War Machine (vol. 2) #5
War Machine (Jim Rhodes) had come to occupied Aqiria in order to rescue Glenda Sandoval from Eaglestar International, a military contractor. To complicate matter, Norman Osborn — the new Director of US Security — sent Ares to stop him. This resulted in the release of a techno-virus based on Ultimo technology which infected Glenda and others on the base. Worse, Ares also finds himself infected. Temporarily rendered unconscious, War Machine was unable to stop the infected from reaching the capital city of Makazan.
There, US Sentator Chambers was on location with a camera crew documenting how US activity in the region has helped stabilize the war torn nation when Ares and the infected arrive. Those they don’t kill they infect, adding to their growing army.
Observing this remotely is Jim’s support team which includes Parnell Jacobs (Glenda’s husband), Bethany Cabe, and Suzi Endo. Endo warns Jim that the entire population will be either killed or infected in the next 30 minutes unless they find someway to destroy the Ultimo virus. Worse, the strain of combat on War Machine’s body will kill him unless he is put in stasis in the next 10 minutes.[1] However, Jim refuses to retreat and heads into the city with former SHIELD agent Jake Oh on his side. Suzi has managed to develop a cure for the infection but will need a delivery method to send the code. Parnell has a solution by way of an EMP generator that is aboard the space station that War Machine operates under. When Suzi points out that he is 800 km above the Earth’s surface. Not for long, Parnell tells her, as he sets the space station for re-entry. He promises that if he can’t cure Glenda and the others, he will kill Jim for screwing up the mission.
Meanwhile, War Machine is in the thick of it, fighting the army of infected. With time running out, Rhodes orders Suzi to hack into the firmware in his cybernetic systems before it is too late. As he is being swarmed, Glenda gets close enough to kiss him on the lips. The connection causes a memory to appear in Jim’s mind. It is from when he and Glenda were kids back in Philadelphia many years ago and had their first kiss. Afterword’s, Jim noticed a bruise on Glenda’s neck and asked where it was from. She explains that she gets beat up due to her mixed heritage and gets abuse from both the African-American and Puerto Rican kids in the neighborhood. Jim is upset by this and asks her who, specifically, was responsible. Glenda is touched that Jim wants to defend her, but given the bandage on his forehead, she isn’t sure he can save her if he can’t save himself.[2]
However, this connection wasn’t just a means of reliving old memories, but allowed War Machine an opening to use the assimilation function of his cybernetics to absorb the Ultron tech from all of the infected, curing them all. With the contaigen introduced into his body, it begins to heal Jim’s failing organs. But the virus is slowly taking over his body as well. He whips everyone as far away from him as possible. He then remotely takes control of the satellite heading to him and tells Parnell to eject in one of the escape pods. As Jacobs does this, War Machine is completely taken over by the Ultimo virus and proclaims himself the god of machines. That’s when the satellite arrives and transforms into a massive robot and smashes Rhodes into the ground under one titanic fist.
Moments later, the satellite robot unleashes the EMP blast that should destroy the virus. When the dust settles, Ares goes looking for War Machine and finds Jim Rhdoes alive and well and free from the virus. Impressed, Ares proclaims Jim his mortal champion. Rhodes is glad to be alive and free of the virus but refuses to accept the Olympian’s title for him.
Meanwhile, Glenda checks on Parnell and is glad to see that other than a few injuries he’s fine. Seeing the two reunited, Ares can tell that there is a love triangle between Glenda, Parnell, and Jim. He approves of it, saying that the goddess who shares his bed is married to his brother.[3] He also still insists on calling Ares his champion and tell him to continue to remind the mortals to fear the strife they revel in. As he leaves, he promises Jim that he will call upon him in the future.
In the aftermath of the battle, Senator Chambers wants something done about War Machine and his allies, but is informed that Director Osborn wants to deal with them directly. Contacting War Machine and his compatriots by video. He congratulates them all for exposing that Eaglestar had been illegally using Ultimo tech for their own purposes. He offers Sandoval, Cabe, and Endo full pardons for their illegal activities if they agree to testify before congress. For Jake Oh, Osborn offers to reward him with a mint-in-box bicentennial Captain America figure from 1976 that he has been seeking since he was a kid.[4] Lastly, for Jim Rhodes, Osborn reveals that he has the cloned body that was created for him and offers it to Rhodes so he can take his humanity back.[5]
In response, War Machine picks up a machine gun and shoots the monitor. He tells the others that his mission isn’t complete. He tells them that Ultimo was last defeated in the United States and that there are still people responsible for handing the technology over to Eaglestar.[6] Those involved have the deaths of 634 people and need justice. He offers them a chance to cut loose, but everyone — Bethany, Suzi, Glenda, Jake, and Parnell — want to fight on his side. Jim muses that nobody is going to give a shit about what they did in Aqaria, but they’ll care when they go to war against the United States of America!
Recurring Characters
War Machine, Ares, Ultimo virus, Parnell Jacobs, Bethany Cabe, Glenda Sandoval, Jake Oh, Suzi Endo, Norman Osborn
Continuity Notes
As explained in War Machine (vol. 2) #1, most of Jim’s body was blown off while serving in a military operation. His friend Tony Stark then turned Jim into a cyborg in order to save his life. Over the next few issues we learned that Jim has been living on borrowed time as his activities put strain on his few remaining organs and could kill him before long.
Last issue we saw that Glenda was disliked by Jim’s mother, now we know why. Jim gets beatings from the local gangs who think he is weak as we saw in War Machine: Weapon of SHIELD #34.
Ares is referring to Aphrodite, the goddess of love, who was forced to marry Hephaestus centuries earlier. This is part of Greek mythology, but was depicted in the fiction in Incredible Hercules #140.
This is a cheeky easter egg referencing Captain America’s Bicentennial Battles #1, a one-shot by Jack Kirby that was published in 1976.
Also revealed in War Machine (vol. 2) #1, this cloned body was grown for Jim to eventually transfer his mind into whenever he was ready to do so. Jim won’t get the chance until issue #12.
Prior to the events of this story, Ultimo was last seen in Avengers: The Initiative #1 where it was taken down by the Mighty Avengers.
Topical References
Osborn states that the Cap bicentennial figure was released in 1976 and that Jake Oh has sought it out since he was six years old. This implies that Jake was six in 1976. However, this implication should be considered topical due to the Sliding Timescale, as it bumps the Modern Age forward in time. As a result, if Jake was actually born in ‘76 it would prematurely age the character. The idea of a bicentennial Cap figure wouldn’t be topical, so modern readers could assume that while Jake wasn’t alive in 1976, he was an avid collector of Captain America memorabilia at a young age and was aware that such a figure existed.
War Machine states that Ultimo was last defeated a year prior to this story. However, this should be considered topical as it doesn’t measure up with the Sliding Timescale. Avengers: The Initiative #1 was published in June, 2007 and this issue was published in June, 2009. That’s two years between publication. Per the Sliding Timescale, the events of these two stories happen in the same “year” of the Modern Age and roughly 8 months apart.
