Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-26687285-20150905125650/@comment-26687285-20171221194922

Rodangizzardcrusher3 wrote: The Russos themselves have pointed out that, if Steve's actions resulted in Rhodey's death, the film might as well have ended there, and there's not a chance in hell that Tony or any of the other Avengers on either side would forgive him for it. It's more likely everyone would just forget the Accords and flat-out side against Steve and Bucky for what happened, especially after Zemo's real plan (which doesn't involve the Super Soldiers, meaning nobody else had to be involved anyway) was revealed.

I've heard them make that same statement to explain why they didn't kill off Cap himself. And I'll admit that, while I was almost certain (and kind of hoping) that that would indeed be the film's climax, my mind was quickly changed after I heard their reasoning. If they killed Steve, that would basically end the dramatic conflict. Because where are they gonna go from there? And in that context this argument makes alot of sense to me, and I agree that the film was ultimately better by not going this route.

I cannot however say the same thing about Rhodey's death. It really comes down to this, I WANTED Rhodey to die. It's totally justifiable to kill someone like him at this point. He's had a nice long run and plenty of time to shine. He's never been anything more than a supporting character anyway. And I'm sorry, but I just don't agree that his death would have that much of an impact on anyone but Tony himself. And even then, you could easily write his motivation in such a way to make Cap not look like the bad guy. I certainly don't buy the idea that this would instantly turn the rest of the group against Steve. Cause you know what, I'm just gonna say it, War Machine is not important. He's certainly not been a crucial figure in any of the MCU entries besides the Iron Man films so far, and that story has already been wrapped up. He's just there to fill the ranks and play off of Tony. He was ripe to be killed off.

Just ask yourself, how devastated would anyone really be if Rhodes died? Would this really be such an traumatizing, unforgivable tragedy? How would this do anything besides add a good dramatic punch to the film? My point is that he's not important, crucial or (frankly) developed enough to NOT die in a story like this.