story are all depicted as CRT models. This should be considered a topical reference as they are an obsolete technology.

• One of the news broadcasters compares the Imayan uprising to the fall of East Germany. Following the end of World War II, Germany was carved up into two separate nations. The democratic West Germany and the communist East Germany with the infamous Berlin Wall built to separate the two nations. With the fall of the Soviet Union so did East Germany fall in 1989, leading to the reunification of Germany. This should be considered topical as you could use any more contemporary liberation movement that has happened in the years since.