Editing War Machine (section)

=== Fictional character biography ===
James Rhodes grew up in South Philadelphia until he enlisted in the military.{{Sfn|Chambliss|2015|p=151}} While serving in the Vietnam War, Rhodes encounters Iron Man, who had just built his first armor and escaped from his captors, and the two work together to reach safety at the U.S. embassy.{{Sfn|Chambliss|2015|p=150}} As time went on and the Vietnam War no longer corresponded with Rhodes's age, the conflict was [[retroactive continuity|retroactively changed]] to a war in the fictional nation of Siancong.{{Sfn|Friedenthal|2021|p=75}} He eventually began working for Stark as a pilot, and the two became friends.{{Sfn|Nama|2011|p=79}} When Stark's alcoholism prevents him from fighting the supervillain [[Magma (Jonathan Darque)|Magma]], Rhodes takes the Iron Man armor and continues the fight. Stark's alcoholism grows worse, and Rhodes takes the armor to become Iron Man. As Iron Man, he resigns from the Avengers and destroys the other Iron Man armors to keep them from being taken by [[Obadiah Stane]].{{Sfn|Chambliss|2015|p=152}}

As Stark begins to recover, Rhodes accompanies him in a new business venture, and they begin sharing the role of Iron Man. Since the armor was not designed for Rhodes, he begins experiencing headaches and mood swings, eventually returning the role to Stark in its entirety.{{Sfn|Chambliss|2015|p=153}} When Stark is believed to be dying, he appoints Rhodes as his successor. Rhodes becomes the CEO of [[Stark Industries]], and he becomes the new Iron Man using the War Machine armor.{{Sfn|Chambliss|2015|p=153}} He gives up the role when he discovers that Stark faked his death, but he keeps the War Machine armor on Stark's insistence. Becoming a new superhero, War Machine, Rhodes briefly joins the [[West Coast Avengers]] and then becomes a solo superhero after the team is disbanded.{{Sfn|Chambliss|2015|p=154}} When human rights activist Vincent Cetewayo is kidnapped by his corrupt government in the fictional African country of Imaya, War Machine partners with [[Deathlok]] to stage an extralegal intervention and topple the government, despite protest from S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers.{{Sfn|Chambliss|2015|p=155}} In response, Stark disables the War Machine armor until he needs Rhodes's assistance to defeat the [[Mandarin (character)|Mandarin]].{{Sfn|Chambliss|2015|p=156}} Rhodes retires from superhero work, and he briefly runs a salvage business until he finds himself investigating the death of his sister.{{Sfn|Nama|2011|p=121}} He then works as a combat instructor for the Sentinel Squad.{{Sfn|Chambliss|2015|p=157}}

When Rhodes is injured in a terrorist attack, he is augmented with cybernetic body parts, permanently turning him into War Machine.{{Sfn|Chambliss|2015|p=158}} He travels to the fictional Middle Eastern country Aqiria where he encounters a military contractor that tortures and experiments on prisoners. Rhodes takes action without authorization, and he is put on trial for committing [[war crime]]s.{{Sfn|Chambliss|2015|p=159}} His cybernetic body is destroyed in the subsequent jailbreak, but a cloned version of his healthy body had been made and his mind is transferred into it.{{Sfn|Hoskin|2010|loc=War Machine Update}} Rhodes later takes on a new title, Iron Patriot, wearing armor in the national colors of the United States. In this new role, he goes to [[New Orleans]], where he assesses the environmental risk posed against the city.{{Sfn|Chambliss|2015|pp=160–161}} He also rejects any further alignment with the military, unless it is purely in the capacity of domestic action or rescue operations.{{Sfn|Chambliss|2015|p=161}} Rhodes is killed in a fight against [[Thanos]], triggering [[Civil War II|a schism]] within the superhero community. He is later resurrected by Stark, who had discovered that their bodies could be restored due to the various augmentations that they had undergone while using the Iron Man armor.<ref name="Bonomolo">{{Cite web |last=Bonomolo |first=Cameron |title=Marvel Brings SPOILER Back From The Dead |date=2018-05-24 |url=https://comicbook.com/marvel/news/marvel-comics-invincible-iron-man-600-rhodey-war-machine-alive/ |access-date=2023-09-10 |website=ComicBook.com}}</ref>