Editing War Machine (section)

=== 21st century ===
The short-lived 2003 series ''[[The Crew (comics)|The Crew]]'' by [[Christopher Priest (comic book writer)|Christopher Priest]] and [[Joe Bennett (artist)|Joe Bennett]] featured War Machine as a main character.{{Sfn|Nama|2011|p=118}}{{Sfn|Chambliss|2015|p=157}} This role saw him entirely separate from Iron Man for the first time, as he pawns off parts from his armor.{{Sfn|Nama|2011|p=118}} He subsequently appeared in the ''[[Sentinel Squad ONE]]'' miniseries.{{Sfn|Chambliss|2015|p=157}} As anti-terrorism became a prominent theme in fiction after the [[September 11 attacks]], War Machine slowly became a more significant supporting character. Stark's central role in the Marvel Universe elevated War Machine, as did Rhodes's own military backstory.{{Sfn|Chambliss|2015|p=158}} During the 2008 ''[[Secret Invasion]]'' event, writer [[Christos Gage]] wrote issues #33–35 of ''Iron Man: Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.'', in which War Machine replaced Iron Man as the main character.<ref name="George&Schedeen">{{Cite web |last1=George |first1=Richard |last2=Schedeen |first2=Jesse |date=2008-05-31 |title=War Machine: Director of SHIELD |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2008/05/31/war-machine-director-of-shield |access-date=2023-09-10 |website=IGN}}</ref>

A second ''War Machine'' series ran for one year from 2009 to 2010, following a similar plot to the African story arc of his first series but instead taking place in the Middle East, reflecting American interest in the region during the [[War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)|War in Afghanistan]] and the [[Iraq War]].{{Sfn|Chambliss|2015|p=159}} War Machine became more well known after the character was adapted to film, beginning in 2008. He had a significant presence in the comic series ''The Invincible Iron Man'', which began the same year and ran until 2012.{{Sfn|Chambliss|2015|p=160}} In this series, writer [[Matt Fraction]] had Rhodes join the military as War Machine. Rhodes's next solo series was ''Iron Man 2.0'' (2011).{{Sfn|Chambliss|2015|p=160}} Following this, Rhodes was reintroduced as the [[Iron Patriot]], reflecting changes made to the film adaptation of the character. The [[political thriller]] series ''Iron Patriot'' ran in 2014, written by [[Ales Kot]] and illustrated by Garry Brown.<ref name="Truitt">{{Cite web |last=Truitt |first=Brian |title=Armored hero's mettle tested in 'Iron Patriot' |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/2014/03/26/iron-patriot-comic-book-series/6900681/ |access-date=2023-09-10 |website=USA Today}}</ref> As part of Marvel's 2016 ''[[Civil War II]]'' event, Rhodes's character was killed off to emphasize the story's stakes. The choice was controversial, both for the lack of narrative payoff and for the choice of killing one of Marvel's main non-white characters.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dee |first=Jake |date=2023-03-23 |title=10 Most Controversial Avengers Deaths |url=https://www.cbr.com/avengers-comics-most-controversial-deaths/ |access-date=2023-09-09 |website=CBR |language=en}}</ref> The character was resurrected in ''Invincible Iron Man'' #600 (2018).<ref name="Bonomolo" />