War Machine (vol. 2) #11
At the offices of the Front Line, Senior Editor Joe Robertson is going over the breaking news surrounding a HAMMER data leak caused by War Machine (Jim Rhodes) who is now waiting to stand trial for war crimes. Joe is upset that the story ends on page 4 of this mornings edition. His reporter laments that despite the massive leak, there isn’t much by way of photos and they are still heavily competing with other media outlets.
The reporter flips on the television to the news where War Machine’s arrest is the top story. They go over the crimes of which he is accused of: the killing of 26 soldiers in Santo Marco, the murder of Eaglestar International CEO Davis Harmon in Aqiria, willingly infecting himself with the Ultimo virus and declaring to destroy the world, and feeding a Roxxon CEO to polar bears.[1]
They then cut live to the sentencing hearing. Rhodes, stripped down to only the most essential cybernetics is restrained with chains before the judge. Guards stand on all sides with weapons drawn in case he tries something. The judge charges him with 36 grave violations of the Geneva Convention and 17 of the Second Protocol. When asked how he will plead, Rhodes gravely tells her what he wants as a last meal: steak, sweet potatoes, and two bottles of beer. The judge says that they don’t sentence capital punishment in International Court. Jim retorts by saying that they also don’t usually kowtow to Norman Osborn, yet here they all are. When the judge tries to say anything further, Jim specifies that he likes his beer cold and asks to be taken back to his cell.
Meanwhile, War Machine’s support crew — Parnell Jacobs, Glenda Sandoval, Bethany Cabe, and Jake Oh — are discussing the possibility of breaking Jim out. Parnell goes over the security situation: Jim’s cell has been stripped of all electronics and most of his cybernetics replaced with plastics to prevent the use of his assimilation abilities. Outside his cell they have stood the Dark Avengers known as Ms. Marvel and Spider-Man outside his cell as they are not dependent on technology or metal. On top of this, HAMMER has the offshore prison surrounded. As Parnell begins formulating a plan to get Jim out of there, Bethany nixes the idea. The others balk at this, but Beth says that the trial is what Jim wants. She has deduced this because when he was given his one free call, he didn’t call them for help, he called a lawyer.
At that same time, Norman Osborn is going over an interview that he had regarding the Rhodes trial. His good humored attitude and claims to welcome back Rhodes if he is found innocent poll nicely with the public. His assistant, Victoria Hand, reports that the trial has overshadowed those implicated in the data leak, just as Osborn had planned. That’s when Ares comes smashing into Norman’s office. The Olympian god of war is furious that Norman has imprisoned his champion. Osborn quells some of Ares’ anger by pointing out that War Machine has denied him three times when they fought together in Aquaria.[2] Norman likens it to Peter, and Ares asks who that is.[3] Osborn says it is not important and gets to his point: The trial serves both of their needs because it will show video footage of all of War Machine’s violent actions. This suits Ares’ desire to use him to strike the fear of war into mortal minds. To sweeten the pot, Norman offers Ares a VIP seat to the trial.
Back at the Hauge, War Machine has noticed a centipede crawling along the wall of his cell when his lawyer, Matt Murdock arrives. Murdock has taken the case because he believes that there is a miscarriage of justice happening. He explains that should Jim be found guilty, the nation of Santo Marco intends to extradite him to face punishment for his activities there. Jim knew they were going to kill him over all of this and now he knows exactly how they are going to pull it off. However, Rhodes doesn’t want Murdock to put up a fight because this trial becomes a bigger distraction the longer it goes on and he wants the public to know exactly what the “Bainsville Ten” — the officials who were indicted in the data breach were responsible for. Murdock admits that he doesn’t know what their crimes are and Jim explains.
An Aqarian warlord turned over half a village to US forces claiming that they were harboring terrorists. When interrogating a woman, they raped her in front of her son. Then afterwards they did something more monstrous to the boy, so horrible that Jim can’t even speak of it. He begins to cry then, telling Jim that the cybernetic implants in his brain make it impossible for him to forget the horrors that were done. He then asks what Murdock is doing standing there listening to him. Murdock (who is secretly the hero Daredevil) hears a faint mechanical click with his enhanced hearing and responds by saying that he was just listening and it sounds like Rhodes has it all figured out. After Murdock leaves, Jim goes to the wall of his wall where he interfaces with a circuit hidden there.
He managed to create this device by slowly pulling silicon molecules from the wall of his cell and fashioning them into a crude communications device. This has put him in contact with Suzi Endo, who has been off world training Ultimo not to be an alien killing machine.[4] When she suggests springing him from the Hauge, he tells her that his master plan involves him remaining in custody. However, there is something that she can help him out with. After telling her his plan, Suzi commands the Ultimo to send a drop of its liquid metal form down to Earth. The drop lands on a communications satellite at an Osborn Labs facility in Bangor, Maine. After a brief power surge, the sentient metal makes its way to a secured room.
The following morning, Jim Rhodes’ televised trial begins. When asked where his lawyer is, Jim explains that he fired Murdock so he could return to New York and work on persecuting the Bainsville Ten. When Osborn hears this at Avengers Tower, he tells Victoria to look into this. Rhodes then asks to be put on the stand, promising to tell everything even if it incriminates himself. That’s when the trial is interrupted by Ares. He trounces the guards as a warning to everyone — his champion included — that he will not tolerate any interferences with true justice or he will kill them all. With his message made, he then sits in the observation galley. With the court room in shambles and Rhodes needing a new lawyer, the judge calls for a 24 hour recess until everything is sorted out. Taking a seat near Ares, Jim tells the Olympian to stop calling him his champion.
Later, Norman Osborn is pleased that Ares’ outburst in court has pushed the Bainsville Ten story further back in the newspaper. That’s when Victoria Hand comes in with a call from Bethany Cabe. Osborn thinks that she has called to make a deal, but quickly deduces that this is some kind of distraction. Ms. Marvel is then deployed and destroys a ship that was heading toward the Hague. However, that was the distraction for what War Machine’s support team was really up to.
In reality, Bethany Cabe and Jake Oh — suited up in War Machine armor — have attacked the Oscorp facility in Maine. Once inside, they find what they are looking for: A cloned body of Jim Rhodes that was previously stolen by Norman Osborn![5]
Recurring Characters
War Machine, Dark Avengers (Iron Patriot, Ms. Marvel, Spider-Man, Ares), Matt Murdock, Bethany Cabe, Parnell Jacobs, Glenda Sandoval, Jake Oh, Suzi Endo, Ultimo, Joe Robertson
Continuity Notes
This is a greatest hits of the current War Machine series up to this point. Let’s breakdown all of these incidents:
The killing of 26 soldiers in Santo Marco happened in War Machine (vol. 2) #1.
The apparent murder of Davis Harmon happened in issue #4. However, he somehow survives and will resurface as a cyborg in Storm (vol. 3) #4.
Rhodes infected himself with the Ultimo virus in order to cure others of the infection and purge it from his systems. This happened in War Machine (vol. 2) #5.
The death of the Roxxon CEO by way of polar bear happened in Dark Reign: New Nation #1.
2. Ares was sent to Aqaria to stop War Machine from interfering with Eaglestar International. However, over the course of the battle he was impressed by Rhodes’ warfare abilities and named him his champion, as seen in War Machine (vol. 2) #2-5.
3. “Peter” is in reference to Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man, his arch nemesis. Their animosity began in Amazing Spider-Man #14 when Norman operated as the criminal known as the Green Goblin. The pair soon discovered each other’s secret identities (circa Amazing Spider-Man #39). Since then, Osborn had made many attempts to recruit Peter to his cause as a surrogate son and is always rebuffed. This story takes place after Amazing Spider-Man #545, where a magic spell made everyone who knew that Peter Parker was Spider-Man forget his secret identity, including Norman (as evidence in Amazing Spider-Man #568). As such, Osborn likely remembers making offers to Peter and just doesn’t remember that Parker is Spider-Man.
4. During the Aquarian incident, War Machine learned that the United States government was attempting to utilize Ultimo as a weapon. He ultimately prevented this by wiping out its core memory and leaving it in the care of Suzi Endo to learn the differences between right and wrong. See War Machine (vol. 2) #6-10.
As explained in War Machine (vol. 2) #1, Jim was left quadriplegic after a terrorist attack and was rebuilt into a cyborg as a stop-gap measure to keep him alive. In the meantime, efforts were made to clone a new body for him. Although the clone was completed, Jim’s mission came first. However, the cloned body was soon found by Norman Osborn who took it in an effort to bend Rhodes to his will. It didn’t work, obviously.
Topical References
When stating what he’d like as a final meal, Jim asks for two bottles of Jax. Jax is a brand of beer that was sold by the Jackson Brewing Company (founded in 1890). The brand passed hands until 1974 when it was sold to the Pabst Brewing empire. I couldn’t pin down exactly when, but the brand has since been discontinued. That said, its reference here should be considered a topical reference as it is a real world product.
