War Machine #8
Friendly Fire
A Few Years Ago…[1]
During a period in which Jim Rhodes had taken over as Iron Man, he had gone berserk. This forced Tony Stark to put on a suit of his original Iron Man armor to stop his friend. Deactivating Rhodey’s armor, Tony tried to convince Jim that he isn’t his enemy. Out of his mind, Jim refuses to believe this, saying believing that Tony had come to take away the only thing that has meant anything to him…
Now
Putting on his damaged War Machine armor, Jim Rhodes prepares to confront Tony Stark after their falling out. He thinks how back when he first met Iron Man he never thought he’d want to be Iron Man…
Many Years Ago…[2]
Jim Rhodes had crashed his helicopter behind enemy lines in Southeast Asia. It was here he ran across Iron Man walking through the jungle shortly after creating his famous armor. The two agreed to work together to get back to American lines. Fighting their way through enemy soldiers, Jim was impressed by the technology of the Iron Man suit and its ability to fend off waves of enemies. When Jim expressed relief that the mysterious figure was on his side, Stark introduced himself as Iron Man…
Now
Reflecting back on that moment now, Jim thought that Tony had a lot of confidence to spare back then, but it didn’t do him a lot of good later on…
A Few Years Ago…[3]
Tony Stark had started drinking again and decided that he didn’t want to be Iron Man anymore. Pouring himself a drink, Stark had said that all he wanted to do was relax and have some fun. Jim, who had just inherited the Iron Man armor told Tony that he didn’t like the sound of any of this. Stark didn’t care and told Jim to do them both a favor and shut up before walking out of the room. Jim then throw his Iron Man helmet on the ground in a fit of anger….
Now
Jim recalls how he decided to follow Tony’s orders and took over being Iron Man and did what he was told.
A Few Years Ago…[4]
As Iron Man, Jim Rhodes picked up where Tony Stark left off, even fighting Tony’s greatest enemy, the Mandarin. He did so out of duty that was unwavering for many years until…
A Few Months Ago… [5]
Jim finally had enough after Tony faked his death and kept it a secret from even Jim. Upon learning the truth, Jim quit on the spot. However, Stark insists that Jim take the War Machine armor since he earned the right to continue using it.
Now
Jim thinks about how Tony was good at making gestures but stinks at backingthem up.
A Few Weeks Ago….[6]
Jim had called Tony to ask him to repair his War Machine armor which had recently been damaged in battle. Stark, however, is furious with how Jim has chosen to use his invention and tells him that he’ll repair the armor over his dead body.
Now
Still needing to have his armor repaired, Jim has suited up as War Machine in order to fly down to Stark Enterprises and settle his differences with Tony Stark, one way or the other.
Meanwhile, a meeting has been called at the offices of WorldWatch between Rebecca Bergier, Ranald Jeffries and Sheva Joseph. They are to discuss the issue of War Machine who has involved himself in two of their humanitarian missions, leading the UN to accuse the organization of colluding with the armored vigilante. Sheva insists that having War Machine on their side is an asset, otherwise they wouldn’t have accomplished establishing a democracy in Imaya and uncovering genocide in Corenta. When Ranalad suggest that they wait until Jim returns to the office to discuss this further, Rebecca points out that their director has been pretty mum about War Machine this entire time. She also suspects that Rhodes might know more about the vigilante than he is letting on. Sheva tells her that if she has any doubts about Jim, she should say them to his face. The meeting is then interrupted when Rebecca is told that there is a call for her from Trace Miller. Rebecca leves to take the call in her office. Miller is the executive producer of a tabloid news show that has been trying to pressure her into doing an interview with them. When she continues to refuse, Miller threatens to push ahead with the story they are already working on, revealing a secret about Rebecca’s life that she would rather keep private.[7] Having had enough of Miller’s attempted blackmail she hangs up on him and calls a meeting to tell everyone about the secret she has been keeping.
Meanwhile, at Stark Enterprises, Bambi Arbogast brings a newspaper to company lawyer Felix Alvarez. The front page story is about how the State Department is opening a probe into War Machine. Felix doesn’t know what he can do about it since they don’t know who War Machine really is or how he got control of his armor. Getting Tony to talk about it is harder than usual because Bambi saw him drunk when she saw him last.[8] Felix is mortified because this is the last thing they need and tells Bambi to start weathering for the coming storm, and hopes nothing else bad happens today.
This is just as War Machine arrives on the property where he is greeted by Bethany Cabe. Cabe tells Jim that if he’s come just to talk they aren’t going to have a problem but warns him that if he and Tony start fighting she’s going to be a stop to it, fast and hard. Jim agrees to these terms and is allowed to go up to Tony’s office. As he leaves, Beth radios up to Tony to tell him that Rhodes is coming up.
Inside Tony’s office, Jim demands that Tony repair his armor. However, Stark refuses saying that the “warrantee” is void because Rhodes has been misusing the equipment. Tony points to War Machine’s recent activities and accuses Jim of using the armor to bully people around. When Jim says he did what he had to do, Tony doesn’t buy that line anymore than Jim did when he said the same thing to him recently.[9] When Tony demands that Jim return the armor, Rhodes refuses and tries to fly away. Tony puts on his Iron Man armor and goes after him, leading to a clash on the Stark Enterprise property. This is a shaky battle for Tony who is hung over after VORTEX went on a drinking binge in his body. War Machine even notices how shaky his former friend is an accuses him of falling off the wagon again.
As the two former frights fight it out, their battle is being observed through a crystal ball by the Mandarin. With his powers restored and a new army by his side, the Mandarin recognizes War Machine as the second Iron Man he fought when he lost his hands.[10]
Meanwhile the battle between Iron Man and War Machine rages on. With Jim unwilling to stand down, Tony decides that drastic measures are needed. Remotely connecting to the War Machine armor, he activates a shut down code that causes the armor to lock up and fall to the ground. Iron Man apologizes for having to go this far and tells Jim that his days as War Machine are now over.
…. This story continues in Iron Man #310.
Recurring Characters
War Machine, Iron Man, WorldWatch (Rebecca Bergier, Ranald Jeffries, Sheva Joseph, Paula Lin), Bambi Arbogast, Felix Alvarez, Bethany Cabe, Mandarin, Avatars (Deluge, Lich, Q’Wake),
Continuity Notes
The scene where Tony Stark used a verbal command to shut down Jim Rhode’s Iron Man armor happened in Iron Man #192. Jim had taken over as Iron Man back in issue #167 when Tony was spiraling into alcoholism. Although Tony kicked the sauce in issue #182, he allowed Jim to continue operating as Iron Man. Unfortunately, the armor was never calibrated for Rhodey’s mental imprint and it was slowly driving making him more and more paranoid. Jim eventually got cured in Iron Man #195 and Tony resumed being Iron Man in issue #200. Per the Sliding Timescale the length of time between Iron Man #192 and this story is roughly 3 years.
This flashback retells events of Iron Man #144 when Jim Rhodes first met Tony Stark/Iron Man. The tale itself takes place shortly after the birth of Iron Man in Tales of Suspense #39. Per the Sliding Timescale this flashback takes place roughly 9 years prior to the main story.
This flashback comes from Iron Man #170, Tony Stark was spiraling into full blown alcoholism and wanted to give up as Iron Man. He had handed over the Iron Man armor to Jim to take over as the armored hero. This also took place about 3 years prior to the main story, but a few months before the flashback taken from Iron Man #192.
Jim fought the Mandarin as Iron Man back in Iron Man #181. This is another flashback that takes place about 3 years prior to this story. It happened after the previous flashback (of Tony’s descent into alcoholism) but before the scene where Tony was forced to shut Jim’s Iron Man suit down.
At the time of this story, Jim had a falling out with Tony after Stark faked his death and kept it a secret in Iron Man #284. When Tony revealed to Jim that he was still alive in issue #289, Jim quit his job at Stark Enterprises and went solo.
War Machine has caused geo-political turmoil by inserting himself into the liberation of Imaya and overthrowing its dictator Eda Arul. See War Machine #1-4. That event and War Machine’s battle with Deathtoll in issues #5 & 6 led to his armor being heavily damaged and in need of repair.
In War Machine #11 we find out that Trace Miller is threatening to out Rebecca as a lesbian. By today’s standard an exposé like that wouldn’t be damaging at all as such this threat should be considered topical. I’ll cover it in more detail in my summary for issue #11.
Tony has indeed been drunk but it’s not entirely his fault as his body was taken over by the artificial intelligence known as VORTEX. See Iron Man #307-309.
This was when Iron Man and War Machine were forced to work together to defend Stark Enterprises in Iron Man #291.
The Mandarin is referring to the events of Iron Man #272-275, aka the Dragon Seed Saga. In that story arc, the Mandarin had teamed up with members of the dragon-like Makluans who had been plotting to take over the Earth over the course of thousands of years. Iron Man was then conscripted by the Chinese government to deal with this threat. Due to Tony Stark’s borked central nervous system, Jim also helped out. The battle ended with the dragons defeated and the Mandarin with his hands ripped off. The Mandarin grew reptilian hands recently in Iron Man #307.
